Carver water heater leak Symbol 2003

Hi. Re carver water heater 2003 Symbol

Just had a massive leak from my Carver water heater which proceeded to empty the entire contents of my water tank.

Not obviously leaking from either the drain or relief valves but seems to be from behind the burner assembly.

Had been working wonderfully for some months!

I’m hoping it might just be a water connection?

I can see the screws to undo the assembly from the body and so pull forward.

But some questions:

1.    Should there be any way to see the water heater from the inside - I can’t see any inspection panels as there are for the room heater.

2.    Before I pull it forward should I remove the burner assembly and unplug (I’ve done this before to service this part and my memory was that the cables were very short!)

3.    What about the gas connection?  I’d assumed that would be rigid which is why I was wondering about inside access?  How can I extract the boiler - I’ve read somewhere that there’s ‘slack’ in the pipe?

4.    I’ve looked on UTube and can’t see any videos of anyone removing and replacing one whichever seems amazing since they are/were so common.  Anyone know of any links -  it’s just that I work best from visual guides.

Thanks in anticipation of some help.

Rob

Are you sure it's a Carver? Carver were bought by Truma in 2000 and production ceased being replaced by Truma water heaters.
If it really is a Carver there is an instruction sheet in the Fact Sheets section...

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Hi A big thanks for this - I was sure there must be something somewhere and yes the link shows exactly what I have.  I’ve also looked around for spares and if it’s the same issue as on this link then I’ll try replacing the inlet and outlet connectors as well as the water pipes themselves to hopefully not have to keep repeating this! I’ve seen the connectors advertised so hopefully actually in stock.

And of course hopefully nothing more serious...

Thanks again - Rob

For Carver spares and information/help you won't go far wrong contacting

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I had a bad leak from myCarver a few years ago.  I had to get professional help and it turned out to be a rubber ring seal within the unit.

Hi

Thanks as always to all.

Got it out (the guide you shared was great) and found the leak was coming from the front where a threaded ‘bit’ had snapped off.  See photo.

Also noticed my flame sensor insulation was cracked.

So sent an email to Arc (with photos) to see what they thought.

I see that Propex do a replacement Malaga 5 that will fit - has a bigger capacity at 13ltr but is actually smaller and they have an adaptor plate to reduce the size of the van opening. All connections are similar in placement and so fixing should be simple. At £450 no cheap but at least an option.

Does anyone have [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]experience of these?  Propex seem as good make.

Rob

I recently replaced the 20yr old Carver Cascade water heater in my Clubman. I had taken the Carver out to sort what I thought was a fairly simple problem but the burner and control box were in a terrible state and completely unrepairable. I replaced it with a Malaga 5E heater for around the cost you mention, found it cheapest at Leisureshopdirect. Plumbing and wiring were straightforward enough (with a little imagination!) but the new unit is offset to one side to such an extent that I had to make major modifications to the locker in which it lives. The external adaptor plate is poor quality for the price, and is cracking after only 6 months on the van.
The water heater itself is ok- it does what it is supposed to do, but seems to blow out in anything but the gentlest breeze. In fairness, it always reignites itself within about 15secs, but it can be disconcerting and I seem to spend far too long watching the LED indicator.
On balance, I preferred the Carver!

Rich

For an exact Carver copy, look up the Henry heater.

Hi Did enquire but was told that that too was discontinued?  Rob

Rich - Thanks for the feedback but now am very uncertain as to what to do?

Could buy an ancient Carver but what life, look for someone who still has a Henry in stock or the Malaga which you don’t seem keen on.

There are others of course but really do need to to fit in the hole!

Rob

You could always get it refurbished at Arc.

Hi Rob,
Whatever you decide to do, you're going to have to take the Carver out of the van. The guy at Arc is very thorough and talks as though he knows his stuff so he should be able to tell you if it can be refurbished. If it can, great, go for it. If not, looks like you're stuck with the Malaga. As I said, it heats the water but my gut feeling is that it might not be as reliable as the heater it replaced. I could be wrong...I usually am  :o)
As I remember it, the Carver had around an inch of clearance all the way along the RH side (when viewing from inside the van, looking down at it), but the Malaga needs probably an extra 2inches there, hence my need for butchery to the gas locker. I've no idea how the Carver fits in your Symbol, but if you have at least 2 clear inches down that RH side you should be ok. 
There isn't really scope to move the heater further to the left because its position is dictated by the adaptor plate.

Good Luck,

Rich

Thanks - MOT to get through at the start of next week so will see where that leaves me re funds.  At present have removed and sealed with plastic and refitted the old cover.  Will update with my decision... Rob

Hi Rob

In the last month I purchased a Autosleeper Symbol 2002 and have noticed exactly the same problem water leaking from what I would describe as behind burner of carver.

I spent most of yesterday trying to find out how to access from inside the vehicle it just didn't make any sense to me that I couldn't work out how, spent several hours on computer but still no joy, But did come across ASOF which I joined today and bingo came across your post.

Can you tell me did you manage to repair leak? what was it ? And most important did you do it all from the outside of the vehicle?
And have you any tips?

Many Thanks

Brimmy

Brimmy - you can do almost nothing to a Carver from inside the vehicle, on a typical installation. I've tried doing just a simple job that way and it's not easy at all.

If you want to work on the burner part - or pretty much any part other than the controller circuit board - it needs to be done from outside. To work in comfort it's best (IMO) to just remove the whole thing and put it on the bench. Most of the removal can be done from outside, and it can be done by one person (though 2 makes it easier). They are designed to be unscrewed from the side of the van and then slid out a short way so that you can access the water and gas connections. It's far, far easier than trying to do it from inside!

One thing to check for: On the last A/S conversion that I had with one, A/S did not allow much slack at all on the wiring inside, so worth checking how much slack you have before trying to slide it out, so you don't break any wires!

Hi Roopert

Many thanks for the advice, it's a job I want to do myself but just don't want to get stuck halfway , from what you say the Carver can be removed in its  entirety from the outside with care so I think I'll give it a go, is there any particular make ,type of silicon you would recommend for reinstatement of fascia ?

Thanks brimmy

I don't think the make/type of silicone sealant is too critical. It's one of those applications where you don't want the seal to be too strong or you'll never get it out again if it needs work in future (so don't use Sikaflex PU sealant!). I think I used the most basic white silicone that I could get from Wickes.

You can do a fair bit to one with it just hanging out of the side of the van - IIRC I did a change of the inlet and outlet spigots that way without a problem. Taking it out completely is easy enough if you're happy to undo and then reconnect the gas supply pipe (which obviously means checking for leaks after you re-install).