Winterising?

[snobbyafghan]

I don't want to depress people with early talk of winter but I'm going to anyway ;D.

Being new to this motorhoming lark, I've read all sorts of magazines, forums, Caravan Club leaflets etc. They are full of dire warnings about all sorts of stuff. It seems that some of these things, like isolating the electrics before you hook-up and reverse polarity on continental sites, can be more or less ignored. So the next thing is winterising. There is a big long list in the van manual of what you should do and it almost looks as though they are suggesting that you don't use it in the winter. But I want to! I realise that the Dimension hadn't got insulated water tanks so it would be a good idea not to expose them to the possibility of freezing but otherwise, surely it's not such a big deal to use the van throughout most of a British winter is it?

What do the rest of you do - put the van into winter hibernation with everything drained and the wheels off or happily use it out and about?

Doug

[ant]

Doug.
If you intend to use the van during the winter then do so wiyhout being too worried about winterising, the heat you will produce when using the van will be enough to keep it all ok. If however you leave the van for a few days unused and the temp remains below freezing then i suggest you drain your water heater ( mouse hole by the back door). The water tank would take need a Siberian winter to freeze solid and split. I only drain water heaters here on my stock vehicles and run the engines until the fans come in once a month. If you want to belt a brace put a small 60watt green house heater in the van if you leave it for prolonged periods over the winter.
Ant

[snobbyafghan]

Ant

Thanks for that - it's a relief to know that a commonsense attitude should be good enough.

I must say that there seems to be a plot amongst manual writers and magazine help pages to make everything a lot more complicated than it needs to be.

Doug

[lizziehill]

What's the best way to drain off the water tank on a 1989 C15? When I had a replacement water pump fitted I was told not to run it for long periods of time (> 2min) so that's out.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Lizzie

[Derek]

Hi Lizzie

You can shift quite a bit of water in 2 mins. Let the pump cool down and run it again. You can get the remaining water out with a sponge when no more will pump through.

Derek

[ant]

Lizzie.
The water pump is cooled fairly well by the water passing through it so as Derek says you can use it to empty the tank. Don't run it for long without water passing through it and you should be fine.
Ant

[lizziehill]

Thanks Derek & Ant!

[snobbyafghan]

Referring back to Ant's suggestion of putting a green-house heater in the van if it's being left unused for a while, I don't really fancy using a smelly paraffin heater. I was thinking a small, oil-filled radiator may do the job and I see that B&Q have one for £12.98, called a mini-heater. It's only 500 watts and has a thermostat. It could also be used when the van is in use if you don't have a hot-air heating system and want something just to take the chill off overnight. Obviously, it can only be used if you're on EHU.

Doug

[ant]

Hi Doug,
I agree about a paraffin heater not being Ideal, you're showing your age however, the modern greenhouse heaters are 60w electric with a long tube that warms up, they come in various lengths but i think the the short one would do fine ( about 18inches).
Ant

[snobbyafghan]

What do you reckon to the oil-filled radiator idea? I'm thinking that it could be used as an overnight heater on-site as well. That way, we'd keep warm courtesy of the campsite's electricity (which we're paying for whether we use it ir not) rather than using the hot-air heater which is costing us diesel? It may sound a bit cheapskate but it all adds up and diesel is well over £1 a litre now - which reminds me, why no fuel protests this time round (but that's another topic..!)
Doug

ps and don't be cheeky about my age, you young whippersnapper.. ;D

[ant]

Doug,
The oil fired heater would be fine, the only reservation would be size and storing.
Ant

[lunnie]

Hi Doug, I have the small oil filled radiator complete with a thermostat and frost guard, B & Q £14.99 last year, there are a number of Romahomers who have these or similar, they really do work, I have a C15 and it sits between the bench seats sidewards on, no problem or in the door well at night, but really once these vans are warm they stay warm, I just lay it down when travelling.

Joan

[snobbyafghan]

Joan

Yep- it sounds like a good idea. £12.98 for a really dinky little number at B&Q now. It doesn't look as though it would take up much room so I think we'll get one.

Doug

[jayjay]

lunnie said:

I just lay it down when travelling.

Joan

Is it ok to do this? I've bought a Delonghi Bambino mini oil filled radiator 500w but it doesn't say how to store it - I was wondering if it was a good idea to lay it flat when travelling or whether it should stay upright.

[lunnie]

Jayjay, it is a sealed unit, so it is perfectly ok, think about it, I bet they are not always upright in the warehouses, and I certainly didnt see this way up on the box.

Joan

[jayjay]

lunnie said:

Jayjay, it is a sealed unit, so it is perfectly ok, think about it, I bet they are not always upright in the warehouses, and I certainly didnt see this way up on the box.

Joan

No - there's no 'this way up' on my box either! Just that I had a bigger one (room sized) and when I moved house, that was just thrown in on its side and was leaking when it got to the other end!

[lunnie]

possibly because it was 'thrown'? I can stand it up if wedged or I lay in down in the luton, but it has travelled very well for nearly 2yrs being laid down gently on it side. good luck with it anyway.