Our Carver Cascade 2 has had a catastrophic failure so we have decided to replace it with an electric one, as we only normally go on sites with EHU. Why waste our gas when we are already paying for electricity?
What I would like to know is whether there is such a thing as a blanking plate for the outer part of the heater. If not, any suggestions?
There isn't an external blanking plate for the Carver Cascade water heater as far as I'm aware. If it was me I would make a blanking plate out of plywood and treat it appropriately with a waterproof sealant due to the fact that over time timber will rot so it's just a preventative treatment. Plywood is best because it won't bend due to the way that each ply is laminated in opposite directions. All you need to do is measure the 4 fixing points and drill holes in each corner where required but remember to apply the appropriate sealant behind the blanking plate to stop any rain water ingress.
what i would do, is remove the outer plastics and get some perspex or something similar in thickness and cut it out the same shape/size, then seal that onto the caravan. no one would know you have done anything as it would look the same as before but would just cover it up and make sure any draughts are sealed off. on the inside ( i presumme you have removed the water heater?) you just need a bit of wall board an inch or so bigger and glue over the hole
A thin white nylon bread board cut to size is another option as that would be waterproof and wont rot over time either. Perspex is a good idea but it's transparent which you don't really want regarding this type of application.
Quote: Originally posted by tango55 on 17/10/2021
A thin white nylon bread board cut to size is another option as that would be waterproof and wont rot over time either. Perspex is a good idea but it's transparent which you don't really want regarding this type of application.
the perspex wouldnt matter if you replaced the external part of the water heater vent, it would just look exactly the same as it would normally look, and so much better than seeing a blanking plate or anything else covering the hole up
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. What I have decided to do is get some thin plastic sheet and glue it to the inside of the outer part of the heater vent so that water and drafts can't get in. Then I will remove the defective heater and replace the outer part so that it looks like it did as standard. I will then cut a piece of ply to fit in the hole from the inside and put filler/sealant around the edges of that.
Doing that will retain the original look of the outside and completely seal out the weather. It's a very old caravan anyway, but I still didn't want to spoil the look of it.
Quote: Originally posted by arc systems on 23/10/2021
I'd think twice?! good vents fetch daft money on eBay...as much as 70 quid!!
Yes I know what you mean, but what could I use to replace it that would not look like a bodge? I had been hoping that there was a proper blanking plate, but it seems not. I will have a Carver Cascade 2 to sell though, all that I know it needs is the through-rod replacing and the end of the broken rod drilling out of the heat exchanger some how. I blunted 3 drills trying to get it out, and gave up. Until the rod snapped it had been working perfectly and was very reliable.
Try heating up the end of the jammed rod with a very hot flame such as an acetylene torch. Metal expands with heat and as it does it should crack and free the broken stud. Spray some WD40 in afterwards before shrinkage and wait till it cools slightly then try removing the broken stud with a nail punch and hammer tapping very slightly as it twists out.
Quote: Originally posted by tango55 on 23/10/2021
Try heating up the end of the jammed rod with a very hot flame such as an acetylene torch. Metal expands with heat and as it does it should crack and free the broken stud. Spray some WD40 in afterwards before shrinkage and wait till it cools slightly then try removing the broken stud with a nail punch and hammer tapping very slightly as it twists out.
Yes might be worth a try. I have put plus-gas on the broken portion, and that is usually better than WD40 for freeing stuff off, but I was working inside the bed-locker. Once I have completely removed the unit from the caravan and got it in my shed I should be able to work on it better. If I can get the broken bit out I may even get a new rod and seals and put it all back together. Then I can sell it as a working heater to recoup some of what I spent on the new electric heater.
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Quote: Originally posted by blueexpo97 on 24/10/2021
Tango are you sure metal expands with heat.
Yes it does. However, the difficulty would be in heating up two different metals that are in contact with each other, as they both expand at different rates. I don't have anything other than a small blow-torch anyway and I certainly couldn't use that with the heater in place in the caravan's bed locker. Might try it once I get it on my workbench though.
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Quote: Originally posted by blueexpo97 on 24/10/2021
Tango are you sure metal expands with heat.
Absolutely, that's how they fitted the outer steel rims around the outside of the spoked wooden cartwheel. The steel ring was made the same size diameter as the wooden wheel but when they heated it up it expanded which when hot enough was placed around the circumference of the whole wheel. As the steel cooled it slowly contracted which compressed all the spokes towards to the centre hub. Water was then poured on in stages around the steel ring to speed up the process which was typically known as freezing in engineering technology.
Quote: Originally posted by blueexpo97 on 24/10/2021
Tango are you sure metal expands with heat.
Absolutely, that's how they fitted the outer steel rims around the outside of the spoked wooden cartwheel. The steel ring was made the same size diameter as the wooden wheel but when they heated it up it expanded which when hot enough was placed around the circumference of the whole wheel. As the steel cooled it slowly contracted which compressed all the spokes towards to the centre hub. Water was then poured on in stages around the steel ring to speed up the process which was typically known as freezing in engineering technology.
A very similar technique was used when fitting tyres to railway wheels.
Well I have now completed the job. I managed to seal up the back of the exterior vent like I said to prevent water ingress and drafts, and the new Propex electric water heater is now installed. Not tested yet as I ran out of daylight this afternoon so I'll be doing that tomorrow, weather permitting.
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Topic: Carver blanking plate
via mobile 23/10/2021 at 1:58pm
