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Topic: This May Be a Daft Question , but ...

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MrRee

02/5/2012 at 7:01pm
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... do all caravans, with a hot water facility, heat it with both mains Electric and Gas?

We are looking for a van secondhand and just thought while we were looking whether we may trip up through ignorance.

We definately want gas powered hot water as we go to rally fields and suchlike without mains (but still want a hot shower!).

Anyone?

rushallmanor

02/5/2012 at 7:08pm
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Not all have electric, I think it was added in the early 90's

All have gas if there is water heating.

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michael

02/5/2012 at 7:28pm
Location: Lancashire
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most modern ones do.you can use both at once if you like.

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tango55

02/5/2012 at 7:31pm
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I used to have a Coachman Genius 1992 and apparently according the handbook there were 2 different hot water tanks installed, either one with just a gas supply and the other with both gas and electric facility. Mine had both and you can identify this by a couple of visual checks to see if ithe tank has an electric supply or not. One of the features is that there should be an immersion switch to operate by electric and the other is if you look at the end of the hot water tank itself (usually under the seat), there should be a steel box fitted at the end with a small red or blue button in the middle which contains the electric wiring to the trip facilty. This is the safety feature so the electric doesn't activate if the tank is empty (no water). If it's a tank with no box at the end and no immersion switch then this will be confirmed as being operated by gas only. I consider it better by having both gas and electric because if however you do go on a site with electric hook up then you have already paid for this facility so you can save on your gas, also I find it's much easier by electric if you happen to use the onboard caravan shower too. All modern caravans have both these facilities now as standard so it depends on the year of model that you are considering buying but this should be a helpful tip.

MrRee

02/5/2012 at 7:41pm
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"also I find it's much easier by electric if you happen to use the onboard caravan shower too"

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by this sentence?

Thanks to all replies!

tango55

02/5/2012 at 8:07pm
Location: Lichfield
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Quote: Originally posted by MrRee on 02/5/2012

"also I find it's much easier by electric if you happen to use the onboard caravan shower too"

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by this sentence?

Thanks to all replies!

What I meant was that the water pump consumes more power whilst in the shower and being on electric happens to keep the leisure battery fully charged whereas on gas it doesn't. I sometimes use gas myself if I attend a weekend rally but for any longer I prefer to opt for EHU if possible.

bordercaz

02/5/2012 at 8:15pm
Location: Shropshire North Wales borders
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I've only had one van that had electric hot water as well as gas - 1997 Avondale. All my other caravans and motorhomes that have had hot water it has been gas only - but they've all been late 80s early to mid 90s.

I believe there are a few current models that are electric only?

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dianebb72

02/5/2012 at 8:32pm
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we have a 1995 van and it works on both gas and electric and we also rally alot and have no problems using it on gas and having showers. In our van there are 2 seperate switches to turn on via gas or electric. We've also invested in an 80 watt solar panel to keep the battery topped up. When on hookup we just use the electric heater to save on gas

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Delboya

02/5/2012 at 9:16pm
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Quote: Originally posted by rushallmanor on 02/5/2012
All have gas if there is water heating.

Maybe true of UK vans - but not (necessarily) of continental ones. I'm mains electric only.

Del

cwdc56768

02/5/2012 at 10:45pm
Location: Keswick
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Just in case you are not aware, If you are using gas to heat the water don't forget to take the water heater vent cover off. With it on it may register a fault and switch off. Otherwise the gas stays on and iffy gas may seep into the van.

Phil

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MrRee

02/5/2012 at 11:11pm
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I have heard about Butane Gas and Propane Gas ..... but, iffy Gas .... is this a recent development? ;-)

tango55

02/5/2012 at 11:42pm
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What Phil means by iffy gas is another word for being a bit dodgy because there's no ventilation. In other words, the gas could be a bit iffy as it would then be carbon monoxide fumes and to prevent this as a safety measure it switches off.

cwdc56768

03/5/2012 at 7:33am
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Tango wins the Goldfish.....or should it be a canary?

No means of escape for the monoxide and it drifts back into the van....and on these cold nights with no windows open.....

Phil

murano

03/5/2012 at 8:04am
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Phil I was going to go to the caravan shop and ask for iffy gas, is that the one that comes in a green bottle

Joking aside, when we had out first van it only had a gas heater, but I never used it, even though we had it checked, I was terrified of it, so we bought a little oil filled radiator for heating, which was ok as we only used ehu then, I just got so paranoid we'd die in our beds.

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littlejack40

03/5/2012 at 5:12pm
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The usual result of using the water heater on gas without taking the vent cover off, is that it removes itself, usually with a considerable bang and projects itself a consderable distance!

MrRee

03/5/2012 at 6:30pm
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Surely the pressure switch would activate long before the pressure biult up enough to blow the outer cover off?

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