[Simon Trapani]

So after what was said in the frozen up thread, i was under the impression a hotbox such as grippas would circulate & radiate enough heat to keep all the gear in the rear of the van from feezing. Is that not true?

I was considering buying a hotbox of some sort & one of the reasons, amongst many others, was that I wouldn’t have to bother with an oil filled rad on cold nights.

I can’t be doing with draining hoses & bringing pumps in. Never have. Sod that.

So what’s the crack with them from anyone that owns one?

[simon w]

So after what was said in the frozen up thread, i was under the impression a hotbox such as grippas would circulate & radiate enough heat to keep all the gear in the rear of the van from feezing. Is that not true?

I was considering buying a hotbox of some sort & one of the reasons, amongst many others, was that I wouldn’t have to bother with an oil filled rad on cold nights.

I can’t be doing with draining hoses & bringing pumps in. Never have. Sod that.

So what’s the crack with them from anyone that owns one?

This feature is designed to protect the heater from frost damage end of. Some suppliers have modified it to circulate water around the hose reels but this won't keep the inside back of the van above freezing throughout the whole night.

The feature is designed to prevent damage to the heater below 2 degrees not provide continuous heating throughout the back of your van during the coldest nights. Unlike the proven method I use as stated in earlier post. The heater just plays a part in being able to work in sub zero temperatures but doesn't solve all the issues.

[Splash & dash]

So after what was said in the frozen up thread, i was under the impression a hotbox such as grippas would circulate & radiate enough heat to keep all the gear in the rear of the van from feezing. Is that not true?

I was considering buying a hotbox of some sort & one of the reasons, amongst many others, was that I wouldn’t have to bother with an oil filled rad on cold nights.

I can’t be doing with draining hoses & bringing pumps in. Never have. Sod that.

So what’s the crack with them from anyone that owns one?

The Grippatank set up fires up the boiler and circulates the  water through  the reels and back to tank at a slow flow rate once the water temperature is around 1 degree  for a few muinits , then shuts down , it stops tge pumps and hoses from freezing up , I wouldn’t say it would keep the whole of the back of the warm but stops the vital parts freezing up .

[Ian Sheppard]

Morning Simon. Having the hot water system would see the ambient temperature remain above freezing, The frost protection mode kicks in at the preset temp is adjustable between 0 - 5C the default is usually set at 2C, The heater is run for approx 15 minutes. Some of the system also have a 12V electric van which would also help circulate warm air around the van.

[Splash & dash]

I find with our vans that the tank water is quite warm if you have some left over from the days work our vans are either 650 or 1000 ltr then fill the tank and the whole tank is still warm and this radiates heat into the back of the van so the frost stat doesn’t come  on very often mainly weekends when we aren’t working . The frost stat will fire up as many times as it’s needed when the temp of the water is 1 degree it works well , within 5 muinits of firing the boiler up in the morning for  work the whole of the back of the van is warm so no issues with anything freezing

[NWH]

You park the van up and forget about it when the temperature drops below 3 it fires up for 12 minutes and circulates hot water,I knew we were in for a freezing 3-4 days so Friday it got a full charge from my external mains socket on my drive so it’s got enough juice to keep powering up and down all day if need be.

[Frankybadboy]

what else is their to freeze in the back of the van ? a bit of pole hose,guess what run hot water though it and bingo.

we just park up and connect the charger up for the two batteries and leave,no problems even when we had -6 

[NWH]

You haven’t learnt much have you from cold weather and a water fed pole system,you only need a tiny and I mean the smallest section of pipe or hose that’s frozen and it’ll keep you from working for hours.
All systems should be Hot it should be the law the only reason they sell cold systems is for easy
Money,speak to any of em off record Hot is for serious cleaners 💪💪.

[AuRavelling79]

At risk of being told I'm a luddite old fart who doesn't change his old fashioned ways, an immersion heater in your tank (on a timer) will keep the back of your van frost free.

 

[NWH]

You old fart 💨 🤣.

[AuRavelling79]

You old fart 💨 🤣.

Luddite old fart. Get the abuse correct, Nigel. 

[Frankybadboy]

-8 at first house this morning,no radiator in back of van.just connected pole hose and off I went

Van hooked back up to charger to keep batteries topped up for when frost stat kicks in at +2

No problems in four years of having heater
Picture of back of van was a few months ago,nothing changed,today video of cleaning at -8 can’t upload

[NWH]

What an untidy van.

[Frankybadboy]

What an untidy van.

its a working van unlike yours 

[NWH]

That van looks like it’s cold 🥶 Brrrrrr

[Spruce]

My Heatwave's cabinet is made with stainless steel. I'm surprised how little heat it gives off when it's been running a while. The cabinet is warm to the touch, but not hot.

My 650 litre tank runs across the width of my van just in front of my rear axle. This gives me space between the tank and rear doors for my hose reels. It also gives me space between the front bulkhead and my tank where my diesel heater is located. My Frostat on my heater kicks in when the temperature inside my heater drops to 3.1 degrees C. But I doubt in very cold weather the heat radiated from the cabinet would be enough to keep the hose reels at the back from freezing up. So I have an 800 watt electric heater, also with frostat control, to look after the back where the hose reels are.

[Splash & dash]

My Heatwave's cabinet is made with stainless steel. I'm surprised how little heat it gives off when it's been running a while. The cabinet is warm to the touch, but not hot.

My 650 litre tank runs across the width of my van just in front of my rear axle. This gives me space between the tank and rear doors for my hose reels. It also gives me space between the front bulkhead and my tank where my diesel heater is located. My Frostat on my heater kicks in when the temperature inside my heater drops to 3.1 degrees C. But I doubt in very cold weather the heat radiated from the cabinet would be enough to keep the hose reels at the back from freezing up. So I have an 800 watt electric heater, also with frostat control, to look after the back where the hose reels are.

When your frost stat kicks in does it not circulate hot water through the reels and back to the tank ?

[dd]

Franky, out of interest which reel do you prefer between the PF and Waterworks?

[NWH]

It does circulate through the reels but if the probe is not in the right place the reels can get colder quicker.

[Splash & dash]

It does circulate through the reels but if the probe is not in the right place the reels can get colder quicker.

I think spruces set up might be different to  yours and mine as he made it himself