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erneboy

Hi, we got our new i840QD in February and have now had some time to get used to it. We are very impressed, very few problems and those we have had have been minor. The most annoying fault is with the Smev oven, it goes out whenever it feels like it. The van had a new Thetford c250 toilet which I think is a bit cheap and nasty by comparison with other Thetford toilets we have had in previous vans. All in all an excellent van, Regards Alan.

MandyandDave

Hi erneboy, Fantastic motorhome you have there! Have you been far or planning any trips abroad?

Regards Dave Smile

erneboy

Dave, yes, hope to spend this winter around the med, have been reading lots of posts about Greece, France, Italy, portugal etc., all sounds very nice, Alan.

kennyboy

Hi Alan
Glad you are enjoying your new Frankia! We love ours and like you, we have had only minor problems. Fat Frankie, as it is called, is just coming up to 1 year old and is going for its habitation check next Tuesday.
Being in France at the moment we have found a very nice French dealer not too far from us who can do it.
Ken

darach

Hi Erneboy I to have a new Frankia with a Smev oven and its being going out sometimes, have you found any reasons why and is your one still doing it. Would be grateful for any information.
Derek

erneboy

Derek, sorry for the delay replying, I have been away in the van. I went to my dealer and asked about the oven, they said they had seen this problem before but could not offer a solution. The manual for the oven says the oven is a non vented type although there is a truama vent behind it leading to the outside, I taped the vent up completely (but watched for overheating while the oven was in use), this seems to have cured the problem, Regards Alan.

darach

Hi erneboy thanks for the reply. Our oven has a open vent as well and I think the times it has gone out it was windy but I'll take more notice the next time I'm out with the van. If you do happen to get any new information I would be grateful if you would add it on to this thread. I will ask my dealer about it when I see him at the beginning of next year. Happy travels, Derek

erneboy

Derek, closing the vent did not work, the oven started going out again this week. I have spoken to Smev and they have suggested fitting a new thermocouple and valve to the oven although they do not hold out much hope that this will cure it. Smev UK are being helpful as a gesture of goodwill but say that as the van was manufactured in Europe the warranty lies there so the help they can give is limited. I have obtained parts which Smev say will fit although the thermocouple looks far too short to reach the oven burner. Will fit this week and see what happens,. Have you got yours fixed? Will keep you posted although I am now thinking of just replacing the cooker if this fix does not work. A bit drastic but the going out episodes are very annoying. The cooker works fine 99% of the time and then just picks an evening when it goes out repeatedly, maybe 10 or 12 times while trying to cook a chicken etc. Drives the wife nuts. I have posted a query on another thread to see if anyone else has had the same problem and found a fix, I will revive it and see if anyone else can help, Alan.

darach

Hi Alan Haven't been out much with the van but its been OK. We are going away in the next few weeks to the north of Scotland for a fortnight and in the middle of October we are heading south as we said on the other post, we will maybe spot you somewhere.
Spoke to a heating engineer who says the gas is controlled by what I think is a thermal coupling. As far as I can understand there is a capillary tube that runs near the flame, while this is hot it holds the valve for the gas open. If it drops below a certain temperature it shuts the gas off, he suggested this could be faulty. It sounds good, if we get major hassles with ours while away we might return via Germany to have it looked at, at the dealer.
Will let you know what happens
Derek