Hymer Exsis I 588 2014 Fiat 150 water ingress

Oven flue leaks

 
 
 
 
 
 
Ngodima
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Hymer Exsis I 588 2014 Fiat 150 water ingress

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Posted: 18.03.2023  ·  #1
Hi, I imprted this vehicle from Germany this time last year. I purchased from a registered dealer with good references. I did labour the question about damp and damp inspection and received resounding dry sounds from them. Before I left them there was some rain and water poured in from the aircon, so they removed and resealed that (question leak inspection). Lucky timing! Another shower later that week and water appeared on the floor below the fridge and aircon. Confounding, so the aircon was checked again. Later I thought the aircon drains were blocked and I cleaned them out. No more water on the floor. Getting back to Ireland this week and after a very wet few days at Fishguard, I took a tight curve to the right and water showered down on the floor again. Further inspection showed a lake in the tray below the oven that is above the fridge. I removed the panel above the oven and noticed water cascading down the outside of the oven flue. It was raining in Dublin at the time. I checked the flue on the roof and it was loose. Inside the laminated roof panel was soft and soggy around the flue orifice. The cause of the original leak appears to be sloppy installation, as the flue orifice intersects the joint in the hail protection layers on the roof. The mastic used to plug the irregularity was dry and brittle. So my question is, Do I have to really worry? 🤔 the water does not seem to have got between the outer Al skin and insulation more than 5mm. However the plywood layer underneath is soft and rotten and area about size of a dinner plate. The bit that scares me is the wet channel to the side that could have let water reach the roof/sidewall join and then migrated front and back along the join. Hymer have a complex roof/sidewall join and I am hoping it is robust enough to resist corrosion of the outer skin along the join, if water did in fact get that far. I can't see any damp in the inside sidewall below the leak, but the join area inside is covered by a plastic structure. Anyway if you read all this I appreciate it, and if anyone has some knowledge of the Hymer construction techniques that could answer my question it would be nice. I will attach photos. I am busy drying it out, replacing the flue and fitting a 1.5mm Al plate on the ceiling to stablise tightening it all up. I am hoping this will be sufficient and the roof skin won't break out in acne a few years from now.
Regards Paddy

p.s how do I move this this post to the technical forum?


Ron W
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Re: Hymer Exsis I 588 2014 Fiat 150 water ingress

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Posted: 18.03.2023  ·  #2
Quote by Ngodima

Hi, I imprted this vehicle from Germany this time last year. I purchased from a registered dealer with good references. I did labour the question about damp and damp inspection and received resounding dry sounds from them. Before I left them there was some rain and water poured in from the aircon, so they removed and resealed that (question leak inspection). Lucky timing! Another shower later that week and water appeared on the floor below the fridge and aircon. Confounding, so the aircon was checked again. Later I thought the aircon drains were blocked and I cleaned them out. No more water on the floor. Getting back to Ireland this week and after a very wet few days at Fishguard, I took a tight curve to the right and water showered down on the floor again. Further inspection showed a lake in the tray below the oven that is above the fridge. I removed the panel above the oven and noticed water cascading down the outside of the oven flue. It was raining in Dublin at the time. I checked the flue on the roof and it was loose. Inside the laminated roof panel was soft and soggy around the flue orifice. The cause of the original leak appears to be sloppy installation, as the flue orifice intersects the joint in the hail protection layers on the roof. The mastic used to plug the irregularity was dry and brittle. So my question is, Do I have to really worry? 🤔 the water does not seem to have got between the outer Al skin and insulation more than 5mm. However the plywood layer underneath is soft and rotten and area about size of a dinner plate. The bit that scares me is the wet channel to the side that could have let water reach the roof/sidewall join and then migrated front and back along the join. Hymer have a complex roof/sidewall join and I am hoping it is robust enough to resist corrosion of the outer skin along the join, if water did in fact get that far. I can't see any damp in the inside sidewall below the leak, but the join area inside is covered by a plastic structure. Anyway if you read all this I appreciate it, and if anyone has some knowledge of the Hymer construction techniques that could answer my question it would be nice. I will attach photos. I am busy drying it out, replacing the flue and fitting a 1.5mm Al plate on the ceiling to stablise tightening it all up. I am hoping this will be sufficient and the roof skin won't break out in acne a few years from now.
Regards Paddy


Personally i would make sure that its sealed correctly outside as not to let any water in a good sealant like silkoflex. Then get the van closed up & put a dehumidifier close to the affected area to dry it thoroughly & Document everything.

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Ngodima
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Good FB

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Posted: 18.03.2023  ·  #3
Thanks Ron.
Great idea about documentation.

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Davy
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Re: Hymer Exsis I 588 2014 Fiat 150 water ingress

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Posted: 18.03.2023  ·  #4
I have a 2016 (2015 model) Hymer B598. Everything I have read indicates that my van has no structural timber in it. The roof is aluminium with foam sandwich as are the walls. The floor is foam sandwich with a ‘plastic’ underside. Vans of this era were manufactured using their PUAL system for frame and joints, so any wet timber would not affect the integrity of the van.

Worth looking at the Hymer website and YouTube for details of how they were built around then. Sadly Donagheys who were the Irish dealers have ceased trading otherwise they could have advised, however I dare say there are a few dealers and servicing companies who might advise.

There is a Hymer owners group (closed, so you need to join), sadly this is on Facebook. I have not found a web based hymer forum. As you would expect a lot of the posts are photos of locations, often with plates of food and drink in the foreground. You need to take some of the technical answers with large doses of salt as there is a lot of inaccurate info spouted. Having said that, it is the only source of personal experience and there are some knowledgeable posters.

You may wish to invest in a half decent damp meter to help you document your progress in repairing and drying the van.

I shall look at my 2015/16 brochure when next I am in my loft and if I find any info on build I will post it.

http://www.southdownsmotorcara…nology.php

Davy

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Hymer Exsis I 588 2014 Fiat 150 water ingress

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Posted: 18.03.2023  ·  #5
I would also recommend, the Documentation with photos of everything,
Sending everything to the dealer asking g when are they, going to collect the van in order to do all the repairs since they mislead you on the condition in the first place,
Also send all correspondence to Hymer German asking all the questions you have asked here. And if the supplier is a Hymer agent, point out their lack of proper supervision of one of their dealers,

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Ngodima
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Re: Hymer Exsis I 588 2014 Fiat 150 water ingress

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Posted: 27.03.2023  ·  #6
It's all good advice thanks. The dealer is in Germany and I am unlikely to get any traction. I am very happy that I eventually found this motorhome's hidden secret. Every used motorhome has at least one. Not having any wood in the structure is comforting. I have in the past experienced the Al outer skin bubbling (I suspect half cell activity) when water gets between it and the insulation. I was worried this might happen along the roof/sidewall join in this case. I am hoping it will be fine (90%) as there's basically nothing else to do but replace the whole roof. I am busy with the repair. New flue, Al plate underneath to stabilise the soft part of the ceiling, Sika 522 where appropriate and 2 weeks drying with a fan heater shoved in the space above the oven where the flue is located.
My first MH that I bought in Germany in 2001 (1992 Fiat 2.5 TD Weinsberg 650 100000km) had had the timing chain snap whist running. I only found out when I had to have the engine redone at 150000km, there was a valve mark on one piston. Water ingress problems hounded me for the last 10 years, but I learned a lot, so I actually prefer to do things myself where I can.

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