[kevincoggan]

been looking at the controller with the frost stat on it,has anyone any experience of these?-i do a lot of early starts so would like every thing to work before i set off in the morning on those cold days

[Spruce]

been looking at the controller with the frost stat on it,has anyone any experience of these?-i do a lot of early starts so would like every thing to work before i set off in the morning on those cold days

Hi Kevin.

They designed around the guys with Webasto diesel water heaters, but am sure that they can be adapted to use with an LPG gas heater provided you have one with a roof vent.

They are timer based and kick in when the temperature drops to 2 degrees C and fire up for 10 minutes before switching off. The controller is also a digital flow controller so will kick in the pump to circulate water through the system. So you need to route the hot water through the hose reel and into the main tank in the van. After 10 minutes it switches off and the diesel heater goes into it's shut down cycle.

[Ian Sheppard]

The latest generation hot water/frost protection controller is suitable for Use with both Diesel and Gas water heaters:

For models purchased after December 1st 2013. (V9 and V11 Frost protect units purchased prior to this date are suitable for use with Diesel heaters only)

The controller has a preset recirculation rate of 10 when in frost mode. (with frost mode active the control will start the pump and send a start signal to a diesel heater when water temp is 2C) Gas heaters are ignited by Water flow generated by the pump and will require a higher recirculation flow rate.

The controller has a variable recirculation rate that can be set by the user in frost protection mode. This allows for a wide range of water heaters to be used including those where the heater ignition is dependent on water flow rate. Recommended flow rate for diesel heaters is 10; other heater types may require a higher flow rate. Code: V11 HW

Consideration must be given to ensuring escape of waste gases, please ensure adequate ventilation when using diesel or gas water heaters.

Frost mode is enabled in the main menu, Switch the control off and in effect the unit goes into a standby mode. Monitoring the temperature. The idea is to keep water temp above freezing with a combination of water circulation and warming.

[kevincoggan]

many thanks for the replies spruce and ian,so  in thory-correct me if i am wrong on this,if i insulate the tank/pump hose blah blah,and i assume the controller has a temp probe would this be sampling the temperature of the air not the water?

[Ian Sheppard]

Hi Kevin.

The temp probe sits in the water line It is sampling the water temp.  In frost mode the control is looking for water temp to fall to 2c at this point as Spruce comment the pump is switched on to a timed period.
If you use a diesel heater the control has a comms output to switch on the heater.
With a gas/lpg heater its the water flow that initiates the heater. The latest hot water control allows you to pre set the water recirculation flow rate. The frost recirculation flow rate is set at 10 in the factory which is fine for diesel heaters but will need to be higher with gas heaters

[kevincoggan]

thanks ian,am on a gas heater at the moment,so where would the probe sit within the stystem? before i commit i just want to be sure if its right for me and my set up,as i understand now the controller circulates the water every 10 mins or so,the probe will pick this up and turn the heater on if the temp was below 2c?,an lpg heater would turn on the heat due to the flow going through the heater,am i correct in this? also just to clarify is the recirculation solely down to the probe or can this be pre-set either as an over rider or to run in conjunction with the probe?

[Ian Sheppard]

The probe sits in water tank out let line.
When in frost mode the heater is only switched when temp falls to 2c.
The control will only run the pump based on temp. So it may be the only runs once while in frost mode or several times if temp repeatedly falls below 2c.

You can preset the frost mode recirculation flow rate in the control menu. Drop me an email and i can forward you a copy of the user guide.

[Ian Sheppard]

Should add that when in frost mode the heater is activated by water flow. The recirculation rate will need to be 20 to 30.

[kevincoggan]

many thanks for that ian,where can i click to buy? can i order direct?

[Ian Sheppard]

To get best price i would suggest looking at. Gardiners, Purefreedom, Streamline, sureclen systems or X-line.

The controller stockist tab on the web site has all the contact details. As does the HW controller page.

[kevincoggan]