Putting on the heating without water in the system

Think  that  might  depend  on  the  type  of  heating  installation  yo 

have  fitted  Catsize.

Mine  needs  water  in  the  tank  for  both  heating  &  hot  water.

Brian     A B M

depends what you've drained 

What type of heating system? On our Alde system there is no need of water in the hot water tank to use the heating. On some there is to prevent damage. On the previous 'van there was a cover to remove from the external gas flue before gas could be used on the present 'van this is not the case. Have you used this caravan on gas before?  

if it is a Truma Combi then you can run the heating without water in the boiler...obviously, dont turn the hot water function on....

you say it wont run on gas.....some quick checks....

does the hob or fridge work on gas, ie is the gas turned on properly and reaching the appliances....check also the isolation valves...

if the hob doesnt work, theres your answer..

if it does work then you could try the heater no electric by hooking up, if possible...may not be at the storage site...

 just a thought, youre not using Butane (blue cylinder) as this doesnt gass off well in very cold weather, somthe heater (which requires quite a lot of gas) may struggle.

if you are using butane, see if you can borrow a propane bottle for a few minutes to check your heater with that.

good luck.

Sorry, yes, I realised at work today that I hadn't said it's an Alde system in a 2015 caravan.

My partner did the draining, not me - am absolved! 😇

Yes, the cooker worked - that was used as the heater for a few minutes!

The gas is Safefill Lpg 

The heating fluid is at an okay level. One of the problems with the heating has been the fluid mysteriously disappearing to nothing.

Thank you for your replies. 

Sounds like you either have a leak somewhere, a faulty pressure relief valve,or a lot of air in the system that is gradually escaping.

However, none of the above should stop the Alde  working on gas.

It is OK to run heating without filling the water system.

Thanks KjellNN. The 'lot of air in the system' was the theory of the dealership on one of the many occasions it has been returned under warranty. 

Think we might take hot water bottles away with us at the weekend. ☃

Have you checked all the obvious things.......

is gas selected?

is the boiler actually turned on?

does it have good 12v supply?

is the thermostat set high enough?

are there any blown fuses?

If you will have EHU this weekend, take along a small fan heater just in case.  We always carry one as a back up, and it does give you instant heat while the Alde is warming up the van.

Why is it necessary to drain the heating side of the Alde?  I thought it had, or should have an anti freeze additive?

i was assuming that only the hot water boiler had been drained, however if the full system has been drained then the answer might be more straightforward