My caravan is freezing!

[Tess]

Spent the weekend in our Abi Hathaway and on Friday night it was absolutely freezing. We have the Carasol heaters in the bedrooms and although they eventually heat up, they don't give out any heat in the room. I thought they were convector heaters? Also, the gas fire in the lounge was useless too! The radiants don't glow at all and it gives out very little heat. Any suggestions or will I have to wear my thermals during the summer?

[Caraconnect]

Hi there, as far as the fire is concerened it sounds like it needs a good clean out and service as the heat of them is pretty good and the bricks should glow. As for the heating you could try installing central heating or oil filled electric radiators, those slimline heaters are not very good and wouldnt particular recommend as they only really take out the chill and dnot add any heat to the rooms. I am able to help with both the service of the fire or installing central heating, hope you enjoy the rest of the season.
Ian

[DORRIAN]

Hi there we had the same problem last year the living room was warm with the gas fire but the 2 bedrooms were cold so we opened the doors whilst the fire was on , this was ok until we went to bed and turned the fire off so we called into a shop in skegness and bought 2 small oil filled radiators one for each room and that did the trick we put them on about half an hour before we go to bed and leave them on all night they wern't that expensive either only £15 each (well worth the money for a bit of comfort):)

[Tess]

Thanks for that. We are having the gas fire checked this weekend so hopefully it will be sorted. I have also invested in a couple of convector heaters for the bedrooms and.............wait for it...............an electric blanket!
Dual controlled of course (for Mr Universe who doesn't feel the cold!).:D

[DORRIAN]

Got to sympathise with him im the same my missus is always freezin and im always throwing the covers off lol:)

[caravanwindowman]

sounds like you need double glazing and floor insulation lol
:):):)

[DORRIAN]

Can you recommend anyone (lol) :)

[keira]

Got to sympathise with him im the same my missus is always freezin and im always throwing the covers off lol:)

your the same as us i think you pay for electric up front so leave it on all night i do

[Michelle68]

We stayed 1 night at our van during February half term, but it was so cold that we haven't ventured there since :D

I am going to go this weekend as the weather seems to be improving, and will be packing plenty of jumpers etc.

Michelle

[mirkwood]

we had the same problem last oct half term , so we upgraded to dg and ch worth every penny ;)

[tamullins]

Hi All
We have just stayed in our caravan for the first time. We have dg and warm air central heating. I have never seen the system in a caravan before but i was very impressed with it. Even though it was really cold last weekend we were toasty warm.:):)

[tamullins]

Hi All
We have just stayed in our caravan for the first time. We have dg and warm air central heating. I have never seen the system in a caravan before but i was very impressed with it. Even though it was really cold last weekend we were toasty warm.:):)

[rio]

Hi all, we stayed in our van after xmas for 3 nights and were freezing even with the ch and dg. This van is a 2011 model so you can imagine how dissapointed i was!
rio

[Angela B]

We used oil filled radiators (2) one at either end, last Nov, our last night was -14!!
The bedrooms were really toasty, except for ours - but we used our sleeping bags so we were toasty, until we looked at our windows... they were frozen over on the inside and we could see our breath:eek:
I can't recommend our oil filled rads enough, they were great, and we have no DG or CH.
It was so cold in Barmouth that night, everything froze up, including the underground water pipes!!
Can't wait to get back there...

[Quisd]

Hi Rio

Which make of caravan is that you have please?

[rio]

Hits a willerby salisbury select 2011.

I thought it would be warm with the ch but we watching telly wrapped up in quilts!!
rio

[rio]

Sorry, i can spell not used to the keyboard lol

[Quisd]

Crikey, Willerby are such a good manufacturer, I can't understand it? Your posts are just fine! I've just checked it out on their website and it looks a beautiful 'van. Have you spoken to Willerby? I know they are probably going to say "but the weather was weather like we hav'nt seen for 100 years", but nevertheless they still could be told that you had friends who did'nt experience the cold like you did.

[timbers]

I went to see a static today on a site at Arnside. The owners knew I was visiting of course, so put the heating on - but believe me it was really, really warm! It also had insulation underneath so maybe this helped keep the heat in? Lovely people, lovely site but it was more isolated than I realised so sadly not for me....Didnt ask about the heating sysytem but just to let you know, it can work!

[rio]

Quisd
I just looked up the Willerby phone number and will give them a ring. We have underfloor insulation also and was advised by the site owner to have the ch and dg so that we would be comfortable when visiting in the winter. Such a let down!!!
rio

[parkandleisure]

Rio if your site allows , have skirting fitted you will be surprised at the difference this makes.

[Teakbank12]

Our van has the "winter pack" & is cosy with D/G & C/H on the cold frosty nights of March & November.
This Christmas it was very severe & even at home with cavity wall insulation & a foot of roof insulation we have had the heating on permanent since October (control it by the room stat).
No caravan would be hot in these conditions, but ours would still be comfortable.

[spiderman]

Hi all, we stayed in our van after xmas for 3 nights and were freezing even with the ch and dg. This van is a 2011 model so you can imagine how dissapointed i was!
rio

We stayed in ours between Christmas and New year (Willerby Lyndhurst) also a weekend in Jan and it was lovely and cozy. We do not have CH (we have DG) only a Gas fire in the Lounge and 2 oil filled radiators and at night we had to turn the radiators off because we were too Hot. It must have not been as cold down here in the south (It was -6), or you have something wrong with your CH. I think you are right to contact Willerby.

[rio]

My husband is planning to box the van in and put an extra layer of insulation on.

[Quisd]

Let us know what they advise Rio and good luck. Prior to our move to France almost 10 years ago we looked at static 'vans and narrowed down our list to 3 manufacturers, Willerby was no. 1 on the list. I just can't understand why you should feel cold so much so that you needed to be wrapped up in quilts! We stayed in a family members new static beginning of November which featured underfloor insulation, central heating and double glazing and we were so snug that the pyjamas I'd taken had to be swapped for a sleeveless nightie!

[CliveT]

Hi Rio, seems like you`ve got something wrong with the heating, we stayed in our van at xmas and it only took a couple of hours to get it very cosy, i`d be very surprised if extra insulation and skirting will make that much difference, i know this sounds silly but are the rad thermostats working and the boiler turned up full.

[Maddy]

We dont have central heating or double glazing and we can still get the lounge cozy with just the fire.

[rio]

Hi Clive,the boiler was set flat out with the radiators bouncing hot- too hot to touch.When sitting on the sofa there is so much chill and draught around our legs in particular our legs have to be wrapped around with quilts so have ..warmth. My husband and i have sat down and discussed this and come to the conclusion there is excessive air and draught blowing through the caravan. Our old tourer was much warmer .We are even considering having the gas fire replaced with an electric one to see if this will reduce the air flow in the caravan.It may sound like desperate measures on a new caravan but something needs to be done so that we can enjoy it during the winter months.

[Quisd]

Did you speak to Willerby Rio?

[rio]

Hi Quisd, not yet but will do. We are still trying to get our heads around it.Will certainly speak to them before we do anything ourselves. I will post whe i have spoken to them.

[Quisd]

Good Luck to you and stress to them that other friends spent time in theirs but did'nt experience the cold you did !

[Angela B]

Good Luck to you and stress to them that other friends spent time in theirs but did'nt experience the cold you did !

Why not speak to who you bought it from? - As you haven't had it for very long surely you are entitled to say you are not satisfied with certain aspects of the caravan, after all, when you pay extra for extra features, you expect them to work sufficiently.
I would complain politely, and ask them to test everything thoroughly.
Good luck:)

[CliveT]

Hi Rio, defo sounds like a job for Willerby, phone them direct and see if they`ve had any similar problems. You shouldn`t have to spend a grand on skirting to stop draughts on a new van.

[Angela B]

Hi Rio, defo sounds like a job for Willerby, phone them direct and see if they`ve had any similar problems. You shouldn`t have to spend a grand on skirting to stop draughts on a new van.

hear hear!

[dwtandjat]

We have just spent the winter in our van. (The van is a 2010 Europa Cypress. Not as expensive as Willerby). The temperature was down to -12 at night and only rising to -4 during the day and we were always snug. My wife hates the cold and even she did not complain. We did suffer from frozen Water supply. Have your van checked by the people win sold it or the manufacturer. We are on the East Yorkshire Coast go a rural area. Good luck.

[Liverbird]

We have an older Willerby 1999 Cottage. We don't have CH or DG. We have a calor gas heater in the hall way and leave all the doors open to circulate the heat (we never leave it unattended and have a guard infront of it for the dogs!!) we have a gas fire in the living room and an oil filled rad n elec blanket in bedroom it soon gets toasty. In fact the dogs are usually panting and looking for somewhere to cool down....unlucky:p.... as long as I'm not freezing my bits off:D

I'd def get in touch with Willerby and have them check your van out Rio

[stu1]

Our kitchens the worst!!...its like cooking in a greenhouse without glass!!...got enough air vents to power a wind turbine!!...now there a thought eh!!

Atb Stu;)

[Angela B]

If you've got draughts, make em' warm one's;)

[vanman]

to help stop draughts we changed the vent fronts to those that open/close and what a difference that makes. we also use 5 oil filled rads, one in each bedroom and two in the lounge so our van is always nice and warm and as electric is all in with ground rent we don't have to worry about seperate bills. the other advantage of this is that we only use gas for the hot water so only use 1 bottle per season, which is a good job as they have gone up by £12 this season. they don't do things by half do they :D

[keira]

hi vanman just realised your on same site as me we too never turn the rads off till we go home and we are lovely and warm :)

[Teakbank12]

to help stop draughts we changed the vent fronts to those that open/close and what a difference that makes. :D

You MUST NOT change these vents or block them, they are there for a reason, to stop condensation & more importantly stop carbon monoxide build up!!!!

[indianwells]

to help stop draughts we changed the vent fronts to those that open/close and what a difference that makes. we also use 5 oil filled rads, one in each bedroom and two in the lounge so our van is always nice and warm and as electric is all in with ground rent we don't have to worry about seperate bills. the other advantage of this is that we only use gas for the hot water so only use 1 bottle per season, which is a good job as they have gone up by £12 this season. they don't do things by half do they :D

IGNORE THIS ADVICE.

[treetopper]

to help stop draughts we changed the vent fronts to those that open/close and what a difference that makes.the other advantage of this is that we only use gas for the hot water so only use 1 bottle per season, which is a good job as they have gone up by £12 this season. they don't do things by half do they :D

Surely this will not pass the gas safety check :confused:

[parkandleisure]

Thanks Teakbank and Indianwells for jumping on that quick .

Yes its Illegal to fit hit and miss vents. And yes it will fail a gas test .

Remember Vents are there for a purpose , not an excuse.

[Tiamaria589]

and dont forget to get a carbon monoxide detector... it is the first thing that i bought when i got my van......

[emmell]

My auntie nearly poisoned herself blocking vents off to keep out draughts, Luckily she only went on weekends, if she'd stayed for longer she probably wouldn't have seen her 96th birthday last December.
ML.

[vanman]

you've all misunderstood what i meant here, we do not block all vents off we not that stupid. all we have done is changed the vent fronts on the side walls of the van ( the plastic ones inside) then to help keep the van warm we close one side or the other depending on wind direction to stop draught. it has nothing to do with gas safety checks as some of you seem to think. these vents are nowhere near or connected to any gas appliance,they are wall vents in the bedrooms/bathroom/toilet/living area. sorry if this made some of you think otherwise. you obviously read into it wrong. GAS safety checks do not cover vents anyway, when they do a safety check they check the fire, the cooker, the boiler and the regulator on the gas bottle. they do not even look at the vents on the walls as they are nothing to do with gas safety checks.

[Tiamaria589]

you've all misunderstood what i meant here, we do not block all vents off we not that stupid. all we have done is changed the vent fronts on the side walls of the van ( the plastic ones inside) then to help keep the van warm we close one side or the other depending on wind direction to stop draught. it has nothing to do with gas safety checks as some of you seem to think. these vents are nowhere near or connected to any gas appliance,they are wall vents in the bedrooms/bathroom/toilet/living area. sorry if this made some of you think otherwise. you obviously read into it wrong. GAS safety checks do not cover vents anyway, when they do a safety check they check the fire, the cooker, the boiler and the regulator on the gas bottle. they do not even look at the vents on the walls as they are nothing to do with gas safety checks.

hi there vanman..
i am not a gas man but i do think that you have to be careful here,,,, the gas board DO check the vents.... i know that for sure... i still have a back boiler in my house and when they do the annual service they always always check that i haven't covered my ( very draughty) vents....
one time, i had to do something on the outside of the house to the exterior vent as it wasnt up to scratch so to speak....they stressed to me the danger of carbon monoxide poisoning.... and that is why i have a detector both here and at the van....

i just wanted to say my point of view..... if you actually close or alter anything to do with a vent then where is the carbon monoxide supposed to go?? it will stay in the room and build up......

[Darren]

I'm not sure what is says about static caravan owners and wanting to risk their own (and families lives) just to block a bit of a draft.

As most of you know advice given on the forum that is dangerous/illegal/incredibably stupid etc etc will be deleted but due to the number of people who understand the dangers some of the advice given hire poses I will leavue to posts up as a deterent to other but will close the thread.

Remember, we (as a forum) are here to help other invloved in the static caravan industry and not to endanger/ get arrested/ get fined other members.

I like to think it is a commonsense rule. In the last 24 hours I have had to delete a record number of posts giving some shockingly stupid advice and/or including comments fun of bigotry- we are not and will never be a fourm that accepts that type of behaviour.

Darren

Ps,

The last paragraph dosn't involve anyone on the thread and has been dealt with but the warning seem to fit in with this post rather than starting a new one.