Increasing airflow at night

We're close to buying a Warwick XL.

The only obstacle (apart from the dozen or so minor faults we spotted on the one on display) was a concern about airflow at night.  In our caravan we usually sleep with the rooflight partly open, and windows near the beds open a couple of inches.

How do people get to sleep in an AS PVC on a warm summer night?

My wife's at the age where she has her own central heating system!

I have the Heiki roof vent open slightly and before going to bed run the heating system on cool!  Being solo [+dog] I do not like to have the sliding side window open at night in my Duetto.   Sue

The XL has three rooflights, why not have them open as you did with your caravan?

We use the roof lights including bathroom ( with door ajar) and so far have not had any issues with ventilation.

On the 2 smaller vents there are night vent positions ,the catch clips in the notch allowing about 1cm of opening , we also use thermal screens which allows us to have the cab windows open by an inch or 2

We too, but one thing needs a mention, has happened several times now, you'd think I'd learn
If you have the concertina blind pulled over the rear (largest) one, and then leave via the side door, the resultant inwards pressure when you close it causes the blind to partly come off its rails. If even half open this can happen, you then have an enjoyable 10mins of so getting it back on again!!
Wouldn't open the side windows at all at night btw

IanH wrote:We too, but one thing needs a mention, has happened several times now, you'd think I'd learn
If you have the concertina blind pulled over the rear (largest) one, and then leave via the side door, the resultant inwards pressure when you close it causes the blind to partly come off its rails. If even half open this can happen, you then have an enjoyable 10mins of so getting it back on again!!
Wouldn't open the side windows at all at night btw

Yes done that also, I never learn, always forget the blind is closed when getting up half asleep to let the dog out.
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Richard

As Kdc said we leave the bathroom vent open at night. Being a wet room it dosnt matter too much if it rains in. Second to that is vent over the kitchen.  If it’s ready hot we have the large vent in the living area but if gets windy it causes the blind to rattle.

We rely on roof vents on our Kingham backed up by a fan. If hooked up the dyson version is silent, uses next to no power and has a remote so you don’t even have to get out of bed. You could also leave the heating just blowing cool. These days would be cautious about leaving any side window open. For best air circulation leave blinds open on vents, depending on how sensitive you are to early morning light

We have fitted a Truma in-line heater fan to draw fresh air from under the van and pump it out through a vent into the van. Cost about £35 in total and all fits under the 3rd seat in our Kemerton.

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OldWomble wrote:We have fitted a Truma in-line heater fan to draw fresh air from under the van and pump it out through a vent into the van. Cost about £35 in total and all fits under the 3rd seat in our Kemerton.

What a brilliant idea!

That's very impressive. Old Womble.

I am typing this still in bed in the Nuevo, having read the newspaper on Kindle and made the coffee. Glorious sunshine here in St David's. But overnight I was thinking about the ventilation issue because every method I've tried has disadvantages.

Leaving open a skylight is secure and gives plenty of fresh air. But it's not great when wind and rain prevail. And it also leads to very early awakening because the van gets light from dawn.

Leaving a side window ajar by means of the 2-position catches is secure. Ventilation is not great. And - as I discovered last night - a sea breeze makes the paper concertina blind rattle like mad.

So Old Womble's means of introducing fresh air seems good; any noise from the fan won't matter in our case because of a competing CPAP machine hissing quietly!

Cymro

The blower we used was second hand and, wired correctly, gives 2 fan speeds. On high speed you can Clearly hear it and it blows your wig off but on low speed it’s very quiet but still brings loads of fresh air in. Means you can keep all vents and windows closed and blinds closed and still sleep in nice fresh air.

Interesting mod @OldWomble!

Were the holes in the floor already there and you've fitted the fan over the top? Or is this a new hole you made in the floor?

On ours there are 2 holes under the 3rd seat box. I have used the rear one and left the front one open. I think they are probably gas sink holes for a different van model because we have no gas fittings anywhere near them!

But I assume gas being heavier than air can travel the van and needs to escape at some point.  
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Richard

rgermain wrote:But I assume gas being heavier than air can travel the van and needs to escape at some point.  
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Richard

Don’t worry Richard, there are plenty of vent holes in the floor of the Kemerton. So far I have found 3 more than our last van had & that was an 8m A-Class!

We replaced the Remis 400x400 roof vent with a Maxxfan rooflight.  It has proved to be excellent, air can be blown into or out of the van, whether it’s raining or not, and it operates on 12V.  Full details here:

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Tim

Sounds like the Maxxfan should be part of the standard spec!

I love the creativity of this forum - a couple of cracking ideas.