Broadway EB under cooker storage locker

Curious to know if any of you Broadway EB owners use the bottom storage locker directly beneath their cooker for anything? I was a bit dismayed when the supplying dealer said not to use this area for anything as within this locker at the back is a naked flame from the cooker & that’s it’s only intended for access for servicing etc, if this correct then why on earth did Auto Sleepers make it look like a storage locker, it should have had an access panel that needs to be physically removed in order to gain access surely… The dealer has placed a warning sticker on ours which is a good job otherwise I’d have used it for storage of pans or our gas kettle, even with a naked flame at the rear (I presume this is just a pilot flame) is this space really unusable for say non combustible items?

CC

Surprised at that - although to be fair, your locker is different from the lowest space of our equivalent cooker. Our cooker is the Thetford Caprice Mk3.  Our space has a drop-down opaque glass door (see photo below, one with door shut, one with it open). As you can see, we carry pots and pans there, wrapped in bubble wrap. We have never removed them whilst using the oven above that storage. Incidentally, in that storage locker is the on / off switch which controls the 230v supply to the electric hotplate of the hob.





Cymro

That seems to be a similar setup Cymro, ours also has the switch for 230v in that locker so wonder if the dealer is just being over cautious as they also advised not to put anything under the bench seat on the drivers offside where the leisure battery & Truma combi heater unit is located, granted there’s not a huge amount of space under there but I’d have thought putting a pair of trainers in there or similar away from the boiler wouldn’t be a problem, but they warned against that also 

CC wrote:Curious to know if any of you Broadway EB owners use the bottom storage locker directly beneath their cooker for anything? I was a bit dismayed when the supplying dealer said not to use this area for anything as within this locker at the back is a naked flame from the cooker & that’s it’s only intended for access for servicing etc, if this correct then why on earth did Auto Sleepers make it look like a storage locker, it should have had an access panel that needs to be physically removed in order to gain access surely… The dealer has placed a warning sticker on ours which is a good job otherwise I’d have used it for storage of pans or our gas kettle, even with a naked flame at the rear (I presume this is just a pilot flame) is this space really unusable for say non combustible items?

CC

My cooker looks the same as your with the wooden drop down flap.  Like Cymro we use it to store pots & pans.  We have learnt not to overfill it as it is then difficult to get things out.  The dealer made no mention of a flame or advised us not to use it.  Like yours it has the mains plug/socket for the oven.  My only concern is that at the back of our locker is something called the VLM5 unit with lots of wires going in and out of it so we make an effort not to push things too far back into the locker.

VLM5 is the Tow bar harness connection to vehicle wiring.

Try this theory. It might be the case that the oven burner is drawing its combustion air through that space underneath. As originally built by the cooker manufacturer their drop down door may have been a “loose” fit allowing air through. Whether that is the case with AS modified locker fronts I don’t know. If the flow of combustion air is inhibited then the oven burner may produce carbon monoxide.

I would consult the manufacturer’s instructions for the unit. It may be that a few pots and pans are fine, but not anything that blocks the air flow, unless alternative air flow provision has been made.

Neither the installation manual or user manual has anything particular to say about what happens under the cooker other than there must be a gas dispersal hole beneath the appliance that is away from the oven burner, which there is.

Caraman wrote:Neither the installation manual or user manual has anything particular to say about what happens under the cooker other than there must be a gas dispersal hole beneath the appliance that is away from the oven burner, which there is.

Yes, the installation instructions do seem vague, but there are some strict points about ventilation.

This cooker is produced in versions that come with or without the “pan storage,” so the OP would seem to have the “with” version which would seem to be approved for pans. The subsequent photos of an installation with a wooden drop down door would seem to be the “without pan storage” version. Presumably this too requires a gas drop hole, through the locker underneath, but I can’t find any relevant instructions.

Either way as said I suspect the area is OK for pans but care needs to be taken not to block the vent or any other intended air inlet apertures. I struggle to see a fire risk, just a risk of blocking the gas drop hole and/or obstructing oxygen flow to the oven burner.

Correction: Sorry, the OP (CC) would seem to have the “without pan storage” version but has a separate locker below, and Cymro has the “pan storage” (as it is called by Thetford).

Thanks, The Bargee. Didn’t know about the 2 versions. 

Wonderful Forum: I learn from it daily!

Cymro

Cymro wrote:Thanks, The Bargee. Didn’t know about the 2 versions. 

Wonderful Forum: I learn from it daily!

Cymro

And I had never given any thought to what is on the underside of the cooker and the proximity of burners.

If CC oven is the model without pan storage then it must be sat on something solid, the top of the cupboard I presume.

Looking at models available now the pan draw is just the drop down door that fits below the oven, nothing else.

This is when I wish the van wasn’t in storage as I can’t just slip outside and look. Ours is like Cymro’s and keep pans in it separated by none slip matting. As far as I can remember there no sides or back except the adjacent cupboard side and back of the van, there is a gas drop hole but never noticed what the oven is sat on.


Mike

Thanks for all the replies… Revisiting this query, it would be nice if any Broadway EB specific owners of which there seems to be a few of you, could actually confirm if they use this locker or not? I was hoping to get in touch with Auto Sleepers for clarification but don’t have a glovebox number for some reason & I know they usually request this having dealt with them in the past. 

I’ve just had another look under there & can’t see any reason why our gas kettle or a couple of pans can’t be stored in there, we never ever use the oven or at least haven’t in any motorhome we’ve had to date so don’t understand why the dealer made such a big deal & insisted we don’t use this locker. If it was a heat issue then surely a plastic 230v socket wouldn’t be located in there

The glovebox number is repeated at the bottom of the Auto-sleeper type approval sticker on the passenger door pillar post just above the Peugeot tyre pressure label.  I think your question to Auto-sleeper is sufficiently generic not to require this number.  The underside of my cooker is just like yours and like you I have the wooden drop down flap.  The only difference is you have a wheel arch in your locker which I don't have in mine.

Caraman wrote:  The underside of my cooker is just like yours and like you I have the wooden drop down flap.  The only difference is you have a wheel arch in your locker which I don't have in mine.

Do you use your locker for anything Caraman?

CC wrote:

Do you use your locker for anything Caraman?

Yes - as said earlier we keep our pots and pans in it but its not overloaded or else it difficult to get things out.

Caraman wrote:
Yes - as said earlier we keep our pots and pans in it but it’s not overloaded or else it difficult to get things out.

Yes agree it’s not a massive space but handy for our ridge monkey frying pans etc, kettle fits in there just but tight to get out so may just leave than on oven shelf. Thanks