Absolute beginners...

[richard60]

We have just bought our first ever caravan - a 1980 (although manufactured in '79. I would think) Cosalt Safari 12/2, serial number 80067. Towed it home last weekend, a journey of 100 miles with no problems. We run a small B&B with views over countryside. The caravan is in very good condition with a largely unspoilt and original interior and our plan is to kit it out with 70s accessories and use it as a funky add-on to the business. A different place to stay the night and perhaps reminiscent of childhood holidays in the 1970s. That said, we have become fond of it already and I can see us becoming converts to proper caravanning.

I have a number of questions that perhaps someone could help me with. I am baffled by the water, water heating and central heating systems. Under the wardrobe there is a Carver SB1800 which looks in good repair. Does this heat the water or just provide hot air for heating? Behind it, accessed via a trap door in the toilet, there is a pump and a rats nest of pipes and wires (actually it all looks in good order but it's a bit confusing). Does the pump need to be used to get cold water to the taps or is mains pressure enough? What about hot water? Or is the pump just for the Carver? Outside, at the back of the caravan, sitting behind a metal panel is a gas burner. It's a bit rusty but probably functional. I can make no sense of the Atwood instruction sheet which seems only partly relevant. As well as an ITT controller, there is also a pipe stub with a blue tag on it, connected to nothing. To add further to the confusion, there is a Bowen sticker inside the compartment offering different advice. Anyway, does this contraption heat the water, or has it been superseded by the Carver? And as there does not appear to be a water tank on board, am I correct to assume if there's no piped water supply, the water system cannot function at all.

Next we come to the electrical system. I do not understand the labelling on the Zig unit above the wardrobe. The three switches L-R are Mains, Charging, 12v. The mains switch is self explanatory but the 12v switch also has to be on for anything to work at all, which seems odd. The middle switch is especially baffling. Its two positions are marked Car and Mains. Is that car, as in motor car, or car as in short for caravan? Anyway, when it's switched to Car, the caravan interior lights (running on the house mains) are dimmed slightly. When it's switched to Mains, things are brighter. Presumably when it's on Car, that means the battery is being charged. Actually, I have just been out to check my facts and when I disconnect the mains I can't get the battery to power the lights at all. It managed this yesterday after the battery had been on charge for several hours so I presume the battery has been neglected and is kaput.

Lastly, I have got some wheel trims but no clips and there are no hubcaps. Are they available anywhere? Phew! I hope you don't mind me asking all these questions and that I have posted in the right place! Any help will be much appreciated.

[Brian M]

Richard Welcome to the group, I have moved your post to the technical section as it might get missed in the introductions section.

I can help with some of your questions - but have to make a strong proviso. It sounds as if your Safari has had some modifications to the standard water and heating supply and electrics and so what follows is based on a standard installation.

The Carver SB1800 just provides heating for the main area of the Safari and is not connected to your water supply. There should be a strange device on the wall of your wardrobe with a 5 inch length of metal held between two bits of plastic, this is a thermostat that measures the room temperature and lowers the setting on the carver if it is too hot.

The gas burner behind the panel on the outside is a water heater, I have never had one of these and so do not know how they actually work, but they are gas powered.

Your water supply, both for the kitchen and the washroom sink, is fed from and external tank (Aquaroll or similar) sucked up by the pump which is usually controlled by microswitches in the taps that energise the pump when you turn them on. This may be the pipe stub with the blue tag on it. For a static caravan this can be connected to a mains supply but it still needs a restrictor to let the taps control the flow.

Hot water is heated on demand - there is no hot water tank.

From your description of the lighting I think you have serious wiring issues, for mains lights to dim when you apply 12v power to them means the two systems are cross linked which is not right. I do not have a zig unit in my Safari and so cannot speak from experience.

On my Safari I have two totally separate electrical systems - a 12v system that is powered by the battery in the front box, and a mains supply that works a second set of lights in all areas. I can then use my battery charger to recharge the battery when I am connected to a mains supply. I have in emergency run a supply from my tow car to the caravan 12v input but you need to make sure you do not flatten your car battery.

The battery has to be a leisure battery and not a standard car battery.

As you are proposing to have the public sleep in your Safari, my strong advice would be to get a caravan expert to check and recommission all your gas appliances, and issue you with a gas safety certificate. The electrics can be checked either by a domestic electrician or an auto electrician

I have some hub caps in my stock of spares, I am going to take picture of them and post them soon as it seems there have been several different types available over the years.

I am sure other members will be able to help further - whereabouts are you in the UK? Someone local to you may even come and visit you to help.

[richard60]

Hello Brian. Thanks for your reply. We are in Holmfirth, West Yorkshire. There's definitely something wacky going on with the Zig box. I've been playing with it again and I seem to be getting inconsistent results so yes, an electrician needs to check things over. Regarding the gas, it was safety checked a year ago. For safety reasons, I had hoped to avoid the public using the gas at all but that may not be possible. Looks like I need a check-over and some basic training for the gas too. Do you have a record of the caravan and any history? Are there clips for the trims? Presumably they're of a standard automotive type.

[Brian M]

Richard

A bit far north for me to pop over, I am in Essex!

Your serial number is a new one for the register. If you post a picture or two I may have previous photos of it in my albums. You are correct about your build date. The 80 year identifier was started in October 1979 and as yours is a low number for the year I would guess it was made in November/December 1979.

The hub caps are what holds the trims in place!

[richard60]

Hi Brian. Thanks again. I have found someone local on the internet who looks a good bet for an all-round service and check-over. Keep me posted (pardon the pun) regarding the hub caps. Any idea of build numbers and survival rates for Safaris? Any better than average for caravans in general? Are they considered among the better makes and models? I've found some caravan history books online but they are out of print and extremely expensive second hand. I'll take some pics of our van and post them at some point. Just renovating the step at the moment (about my level, technically!) Cheers, Richard

[margo]

Hi Richard,

I may be able to help with the Zig panel assuming it is a CF8
The switches can appear confusing but they do make sense once you get the hang of it.

The mains switch is self-explanatory but it only powers the unit and the built in charger. It doesn’t control any of the other mains equipment you may have nor does it control the fridge.

The middle Touring/On-Site switch could be otherwise known as Charging or represented by a graphical image. This is simply a 12 volt source selector. Touring would be 12 volts sourced from the tow vehicle (assuming the 12S wiring is correct!). It would also allow the caravan battery to be charged from the tow vehicle whilst towing. The On-Site setting is simply that. The 12 volt source is from either from the Zig panel (assuming you have mains hook-up) or the caravan battery. With the mains hook-up connected the caravan battery will be automatically charged.

The 12 Volt switch is an isolator for all of the 12 volt circuits. With it off naturally nothing will work except for battery charging.

Note* if your caravan battery is completely knackered you might experience a strange effect from say the 12 volt lights. A battery is required to smooth out the 12 volt supply from the Zig panel. Fluorescent lights are particularly sensitive and require a relatively stable current.

Good luck...

[Deleted]

Hello there I will be able to help more when in the uk after 6th your setup sounds the same as my 82 14/2 had. Ill give you a reply after 6th August. I would recommend always getting a caravan engineer to check things over aswel he will be able to locate any problems and tell you how everything works!!

[Brian M]

I would not claim authorship of this technical piece - Oliver who wrote it posted it in the wrong section and asked me to move it.

By Oliver1



As a recent returnee to this site I am coming in late on this.

I fully concur with Margo's comments on the Zig unit. All models (I think) of Zig units provide basically the same functionality although outward appearances and some details differ; essentially it is a combined battery charger and 12V distribution board. The Mains switch controls the 240V mains supply to the battery charger (only); you will normally leave this "on" at all times, but may occasionally wish to switch it off while changing batteries, or if your battery becomes overcharged. Note that this does not isolate other mains functions; the fridge (if you have a 3-way one) and any 13A sockets fitted will remain live, but in a late model van such as yours you should have a consumer unit (comprising at least an isolator switch and RCD and two fuses or alternatively circuit breakers, plus possibly a polarity indicator) as the first item in the 240V wiring.

The 12V switch is an isolator for the output. As both you and Margo say, if it is turned "off" nothing will work; that is what it is for!

The one in the middle is a selector for which source is to be used for charging the battery. "Car" enables it to be charged from the towing vehicle (via the 12S connection), "mains" enables it to be charged from the 240V site supply.

The Bowen water heater was the water heater used as standard by Safari up to about 1980; it was good technology for its time, but (if I have my dates correct) at least in its later years it was contemporary with the Carver 1, which was quieter and had the advantage of a more flexible thermostat which could be controlled from inside the caravan, and (if I remember correctly) automatic electric ignition. For many owners the Carver 1 would therefore have been the better and more convenient system, although I have only ever met a single example, and that happened not to be in a Safari; however by about 1980 (again if I have my dates right) the Carver 2 had come onto the market, and this was a vastly better system. This was quiet in operation, and had automatic electric ignition, although the interior control of the thermostat had been discarded, and the GLE option included an electric heating element which ran off the site's 240V supply and thus saved your gas consumption.

I had a Bowen on my present caravan when I bought it, but found it temperamental until it had been professionally serviced, and even then I found that its pilot light tended to blow out in gale conditions. And relighting it was a minor chore, especially in windy conditions or during a downpour. Eventually I had it replaced by a Henry, which is similar to a Carver 2 but by a different manufacturer.

It is a nice coincidence that the name Bowen sounds not entirely dissimilar to Boeing, because when the main burner fires up it has a roar that is reminiscent of a jet engine! You may or may not be able to obtain service parts for it, but for your intended application - using the caravan for "hotel guests" - I suggest that the Bowen is not suitable, both because of its noise level and because it does require some familiarity with the procedure for relighting it. I would suggest that for your intended use you replace it with a modern water heater, with the electric heating element option.

[oliver1]

Correction: for Carver 1 read Cascade 1 (made by Carver), and similarly for the Carver 2.



Oliver