Tankblanket

We have tried repeatedly to find out from the dealer whether we actually have a tankblanket fitted as we are unable to see any evidence of one. We've been directed to look in various places but despite careful searching, nothing. As we are about to leave for a continental trip we would really like to know if it is there and will somehow work automatically. It feels unlikely! Can anyone advise please? I've even twice tried phoning Autosleepers in Willersey but it goes straight to recorded music and after 5 minutes I gave up. Hope to hear some thoughts!

They are easy enough to see, just a rectangular pad stuck on underside of tank, it's not a blanket surrounding the whole tank.

https://www.tankblanket.co.uk/

Thanks Paul. Still have to wonder why there's no switch.

Thank you so much for this very helpful reply. We do have the premium pack (in theory at least!). This morning we will have a careful look at the EC700 which probably is different from yours. We certainly don't have a handbook such as you describe. Our experience with the dealer is, like you, not nearly as good as we'd have wished. Will also try phone line again!

Autumnleaves wrote:We certainly don't have a handbook such as you describe.

If you don't have all of the documentation for the van, you should contact the dealer and ask them to provide copies. They have no good reason to keep this information secret. Or you can download the documentation yourself from the A/S website (but still insist that the dealer supply it anyway!).

i was told by the dealer that both heaters are on when used. no other switch available. sounds a recipe for potential problems!

I don't think there's any mention of the Harmony handbook on the AS website.
Don't know if this is the system the Autumnleaves has....
The latest power system is the ec900 with ec970 control panel, instructions can be downloaded from this link .....and tank heaters are mentioned in it...

https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:EU:a19600e7-1fa2-4e36-9ac2-45afb8a24044

Maybe they are no longer automatic and you simply switch on and off as required, or is that far too simple in todays technological world.

Nigel, the heater switch is on the cp. both waste and fresh illuminate when on. this would be no problem provided there is sufficient water in the tanks. my concern is eg. you arrive on site, tanks empty. you fill fresh tank. the ambient temp. is sub zero, so you turn on the heater blanket or in my case both. does the empty waste tank element fry or does it have a   thermostat to turn off  automatically. to be certain of not cooking the element on my recent trip to Salisbury i part filled the waste tank before using the heat. the system you have is far more logical to me. but then again whats logic got to do with it!   happy days.

Paul this is the system on my van. no separate heat switches. provided enough liquid is in both tanks should be ok...............hopefully.

Maybe a call to Sargent is in order .

Thanks to everyone for helpful thoughts and suggestions. I'm currently waiting for a call back from a technician at Autosleepers service centre. The receptionist was able to tell me that our van has both large and small blankets fitted but could tell me no more.....watch this space!

Success!! 
These were the instructions:
On control panel, press and hold settings button for 5 seconds
This takes you to Advanced settings
On this screen I could see 'tank heaters fitted' with button greyed out
Touch it, it turns blue
Return to Home screen, touch settings again
Lo and behold, 2 little icons for fresh and waste water tanks!
Touch to turn on when required

Break out the champagne!

According to the Autosleeper service centre check on the build number, they are fitted. I hadn't actually looked under the van yet!

This won't apply to most tank heaters, or autumnleaves's but yesterday I had a light bulb moment when looking at the electrical problems and questions that people ask on the subject. The question is not so much "what's wrong with my tank heater" but more precisely " how do I stop my tank water freezing in winter?"
The answer, if you have a diesel heater, is to extend the exhaust pipe of the diesel heater along underneath the tank, keeping it at a distance of course. Possibly with a sheet of metal between the exhaust and the plastic tank. Logic says that if you have a diesel heater, if it is freezing AND you have water in the tank AND you want it to stay liquid then you will, by default, be running the heater and therefore heat from the exhaust pipe will keep the tank water from freezing. I have a diesel heater in my AutoSleeper Pollensa, but I have no intention of being out in it when the temperature is sub zero.

There are various alternative ways to stop a water tank from freezing. What we did on a boat once where it had a vulnerable water tank up on deck was to take a bleed from the engine cooling system calorifier circuit (the hot water heating system) circuit (which in a road vehicle would be from the cab heater supply) and run it through the tank in a jointless straight length of 3/8" OD copper pipe, passing out of the tank walls through bored out compression tank connectors. We fitted a motorised valve to isolate this circuit when not needed. The only problem we had was not over heating the cold water tank! It only really needs a very small amount of heat from the engine and just a short length of pipe through the tank to keep the chill off. The amount of waste heat from a small diesel engine is colossal, and it is of course free heat which would otherwise go to waste through the radiator. Obviously this only works when the engine is running or for a few hours after that, subject to whether the tank is well insulated, which is of course another very easy way to retain warmth in the tank.  The additional tank that I recently fitted under my van (where the spare wheel used to be) is wrapped like a parcel in thin space blanket type foil faced insulation, and I will be doing this with the original tank as well when I can summon up the impetus to drop it.

The same could be done with the exhaust from a diesel or gas heating unit, whether diesel or gas fired, but any excessive length in the exhaust system could be a back pressure issue for the boiler unit and it would be harder to isolate the heat when not needed.

You might also be able do the same with a parallel loop from for example the galley hot water tap supply, such that every time hot water was drawn some of the heat from that water would pass through the heating pipe within the tank. Again an isolator can easily be fitted for more clement conditions and with boilers such as the Truma the effective loss of heat in the hot water system would be tiny.

It always surprises me that more use is not made of the waste heat from an engine, which runs into many tens of kilowatts in the average diesel engine. Our hire narrowboats were all totally heated by engine waste heat, with the gas boiler only cutting in thermostatically when the engine was stopped. In vans the cab heater circuit should easily be able to heat a radiator loop around the van and also heat the hot water, so that the boiler is really only used when at rest. There would probably still be enough heat in the overall system to run the van all evening before the boiler would sense the need to cut in and burn fuel.

Caraman wrote:It would be interesting to find out how those who take their van regularly to ski areas manage, not just with water but staying warm.  There is so much heat loss from the cab area of our van, and more so I am sure with PVCs, that it would take serious amounts of energy to stay warm e.g. 14°C when out or sleeping and 20°C the rest of the time.  OK perhaps for a cold snap but not for prolonged sub-zero use.  If on a metered EHU it gets very expensive.  The cost of gas/diesel is less but resupply is then a problem.  I doubt our 20 litres of LPG would last more than say 4 days in really cold conditions.

My recent modification to the heating ducting does make a big difference to cab temperatures but could still be better. 

We find the 20 litre gas tank lasts us two to three nights before the Gasit goes into the red at half full (10 litres fill) and thereafter we don’t know how much is left so feel as if we are on borrowed time. Just off to Portsmouth for a couple of nights with gauge on one green (after three nights use since filling) so we probably need to find gas. The Autogas app shows only two easily accessible sources close to our route, unless anybody knows of a place in Portsmouth. That is one very big reason why the diesel Truma is going in after New Year!