Stationary van – 3 ideas and a question

[Travel Happy]

Zarita and I entered voluntary isolation 10 days ahead of the lockdown. Yesterday the gov’t added another 3 weeks to the initial 4 making a minimum 8+ weeks for us – and our van. So I’m doing 3 things.

 

One – my uprated Phantom Tracker info tells me that my engine battery continuously discharges because  the tracker and the Sigma security system are, of course, operating 24/7; so I’ve rigged up my CTEK MXS 5.0 battery charger so that it can be plugged in using a 230v socket in the van with the van on hook-up. This is an ‘intelligent’ charger with a trickle mode ensuring it does no harm to the battery. In the winter in particular, with the coldness affecting the battery voltage, the measured voltage would fall to 12v and lower after 2 weeks without a run. My fear is that 8 weeks (min) without a run could see the voltage fall to this 12v or less. I don’t normally use the charger across the Spring/Summer but I am now.

 

Two – I’m lucky to have had my van for 16 years. At a minimum it has had a 30 miles run every 2 weeks (until now). This has amongst other things stopped the tyres from developing flat spots. Today I’ve marked the point of contact of the driver’s front tyre with the tarmac and then driven the van forward so that this point is now at the 12 position on a clock. In another month I’ll reverse it back to where it started.

 

Three – my van gets bathed in sunshine where it is parked and I have no alternative space which would be in the shade. In particular the kitchen sink facing S by SW gets very hot. I normally leave the plug in this sink, the shower room basin and shower tray open. We’ve probably all had very sunny weather for over a month. I’ve found that the water trap in these drain holes can dry out. This allows any unpleasant fumes in the waste tank to vent into the inside of the van. To stop this I’ve poured water down each drain. In warm weather (which I hope for us all we’ll continue to have) it’s almost impossible to completely empty this tank and clean all its inside surfaces so I’ll keep pouring water down the drains on a monthly basis. It would be simpler just to press down the plugs to close the drain. I know from experience that this does not fully work in either the shower tray or shower room basin in my van.

 

Now for my question – another benefit of a fortnightly 30 miles run is that the engine, even in the winter, gets to its operating temperature. When it has achieved this I do 2/3/miles at high revs because I read somewhere that that’s what’s required to keep the engine in the best trim possible. Since lockdown confronts me for at least 8 weeks can you, Barry, or anyone tell me what would be best for the engine. I don’t like the smell of a cold engine’s exhaust fumes on start up and for a minute or two of idling. If, however, it would be best that the engine should be run in this way until, say, it has achieved its normal operating temperature – and then a few more mins? – then I will do this. But one of you may know that this would be harmful. I would be pleased to be told.

 

And I would also be pleased to hear if anyone has any tips for me which would be good for my van during this enforced lay-up.

 

With best wishes to you all in these unusual times,

 

Keith.

[Barry & Maggie]

Good to hear from you, Keith.

A few points, but these are only MY opinions and I’m no expert by any means.

“Warming up engines”…  The greatest wear an engine experiences is in the first minutes that it is started,  while it is cold and before the oil heats up and circulates.   In fact, I have heard that the first SECONDS that an engines starts causes more wear than the first five minutes!  As these are iron-block diesels, they take a heck of a long time to warm up.  So… I’m sorry to say that, in my opinion you are doing far more harm regularly starting the engine up to get it warm just to… start it up and get it warm!  My advice would be to leave it alone, but keep the battery serviced.  There is a case for “engine heaters” (electric elements inserted in the cooling system) which aid warming up in very cold climes.   But these are only worthwhile in EXTREMELY cold climates (Canada, parts of USA, Russia… etc.)

The engine battery is automatically charged by the Schaudt charger, if the ‘van is left plugged into the mains.  There is no need for an additional/separate charger.  A ‘trickle charger’ may be better than the Schaudt – I don’t know, but I think any difference would  be marginal anyway.  If your Schaudt charger is allowing your vehicle battery to run down, maybe a fuse has blown?

It’s not recommended to leave the blinds pulled up constantly – it weakens the return springs apparently.  So for long term storage and protecting the interior from excessive heat/cold, thick sheets of polystyrene (of the sort that swathe new televisions, etc.) are recommended, to wedge in the window/roof vent apertures.  Front window blinds (interior or exterior) are recommended too, to maintain an equable interior temperature.

I hope this helps you, Keith, and at the very least, may spark a discussion!  But these are my thoughts only – others may have different views or experiences.

Best wishes,

Barry

[Travel Happy]

Thanks Barry for that very helpful reply to the question I asked and the additional info re the Schaudt charger charging the engine battery when my van is hooked up. I had proof that this was not happening across my first winter and was told by my suppliers’ electrician that being hooked-up only charged the leisure battery. I was hooked-up to power a low wattage fan heater and had noticed that the engine battery seemed more weak than I expected in cold weather and no run out for 2 weeks. (Please remember that I bought my van new and it was the first winter, therefore, for its engine battery.) Unless my van is configured differently from yours I should be able to find a blown fuse. I would be pleased not to have to connect up my CTEK charger – it does a good job (I think) because it keeps the voltage constant at 13v – because it will make it easier to hop in and drive off!

 

Best wishes,

 

Keith.

[Fred & Gill]

Hello Keith pleased to see that yourself and Zarita are both well. Take care as you are even more ‘senior’ than me!

Thanks for the great tip about marking the tyres as its going to be a long lay off.

Think that we will take the van for a little run soon, as you know there are some great hills here on our doorstep in Bath to warm the engine up thoroughly. As usual good tips from Barry, I have also read that it is not a good idea to run the engine whilst stationary as it will not get up to temperature and clear exhaust gases.

I close my sink plugs and open the drain valves ( fresh and waste tanks drained) and boiler drain open.

The engine battery should ‘trickle’ charge whilst on EHU……..I took advantage of the recent full sunshine to charge mine for free from the solar panels on my house roof, those such as Barry with solar on the van roof will not have problems at this time of year.

We reflect on our little  daffodils ‘wild camp’ trip immediately before the lockdown.

We walk most days ( wearing Gills handmade masks, gloves and anti viral soaked cloths for wiping down after touching the ‘ 6 kissing gates’ down through the woods to Tucking Mill and have watched the wild flowers come and go ( primroses and now bluebells) and forage the wild garlic leaves for Gill to make wonderful home made soup. The flowers are out now which looks a lovely site interspersed with the bluebells… luckily there are still young fresh leaves underneath at the moment- guess we will be picking the flowers next to eat with the lettuce from the garden.

Keep safe and well everyone .

Fred & Gill

 

[Barry & Maggie]

Good to hear from you, Fred&Gill, and that tip about keeping an anti-viral soaked cloth is excellent.

Let’s hope we can all get out and about as normal in just a few(?) weeks time.

Stay safe, everybody.

Barry

[Travel Happy]

Yes, it was good to hear from you, Fred and Gill, and thank you for your positive response. Your walk sounds idyllic and the sights and sounds of nature must be very relaxing. I doubt if I am the oldest member but I did reach 80 last autumn – I may be the oldest who bought his van new. In 3 weeks I will have been lucky enough to have owned it for 16 years. Zarita and I remain well, thank you.

 

These are challenging times and I wish that you all remain in good health.

 

Keith.

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