Aidan's tip of the week

Aidan_M_M · 22-05-2012 12:28pm

most stuff works fine , it's just if you have an issu like crossed wires or a short etc , that you could get hurt!

Aidan_M_M · 30-05-2012 7:22pm

Folks , not a lot of people are aware of the fact that Dometic/Electrolux issued a recall on the larger fridges , the ones with the separate freezer compartment . Basically the bottom of the cooling unit wasn't properly mounted , and could break , eventually leading to fracturing of a gas pipe in the worst case . I've done dozens and dozens here , and at the time we contacted all our own customers , but I still see fridges coming in without the mod kit . You'll know if yours was done if you clip off the lower vent and see either 2 black brackets holding the tube of the cooling unit , or 1 black bracket and 2 silver ones .

http://www.dometic.com/frbe/Europe/Belgique/Services-consommateurs/Recall-Information/

dfbemt · 01-06-2012 12:17am

Aidan_M_M wrote: »

Folks , not a lot of people are aware of the fact that Dometic/Electrolux issued a recall on the larger fridges , the ones with the separate freezer compartment . Basically the bottom of the cooling unit wasn't properly mounted , and could break , eventually leading to fracturing of a gas pipe in the worst case . I've done dozens and dozens here , and at the time we contacted all our own customers , but I still see fridges coming in without the mod kit . You'll know if yours was done if you clip off the lower vent and see either 2 black brackets holding the tube of the cooling unit , or 1 black bracket and 2 silver ones .

http://www.dometic.com/frbe/Europe/Belgique/Services-consommateurs/Recall-Information/

Glad to see you are working on Dometic again :rolleyes:

Aidan_M_M · 01-06-2012 12:48pm

Hmmmmmmmmm....... I never stopped! The ungrateful barstewards....lol

CORKDIVA · 09-06-2012 7:59am

gr8 tips - thanks

i know it not a technical question but wondering where i can get those foil type blinds .... :rolleyes:

can't wait to get out next weekend blinds or no blinds

Aidan_M_M · 24-06-2012 11:27am

not sure on which blinds you want , we sell several types.

Had to fix a few door hinges lately , it's the usual craic of not doing any for ages , then doing a few the same week! It seems that the plastic liner in the hinges of the lockers and doors expands or swells , and gets tight on the plastic . if it's a biggish door you may not notice , best thing to do is watch the hinge area for signs of flexing or bending . If you see that , pop off the hinge , strip it , sand it , and grease it . saves a lot of messing later!

Aidan_M_M · 17-07-2012 12:05am

The rear garage/storage layout of MH has gotten hugely popular , possibly/probably more popular than the famous rear lounge type . We shelved the front and rear walls of the "garage" on a few , simply and basic-ly done using light timber like skirting board . You;d be amazed how much more space it frees up , and how much easier it is to find stuff!

Aidan_M_M · 10-08-2012 12:26pm

Time to vent....
I see people blocking floor vents sometimes due to draughts etc. these are designed to be there, you'll see most are under gas burning devices. Reason being gas is heavier than air so if there's a leak the gas will vent down thru the floor, not into the living area . Something for the self builders to consider.
Also the Truma combi boiler needs a ready supply of air as it circulates a huge volume of air when running flat out. And you really shouldn't store ANYTHING in beside it.

Buford T Justice · 13-08-2012 3:55am

Aidan_M_M wrote: »

Time to vent....

I see what you did there......

15-08-2012 5:26pm

Aidan_M_M wrote: »

Time to vent... Something for the self builders to consider.

Self builds usually don't have too many problems in the auld draft department I find.

When using gas heating it is advisable to keep a tray of water under the draw to allow the re-vaporization of the air. As burning gas will dry the air significantly. Similarly keeping a metal container of water in the back of a gas oven will make fresher tasting bread.

Aidan_M_M · 07-09-2012 2:07pm

A few basics about camper/caravan fridges.

Firstly, I'm talking about the typical 3 way fridge, usually made by Dometic (formerly Electrolux) . Regardless whether it's a separate fridge and freezer, or one with a freezer box in the top of the fridge, there's only ONE cooling unit in the back of the fridge. This cools the fridge whether you're on gas, battery or mains. So if your fridge is working on ANY of those, the cooling unit is ok. If however there's warm air coming from the top outer vent and the fridge doesn't get cold on any of them, it's fecked..

Also because there's only one cooling unit, it's not possible for the fridge to work without the freezer, or vice versa. If you think this is happening it usually means the fridge is not working to full strength.

There are 2 separate heating elements for the electrical end, one for battery, one for mains. These fail occasionally. Sometimes this will lead to a tripped trip-switch or continually blowing fuse.

The gas end should NOT be used whilst driving unless you're really badly stuck... The air blows into the flue and can make the flame cut out and re ignite repeatedly , leading to the burner sooting up. Often this leads also to a horrible sickly sweet smell from the fridge.

The fridge should be serviced pretty much every year, it's not hard to do and isn't expensive. The gas end can get choked with rust and stop working properly. I keep a selection of jets for them as sometimes I find they might need a different one from standard to run best.
Also , if you do strip the burner , never try modify the jet, never re use one that didn't fall out easily either.

The red switch that switches on the 12volt fails sometimes too, as All the current to the battery element goes through the switch.

Hope that helps ye understand the humble fridge a little better , we'll leave automatic energy selecting ones for another day....

2 stroke · 10-09-2012 10:14pm

Don't know if it has been covered already, but a friend of mine asked me to help out today with a handbrake that wouldn't release. He had the problem previously but always managed to rock it free.
This time it just wouldn't release. The problem wasn't in the cable, so we removed the wheels and gently warmed the hubs with a blow lamp. After a minute or so the shoes released.

16-09-2012 10:34pm

2 stroke wrote: »

Don't know if it has been covered already, but a friend of mine asked me to help out today with a handbrake that wouldn't release. He had the problem previously but always managed to rock it free.
This time it just wouldn't release. The problem wasn't in the cable, so we removed the wheels and gently warmed the hubs with a blow lamp. After a minute or so the shoes released.

Sounds like the manual adjuster (if you have one) is wound too tight. On mine it can be accessed and adjusted from the back of the hub by removing two quarter turn plastic caps and some leverage with a big flat headed screwdriver.
If you wind it the right way it'll increase the gap between the shoes and the hub and will allow you to remove the hub and inspect the problem.
Best use chalks when standing a vehicle long term to prevent locking it up.
You will need to balance your handbrake again afterwards...ensure that the shoes are the same distance from the hubs on both back wheels.

niloc1951 · 17-09-2012 10:25am

2 stroke wrote: »

Don't know if it has been covered already, but a friend of mine asked me to help out today with a handbrake that wouldn't release. He had the problem previously but always managed to rock it free.
This time it just wouldn't release. The problem wasn't in the cable, so we removed the wheels and gently warmed the hubs with a blow lamp. After a minute or so the shoes released.

When 'parking up' ie when stopped other than for a night or two I never leave the handbrake on I use wheel chocks and leave the vehicle in first or reverse gear depending in the direction of slope, if there is one, if it's level ground I usually leave it in first gear.

zambo · 17-09-2012 4:45pm

Hi
Assuming the van is a diesel it might be better to avoid parking in gear as anything that moves the van might start it.
Yours Zambo

2 stroke · 17-09-2012 11:27pm

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

Sounds like the manual adjuster (if you have one) is wound too tight. On mine it can be accessed and adjusted from the back of the hub by removing two quarter turn plastic caps and some leverage with a big flat headed screwdriver.
If you wind it the right way it'll increase the gap between the shoes and the hub and will allow you to remove the hub and inspect the problem.
Best use chalks when standing a vehicle long term to prevent locking it up.
You will need to balance your handbrake again afterwards...ensure that the shoes are the same distance from the hubs on both back wheels.

No. not the problem in this case. Problem was caused by infrequent use/damp weather/idiot parking up leaving handbrake on. A small amount of rust formed inside the brake hubs, sticking the brake shoes to the hub. We gently warmed the hubs with a blowlamp till they were warm to touch, you could actualy hear the brakes releasing as the hubs expanded. Boiling water would probably have done the trick but we had a blowlamp handy, I don't want to be responsible for burnt campers.
We removed the hubs and you could see the imprint of the brakeshoes on the hubs. We gave them a light sanding and refitted with new shoes.

niloc1951 · 18-09-2012 10:56am

zambo wrote: »

Hi
Assuming the van is a diesel it might be better to avoid parking in gear as anything that moves the van might start it.
Yours Zambo

Not an issue with modern diesels run by ECU's, hopefully a diesel mechanic will come on here and tell us how far back you need to go to find a diesel which would 'bump start' with the ignition off.

Rocheydub · 18-09-2012 8:22pm

niloc1951 wrote: »

Not an issue with modern diesels run by ECU's, hopefully a diesel mechanic will come on here and tell us how far back you need to go to find a diesel which would 'bump start' with the ignition off.

As long as the solenoid is working, you will not start anything by bump starting it... As far back as the mid 70's at least.

2 stroke · 19-09-2012 11:17pm

Rocheydub wrote: »

As long as the solenoid is working, you will not start anything by bump starting it... As far back as the mid 70's at least.

I have come across homebuilts that leave their ignition on for lights, cigarette lighter and radio, very dangerous.

Rocheydub · 19-09-2012 11:25pm

2 stroke wrote: »

I have come across homebuilts that leave their ignition on for lights, cigarette lighter and radio, very dangerous.

Oh, right... I never factored in lunacy or stupidity!!!

2 stroke · 19-09-2012 11:52pm

Always make allowance for lunacy. A guy I know is currently working 100 miles from home, and is he sleeping in his work van in a public car park (with wifi). He was leaving the ignition on to use a laptop charger. He was carrying a second battery and jump leads in case he flatened the van battery overnight, but never thought of wiring a lighter socket to the spare battery until I suggested it.

Rocheydub · 20-09-2012 5:48pm

2 stroke wrote: »

Always make allowance for lunacy. A guy I know is currently working 100 miles from home, and is he sleeping in his work van in a public car park (with wifi). He was leaving the ignition on to use a laptop charger. He was carrying a second battery and jump leads in case he flatened the van battery overnight, but never thought of wiring a lighter socket to the spare battery until I suggested it.

Wow.
Just wow!!!

Aidan_M_M · 02-10-2012 9:10pm

Sorry for being quiet lately folks , been quite busy in work, and far from home training to get Gas certification now. Learning lots of interesting things, will share some cool stuff with ye when I get back to normality. Now, back to my textbooks… and ye thought it was all glamour! Lol

Aidan_M_M · 08-11-2012 1:56pm

First and last time I'll use my "real world" identity!!

Martin_D · 08-11-2012 10:28pm

So good you posted it thrice. Now for resumption of all the tips.

Aidan_M_M · 22-11-2012 1:17am

Folks , LED bulbs are getting more prevalent in MHs , to help prolong battery life , and are ssafer too due to the lack of heat they put out . Now a lot of MHs , especially ones over 10 yrs old use Fluorescent tubes , ye may not be aware that these are the same as the ones which are sold in normal hardware shops in town . I just tip into town for them , AFAIK they are commonly used in shaving lamps and under counter lighting in Kitchens .

Now , only recently I spotted these.... http://www.lightrabbit.ie/tube-lights-led.html

I know I'll be getting myself a few!

28-11-2012 12:13am

I've said it before but I think it's worth mentioning again;
The colour emitted from "white" LEDs and fluorescents is bloody awful and depressing and tends towards cold blues and sick greens.

The warm white's aren't so bad.
Remember the sun is yellow which is why Edison chose tungsten in the first place.

Here's a cheap solution that'll brighten up the place (although strictly speaking it'll reduce the bulb output a fraction depending on the wavelength ie. deep colours will reduce the output significantly where light colours only a little...it's filtering out the wavelengths of light present in the bulb but not in the gel) .

http://www.leefilters.com/lighting/colour-list.html# <- this is not the full colour range. Also colours will vary depending on the light source. (I can recommend some if anyone is interested)

Available to buy online

http://www.thomann.de/gb/search_dir.html?sid=cfc1470d94ccd796482e3641a7eb729c&xsid=cfc1470d94ccd796482e3641a7eb729c&sw=lee+colour&x=0&y=0&gk=&bn=

Or walk in purchase;
Stage Lighting Centre
12 Brunswick Place,
Dublin 2.

http://www.stagelightingcentre.com/?wpsc_product_category=sales-filter <-beware they close for lunch for an hour.

Lee sheets are high temperature, they can be taped directly onto leds or fluorescents with scotch/cellotape. If applying them to incandescents then it's best to leave a minimal gap so they are not directly contacting the hot glass.
The sheets consists of roughly 2.5m x 1m of Gel.

I stick to the yellow/amber/red warm end of the spectrum in living spaces myself helps the place look nice and cosy

.

Aidan_M_M · 19-12-2012 1:14am

The last few days I've pretty much been washing campers non stop, in preparation for our annual Open Days. I found if you put a little dishwasher Rinse Aid into the water, that you don't get lime marks on the MH when it dries.

DaisyCat · 23-12-2012 9:24pm

I have recently bought a Mobilvetta Opera , with a 6000 combi boiler.
The DRAIN BUTTON has an O RING placed around the top of the knob to stop it being dropped.
Removed said O RING and drain worked o.k.
The control panel seemed to want to throw up the RED LIGHT far too often , and then the boiler refused to light , just trying then throwing the Red Light.
Removed the SMALL FAN for the burner , and found that it was partially siezed. Ran some light oil into the bearings ,put it all back together , and now works perfectly.
Fan is down low at the back of boiler , and held in with 5 torx head screws.

Aidan_M_M · 25-12-2012 1:16am

Merry Christmas , and here's to the year ahead folks from us in Pat Horan's , hope to see a good few of ye on the 27th/28th in the garage for one of our annual open days . As per usual , tea/coffee/soup and so forth on the go all day!

Aidan's tip of the week

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