Eberspacher Heater opinions sought and fitting advice (1 Viewer)

[haganap]

Jon, you may of hit the nail on the head. Broken Link Removed

In this diagram I think that I can access the fuel tank sender unit from the floor pan of the cab. and fit from there. I will have to have a look on Saturday whilst Bungy holds my spanners and nikki dries her hair in there van with his new inverter

 

[jonandshell]

Red diesel fuel is only slightly different chemically from regular automotive diesel fuel, but there can be a significant difference in cost. The cheaper red diesel fuel could conceivably work in place of the more expensive automotive diesel fuel, but that would defeat the purpose of a fuel tax. In order to ensure that home heating oil, which is minimally taxed, is not used as diesel fuel, which can be heavily taxed, revenue agents require home heating oil to receive a special red dye. This liquid red dye can be detected in even the smallest samples taken for examination.

They are to all intents and purposes the same and as such the heater manufacturers are quite used to seeing red diesel in their products. All marinas on the south coast that supply diesel ONLY supply red diesel, so there is No-Way of avoiding red and there is no difference in the burn to white diesel.

As they fit more heaters to boats than motor homes they will be quite used to it.

We had our Webasto Duatop looked at under warranty.

I was the ECU which was the culprit- corrupt software.

However, during getting the job done, the owner at the service centre told me explicitly that on the Dualtop, at least, running it on anything other than DERV would invalidate the warranty.

Red diesel is NOT the came as DERV.

Red Diesel is produced under BS2869 and is generally available as grade A2
with a cetane rating of 45. A higher cetane rating provides a better ignition
quality and in comparison road diesel is produced to meet EN590 and has a
cetane rating of 51.

Also, home heating oil is not the same a red diesel, we have 1000 litres outside and it does not smell the same! Just as well, because I wouldn't like it to wax up once it gets cold this winter!

Hope this clears things up.

 

[BwB]

Couple of thoughts;

It tells you in the manual what fuel the heater will run on. I think if you're stuck up a mountain it would be worth sticking to the recommended.

If you're going to run your own heater outlets, don't forget any underfloor heating heating you may need for water tanks etc.

You can get insulated pipework for the heater outlet which might help on a long run.

You may be able to get to the top of the van's fuel tank through the cab area? I'm almost sure you can on mine. Don't use the existing fuel pipes, but drop a new fuel pickup into the existing tank. Just cut the new fuel pickup so that it only reaches about 2/3 down into the tank giving you enough left over to drive off. The heater pump can take a little while to prime if it's fuel runs out so you don't really want it doing this too often.

The pump for the heater is a pulse pump which can give an annoying clicking noise if you manage to mount the pump somewhere where that noise is magnified (been there done that) but mounted thoughtfully will be almost silent.

You can get a "hair dryer" hose which will "plug" into most blown hot air outlets which might be of interest to your wife?

Great little heaters though, you won't be sorry.

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[thehutchies]

I've fitted a few in my work vans and it's a fairly simple job.
I'll have my work van at Lady Heyes next week so you can have a look (and, importantly, a listen )
I'll agree with previous comments that they are very effective, though.

 

[jhorsf]

Just a thought but how much more does it cost to stay in a warm hotel when you go skiing?

Is it really more cost effective to put a new heater in your van?

I am only asking the question I do not have any answers

 

[aba]

when my dad was working they used to have eberspacher heaters on the busses where he worked and he said they were supplied with a standpipe that fitted a standard Jerry can and they used to run them on parafin as it don't wax up like derv used to.

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[ericonabike]

Can't help on the technical side, but we have an Eberspacher fited to our Autocruise - 4 blower outlets, and does the water too. Works on diesel or mains and 'Boost' uses both apparently! Very effective - can't imagine why you'd want to have a separate tank as that seems to defeat the object? It sips diesel - the figures are in the manual somewhere, but it really is a minuscule amount. There's some kind of mechanism in this so that it won't work if your tank's less than 1/4 full, which seems reasonable.

The only downside for me is the battery drain. We ran ours on a freezing night in January and the battery was below 12v by the morning. I talked about it to an Eberspacher rep at the NEC and he advised multi-battery/solar was necessary if you were off-grid for more than a night or so. Whereas gas is more expensive, but doesn't need much battery power! You pays your money...

 

[jonandshell]

A Truma Combi will chomp away at your battery capacity in a similar way to a diesel heater.

Its only the old S-series fires that don't use battery power unless you use the blown air option.

Diesel heater technology has moved on. Our Webasto ticks over at a low heat rather than switching on and off. This saves on battery capacity by not using the high wattage glow plug repeatedly.

 

[Forestboy]

Just a thought but how much more does it cost to stay in a warm hotel when you go skiing?

Is it really more cost effective to put a new heater in your van?

I am only asking the question I do not have any answers

Been having the same thoughts myself.
The cost is quite hefty not sure I could justify it, think I'll carry a couple of extra gas bottles got plenty of payload especially skiing as I dont carry the m/bike.

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[edgy]

Hi Paul i cant see a problem in fitting one of these to your van only that be careful what you buy because there are different output ones . i have them fitted to the wagons and they are not the same as fitted in to coaches and buses, obviously due to the fact of the size of the vehicle. They do have there own fuel pump to the heater so a t in to the line is not a problem. I have a pit in my workshop so no problem getting underneath if you need to.:thumb:

 

[darklord]

The best tanks are marine tanks. I have a 22ltr model, plastic, with a handle and a fitting for the supply pipe to the heater, it even has a rudimentary fuel guage. You can either fit it in, or temp fit it in, so it can be removed for filling. small ratchet straps are OK and safe enough to hold it in place.

Where do I use mine, I use it as the fuel tank for my landrover, as a replacement for the beggared original is £250, worked OK for the last 12 months, and passed the MOT.

 

[haganap]

Just a thought but how much more does it cost to stay in a warm hotel when you go skiing?

Is it really more cost effective to put a new heater in your van?

I am only asking the question I do not have any answers

Its not all about skiing. Its far more than that.

And in answer to your question, about 4k all in for a family when we are forced to go and to the resorts we like. In our MH £1500 all in.


When will you ever learn JH, its about toys and keeping me busy with projects.

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[jhorsf]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCVlNX1esbQ&feature=related"]Eberspacher Airtronic D2 12v DC Shown Fully Working after a Refurbishment from www.Eberspachers.com - YouTube[/ame]

 

[robinwickens]

Hi.
We have one of these that was fitted in the factory by Auto-Trail.
It is a single inlet/single outlet and the outlet has been tee'd off to feed two outlets. One in the main living area by the door and one into our new shower room. I would suggest adjustable vents so that you can choose where you want the most heat at any particular time?
We find that the output is fine, heat wise.
We can't tell you what the consumption is as regards fuel/battery yet as we have only used it for short periods.
The fan noise is quite bearable, initially it winds itself up to full speed and then revs decrease as temperature increases so that it is just ticking over.
This assumes that you will have control stat fitted!
You can also have a timer fitted which is nice if you leave the van 'cause it's nice and toasty when you get back.
Also you can run the heater whilst you are traveling. Ambulances fit these as standard.
I understand that you can obtain larger models with multiple outlets if needed.
Our inlet hose is inside the vehicle under a bed base. It obtains its air from a vent in the floor but I have also seen intakes fitted on the side of a bed base. I assume that it is better to take the air from vehicle interior as opposed to frigid air from the exterior.
No nasty smells anywhere as the heating is secondary to the burner and all combustion products are vented outside through an exhaust pipe.
Ours is mildly smokey when starting during cold weather, a little wisp of smoke in warm weather. Same as any diesel. As has been said a separate tank might be useful if you would like to run on red diesel.
Although these are more expensive to purchase they are far cheaper to run than bottled gas alternatives, and safer!
Finding a second hand unit is a hens teeth experience and if found need to be inspected thoroughly.

 

[welshcowboy]

hi everyone,, i have a diesel night heater in our camper the only problem i have is that when we was away a month or so ago we left it on over night plus used it a few times in the day times and we went to go home and the battery was dead as it is wired to the main engine battery,, does anyone know if i can fit something inline on the wiring that will stop the heater working if it drops below a surtain voltage,, cheers

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[robinwickens]

hi everyone,, i have a diesel night heater in our camper the only problem i have is that when we was away a month or so ago we left it on over night plus used it a few times in the day times and we went to go home and the battery was dead as it is wired to the main engine battery,, does anyone know if i can fit something inline on the wiring that will stop the heater working if it drops below a surtain voltage,, cheers

Hi.
Yes you can fit an electronic switch that will cut off one or all items on a circuit if the voltage drops below a certain point.
The main question is why your device is run from your vehicle battery when it should be run from a separate battery?
Best to fit a leisure battery and split relay charger?

 

[welshcowboy]

hi its wired to the main battery since ive had the van i find it better like this for everday use as we use the camper as a everyday vehicle and use the heater to keep it warm in the back for the kids i would prefer to keep it on the main battery and not put it too the leisure battery,,
what type of switch can i get or what will it be called so i can look for one cheers

 

[FULL TIMER]

The heater should shutdown automatically when it reaches 10.5 volts for a period of 20 seconds, other than that it might be worth contacting these
www.mellorautoelectrical.co.uk they might have something suitable . However I would also advise wiring to the leisure batteries it should still be ok for everyday use as these batteries should be getting charged when your engine is running, you can also get a battery protection device something like this should be suitable Link Removed or maybe this one Link Removed
I have this system fitted to mine as do a lot of emergency vehicles
Link Removed

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[1Oll]

Eberspacher and winterisation.

Has anyone thought of running the Eberspacher exhaust through the centre of the external water tank to keep it frost free?
Sealed Stainless tube through the tank?
Keeps you warm and the bonus would be a frost free water supply.
B.

 

[Snowbird]

Has anyone thought of running the Eberspacher exhaust through the centre of the external water tank to keep it frost free?
Sealed Stainless tube through the tank?
Keeps you warm and the bonus would be a frost free water supply.
B.

Mine runs through the garage under the fresh water tank, keeping the tank from freezing and the garage aired.

 

[treeman]

I found my Eberspacher too has been wired into the main vehicle battery - I think this was because the leisure battery did not always have enough power to start the heater, although it could run it ok when going. The previous owner explained to me you had to start the MH engine to run the heater (but he didn't know why when he sold me the MH so I only found out through testing). I would presume all the Eberspachers have the low-voltage cut out's to stop whichever battery you are using from draining so not a big problem being wired to main battery.
I've since re-wired heater to run off LB and use a small genny to boost LB at startup and top up batteries at same time. Brilliant heaters and warms my whole van in minutes, although mine is an older model it does go on and off all night to keep a pre-set heat in the van which could wake some people.

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[Snowbird]

I found my Eberspacher too has been wired into the main vehicle battery - I think this was because the leisure battery did not always have enough power to start the heater, although it could run it ok when going. The previous owner explained to me you had to start the MH engine to run the heater (but he didn't know why when he sold me the MH so I only found out through testing). I would presume all the Eberspachers have the low-voltage cut out's to stop whichever battery you are using from draining so not a big problem being wired to main battery.
I've since re-wired heater to run off LB and use a small genny to boost LB at startup and top up batteries at same time. Brilliant heaters and warms my whole van in minutes, although mine is an older model it does go on and off all night to keep a pre-set heat in the van which could wake some people.

That is exactly how mine is. Its wired to the engine battery and before it will start I have to be either on hookup or the engine running. Once its gone through the startup program I can switch off the engine and it will run all night.