Diesel Or Propane unit? (1 Viewer)

[creativeglenn]

We are unhappy with the design of our gas heater in the van as the heat comes from a vent that is a good two foot off the ground like most motorhomes and caravans.
It ends up leaving a low down cold spot where the legs are.
So we want something like a blower near floor level that gets hot quick.
I am wondering which will be cheaper to run, a Propex unit or a diesel unit.
I know the Propex units are cheaper to buy where as the diesel ones are over double the cost.
So I am also wondering about the option of having a permanent gas tank that can be refilled.
The only thing with that is can I refil this at the pump myself like an lpg car?
Which of the two creates more noise?
Which one would be safer?
I understand that you are not allowed to go under the channel tunnel with gas bottles also so wonder if this applies to a permanent tank.
Lots of questions I know but my head is spinning with the options.
Thanks for your time.

 

[hilldweller]

We are unhappy with the design of our gas heater in the van as the heat comes from a vent that is a good two foot off the ground like most motorhomes and caravans.

Not ours !

Just a thought, can you not make some for of deflector to direct the air downwards ?

 

[pappajohn]

cant help with most of your questions but i can clarify two points....

bottled gas is allowed in the tunnel....max of two 15kg i believe and they must be turn off and secured to the van.
tank gas isnt allowed unless its propulsion gas...lpg engine conversion.

yes, you can fill fixed tanks at petrol stations providing you have a proper, recognised fill point, usually external but could be in a locker, which you would have anyway.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[scotjimland]

bottled gas is allowed in the tunnel....max of two 15kg i believe and they must be turn off and secured to the van.
tank gas isnt allowed unless its propulsion gas...lpg engine conversion.

Think you got confused John ...

LPG tanks ARE allowed in the tunnel for domestic use and turned off..

LPG converted vehicles are NOT allowed

jim

 

[creativeglenn]

Thanks guys.
I dont think the reflector idea would be safe or visually appealing.
Are the propex units more powerfull than the standard carver or is it truma gas fires?
Ours dont really seem to pump out that much hot air accept in the shower room and it does take a while to heat up.
Perhaps I should have a play around with the blower pipes and only have one connected to see if I get more power in the lounge area where we want the heat low down.
Ive heard the propex ones are near instant hot air which is ideal if comming back from the pub in cold winter nights and to take the chill off the van.
I have also noticed there are no floor vents in our van only a vent low down in the side door.
Is this normal in a motorhome as our caravan had floor vents?

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

Are the propex units more powerfull than the standard carver or is it truma gas fires?
Ours dont really seem to pump out that much hot air accept in the shower room and it does take a while to heat up.
Perhaps I should have a play around with the blower pipes and only have one connected to see if I get more power in the lounge area where we want the heat low down.

We used to have this problem with the truma in the caravan. Also everytime the door was opened we were back to square 1 ,
" close the door:Angry:" (Poor Kids)
We found that if we closed off the bathroom vent it made it a bit better. Not much , but every little helped. Oh and nice thick socks or slippers
Must admit the heating on the MH is 100% better, and the fact the walls and floors are a lot better insulated which makes it warmer.
Bev

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Terry]

Hi creativeglenn,sorry but I am confused ? if you already have hot air vents then you should be able to extend / close off pipes to force air where you want it to go.
As to diesel heater or gas your choices are probably D. ESBASHER (spelt wrong ) Gas propex or truma all 3 of of which I have had and found they all work good if a little noisy on start up / full power buy once warm you can use them on half power / quieter :thumb:The Propex one is only one way up for fixing while the Truma one can be fixed either flat or on lt's side (narrow space?)and only requires one hole for both intake and exhaust (1 inside the other) the propex needs 2 one for each.At the moment I have the truma unit and in the couple of vans before that the propex units.Both are around £450 to buy compared with £1000 for the esbasher unit. £550 buys an awful lot of gas :thumb: and I have found all 3 units to be reliable,but the esbasher is expensive to service (around £150/200 for the kit ) again buying new I would think it will be a very long time before needing a kit.The more vents / outlets the less heat comes out but they all handle 2 or 3 easy :thumb:
terry

 

[pappajohn]

Think you got confused John ...

LPG tanks ARE allowed in the tunnel for domestic use and turned off..

LPG converted vehicles are NOT allowed

jim

thats egzacly wot i sed......only me fingers got carried away on the keys.... is (NT) allowed

yes. thats what i meant and im sticking to my excuse. :Blush:

 

[creativeglenn]

Hi creativeglenn,sorry but I am confused ? if you already have hot air vents then you should be able to extend / close off pipes to force air where you want it to go.
As to diesel heater or gas your choices are probably D. ESBASHER (spelt wrong ) Gas propex or truma all 3 of of which I have had and found they all work good if a little noisy on start up / full power buy once warm you can use them on half power / quieter :thumb:The Propex one is only one way up for fixing while the Truma one can be fixed either flat or on lt's side (narrow space?)and only requires one hole for both intake and exhaust (1 inside the other) the propex needs 2 one for each.At the moment I have the truma unit and in the couple of vans before that the propex units.Both are around £450 to buy compared with £1000 for the esbasher unit. £550 buys an awful lot of gas :thumb: and I have found all 3 units to be reliable,but the esbasher is expensive to service (around £150/200 for the kit ) again buying new I would think it will be a very long time before needing a kit.The more vents / outlets the less heat comes out but they all handle 2 or 3 easy :thumb:
terry

Thanks Terry great reply.
I have tried shutting different vent to get more power but no luck.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[JeanLuc]

I know nothing about the layout of your van, but before installing another heater, would it be possible to add a branch and more ducting to the existing system? If it's a Truma, I believe you can get spare ducting and a T-piece. If it's possible to conceal them, you might be able to run one or more ducts to the floor level.

Philip

 

[Terry]

Hi creativeglenn, sorry for late reply been away :thumb: by more power do you mean more air being forced through ? You will have 2 settings - hi and lo ? on low it still produces the heat just not as powerful blow but quieter :thumb:Even if you only have one vent hole into your van it should heat up the whole van in about half hour on low power and probably 20 mins on full :thumb:We usually stick it on full for 5 mins which in my van is warm then turn it on low power and let the thermostat take over
terry

 

[pablomc]

Might seem obvious and apologies if you have already checked, but have you checked to make sure the blown air pipes are properly connected to the back of the heater? We had a similar issue only to find that the pipe was not fully connected and most of the warm air was lost out the behind the heater.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}