# Convert Gas water heater to Electric too



## WantstoRoam (Jan 13, 2007)

I have a Hymer B694 and would like to know if its possible to convert or change the water heater and blown air heating to run on electric as well as gas, like the newer models do? I always have hook-up so would rather use sites electric than my gas.
Thanks
Patrick


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## safariboy (May 1, 2005)

It probably depends on the model of the water heater rather than the van. I have had it done to two air heaters - Truma make a kit. It is quite expensive for what is required (£200-300 I think) Ask a dealer they should be willing to help.


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

Or, putting the price the other way, how long would it take you to use FORTY 6kg gas bottles?

Dave


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## safariboy (May 1, 2005)

Depending on the layout of the van a small blower fire might be effective and cost a lot less. The reason that I had the conversion done was because in that particular van it was not possible to find anywhere to put the heater without it and its wiring getting in the way. The blown air heating in our current van also has the advantage of being almost silent except when on gas and starting to heat from cold.


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## navman (May 10, 2005)

DABurleigh said:


> Or, putting the price the other way, how long would it take you to use FORTY 6kg gas bottles?
> 
> Dave


We looked at this and came up with the same conclusion....


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## premiermotorhomes (Feb 13, 2008)

The accessory you require is the retrofit Truma Heating Collar for C series boilers. I havent got a part number to hand, but I can confirm a price of £200 being pretty realistic.

If you need any help, or would like a copy of the installation instructions to see what is involved please PM me.

Regards
Chris
Premier Motorhomes of Chichester


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## Bob45 (Jan 22, 2007)

We had the Truma collar fitted and it works a treat. We also carry a small oil filled radiator which we tend to leave on all the time as it is thermostatically controlled and heats the M/H very well. It sits at the front which is probably the coldest part anyway.
Bob


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Heating*

Hi

I am not the most informed person on technical matters but I was under the impression that a gas boiler can be modified to provide hot water via an electric power input, but not the warm air heating. There is a thread on this subject somewhere along with the reply from Truma.

None the less, I would telephone Truma and ask for their technical team.

www.trumauk.com

Russell


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## WantstoRoam (Jan 13, 2007)

Thanks for all the answers. I will give it some thought. I just filled my LPG tanks for the first time today. The van has 2 tanks and from just under a quarter full I putt in 60 litres of LPG. Anyone have any idea how long that should last if I am only using it for water heating?

Thanks for your wisdom.
Patrick


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

Probably years if you only heat it when you need it, rather than keeping it going around the clock when you are only heating the atmosphere.

Dave


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Truma*

Hi

What model is the Truma gas heater? The manual probably has consumption figures.

Russell

If you do ask Truma if you can retrofit electric warm air heating, please keep us informed.


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

Patrick,

I felt a bit guilty with a flippant "probably years" when I realised you were fulltiming. So sad git that I am I did some sums. I'm pleased to observe that depending on how efficiently you switch on and off your water heater, and how often you use site facilities, "probably years" is still feasible, though unlikely.

Your LPG tank has the ability to heat 200 large Aquarolls worth of piping hot water 

Now I'll wait for someone to argue about it. 

Dave


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## sallytrafic (Jan 17, 2006)

DABurleigh said:


> Patrick,
> 
> I felt a bit guilty with a flippant "probably years" when I realised you were fulltiming. So sad git that I am I did some sums. I'm pleased to observe that depending on how efficiently you switch on and off your water heater, and how often you use site facilities, "probably years" is still feasible, though unlikely.
> 
> ...


I'm sorry is this the 5 minute argument or the full half hour?


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

Not fussed, Frank  Generally speaking I prefer challenge, both giving and taking, for that is how we all learn. The scientific process and all that. But it almost seems politically incorrect nowadays, whether at work or more domestically. Must respect everyone's right to be a delicate flower I fear :-(

Dave


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## 97180 (Jan 6, 2006)

Patrick:

The Part Number for Truma's 230V heating-collar retrofit fit kit for a Series 2 Trumatic-C combination air/water heating appliance (which I assume is what's fitted to your Hymer B694) is 34141-01 and the catalogue (01/08/2007 issue) price was £204.59 (VAT Inc.)

The heating-collar draws just 450W of 230V mains power, so is pretty slow heating water from cold. Conversely, this low 2A power consumption means that virtually any campsite 230V hook-up can be employed. Where the campsite hook-up is essentially 'free', there will be the temptation to leave the heating-collar on continuously so that hot water is constantly available. Whether the collar will tolerate such treatment over extended periods is slightly questionable though, and I know of one instance where a heating-collar failed (a collar cannot be repaired) and the motorhome dealer cited constant use as the cause. 

Fitting the collar to a Trumatic-C is easy and quick enough in principle - in practice, it can be an absolute pig. It all depends on how accessible the Truma appliance is, but (generally speaking) adding the collar will require the appliance to be removed from wherever it is installed in the motorhome. The more inaccessible the heater (and Hymer has a reputation for shoe-horning Trumatic-C heaters into very constricted spaces!), the more costly the labour-charges will be for fitting the collar. And, of course, there will also be a need to install supplementary 230V wiring to power the heating-collar. 

It's worth repeating what Russell has already advised - that there's no means of converting a gas-only Trumatic-C appliance (C-3402/C-4002/C-6002) to provide 230V AIR-heating: the best that can be done is retro-fit the 230V WATER-heating collar. 

There is a Trumatic-C variant (the C-6002EH) that can provide air and/or water heating via gas and/or 230V, but the design of this appliance differs significantly from gas-only Trumatic-Cs and you can't convert the latter into the former. 

The latest Truma combination air/water heaters are gas-only (Combi-4 and Combi-6) or gas/230V (Combi-4E or Combi-6E), with the latter offering similar capabilities to those of the C-6002EH. Once again, it's not practical to convert a gas-only Combi into its "E" version. (For what it's worth, there's also a recently-introduced diesel-fuelled Truma Combi-D.)

When considering the economics of whether or not to have a 230V heating-collar fitted to your Hymer, you may wish to bear in mind that a Trumatic-C appliance uses about 170g/h of gas in water-only heating mode. My experience of these appliances is that it will take roughly 40 minutes to heat the appliance's 12 litres of water to 60°C using gas, which would equate to a gas usage of about 100g per 'water-heating'. If your Hymer's LPG tanks have 80 litres capacity, that's around 40kg of gas. As you'll be getting about 10 individual water-heatings per kg of gas, that means your gas reservoirs, when full, should be able to provide some 400 separate water-heatings. You'll have do your own calculations as to how many days usage this would equate to - depends on how much hot water per day you plan to use.


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## WantstoRoam (Jan 13, 2007)

Thanks for all the info folks, special thanks to frank311. Will have to think awhile.
Patrick


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## WantstoRoam (Jan 13, 2007)

Just thought I would update this post. I filled my LPG tanks in the second week of November and even with the cold weather the tanks still appear to around three quarters full. I do shower in the van everyday. also use the heating to warm the van up then go to electric. And also cook on gas. Not really sure how big they are but they sit between the Tag axle.
Might forget about converting water heating to electric seems no point.

Patrick


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