Water boiler cold spell valve opens and drains all the water?

[Davidspringett]

On the Grand California 600 2021 model the valve opens in cold weather (3 degrees and less) and drains the water. That I can understand as it stops any freezing in the pipes. What I cannot fathom is how to stop ALL the water from draining from the fresh water tank. Surely there should be anther way of stopping this, otherwise when you are camping and need water in the morning for washing etc there isn't any? Also the heating won't work or am I mistaken?

 

[GrannyJen]

On the Grand California 600 2021 model the valve opens in cold weather (3 degrees and less) and drains the water. That I can understand as it stops any freezing in the pipes. What I cannot fathom is how to stop ALL the water from draining from the fresh water tank. Surely there should be anther way of stopping this, otherwise when you are camping and need water in the morning for washing etc there isn't any? Also the heating won't work or am I mistaken?

If you are camping in the van then it is unlikely to happen, unless you are one of those spartan types that like sleeping in near zero conditions.

I do not have a GC but I do have the same Truma system and I have yet to lose water despite some very cold nights. Either keep the van warm when in use or drain it all down when not in use.

 

[dominichayhoe]

Heating still works, just hot water doesn’t.

This is a truma issue not just a GC issue.

Some people put a peg on their truma frost valve to stop it dumping.

 

[Davidspringett]

Thanks Granny Jen - you are right we would have the heating going to keep the van warm. still doesn't explain why we have to dump all the water when at home?

 

[GrannyJen]

Thanks Granny Jen - you are right we would have the heating going to keep the van warm. still doesn't explain why we have to dump all the water when at home?

I never have David.

I normally leave my van on tickover heat when home. Around 10C. Keeps everything dry and everything from freezing. Having said that there are not many weeks when I would not be away for at least one night.

 

[andyinluton]

Thanks Granny Jen - you are right we would have the heating going to keep the van warm. still doesn't explain why we have to dump all the water when at home?

The water freezing does the same damage whether you are home or away!

We have only just changed to a GC but have previously had large motorhomes with the same anti-freeze dump valve. I keep my van on the drive & if the water is in it, leave it plugged in & the electric heating turned on but set to just 4 degrees. Its enough to stop the water dumping & anything freezing. Come Autumn the whole system will be drained down.

 

[WelshGas]

Thanks Granny Jen - you are right we would have the heating going to keep the van warm. still doesn't explain why we have to dump all the water when at home?

You don't have to. Just be prepared to payout to repair or replace the system when it gets damaged in freezing conditions. Truma are only trying to protect your investment.

 

[Jester]

The water freezing does the same damage whether you are home or away!

We have only just changed to a GC but have previously had large motorhomes with the same anti-freeze dump valve. I keep my van on the drive & if the water is in it, leave it plugged in & the electric heating turned on but set to just 4 degrees. Its enough to stop the water dumping & anything freezing. Come Autumn the whole system will be drained down.

I leave the hot water on at 40% if I need to that enough to keep it going if you need to.

 

[Vagophile]

Some people put a peg on their truma frost valve to stop it dumping.

When I owned a motorhome, I was one of those people and I never had any problems.
When living in the motorhome, it would be unusual for the temperature to drop to a level that could cause the water to freeze, when not in use, drain down.

 

[andyinluton]

It is important to drain down if the van isn't being used, the dump valve will protect the truma heater but it won't protect the taps, shower head or any other pipework that still has water in it.

The peg is really a bodge for when you want to keep the water in & you've made a judgement call that its not going to get cold enough to do any damage.

 

[MoulinexCHZijie]

On the Grand California 600 2021 model the valve opens in cold weather (3 degrees and less) and drains the water. That I can understand as it stops any freezing in the pipes. What I cannot fathom is how to stop ALL the water from draining from the fresh water tank. Surely there should be anther way of stopping this, otherwise when you are camping and need water in the morning for washing etc there isn't any? Also the heating won't work or am I mistaken?

This happened to me. I bought a GC 600 last September and am a total noob. As you know, we had a very mild weather and now we face a coldwave

And of course I had forgotten to empty the tanks, yes I know.

Last weekend I wanted to take the car to the mountain (I live close to Geneva) but no water. We started to worry (frost = bursting pipes + leaks) and I opened the the tank under the bed

All empty but I remember the tank was at least 70% full

I was both relieved (no possibility of damage) and worried (how did the water leave)

From what I read here this is all normal. May I know what is automatically opened ? From the manual there a 3 controls to empty the system

- the small black wheel at the top of the clean water tank
- The switch under the back passenger seat
- the two controls on the water pipes under the electrical fuses

I'm just wondering which one "leaked".

My guess is that I should not worry and everything should work back to normal when I pump back the water. That being said how do you manage it when you actually want to use it in very cold weather ? I'm guessing you have to never let go the internal heating but the outside network with the gray water can still freeze

 

[Eber123]

Hello @MoulinexCHZijie,

Yes, you have to have a watchful eye on the heating and water system of the Grand California.

All camper vans with a water system have the Truma Frost Control installed. At about 3 degree Truma Frost Control valve opens which drains all the water. That is normal. To avoid this is obviously keep the heating running to avoid temperature in the van under 3 degree.

The spanner in the works comes from Volkswagen. An unknown amount of Grand Californias suffer from unperiodial switching off the heating. That happens with gas or diesel Truma heaters (connected to the EHU or not). If the connection between the Truma Control Unit and the VW Camper Unit is disconnected the problem is gone.

In your case it seems that the Truma Frost Control opened the valve. As mentioned above this is normal. Just close the valve again (there are many explanations here and online of how to do this) and fill up water again.

The Volkswagen heater issue is annoying during the cold months of the year, but there is no solution for it.

Best of luck.
Eberhard

 

[MoulinexCHZijie]

Hello @MoulinexCHZijie,

Yes, you have to have a watchful eye on the heating and water system of the Grand California.

All camper vans with a water system have the Truma Frost Control installed. At about 3 degree Truma Frost Control valve opens which drains all the water. That is normal. To avoid this is obviously keep the heating running to avoid temperature in the van under 3 degree.

The spanner in the works comes from Volkswagen. An unknown amount of Grand Californias suffer from unperiodial switching off the heating. That happens with gas or diesel Truma heaters (connected to the EHU or not). If the connection between the Truma Control Unit and the VW Camper Unit is disconnected the problem is gone.

In your case it seems that the Truma Frost Control opened the valve. As mentioned above this is normal. Just close the valve again (there are many explanations here and online of how to do this) and fill up water again.

The Volkswagen heater issue is annoying during the cold months of the year, but there is no solution for it.

Best of luck.
Eberhard

Yes. In a way I feel lucky because it's better this way rather than melting ice bursting the pipes

 

[Eber123]

Well,

Living in Ireland this setup is a wee bit annoying. I don't believe that we will ever get so low temperatures that the the freshwater or greywater (and pipes of course) will freeze in Ireland.

It would be brilliant if it is possible to adjust the Truma Frost Control Unit to suite the needs. But that would mean another electronic device in the camper - which can fail (have I said that, if it is from Truma the chance is that it will work reliably for a long time, in comparison to electronic engineered by Volkswagen - say no more).

Regards,
Eberhard

 

[mpill990]

Well,

Living in Ireland this setup is a wee bit annoying. I don't believe that we will ever get so low temperatures that the the freshwater or greywater (and pipes of course) will freeze in Ireland.

It would be brilliant if it is possible to adjust the Truma Frost Control Unit to suite the needs. But that would mean another electronic device in the camper - which can fail (have I said that, if it is from Truma the chance is that it will work reliably for a long time, in comparison to electronic engineered by Volkswagen - say no more).

Regards,
Eberhard

Eber you are beginning to sound like the former President Trump - I'm sure that the temperature does drop below 0C in Ireland. Therefore the low temperature drain valve is a sensible inclusion there.
And also I'm pretty damn sure that none of the on-board electronics are manufactured by VW. I think you will find that they are fairly generic third party products. So your further comment is also untrue.
It's true to say that VW probably developed the coding for the main control panel (although that could be third party developed). So VW should take some blame for the glitchy integration I'd grant you that but you need to step back from the total evisceration of VW I'd say.
It's actually quite a nice van but you wouldn't believe that from your posts



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[Eber123]

The Grand California is an interesting vehicle. It has a lot of advantages and I am sure there are many owners very happy with the van.

To some (high) degree I am happy with the camper, too. But I won't put a blind eye to the issues, that I have experienced with the camper. I will continue to mention those experiences bad as well as good.

It is a pity that Volkswagen, for one reason or the other, not proactively work with the customers and develop and improve the Grand California to make it even better as it is.

Regards,
Eberhard

 

[mpill990]

The Grand California is an interesting vehicle. It has a lot of advantages and I am sure there are many owners very happy with the van.

To some (high) degree I am happy with the camper, too. But I won't put a blind eye to the issues, that I have experienced with the camper. I will continue to mention those experiences bad as well as good.

It is a pity that Volkswagen, for one reason or the other, not proactively work with the customers and develop and improve the Grand California to make it even better as it is.

Regards,
Eberhard

Yes I would agree with you there.
In my opinion the main issue is the lack of training and support for the dealer's. That's where VW is really letting us all down.


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[EuropeanVanderlust]

Thank you for this thread- we filled up our fresh water tank for the first time and then noticed a large pool of water....getting bigger by the minute....came here and searched and bingo- issue fixed! Thanks for all the great information!

 

[miksonx_gc600]

I had same adventure when filling for the first time. I lost 50% of water until I found it in users manual.

 

[miksonx_gc600]

Dear members!

Does freeze protection valve drains ALL the water from car? In users manual they say that before winter it should be dropped not only by freeze protection valve but also the ones under the fuse box. For me it is super challenging as I have extra battery installed there so hard access. If it’s freeze protection then it should be enough to use this one only? What are your thoughts.

 

[andyinluton]

Dear members!

Does freeze protection valve drains ALL the water from car? In users manual they say that before winter it should be dropped not only by freeze protection valve but also the ones under the fuse box. For me it is super challenging as I have extra battery installed there so hard access. If it’s freeze protection then it should be enough to use this one only? What are your thoughts.

The automatic one is there to protect only the boiler. The drains under fuse box are at the lowest point so will drain more. It still won’t drain the pipe to the toilet flush, the taps or shower outlet.

 

[Mr T]

Dear members!

Does freeze protection valve drains ALL the water from car? In users manual they say that before winter it should be dropped not only by freeze protection valve but also the ones under the fuse box. For me it is super challenging as I have extra battery installed there so hard access. If it’s freeze protection then it should be enough to use this one only? What are your thoughts.

You really need to drain fully using the drain valves in the electrical cupboard, the frost protection valve will dump most of the water but still need to thoroughly drain everything.
Also open taps and even the rear shower should be connected to drain fully.