Nuevo 2008 blow air heater outlets

Just looking at the Carver blown heating setup on my Nuevo EK and was considering adding another outlet further down from the original one. I feel this would improve the distribution of the hot air as it has only one outlet in the main living space. Has any one done a change to the system or any thoughts on this idea.

Just to correct you - it's not a Carver system, they were bought out in 1999 by Truma which is the make you have.

Yes,  sorry well spotted.

Never done it, but I can't see much of a problem. The bits and pieces you would need are readily available on fleaBay.

You might find these would help instead of performing surgery on the van  . . . except that I can't find them at the moment . Will post a link when I do.

As you say all the parts are on ebay at a reasonable price too.

Still can't find it, but there is a Truma equivalent to this 45 degree louvred outlet - for about a fiver!!!  CLICK HERE

(How Webasto can charge such a ludicrous price defies all logic. )


We have the (sensibly priced) Truma louvres and they do direct the heat quite well - they rotate so you can aim the air flow. They just take the place of existing fittings with the flap, which hardly directs the air at all!

Do you mean this? https://www.leisureshopdirect.com/gas/caravan-gas-fires/truma-fires/spare-parts-for-truma-blown-air-heating/lamala-insert

That's the one Peter - thanks.

Ours are a fawny brown colour which more or less matches the originals.

They work very well, but of course the flap has gone so you can't control the air flow. Doesn't bother us - we left the flap model in the bathroom and keep it nearly closed so most of the air stays in the hab area.

I too have a 2008 vintage Nuevo and like you I am unimpressed by whoever thought it a good idea to place the only blown air outlet 9inches away from the actual fire.

I have looked into fitting a second outlet at the cab end of the bench it seems straight forward enough but I suspect that for me it will remain one of those jobs that never gets done!

I did it on my Stanton.

Bought the parts from my local caravan dealer. The duct is a bit expensive, about £10/mtr. I bought the grey Tee you can see at the back of the bed locker, a rear bulkhead connector and the adjustable vent for the outside behind the driver's seat and, importantly, the clips to keep the whole thing tidy and secure.

Neat job Dennis.

It would have cost a lot at A/S because of the time involved, but not exactly difficult for a handy owner to do. 

I've since moved the massive box out that houses the Sargent unit and battery charger. The Sargent unit is now in the bottom of the wardrobe front panel, below the Truma heater. Loads more space now.

Dennis that is a neat job, will have a go at mine when I get the parts and post some images.

Does the front facing outlet function equally as well as before since you modified it Dennis?

Well done Dennis. Send it to AS as a design suggestion for more space under the seat. As a good selling point it is a no brainer, and probably not too much work or cost for them at the build stage in the factory!

Pete

CC wrote:Does the front facing outlet function equally as well as before since you modified it Dennis?

Absolutely, you balance them with the adjustable louvres in each outlet.

Maasai Warrior wrote:Well done Dennis. Send it to AS as a design suggestion for more space under the seat. As a good selling point it is a no brainer, and probably not too much work or cost for them at the build stage in the factory!

Pete

Pete, do you mean the hot air ducting or moving the the Sargent unit?

Both, should be simple for them in the factory!

Pete

Dare-devil-dennis wrote:I've since moved the massive box out that houses the Sargent unit and battery charger. The Sargent unit is now in the bottom of the wardrobe front panel, below the Truma heater. Loads more space now.

  Do you find the battery charger noisy,  now that you have it in the bottom of the wardrobe, as  mine is AS says it is the fan, wouldn`t be heard under a seat. just wondering.

Hmm lots to say here.

Last question first. There doesn't appear to be a fan in my charger (2017 vintage) but I will stand corrected if necessary. I did notice there are ventilation holes in each end and if mounted vertically it should cool very well by convection. Guess how AS mounted it? Yes, horizontally! For this reason, I mounted the Charger vertically on the inside of the bed locker front wall. The cables easily reached the new Sargent EC500 location without modification. Not heard a fan running. I did not want the Charger in the bottom of the wardrobe / heater space. Potentially asking for trouble as that space higher up can get quite warm.

As for relocating the Sargent unit, I could do it better by making the Sargent unit removable from the front, like a car radio head unit. As it stands, there is a lot of faffing around to remove the cabinetry front panel to get to the back of the Sargent unit. However, as the motorhome is only just over 3 months old I did not want to do more as there could be arguments about warranty. 

I made sure the Sargent EC500 unit was mounted as low as possible and I put two 70mm dia holes in the floor directly below the Sargent unit, protected by a mesh screen. The heater is mounted on a shelf above the wheel arch so is higher than the EC500. with the floor vents, It will run cooler than it did in the bed box that had the hot air ducts running along the floor behind it.

It was a bit of a tight squeeze and in a production re-design, some small adjustments of the existing duct positions would make it perfect.
I will submit my mods to ASOC technical section for appraisal.

When I next go out to the Motorhome, I will take some photos if anyone is interested.

As I have said in another post, the AS spares dept were brilliant in supplying me with some self adhesive edging strip for the raw edge of the hole I cut out in the new location panel and the dots that hide screw heads.

Dare-devil-dennis wrote:When I next go out to the Motorhome, I will take some photos if anyone is interested.

Hi Dennis

Yes please mate would love to see them - think such a lot of space is wasted in that seat area and I may be able to get another battery in there!!!

Many thanks

Brent IoW

Control boxes, heaters, batteries, water pumps, hoses....seemingly placed at random inside the 'best' storage areas can drive users nuts.
Bless those lovely 'designers'....
Then when you've cleared some decent space you realise that the external locker door (if there is one) is so tiny you can get anything through it....
Don't you just love 'em.....  
Well done Dennis for making some mods to enhance your van...
The heater one is so simple for AS to have done and the changes to locating some of the other stuff will improve things further.
Surely AS should thinking....why didn't we think of that?....

As promised (might take a few goes to get the pics up)...





Final location of Sargent unit. I had to put the waste tank heater switch where the 13A socket outlet was and move the 13A socket to the new position next to the EC500

 

Here you can see the big waste of space in the locker with the "as built" Sargent box



Am I in trouble now?




Relocation (and re-orientation) of charger

This view also shows the repositioning of the heater duct which originally passed through the hole in the sidewall of the wardrobe, along witht he cables. I have yet to clip up the charger cables with their "P" clips.

With the charger in this orientaion and positioning, you can see the Charge indicator LED (red at the moment showing it is charging)



I used the back panel of the original Sargent box to blank off the old hole that was covered by the access door (now moved to wardrobe panel front). This is just screwed to the floor with the original fixings and seems like it doesn't need screwing to the bed locker front. I may try fitting it inside the locker to see if it looks better there.



Finished view (after tidying up!).

No dramas, No loud bangs or smoke when powering up for the first time. Been working on EHU at home now for two weeks. So far so good (KISS OF DEATH)

I would like to add a caveat for others who might want to carry out similar modifications to their motorhomes/PVCs/camper-vans that are still under warranty...

As I may have mentioned, my Stanton is less than 4 months old and I may have blown any warranty cover related to this part of my motorhome. I considered this carefully and came to the view that, for me, The benefits outweighed the risks. I also saved all the redundant parts so, if necessary, I could revert to 'as built".

Cutting the hole out in the bottom of the wardrobe panel was the riskiest for me. It was a "one shot, measure twice, cut once deal". no room for overconfidence or it would have cost me a new panel. I used a router with a special template cutter and used the original front of the box under the bed as a template. It worked, but it could have gone horribly wrong.

Also, I took LOTS of pictures before I began disconnecting cables. i also had detailed diagrams with colour coding etc from Sargent. No cables were harmed (modified) in this modification. the excess cable loom was just coiled up in front of the wheel arch.

If you feel you want to do this or something similar, I suggest contacting your dealer and getting written approval if your van is under warranty. If you get half way through and cannot complete it, you may not get your dealer to help.

You may be able to get a Converter or auto-electrician to do this work if you don't feel confident and still would like it done.

I will submit this change to ASOC who, if they approve it, I understand will pass it forward to Auto-sleeper.