Hymerfest Technical Round-up
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Well what an amazing sight! Over a hundred Classics Hymers all lined up in a field. I spent several hours just walking among the rows and rows of vans like a trainspotter at Clapham Junction!
Here is a round-up of what happened on the technical side.
The main event for us techies was the Saturday tech workshop. Once again Peter Curry enthralled all present with the intricacies and foibles of our gas appliances. In particular he stressed the historical differences between the gas system of Classics and the gas systems of modern vans which I want to repeat here for the benefit of all owners.
Most pre 95 Hymers operate at a different gas pressure to modern vans. The German standard back in the 80's and 90's was 50mbar, modern vans operate at 37 or 30mbar, and critically, many (but by no means all) UK caravan engineers don't know this. Peter comes across many Classics that have been serviced and repaired in the last 20 years in the UK and have had the wrong components inadvertently fitted. The commonest instances of this are the fitting of replacement regulators of the wrong pressure, and the replacement of appliances, also of the wrong pressure.
The critical point for all classic owners is to know and understand that their vans are different, and that whenever you have gas work done you must ensure that whoever is working on your van is aware of this. New owners should have their vans checked carefully to make sure that previous owners have not had work done using the wrong gear. Mistakes are easily rectified by a qualified gas engineer, and you will then know that everything in your van is as it should be. It's a safety item, and it is pretty much the most important technical message that we have to get through to all Classic Owners.
I then gave a talk on 12v systems in general, and answered questions. We discussed new battery technology, and a few owners reported that they had fitted the new Odyssey PC1800 battery, and were very happy with it. It is a class piece of kit, and in my estimation, a single PC1800 is the equivalent of 3 or even 4 normal leisure batteries.
There was also some discussion on solar panels. I put forward the idea that solar is less effective up here in northern Europe than it is down in Spain and Portugal, where the sun is much higher. I have been taking measurements all of this year, and have found that my panels give two thirds less power in September than they do in June. To put some figures on that, in June at midday I was getting 19 amps, in September, just 6. The conclusion I draw from this is that it is very difficult to rely on solar all year round in the UK, and perhaps a better approach is to spend the money on storage - i.e. batteries. An hour of driving or a few hours on hookup or a small generator can generate more power than a large solar array does all day - as long as you have somewhere to store it. That is not to say that solar doesn't have its place - it does, especially for normal holiday use in the summer months, where it will keep a normal leisure battery nicely topped up, but for heavy users or full timers, care needs to be taken in overall system design.
Several people asked me to take a look at their battery installations and I was happy to see that pretty much everything I saw was up to scratch and well installed.
I was also asked whether it was possible to power aircon units, which normally should only work on hookup, while on the move. The answer to this is technically yes, but it's not just a matter of fitting a large inverter - so care has to be taken and the technicalities have to be well understood.
Inverters in general seem to be a favourite upgrade mainly due to the huge popularity of hand held devices with plug in chargers. Devices that recharge through a USB port can easily be accommodated in a van, and can be powered either from a small inverter, or directly from 12v - there isn't a big difference in efficiency - it's more about convenience. Laptops need quite a bit more power, but are also easily handled if installed properly. If in doubt just ask away on the main feed and we will help.
Geoff Valenti, our Fiat guru, also had a busy weekend, blowing his own trumpet .... groan! Common questions were - does my Fiat have a turbo or not? It's not a daft question because there were many derivatives, turbos are usually hidden deep in the van, and original documentation can be missing.
How do I check the level of the gearbox oil, and which oil? Very important on Fiats.
Cam belt issues are also very important on the Fiats and their derivatives. Geoff always stresses how important it is to know when your cam belt was last changed, and when it is due again. One van, who shall remain nameless, hadn't had a cam belt change for eleven years. Lucky guy!
Other highlights for me were looking at an S660 which had had a turbocharged engine fitted from the Ssangyong Musso, which was a 4x4 from the 1990's that had a near identical Mercedes engine.
And I saw an S700 with 16 inch alloy wheels and fat tyres, and I have to say it looked the absolute DB's! People often comment about the small wheels in big arches of some Hymers, and this van proved that it was possible to do something about it, it's just a matter of cash!
Repainted front grilles were examined and compared, brighter headlight bulbs were offered and sold at very reasonable money, and revamped interiors were shown off with pride.
It was a pleasure to be there - I have no hesitation in adding my thanks to the Admin team for all the heavy lifting, and thanks to all for the odd mention I have had too.
Keep on Hymering!
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