# Heating cuts out at night



## rosalan (Aug 24, 2009)

Yes I know it is not good leaving heating on at night but in South Wales this weekend it has been a tad chilly. 
Most nights my Trumo Combi cuts out and the red light comes on. The room stat is set on 20c and the Control panel at 60c for water and the Winter setting is applied. 
In the morning my sylph like goosepimple gets up and switches it off then on, after which it seems to work fine. 
On one occasion the gas was pretty low which caused this to happen. Before I go rushing out to throw money away, can anyone think of something I may have missed? 
Alan


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## HeatherChloe (Oct 18, 2009)

Well I don't know, but I would say the following things sometimes happen on mine:

* if on electricity, too many amps used at once, blows main switch for electricity and all 13am goes off

* if on mix of gas and electricity, sometimes the gas doesn't seem to light when the ignition goes, and then it doesn't work - I find turning it all off and then trying again helps with that

And by the way, nothing wrong with having the heating on all night.

If you do get stuck with no heating, just make sure you have lots of hot water bottles, electric blanket, and good pyjamas and socks.


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## Spacerunner (Mar 18, 2006)

What sort of gas are you using?


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## IanA (Oct 30, 2010)

I had the same the other week - woke up vey cold at about 3am. Only way to restart was to turn it off and then on again. MH in for some work Weds, so I'll add it to the list.


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## rosalan (Aug 24, 2009)

Spacerunner said:


> What sort of gas are you using?


Autogas (Propane), not shivering Butane 
Hi Heather 
I was intrigued by your answer and picture my wife and I now freezing in South Wales with my heating off. First tossing a coin to see who will boil a kettle in the 3am coldness. 
That settled; where do we put the hot water? We have never (as yet) considered carrying a hot water bottle and it may be difficult to put the 2 gallon water carrier into the bed; the kettle is too dirty (I have just boiled it on gas). 
Not too sure my battery could handle an electric blanket. Yes I know I could use a generator but best not to at 3am. 
What are pyjamas? (can I get them from Outdoor Bits?) 
Seriously, thank you for your ideas and support. 
Alan 
p.s. The socks are a good idea!


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## clive1821 (Mar 27, 2010)

Uum well let just look at why the red fail light, usually caused by lack of gas, and if alight and fails overnight, (my heating is always left on over night) look at the gas always have propain gas to start with, and making sure you have gas.. Then the next cause would be the gas valve failing, ie closes, due to a mechanical fault,usually the valve electro magnets retaining nuts have come off or very loose, or lack of gas might be worth looking at the gas jet for blockage, or even the battery volts going very low below. 11 volts will cause the valve to close and fail the system. in one instance there was a very High wind which could cause the flame fail..... If the unit has been working and fails while in operation I would look in these areas first before dismantling the boiler and look at the burner and the flame thermocouple.


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## HeatherChloe (Oct 18, 2009)

rosalan said:


> I was intrigued by your answer and picture my wife and I now freezing in South Wales with my heating off. First tossing a coin to see who will boil a kettle in the 3am coldness.
> That settled; where do we put the hot water? We have never (as yet) considered carrying a hot water bottle and it may be difficult to put the 2 gallon water carrier into the bed; the kettle is too dirty (I have just boiled it on gas).
> Not too sure my battery could handle an electric blanket. Yes I know I could use a generator but best not to at 3am.
> What are pyjamas? (can I get them from Outdoor Bits?)


Ah, silly me - I forgot that it was you and your wife. Well then never mind the hot water bottle and the pyjamas - just create some heat of your own, under the duvet.

Sadly, Chloe and I can't create heat in the same way - it would be reported to the RSPCA.

However, I can reach the gas hob without getting out of bed, so I don't have your coin tossing dilemma.

As for where you should put your hot water bottle, I think that's too personal a question for me to answer.


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## rosalan (Aug 24, 2009)

HeatherChloe said:


> rosalan said:
> 
> 
> > However, I can reach the gas hob without getting out of bed, so I don't have your coin tossing dilemma.
> ...


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## short-stick (Jul 23, 2007)

Autogas CAN contain a mix of Propane and Butane, depending on where you bought it and at what time of year. I think I read somewhere that the butane part ends up concentrated in the bottom of the bottle, my first suggestion is to try checking the gas hob burners in very cold weather and see if they appear to burn with a lower flame than normal, put all 3 of them on at full tilt. Other option is to try a known good source of propane, maybe if you have a red calor cylinder. Then further down the line it could be the regulator failing or full of oily substance, or it might be a problem with the heater, I assume it is full of water and doesn't dump the water when it happens.


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## Andysam (May 10, 2005)

It does sound like a gas problem.

I constantly get the red light on my Truma- but that's because I constantly forget to take the travel cover off!


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## CourtJester (Aug 26, 2009)

My van does the same from time to time if the temp setting is 1 or 2. Never done it if temp > 2 on setting dial.


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## miami (Nov 21, 2010)

Hi - failure normally low?no gas; poor ventilation - check cowling or low battery power anything less than 10.5 to 11 volts will trigger shut down. Overheating is perhaps an unlikely cause in thse circumstances. In most cases resetting will cancel lock out, over heating requires releasing overheat trigger on side of boiler - simple button push. Truama combi normally reliable unit - always leave mine on at this toime of year set to between 2 or 4 on internal control. Happy camping.


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## miami (Nov 21, 2010)

Hi - failure normally low?no gas; poor ventilation - check cowling or low battery power anything less than 10.5 to 11 volts will trigger shut down. Overheating is perhaps an unlikely cause in thse circumstances. In most cases resetting will cancel lock out, over heating requires releasing overheat trigger on side of boiler - simple button push. Truama combi normally reliable unit - always leave mine on at this toime of year set to between 2 or 4 on internal control. Happy camping.


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