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Check Meter
A check meter was installed on the mains supply switchboard. This allows us to monitor kWh from both mains and generator supplies. We mainly installed this for us to be able to pay people for power if plugged in.
Fridge Insulation
On checking the installation of the fridge by removing the exterior ventilation grills it was found that there was no insulation between the top of the fridge and the roof of the caravan. This meant that hot air gathering in the area leads to inefficiency of the operation of the fridge / freezer. I added wool batt insulation to fill up the main area of the cavity followed by Expol underfloor insulation panels. The final piece of Expol was angled to allow any hot air from the condenser fan to be diverted out of the top ventilation grill. By having insulation around the refrigerator allows for better efficiency and reduces power consumption.
Grey Water Tank
Caravan grey water discharge valve and corresponding pipework came as 40mm valve and then stepped down to 25mm male camlock. After numerous blockages due to the multiple step downs I decided to increase the size of the camlock to 32mm thus reducing the number of reductions. This allows for a better evacuation of the grey water tank. Whilst the fittings were disassembled the supplied PVC ball valve was changed to a -40 degree C frost free valve. This reduces the chance of failure in sub zero temperatures.
Rangehood Venting
Whilst checking a fault with the speaker system on the stereo it was discovered that the rangehood ventilation cavity was not separate to the stereo cavity. This could potentially allow moisture being extracted by the rangehood to accumulate in the stereo cavity. I added a piece of thin plywood to separate the two cavities.
Safety Features
We decided to upgrade our supplied smoke alarm to a Cavius 10 year photoelectric smoke alarm. We also installed a smoke alarm under the bed which is where all our battery and electrical componentry is located. Carbon Monoxide (CO) is a colourless, odourless and tasteless poisonous gas that can be fatal when inhaled. CO is the product of incomplete combustion and can come from any fuel burning appliance that is malfunctioning or improperly installed. We decided to install a Quell Carbon Monoxide alarm for added safety as we are living in our caravan full time. This unit has a low battery warning and a useable life of 10 years. Propane (LPG) alarm - This alarm came installed in the van on purchase as is wired permanently into the 12 volt DC system. We had issues with it going off all the time right from day one. This was due to a faulty batch of alarms. This was changed under warranty.
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