Things are heating up
With a couple of really successful weekends of work and Christmas behind us we hoped to follow up with another bumper weekend. We came ready with an ambitious plan to install both the Truma heater and the Smart plugs for the Shore Power. Did we succeed? Read on to find out!
Truma Heater
It was quite a drizzly weekend the three of us were all wrapped up and ready for work. Heading out to make a start on the long list of tasks we’d set ourselves, the first order of business was get the Truma seated and installed correctly. Our heater will be installed in it’s own cupboard under our clothing and kitchen storage area. We found it quite fiddly to work in the small space last time when we installed the cowl for the heater and were quite thankful to be working outside the van for some of the day, despite the weather.
Before getting stuck in to the install, we discussed how it might be best to mount the heater. Given that the Truma weighs around 16kg when empty and closer to 27kg when full we didn’t feel that it would be a sensible plan to mount this directly onto the 12mm vinyl covered ply we had already laid down on the floor. We had a couple of concerns really,
- How hot would the heater get and how safe would that be with the vinyl flooring.
- How robust would the screws be that hold the Truma down over long journeys, or in a crash.
Preferring not to end up with huge scorch marks on the white vinyl floor or a potential fire hazed we decided it would probably be best to mount the Truma on it’s own wooden base on top of the floor. The Truma comes with some short screws with which to attach it to the floor, we were all a little concerned as to how these would hold up over time, with the many miles we have to go on our travels. Although the second point may come across a bit morbid, as with everything with the van safety needs to be taken into account and should we ever be in an incident (touch wood) we would rather the boiler containing diesel fuel, amongst other things, not get chucked around in the back.
After a little think about what we could do we decided the best bet would be to cut a piece of 12mm Plywood to suit the Truma. Plywood of this depth would still allow the Truma to fit in the cupboard we had proposed to put it in and we would then have a chunky 24mm of ply with which to screw the unit down into. We also felt for safety’s sake it would be a good idea to cover this piece of wood with some aluminium tape, which we had left over from the insulation/ vapour barrier stage of the build. We did this to ensure that the heater would not scorch the wood that it was sat on.
With a good plan in hand the guys measured and cut the wood, once cut we sat the heater on top of the wood to check the fit. Holding it steady whilst I carefully marked out the holes we would need to drill in order to attach the feet of the Truma to wood. After the holes had been drilled I set to covering the wood with the aluminium tape, popping through the pre-drilled holes with an awl. It was then onto yet another test fit inside the van, everything was looking great! With the Truma in-situ we decided to mark up an appropriate place to install both the frost control and aeration valve.
The frost control valve is a safety feature for the Truma, it is designed to prevent the boiler from bursting should the area it is situated in reach sub zero temperatures, thus freezing the water inside. Using an inbuilt sensor the valve is able to detect when the internal cabin temperature has dropped to 4°C/39.2°F, the valve then opens and completely drains the contents of the boiler to the outside of the van. The aeration valve must also be installed to allow any air that gets into the system to also be pushed outside of the van.
Both valves require a hole to be drilled out down through the van, this meant drilling through the vinyl flooring, the 12mm plywood floor, insulation and possibly a batten or two and of course the steel floor of the van. It’s no easy feat and with the two valve holes marked we removed the Truma from the van and placed it safely out of the way providing Ben with just about enough space to work. With the drill loaded up with a rather large drill bit Ben set to with the drilling. It’s always quite nerve-wracking making any hole in the van and I don’t think it gets any easier no matter how many you do. Ben did yet another excellent job and soon we had our holes, it was now time for tea and biscuits which had been laid on by Linda, and we were joined by Becks the cat.
Pleased with the days progress we decided to start the second half with a quick piece of work, before continuing with the Truma. We had manged to get hold of some aluminium angle and we really wanted to tidy up the rear of the van where the floor meets the step. As the floor is now constructed of 12mm plywood instead of the flush fitting 4 or 6mm plywood that came as factory standard, we are left with a gap between the step and the floor. This gap exposes the vapour barrier which lies on top of the battens and insulation. As we’d had quite a lot of rain we were worried about the water getting in. John prepared a solution with the aluminium we had and got down to installing it, whilst Ben and I took turns to file the holes we’d made prior to our tea break and then apply POR 15. It was really good to see the back looking good with it’s trim.
After a short period of drying time we could make a start on fitting the valves and the Truma securely into the van. We carefully moved everything into place for one final position check, before deciding to start by securing the frost valve to the floor. It was quite a snug fit to get the tube to extend down through the hole and out of the van and after sealing it into place we moved on to the aerator valve, with much the same process. Finally it was time to secure the Truma into position, by now it was quite dark and we were working by torch light, it was getting hard to see, so we were pleased that we’d done all the work under the van earlier in the day. Ben quickly screwed the Truma down, it was great to see the finish line! It was unfortunate that the O-ring that we’d ordered previously still had not arrived. The O-ring seals the diesel exhaust tube into the Truma stopping us from breathing in the dangerous gases so we couldn’t 100% finish the install but were pretty happy with the progress and it felt like a good leap forward.
