5 replies to this topic

[FishyDave]

I've been grumbling about this since we got the caravan about 5 years ago - the Cascade II GE works on electricity, but not gas. I've had the cowling off the outside to reveal a pristine looking burner, a spark, but apparently no gas. I've always assumed that it was going to be an expensive fix, and since we've been on a seasonal pitch with EHU for a few years, it didn't seem worth sorting.

The other day, while diagnosing a leak in the stop tap that I put in for the heater, I happened to notice a gas tap near the heater for the first time. I had wondered whether the gas had simply been shut off by a previous owner, so I took a gamble, found the pliers and twisted it 90 degrees. I hit the button on the control panel, and for the first time ever, no 'alarm' light. It lights first time every time, and as far as I can tell, there's absolutely nothing wrong with it. Half an hour later, I had piping hot water with no mains hook-up.

For five years, we've always insisted on EHU because we'd have had no hot water otherwise. All because a previous owner thought it made sense to turn the gas tap off.

Hopefully they just turned it off because they didn't need it, rather than because of a fault or leak. I'm going to do a pressure test with the Gas-Lo gauge before assuming it's safe.

[Mister H]

Excellent stuff!

Perhaps worth a Gas Safe check for it, given the years it's been sitting unused? About £40 I think. Just a thought...

[GaryB]

Years ago when my parents used to rent a television, my mum called out the repair man because the TV was "dead" and he politely told her she needed to switch it on at the mains socket before anything would happen......

I think we're all guilty of looking for the most complicated & expensive solution first!

[FishyDave]

Mister H, on 01 May 2012 - 10:30 AM, said:

Excellent stuff!

Perhaps worth a Gas Safe check for it, given the years it's been sitting unused? About £40 I think. Just a thought...

I'm inclined just to just pressure test the system with the Gas-Lo, maybe check that the burner's running correctly (take the cowling off again for a quick peek) and make sure that there are fresh batteries in the CO detector. I once paid someone (a relative of a friend who happened to be CORGI registered) to 'service' the gas appliances in my caravan - he spent about 10 minutes on it, did nothing beyond switching them on and off, and then took my money.

[FishyDave]

GaryB, on 01 May 2012 - 10:47 AM, said:

Years ago when my parents used to rent a television, my mum called out the repair man because the TV was "dead" and he politely told her she needed to switch it on at the mains socket before anything would happen......

I think we're all guilty of looking for the most complicated & expensive solution first!

I once knew someone whose wife went out and bought a new fridge freezer because the light had stopped working in the old one.

[Hawkeye]

Well done! If you need faster water heating between showers, it's OK to use gas and leccy.