Would anyone be interested in a frost protection gizmo for their DIY gas system? I'm talking with some electronic whizz kids at the moment about designing & building one for me,.. and obviously the more I buy the cheaper they get!
The basic principle involves leaving your heater switched on overnight & the end of your hose in the tank,.. so you'd need a vented system & you'd need to be confident its properly installed if you're leaving it on overnight. This could also be an insurance issue, so check with your broker (get it in writing) before you consider going down this road.
The gizmo itself would simply control the pump,.. When the temp in the van drops below 4C it switches the pump on which in turn lights your heater,.. when the temp rises above 6C it switches your pump back off.
Although I doubt it would ever take more than 20 minutes of heat to get your van above 6C again, the unit will have a built in reset & will cut power to the pump for 10 or 20 seconds after 15 minutes, and then start again,.. so if your heater has a 20 minute timer, or for any reason fails to fire up the first time, it will be reset & another attempt allowed.
I reckon there aren't many ppl with their heaters vented outside, so the quantities won't be massive enough to make this really cheap,.. and lets face it an electric heater is an easier option & cheaper to run,.. but if there are a few ppl interested who can't get power to their vans at night, it might be worth clubbing together & getting a unit made up.
It will of course be designed for minimum power drain, have an external temp probe that can be positioned near the equipment most susceptible to frost damage, will be enclosed in a waterproof box, and will not interfere with normal day to day usage of your system.
If you'd be interested, let me know!
