# Hooked up over winter



## Rick57

I have a N&B Arto 69EL 06 and leave it hooked up to the house during cold weather with a 750 watt oil filled radiator on a low setting. This keeps the leisure and vehicle batteries charged and the van reasonably warm and dry.

Nothwithstanding issues about safety of electrical equipment, my query is whether I should leave the van hooked up all the time or should I unhook every now and then (for whatever reason)?

Any other tips about over-wintering, beyond those detailed in the handbooks, manuals, guides and peculiar to Artos' would be great.

Many thanks,

Richard


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## Telbell

> my query is whether I should leave the van hooked up all the time


Yes- can't see any reason why you shouldn't. Quite a few members on here do so.


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## peejay

I've always left mine plugged in on the drive between trips and never had problems yet.

Pete


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## bognormike

Ditto here - keep it plugged in, keep the heater on low 8)


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## UncleNorm

Ditto the above posts. As I type, my MH is plugged in to the house, 900w oil-filled heater set up.

The only difference is, I run my heater through a plug-in thermostat which minimises the range between on/off. The heater thermostat is set at max to keep it out of the equation. The plug-in is set at 6°, so at 5.9, the heater comes on for long enough to take it back to 6.0C.

To buy one, Google "ET05".


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## EJB

I never hook up at home and never heat or dehumidify. Every 2 or 3 weeks I trickle charge the vehicle battery (alarm etc). The habitation battery stays at 12.6 for any reasonable period.

I've done this for 30-40 years without problem.

My neighbour does the opposite and he doesn't suffer problems either!

As they say....The choice is yours! :wink:


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## Rick57

*Hook up query*

Thanks all for replies and peace of mind!

BW

Richard


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## Telbell

Uncle Norm

Does the ET05 still have the problem shon hnere:
http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopict-57132-et05.html

or is it sorted now?

Thanks


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## mangothemadmonk

I have mine coming on and off on a timer set for over night when its coldest. 

Johnny F


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## UncleNorm

Hi Telbell! 

I'm not aware of any problem with them whatsoever, but faults can occur in any piece of kit. I did exchange PMs with Redjumpa and formed the impression that they were not following the set-up to the end. 

The mode button allows for the temperature to be changed, but the mode button must be pressed again to hold that setting, otherwise it would default.

We've used ours with a 1kw/2kw fan heater, and now it's with a 900w oil-filled heater. 

At this time, our ET05 is set at 6°C. This is a MINIMUM temperature. 
When the motorhome is in use, we can easily set the ET05 for a daytime 20°C, or a night-time 15°C.

The immediate concern with a timer is that it will turn on a heater whether it is needed or not. The ET05 will only provide heat when the temperature is below the minimum setting.


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## Telbell

Thanks for that Uncle!

One other clarification please: I would use one with a) an oil filled elec radiator (in which case from your other post I'd turn the thermostat on that to high??) and b) a cheapy fan heater which doesn't have thermostat (in which case-obviously-I'd just use the ET05?)

Correct on both counts??


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## UncleNorm

Hello again Tel!

Whatever you might use, turn the unit thermostat to maximum so that it does not interfer with the ET05 setting.

_*I wanna tell you a story: our son and family had a VW pop-top. Plus two young kiddies - 3 and one. They tried a June visit to Wales and HATED it! They were all cold, the camper was damp, the children cried through the night...

Auntie Sandra and I persuaded them to meet us for a weekend in the October, nice site near Cambridge. The first thing I handed over was an ET05. Our son set an overnight temp to 18°C and plugged in a fan-heater with thermo on maximum, just like Daddy suggested! :roll: The whole family slept in total comfort. Needless to say, they were converted to the ET05 and never looked back! *_

That is the difference it can make to temperature control in a MH.


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## Telbell

Thanks Uncle. On its way :lol:


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## redjumpa

Telbell said:


> Uncle Norm
> 
> Does the ET05 still have the problem shon hnere:
> http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopict-57132-et05.html
> 
> or is it sorted now?
> 
> Thanks


Hello all

Yes I still have the same problem with the ET05.............. I had the original replaced and still have the same problem ie it randomly resets to 20 degrees. The manufacturers think it may be due to my van having european sockets and using the ET05 through a plug in adaptor. Me thinks that is excuse number 26!!

BTW Uncle Norm, the manufacturers confirmed I had set it up correctly and they are still investigating .......................... in a perverse way it's good to know other people have the same issues as me.

EDIT ... Just thought, if I take an extension lead into the van and plug the ET05 straight into that it will take the european socket out of the equation. Will try it and report back.


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