Truma C6002 EH recall?

[wes]

The C6602 EH combi boiler in my 2005 Hobby motorhome which I purchase a couple of months ago seems to get very hot so after searching these forums to see if this was normal I found earlier posts saying there was a recall on some of these boilers. Looking at the serial number on mine it seems to fall into this category and there is no sticker to say the modification has been carried out. So I called the technical dept. at Truma, Derby and was told there was no recall. But I am still not convinced everything is ok. Has anyone any suggestions please.

[lennyhb]

Try emailing or phoning Truma direct in Germany, if you get the same answer at least it would be confirmed.

 

I don't know about the C6002 but the C6000 was prone to overheating if the outlet pipes were too short often happened in PVC conversions where the manufacturer did not follow the installation instructions, Also the heaters should never be run with the the heater pipes outlet flaps closed you should make sure there is at least one flap open on each branch pipe from the heater.

If it is only on mains that it appears to be overheating, this is often caused by a build up of fluff & dust on the electric elements which can also cause premature element failure don't know how relative this is to your model.

 

Edit:

Just had a look through the operating instructions, not possible to get at the heating elements also on the mains side, it is fitted with an overheat protection switch which will cut the power if it overheats & has to be manually reset. On the gas side the gas supply will be cut if it overheats.

[wes]

Thanks Lenny, I have just e-mailed Truma Germany, just to put my mind at rest.

[Guest Joe90]

I have exactly the same boiler, there is a " Truma checked" sticker on my boiler, apparently it was something to do with the strong smell of burning plastic, as it applied to the "lid" of the unit, as far as I'm aware a modification was carried out to this lid, and again as far as I know there was a recall, hence the "Truma checked " sticker.

 

However if we just use the boiler for hot water it still smells, and still can get very hot, not helped by the stupid position than Rapido chose for the installation that flies in the face of Trumas recommendations.

 

My solution is to switch of at the first sign of a smell, or the build up of heat from the boiler, then turn on the heating fan on full then turn off the boiler where your fan should kick in to cool it all down. For small quantities of hot water we use the kettle, but then we've always done that, I hope that is of some help.

 

[HymerVan]

Yes there definitely was a recall by VOSA in relation to C6002 and boilers were modified free at dealership level. Modified boilers should be "stickered" to record this.

Originally Truma dealt with it by means of a "private" recall but someone advised VOSA who then instituted a formal recall. VOSA (Mr Tudor ?) may be able to provide details although I cannot find anything on their database.

What makes this unusual is that it is not specific to a vehicle and boilers are fitted to 1000s of vehicles, e.g. road service vehicles so that mechanics can wash their hands.

[Brian Kirby]

As above, there definitely was a recall on heaters falling within a certain range of serial numbers.

 

It isn't quite clear whether, when you 'phoned Truma Derby, you were told there had not been a recall, in which case your informant was wrong, or whether you quoted the serial number and were told the recall was not relevant to your heater, in which case I suspect your informant would have been correct.

[Derek Uzzell]

HymerVan - 2014-10-07 9:07 AM

 

Yes there definitely was a recall by VOSA in relation to C6002 and boilers were modified free at dealership level. Modified boilers should be "stickered" to record this.

Originally Truma dealt with it by means of a "private" recall but someone advised VOSA who then instituted a formal recall. VOSA (Mr Tudor ?) may be able to provide details although I cannot find anything on their database.

What makes this unusual is that it is not specific to a vehicle and boilers are fitted to 1000s of vehicles, e.g. road service vehicles so that mechanics can wash their hands.

 

I’m 99.99% sure that VOSA was never involved with the Truma C-Series safety-recall campaign (which would explain why you cannot find any reference to it in the VOSA database.)

 

Truma C-Series combination air/water heaters were designed for use in leisure-vehicles (motorhomes, caravans, boats) and it would be inappropriate (and extreme overkill) to choose to install one in a vehicle merely so that mechanics could wash their hands.

 

There are, however, 12V/24V water heaters that are very commonly fitted in service-vehicles for ‘hygiene’ purposes (example here)

 

http://www.eberspacher.com/products/handwash.html

 

and I suspect that you may be confusing this type of appliance with the Truma product.

 

In mid-2006 Truma instituted a massive recall of C-Series appliances. There are many forum references to the recall and I’ll just provide the following two links to discussions in 2006 and 2007.

 

http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Truma-Safety-Recall/4470/

 

http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/General-Chat/Chatterbox/TRUMA-RECALL/7405/

 

The serial-number range of C-6002EH appliances that needed to be modified was

 

C xxxxx-x-15 329 001 to C xxxxx-x-17 159 000

 

and it’s near certain that a C-6002EH appliance installed in a 2005 Hobby motorhome would have needed modifying as part of the safety-recall. (My own Hobby was a 2005 model and its C-6002EH heater required modification under the recall).

 

If a Truma C-Series appliance falls into the serial-number range that qualified it for attention under the safety-recall, there is no straightforward way of confirming visually that the recall work has been carried out other than relying on a “Truma checked” adhesive label that should have been attached to the heater as part of the modification procedure. I understand that just one label was provided per modification ‘kit’, so - if a heater carries a “Truma checked” label - it’s a fair bet that it has actually been modified. There remains the possibility that, despite not carrying a “Truma checked” label, a qualifying heater may still have been modified, but it would be very unwise to assume that. Essentially, if a C-Series appliance should have been modified as part of the recall campaign and carries no “Truma checked” label, it would be sensible to believe it was never modified.

 

It’s certain that Truma’s own records relating to this recall will be incomplete, particularly when it comes to imported motorhomes. I never received a recall notice for my ‘self imported’ Hobby’s C-6002EH heater and needed to be proactive in advising Truma that the necessary modifications had been carried out and to obtain the 6-months warranty extension that was offered by Truma at the time. It must be accepted that some motorhomes will have slipped through the recall net and that there are C-Series heaters out there that should have been modified years ago but never were.

 

Whatever Truma says now about the recall and whatever Truma’s attitude is in 2014 to heaters that should have been modified in 2006/2007, realistically it may not much matter in wes’s case.

 

A C-6002EH heater has the potential to produce an output of 7.8kW in mixed gas + electric mode and will get pretty warm when operating generally, particularly if the heater has been installed in a poorly ventilated enclosure. What provoked the recall was serious internal overheating occurring when the appliance was in water-heating-only mode and operating on gas. The symptoms were a strong, extremely unpleasant smell of scorching plastic (which was exactly what was happening) towards the end of the water-heating cycle. The ‘solution’ was to replace the heater’s upper section and blown-air intake duct, but (as Joe90 says) this did not always result in a completely successful cure for the smelliness (though it probably stopped the plastic actually melting!)

 

Although it would be worth wes actively pursuing this with Truma, provided that the heater is currently functioning OK and does not smell (much) when heating water-only via gas, it should be safe enough to continue using it. Wes’s Hobby is, after all, now 9 years old and, if its heater’s operation regarding smelliness and/or getting unusually hot hasn’t forced the previous owner(s) to address such issues, it’s likely to be functioning normally.

 

As lennyhb says, there are things that one should avoid doing with these heaters (like completely closing off blown-air outlets). These are referred to in Truma’s downloadable Operating Instrructions.

 

It could help to know which Hobby model wes owns, but it may be worth saying that the original installation of the C-6002EH heater in my 2005 Hobby T-600FC was pretty lacklustre design and performance-wise. It was clearly intended for the standard lower-powered gas-only C-3402 appliance, with just a short extra blown-air trunk added when the optional C-6002EH unit was fitted, directing even more hot air to the bedroom part of the living-area rather than to the front part of the vehicle where it would have been beneficial.

[Robinhood]

Derek Uzzell - 2014-10-09 9:57 AM

 

 

I’m 99.99% sure that VOSA was never involved with the Truma C-Series safety-recall campaign (which would explain why you cannot find any reference to it in the VOSA database.)

 

 

I was surprised when this was said as well, but it was, and it is on the database.

 

If one goes here and looks for Truma under "choose a manufacturer", all will be revealed (albeit with very limited information).

 

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/apps/recalls/

 

My 2006 model Rapido was subject to the recall, which I had done at Truma UK HQ at Dove Valley Park (in a queue of others there for the same purpose).

 

 

[Guest Joe90]

Good link, thanks...........but got me thinking

 

My Fridge a Dometic RM7655 was subject to a safety recall which could involve the gas connection being fractured, but this was before I bought the vehicle, however I checked with Dometic and it had not been modified, so if anyone has got a RM series fridge they may want to get it checked out.

[Robinhood]

Joe90 - 2014-10-09 3:21 PM

 

Good link, thanks...........but got me thinking

 

My Fridge a Dometic RM7655 was subject to a safety recall which could involve the gas connection being fractured, but this was before I bought the vehicle, however I checked with Dometic and it had not been modified, so if anyone has got a RM series fridge they may want to get it checked out.

 

...yup. Had that done on the Rapido as well.

 

AFAIR, it consisted of fitting a simple additional clip to the gas pipework, and self-tapping it to the fridge carcase.

 

Whatever, it was done through the fridge vent in a matter of minutes, on the roadside, by a local "caravan doctor" (I drove to him) when none of the local dealers were interested in an appointment in less than "a few months".

 

 

 

[Derek Uzzell]

Robinhood - 2014-10-09 10:18 AM

 

Derek Uzzell - 2014-10-09 9:57 AM

 

 

I’m 99.99% sure that VOSA was never involved with the Truma C-Series safety-recall campaign (which would explain why you cannot find any reference to it in the VOSA database.)

 

 

I was surprised when this was said as well, but it was, and it is on the database.

 

If one goes here and looks for Truma under "choose a manufacturer", all will be revealed (albeit with very limited information).

 

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/apps/recalls/

 

My 2006 model Rapido was subject to the recall, which I had done at Truma UK HQ at Dove Valley Park (in a queue of others there for the same purpose).

 

 

Oh well, at least I didn’t say “100% sure” :-( and I apologise to HymerVan for doubting his VOSA-related statement. And, having reread his posting, I realise that he mentioned the VOSA involvement being unusual because it related to water-boiling equipments (common in many vehicles, not just motorhomes) and was not suggesting that Truma C-Series heaters were fitted to road service vehicles as ‘hand washers’.

 

Although the VOSA recall-notice apparently identifies the problem as involving just “EL” versions of the C-3402, C-4002 and C-6002 units (ie. the versions with a 240V water-heating option), plus the C-6002EH appliance, the Truma safety-recall also applied to gas-only C-3402, C-4002 and C-6002 heaters with the relevant serial numbers.

 

There’s no doubt that this problem had been present for years before Truma took action in 2006 and that there had been ‘incidents’ where a C-Series heater had overheated sufficiently badly for it to become damaged. When I complained to the Truma(UK) technicians (probably around 2002) that the C-3402EL that had been retro-fitted to my Herald motorhome produced a charring-plastic smell when heating water on gas, I was told that more heat-resistent plastic components were available and could be fitted free-of-charge to my heater if the smell was sufficiently strong and I moaned sufficiently loudly about it. As the smell was tolerable and I couldn’t bear to have the heater removed (again) from the motorhome, I never bothered to push the matter.

 

A while back I was told by a Truma technician that what brought matters to a head and forced the company to take action in 2006 was a result of re-tooling of the equipment used in manufacturing the C-Series central heat-exchanger. This resulted in the heat-exchanger being fractionally larger than previously and, consequently and critically, caused the exchanger to be that bit closer to the plastic inner surface of the blown-air intake. Not sure how much truth there is in that explanation, but something significant must have happened to cause Truma to recall such a large number of heaters for expensive modification, damaging the company’s reputation and significantly depleting profits.

[Derek Uzzell]

Robinhood - 2014-10-09 3:29 PM

 

Joe90 - 2014-10-09 3:21 PM

 

Good link, thanks...........but got me thinking

 

My Fridge a Dometic RM7655 was subject to a safety recall which could involve the gas connection being fractured, but this was before I bought the vehicle, however I checked with Dometic and it had not been modified, so if anyone has got a RM series fridge they may want to get it checked out.

 

...yup. Had that done on the Rapido as well.

 

AFAIR, it consisted of fitting a simple additional clip to the gas pipework, and self-tapping it to the fridge carcase.

 

Whatever, it was done through the fridge vent in a matter of minutes, on the roadside, by a local "caravan doctor" (I drove to him) when none of the local dealers were interested in an appointment in less than "a few months".

 

The Dometic safety-recall was in 2007 and involved 7-Series fridge/freezers. There is information about it in this thread

 

http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Dometic-Recall/9904/

 

that includes cross-references to earlier discussions detailing the specific models needing attention.

 

The modification was as described by robinhood and the additional clip(s) should be visibly evident if the lower external ventilation grille is removed.

 

It’s likely that (as with the Truma recall) some Dometic fridge/freezers requiring work will not have been modified. I don’t know how accurate Dometic’s records are, nor what the present situation is, but there is still information about the recall on Dometic’s website.

 

https://www.dometic.com/enuk/Europe/United-Kingdom/Customer-Center/Recall-Information/

[Guest Joe90]

The advice I received from Dometic was to remove the bottom grill, take a photo, and email it to them. After having the mod done it was obvious why, as you said, two metal clips were wrapped around the cooling unit, and popped riveted to the fridge casing FOC by a Dometic engineer.

[wes]

After e-mailing Germany twice and being asked for the serial number, one week later I still have not had a reply. I am sure it does fall into the recall category as the serial no. is CEH603-A-16 161 225

 

Derek, my Hobby is also a 2005 T600FC and the Dometic fridge freezer was also included in the recall. After contacting Dometic I found that this modification hadn't been done so they contacted a local mobile engineer to carry out the work which has now been done. I just wish Truma could be as efficient.

[lennyhb]

Most of the mobile guys work on both Domectic & Truma products, did you ask the guy who did the fridge to check your heater?

[wes]

Both the fridge and the heater needed new gas valves as neither would work on gas only electric. I believe this is because the van had not been used much. Although it is 9 years old and has had several owners it has only done 9000 miles. The previous owner had it on sorn since January.

The guy who modified the fridge also did both gas valves but at the time I didn't know there had been a recall on the boiler.

[Guest Joe90]

Mine also gets very hot, this is after the modification carried out by Truma, if it stinks like hell of burning plastic when you attempt to use just the hot water on gas, it probably hasn't been modified.

 

Having said that ours still has a tendency to stink, my solution in the absence of a satisfactory solution from Truma is the moment it starts to stink I put the heating on by turning up the blow air to full for 5 minutes or so, which effectively cools the whole thing down, but has me and the missus stripping off ( not a pretty sight ) ..............or I boil a kettle or two.!

 

Just to clarify, it is gas operation for hot water only that the problem manifests itself, if using the blow air heating it isn't an issue, but of course the hot water takes longer to heat..............and you obviously don't want heating all the time..

[lennyhb]

Only 9000 miles in 9 years I do hope that you don't get any mechinal problems as well.

[wes]

Runs like a dream at the moment, touch wood, and most mechanical problems are easy to sort out.

[Derek Uzzell]

wes - 2014-10-15 11:52 AM

 

After e-mailing Germany twice and being asked for the serial number, one week later I still have not had a reply. I am sure it does fall into the recall category as the serial no. is CEH603-A-16 161 225

 

Derek, my Hobby is also a 2005 T600FC and the Dometic fridge freezer was also included in the recall. After contacting Dometic I found that this modification hadn't been done so they contacted a local mobile engineer to carry out the work which has now been done. I just wish Truma could be as efficient.

 

As your heater’s Serial Number indicates that it should have been modified as part of the safety recall, I suggest you go back to Truma(UK) and point them to the 2006 Truma-related entry in the VOSA database.

 

It’s worth saying that, when I happened to mention the C-Series recall to a Truma(UK) technician at last-February’s NEC Show, he had no knowlege of it, adding that he had only worked for the company for a relatively short period. But Truma(UK) long-termers will be well aware of the recall and a GOOGLE-search on “Truma heater safety recall” will retrieve comments about it going back to 2006 on this and the MotorHomeFacts forum.

 

As Joe90 says, the modifications carried out as part of the safety recall will not necessarily cure the unpleasant smell that C-Series heaters may produce in the final part of the gas-only water-heating cycle. Like his heater the C-6002EH in my Hobby stank badly before it was modified, but still smelled (though considerably less so) afterwards. Like Joe90 I adopted a similar procedure to minimise the smell.

 

These heaters do get hot and I’m tempted to say that, if you experiment by heating water on gas-only using the 60°C setting and the heater does not produce a near-intolerable scorching-plastic smell as the water approaches that temperature, you should not be too concerned about having the heater modified even though it does not carry a “Truma checked” label and may have slipped through the recall net.

 

To carry out the recall work would require the slatted mattress-base to be removed, plus removal of a crossways section of wood at the foot of the bed that partially masks the heater’s top. The way Hobby built my T-600FC (and presumably yours too) complicated removal of the wood-section and I modified my motorhome to simplify any subsequent access to the heater.

 

wes - 2014-10-15 1:45 PM

 

Runs like a dream at the moment, touch wood, and most mechanical problems are easy to sort out.

 

Hmmm.... Keep touching wood as the turbobocharger fitted to the 2.0litre 125PS motor (which I assume is what your motorhome has) has something of a reputation for the variable-geometry mechanism seizing up. This is neither easy to sort out, nor (due to the amount of labour involved) cheap to fix. I think it cost me £700+.

 

If you are interested in the mechanics of the Transit Mk 6 on which your Hobby is built, there is a Haynes workshop manual for it - Ford Transit Diesel (Oct 00 - Oct 06) X to 56 reg.

 

(There’s also a Haynes manual for the Transit Mk 7 - Ford Transit Diesel (Nov 06 to 13) 56 to 63 reg)

[wes]

Thanks Derek you've cheered me up no end regarding the turbocharger. Seriously though thanks for the advice I shall phone Truma UK again tomorrow and hope I have more luck this time.

[Derek Uzzell]

If I make it to the NEC show this week I’ll try to remember to ask the Truma guys what the company’s current policy is regarding a C-Series heater with a serial number that indicates it should have qualified for safety-recall work but doesn’t carry a “Truma checked” label or appear in Truma’s files showing that the necessary work was done.

[Derek Uzzell]

I discussed the Trumatic C-Series heater safety-modification with a Truma(UK) representative at the NEC today.

 

He emphasised that (back in 2006/2007) there was no “recall” as such. I think this is semantic hair-splitting, but it might explain why wes was given the ‘no-recall’ story when he first contacted Truma(UK).

 

I was told that, within the UK, Truma sent out letters based on information provided to them by the DVLA and motorhome manufacturers. I said that, despite Truma’s very best efforts, it was predictable that some heaters that should have been modified were not and I asked what Truma’s present policy was in such a case.

 

The answer (as I understand it) is that if someone (like wes) has a heater that falls within the serial-number ranges that were stated back in 2006/2007 and believes that their heater may not have been modified (eg. there’s no visual identification-marking to indicate the modification was done) they should telehone Truma(UK) who will check their records.

 

If Truma concludes that the safety-related modification was not carried out, they will provide the necessary parts to an agreed dealership for fitting at no charge to the owner of the heater.

[wes]

Derek, thank you so much for taking the trouble to talk to the Truma rep. I will phone Truma UK again on Monday morning and hopefully get an answer. I am really disappointed that Truma in Germany did not even have the courtesey to reply after asking me for the serial number.

[Guest Joe90]

wes - 2014-10-18 9:52 AM

 

Derek, thank you so much for taking the trouble to talk to the Truma rep. I will phone Truma UK again on Monday morning and hopefully get an answer. I am really disappointed that Truma in Germany did not even have the courtesey to reply after asking me for the serial number.

 

Just a quick thought, check your spam folder, I have found on occasions my Gmail email often automatically puts some messages there.