Night Noises from the Bowels of our Ollie

[hobo 34]

First trip since the rally (we've been really busy this summer) and I'm noticing a few odd noises.

 

At night when all is quiet (AC cycled off) I am hearing an intermittent (but predictable) electric motor noise coming from beneath the street side compartment). The sound will last for about 10-15 seconds and then it will be followed by a much softer noise (almost like a water circulation pump) which lasts for about 5-10 seconds. This is happening about every hour or so.

 

We are set up with city water and 30 AMP power.

 

Is this normal OPs for an Ollie or is my trailer possessed?

[hobo 34]

Never mind. I broke the code.  It's the Truma hot water heater.

 

I apparently had it set on the "instant" hot water mode vice the "eco" mode so when set on the instant hot water mode, it routinely cycles water through the system to keep it pre-heated and ready to go. That is the noises I was hearing. I simply switched it over to the eco mode to save propane and to eliminate the extra curricular activy.  It does use more water in the eco mode but that's a non-issue since we're hooked up to city water.

[topgun2 1,218]

I've heard those noises too - but - I just blamed it on the dog.

[Newshoes 1]

Poor Oliver dogs! They must shoulder a lot of responsibilities!

[BackofBeyond 649]

Hobo,

Glad you figured it out - I just turn my Truma off when I know it will not be needed. The constant cycling drives me nuts. The Truma rep said to just leave it on, in eco, as you do. I've not had any issue turning it off. We don't use much hot water any ways.

 

Not to change the topic, you may find the Truma likes to go into a fault state every once and awhile. If it does a reset - power off/on of the unit usually clears it. I don't know why it does this, but I know others have the same issue, and the Truma rep was also aware this happens - …..

 

 

As for the "other" noises out there, I have found most are campground patron related - that's why I try to boondock as much as possible, or stay as far as possible from the humans in RV's....

 

 

[Overland 1,409]

The Truma rep told me to call and that they'd send out a replacement board that fixes the random faults. Haven't done that yet - probably should.

[Ray and Susan Huff 529]

On 9/2/2019 at 10:57 PM, hobo said:

Never mind. I broke the code.  It's the Truma hot water heater.

 

I apparently had it set on the "instant" hot water mode vice the "eco" mode so when set on the instant hot water mode, it routinely cycles water through the system to keep it pre-heated and ready to go. That is the noises I was hearing. I simply switched it over to the eco mode to save propane and to eliminate the extra curricular activy.  It does use more water in the eco mode but that's a non-issue since we're hooked up to city water.

I'm beginning to understand more how the Truma heaters work.  It sounds to me like the "instant" hot water mode is the Comfort mode.  I know that sound you heard, like a valve opening and closing, and it is annoying in the middle of the night.  In addition, the burner may fire to provide heating (more noise).  As in the Comfort Plus model, the Comfort (no Plus) does cycle water through the tank to keep it warm. This being said, if you switch the mode to Eco and the noise goes away, it sounds like the heater won't be protected from freezing.

The Comfort Plus, on the other hand, has a pump (more noise) to recirculate hot water (water in tank is always hot) in the water lines so you get true instant hot water at the tap - no waiting for the water to get from the tank to the faucet.  I'm now convinced there is little advantage to the Truma Comfort, as offered by Oliver.  It certainly isn't giving you "instant" hot water since you still have to wait for the hot water to clear the pipes of not so hot water, but the same is true of the standard tank heater. Once the lines are filled with hot and hot water continues to run, it will be pretty instant.  It is just the initial request for hot water that is delayed, but still a waste of water if you are trying to conserve.   The only advantage I can see, of the Truma is the recovery time when hot water in the the tank is depleted.

Hope this makes sense