Prolong your heating system’s life with some basic maintenance, says Nigel Hutson
WEEKEND WORKSHOP
HEATING IN CARAVANS has progressed hugely since the days of gas fires lit by matches. Tourers now have various systems, with externally flued gas and the option of being operated electrically, too.
In 1995, I remember thinking it was the ‘bee’s knees’ when our new van came with the gas and electric Carver Fanmaster. Posh or what?
The Carver 4000A Fanmaster that we are looking at here is a development of the original. Many are still in use, offering reliable and efficient service.
We can’t stress highly enough the importance of having your van serviced every year, as safety items can and do fail.
But what we consider here is cleaning the heater externals (we’ve all turned on the heating at some point, only to be met with the smell of burning dust or cremated spider!), and replacing the control switch.
The van shown here dates from 1999 and belongs to my parents. Some years ago, the sliding switch (which controls the speed of the blown-air fan) on top of the heater became faulty. The speed would not vary, so it was either running at full pelt or it was off.
After removing the unit from its casing, Dad sent it away for repair; it has worked perfectly ever since then.
It is possible to open up the switch unit to clean various contacts, but unless you have a very good knowledge of electronics, that’s best left to the experts. If any controls or parts for your heating are faulty, one company that does repairs is A&R Electronic Developments (arelectronics.co.uk).
In the interests of safety, before doing anything else, ensure the heating system is turned off, and disconnect the gas and mains electricity supplies. Finally, disconnect the 12V battery (or batteries).
Right from the start, every time we towed, the front of the heater ended up falling off (despite the dealer’s attempts to stop it doing so).
Dad cured that with a bit of DIY. Securing two small pieces of wood to the unit above the heater, to stop it jumping up and off its mountings, solved the problem. Not pretty, but very effective. So our first task is to remove them.
Then, holding the bottom corners of the cover, gently pull these towards you. This should release the cover from its clip-on mountings.
Be careful, because the cover can be fragile, especially where the clips are mounted.
With the bottom released, lift the cover up and over the gas control knob. The whole cover will then be free, apart from the electrical conne
