What time of year do you stop draining down your boiler?

GMJ

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Have you stopped draining down now when your MH is not being used given that it's April, or do you carry on until there is zero chance of a frost?

Graham
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This is the first weekend it's been filled all winter. I just use bottled water during winter.
Now it's filled I'll just keep a close watch on the weather and drain if I feel necessary.
Fingers crossed.....
 
Just like *****, ours will be filled later today and used until the back end of the year. I do cheat the drop valve with the standard clothes peg.

Cheers

H
 
I keep draining until there is no longer a chance of frost, usually late May up here. Bentley removed the auto dumping when they built the vans, I’m glad that they did. I do have a little heater which should prevent freezing, but drain anyway as “belt and braces”. From June to September I only drain if the van is out of use for more than a week, just to keep the water fresh.
 
View attachment 44489

This photo was a previous van, but I have the same fitting on our present van


We have just changed van and the new one came with the same anti-frost valve. A previous van had the old version which could be held open with a clothes peg, but that bracket looks just the job for the new design. Did you make it yourself, and if so, what metal did you use? Thanks.
 
Have you stopped draining down now when your MH is not being used given that it's April, or do you carry on until there is zero chance of a frost?

Graham
smile.gif
My van was converted 6 years ago and the boiler drain tap was badly fitted and finished up inside the van. So if I drain I will flood the van. Being new to campervaning I did not notice until a few years later. Anyway, I have never drained the boiler and it works well every year. Again, I did not know you had to drain it until I saw post on this site.
The company who fitted the van out have now gone bust so the problem is now mine. I don't want to spend megabucks on a repair as I cannot afford it. The tap itself is approx 1cm above the floor so I cannot fit an extension pipe. The boiler is a Truma and very reliable. Any advice?
 
Prior to our buying our MH, it became obvious that the previous owners had not bothered to drain down in winter as it started to release water during a long summer trip to Poland and the CR. When we got to Prague I managed to get it into a nearby Truma agent who stripped the boiler and found that ice damage had buckled the inner workings causing a split in the outer casing.

This is of no comfort to you but personally I would explore your options ready for next winter. It may be worth posting some pics on here so better brains than mine can come to bear on the issue. Depending on where the drain tap is you may be able to connect and route a pipe through the base of your van? A well placed hole with a pipe through which is properly sealed should afford you no issues I would have thought.

Failing that are you able to lag/insulate the boiler? Can the van be put in a garage in really cold weather?

I'm guessing that you are not the only person who doesn't drain down and many don't get problems so, given that you have had no issues to date, you may get away with it in the future however it is a very expensive fix if it does get damaged...

Graham
smile.gif
 
I keep draining until there is no longer a chance of frost, usually late May up here. Bentley removed the auto dumping when they built the vans, I’m glad that they did. I do have a little heater which should prevent freezing, but drain anyway as “belt and braces”. From June to September I only drain if the van is out of use for more than a week, just to keep the water fresh.
I’m pleased mine has the dump valve then if I ever forget to dump the Truma boiler water the valve will do it for me saving potential damage to the boiler.
Why do people disable the dump valves ?
 
I’m pleased mine has the dump valve then if I ever forget to dump the Truma boiler water the valve will do it for me saving potential damage to the boiler.
Why do people disable the dump valves ?

I think it’s because they often dump before it is necessary. This is why Bentley chose to remove them I think.
 

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