Retrofitted a Webasto EVO 40 diesel heater to a 2016 Hymer Exsis-I (1 Viewer)

[Urs4_2008]

Nice work... im sure you will be rewarded with a lovely warm mh when away sking...
Im surprised the fuel tank didnt have an auxillary off take pipe already fitted...i thought most manufacturers did that now ....
Do you have a link to or photo of the fitting you did use for the fuel offtake...
Did you look into the options of getting a large underslung lpg tank fitted or not...i know you said it wasnt common in norway and i wondered why...is pumped lpg not readily available... and i suppose that would have involved carrying a good deal more weight..

My sister lives at the top end of lake nisser close to a little village called vrodål... when i visit i do see an increasing number of mh' on the road but most are foreign plated...
You norwegians seem to love your huts rather than motorhomes..
Andy.
Ps.. ill watch your video when i get a better WiFi connection..

The car (fiat based) has a marking of where to make a hole. As far as I can see, I do not think there is a pipe already fittet - that would make it a lot easier. I will try to find a link to this clever stand pipe.

Many of us needs a car that totals below 3500 kilos. A 100+ kilos of LPG tank would take too much of available loading weight. LPG is not very available either.

There are an increasingly bigger number of Norwegians bying MH, but most park it during the winter. Vrådal is a nice village! Yes, owning a hut is sometimes considered a measurement of success. But we see a small increase in number of MH on the road during winter

 

[Urs4_2008]

That was an absolutely fascinating read............ thanks for posting it all and in such easily understood detail

Thanks for your feedback!

 

[Urs4_2008]

We had a diesel heater on a previous van. They are very efficient and use very little diesel. However they do use a lot of power on start up so need a good 12v supply. They are also very noisy and smelly. Personally I would have fitted a large under slung gas tank and kept with the Truma if I was you.

Hi, and Thanks for your Feedback. The Webasto EVO is a cleverly designed unit which doesn’t smell and requires not too much power during startup. During winter trips normally the unit is started at home several hours before takeoff, and then runs constantly until we’re back home, so this is not an issue.

A large gas tank is not an option because of weight and space limitations.

Currently, a fully winter configured MH travel ready, with family aboard, weighs in at about 3500 kilos...

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[andy63]

Yes, owning a hut is sometimes considered a measurement of success.

Haha... that is an understatment... the ever increasing number of huts ive seen springing up over norway since i first started visiting is alarming...
And they do seem to be getting more luxurious...
Dont worry about the link to the fitting for the tank if its not handy... i was just a little curious...
I have a ford base and it came with an auxiliary off take pipe on the diesel tank as standard...it just required cutting and the standpipe fitting available from the manufacturer fitting to it... i assume yours will prevent the tank been run dry while using the heating? ?

Have you actually weighed your van on a weighbridge in fully loaded trim... that figure of 3500kg is getting hard to achieve on a modern motorhome in my opinion.. especially if you need full water and diesel ..
Thanks again..
Andy.

 

[Urs4_2008]

Haha... that is an understatment... the ever increasing number of huts ive seen springing up over norway since i first started visiting is alarming...
And they do seem to be getting more luxurious...
Dont worry anout the link to the fitting for the tank if its not handy... i was just a little curious...
I have a ford base and it came with an auxiliary off take pipe on the diesel tank as standard...it just required cutting and the standpipe fitting available from the manufacturer fitting to it... i assume yours will prevent the tank been run dry using when the heating? ?

Have you actually weighed your van on a weighbridge in fully loaded trim... that figure of 3500kg is getting hard to achieve on a modern motorhome in my opinion.. especially if you need full water and diesel ..
Thanks again..
Andy.

Regarding the huts, I think you are correct

Maybe the manufacturer (fiat) has a fitting - never thought this was an option and didn’t check. Good tip I did weigh the complete MH when going for winter holiday. I’ll admit i had 3520 kilos with a lot of diesel and a bit of water onboard. All tanks full would mean more overweight. This hymer Exsis is very light weight and has lot of cargo capacity from the factory. But people, gear, clothes, food, water etc does carry a weight...

 

[Urs4_2008]

andy63: As per installation manual the fuel standpipe is supposed to be cut at about 2,5 cm from the tank bottom, preventing the heater to use all available fuel for heating. During testing I believe my heater stopped from lack of fuel about at the same time as the low fuel warning light appeared in the dash - which was almost pure luck

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[gus-lopez]

Thank you for posting what was an excellent thread, fully informative & with a great video. & far from laughing at your 'Norwegian English ' it is far better than most of us would manage in foreign languages. It was in fact excellent.
A friend has an Autocruise with a factory fit eberspacher but combined with water heating as well & works very well.

 

[Urs4_2008]

Different diesel standpipes available:

For marine tanks (big, too big for my install):

Original webasto car standpipe:

The very clever kit I got and installed:

Drill a hole matching the width of the metallic backplate in the photo, push the complete standpipe into the hole, holding the steel wire at the end. Then push the metallic backplate through the hole, pull and shake the steel wire to make the backplate fit over the standpipe. Next, keep pushing the steel springs and rubber washer and pull the steel wire to make everything fall into place.

Lastly, pull the stand pipe top out of the hole, attach the last nut and tighten. Then cut the steel wire, and connect the fuel line. Voila

 

[Urs4_2008]

Thank you for posting what was an excellent thread, fully informative & with a great video. & far from laughing at your 'Norwegian English ' it is far better than most of us would manage in foreign languages. It was in fact excellent.
A friend has an Autocruise with a factory fit eberspacher but combined with water heating as well & works very well.

Thanks Actually, it was an option for me to replace the existing Truma gas water/air heater with an equal Truma diesel water/air heater. This one: Truma Combi D 6 E - combined diesel and electrick air/water heater, which is equal in size and a direct replacement of the unit I have installed.

But this unit costs at least 1000 GBP more, and it didn't solve my requirements of getting heat into the cupboards, and it would most likely generate a bit more noise inside the MH when running. But I did a lot of thinking about this, I'll admit. It would be a much easier project.

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[andy63]

which was almost pure luck

I think you are been a little modest there...you appear to have researched everything thoroughly... im sure you have made your own luck.

Another point that crossed my mind about such installations...
If you plumb the blown air heating from the webasto into the existing truma system can that create any issues re flow of air from either system due to imbalances of pressure or even overheat issues on one of the systems... your system is obviously working so not an issue but its something i would have been concerned about if i wanted to maintain and use both systems at the same time?.
Andy.

 

[Urs4_2008]

I think you are been a little modest there...you appear to have researched everything thoroughly... im sure you have made your own luck.

Another point that crossed my mind about such installations...
If you plumb the blown air heating from the webasto into the existing truma system can that create any issues re flow of air from either system due to imbalances of pressure or even overheat issues on one of the systems... your system is obviously working so not an issue but its something i would have been concerned about if i wanted to maintain and use both systems at the same time?.
Andy.

I have thought a lot about it. I would not put the main part of the diesel heater airflow backwards into the Truma piping. The Truma unit is not designed to have a lot of hot air running backwards into the unit and out of the units air intake - that could be bad. To avoid this, I connected the two systems at the longest distanse away from the Truma unit, and only using connections that allows for very little air to get into the system. Remember, it was not to get actual heating but to avoid the tanks freezing.

To achieve this, I split the airflow as follow:
The first Y diverting 50% of the airflow this direction (A in figure, except it's a 90/90/90 mm). Then a 90/90/60 connection (B), which furthers directs 30% of the 50% airflow for a total of 15% air flow. This runs towards the cupboard. On this 15 % of total airflow I connected another fitting - the 60/60/60 figure D, which directs 40% of the reimaining 15%, making only 6 % reaching the Truma pipes. I even tried figure C, which diverts 10%, but that was too little. To make sure not too much heating getting into the pipes, the last fitting (D) also has a adjustable valve which can be completely closed or any degree open. For now it needs my fingers to access it, but I'm changing it with a unit which has a wire and remotely operated valve.

Adjustable valve fitting, something like this:

And of course a wire.

I have operated both units simultaneously at full speed several times (when I want to heat the car from cold very rapidly), and it seems to work perfectly. And the motorhome gets to a toasty temperature in a hurry using 10.000 watts of heating simultaneously

I forgot to mention that also the heat radiates out of the ducting by itself as a function of the length of the ducting, and from feeling the ducting coming into the unit it's not possible to feel any heat after a day of full speed operation.

 

[Urs4_2008]

The plan further is to pipe into the Truma pipes running on the left side of the MH, to get some heat into the left bed/wall/window and into the bathroom. This is closer to the Truma so I will need a remotely operatet valve here aswell. This will also produce some heat into the bathroom.

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[Urs4_2008]

As said, now done Added ducting to get Webasto heat into the original outlet in the bathroom. It was very tight - not a lot of fun. But works perfectly!

 

[Urs4_2008]

See also a short video about it here:

 

[paddymcc]

Great post - we have Truma 6002 on our Hymer but the previous owner added a Webasto (2kw) for similar reasons to you. Ours is in the garage so uses recycled air. It doesn't seem noisy (didn't know you could get a silencer but don't think one is fitted) but haven't really had to use it in ernest -noise would be more of a problem at night. Like the idea of heating the waste tank as you would then be able to just use the Webasto if getting short on gas -may look in to doing this.

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[Urs4_2008]

Great post - we have Truma 6002 on our Hymer but the previous owner added a Webasto (2kw) for similar reasons to you. Ours is in the garage so uses recycled air. It doesn't seem noisy (didn't know you could get a silencer but don't think one is fitted) but haven't really had to use it in ernest -noise would be more of a problem at night. Like the idea of heating the waste tank as you would then be able to just use the Webasto if getting short on gas -may look in to doing this.

Thanks, Paddy Just do it, you won’t regret it, and it’s not very difficult. Could you perhaps share a photo of the install in your motorhome?

 

[paddymcc]

Hi @Urs4_2008 here are photos of my set up. View of the Webasto in a case within the garage -shows the air intake for the heater which is not obstructed by the garage door when closed:

And a view of the 2 vents in the van (brown. Original Truma ones connection to the gas heater are cream) - one in the lower step like you have done and also below the fridge. I noticed that you say that the 2kW heater would normally run just 2 outlets so adding a 3rd to the system might be stretching it - but I like the idea of a closeable outlet going to the waste tank.

 

[Urs4_2008]

Hi @Urs4_2008 here are photos of my set up. View of the Webasto in a case within the garage -shows the air intake for the heater which is not obstructed by the garage door when closed:View attachment 219244 View attachment 219246
And a view of the 2 vents in the van (brown. Original Truma ones connection to the gas heater are cream) - one in the lower step like you have done and also below the fridge. I noticed that you say that the 2kW heater would normally run just 2 outlets so adding a 3rd to the system might be stretching it - but I like the idea of a closeable outlet going to the waste tank.

Looks great! What’s the gauge for? Clever install, looks well made! Do you have a thermostat regulator?

Unfortunately I think it isn’t a good idea to just make an outlet into the tank, because the hot air you insert has to squeeze air out somewhere else, and if you do not have existing piping designed to heat the tank my guess is that the air will blow backwards up the water pipes, pick ut a funny smell and exit in the sink in the kitchen and bathroom.

If you do not have existing piping to heat the tank one option could be to glue insulated XPs plates around the tank, and leave a small space below the tank, and route air into this. Hot air going in into the fake, isolated bottom, and attach an inlet and ducting on the other side, going back into the motorhome somewhere you need a bit of heat. Or just an opening which is a bit dampened, so it cannot blow cold air straight in. You could attach it into current piping using fittings which only use ie 5-10% of total heating capacity providing 100-200 watts of heating below the insulated waste tank (inside the insulation).

You would not waste too much of the capacity in this manner.

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[paddymcc]

Hi @Urs4_2008 -the guages are for the air suspension. Our van (a Merc Hymer) does already have the ducting around the waste tank supplied by the Truma so I could do a similar install to you -the existing trunking goes through the concealed area behind the wood boarding shown in the picture. I appreciate what you say about the air needing to go somewhere. I am not sure how the existing system fitted by Hymer works? Does the warm air go through the tank surround and then on to the internal ducting? Our van is a Merc so no double floor- the tank is underslung but insulated.

 

[Urs4_2008]

Hi @Urs4_2008 -the guages are for the air suspension. Our van (a Merc Hymer) does already have the ducting around the waste tank supplied by the Truma so I could do a similar install to you -the existing trunking goes through the concealed area behind the wood boarding shown in the picture. I appreciate what you say about the air needing to go somewhere. I am not sure how the existing system fitted by Hymer works? Does the warm air go through the tank surround and then on to the internal ducting? Our van is a Merc so no double floor- the tank is underslung but insulated.

Ah, I see. Probably your hymer is a bit like mine. The piping goes in a “U” under the tank and up again. If so, just splice an y connection into the existing ducting towards where the ducting enters the tank.

 

[paddymcc]

That makes sense -I had only looked at one side of the tank! Will check out the other side tomorrow.

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[Urs4_2008]

That makes sense -I had only looked at one side of the tank! Will check out the other side tomorrow.

Great! Take pictures

 

[Urs4_2008]

That makes sense -I had only looked at one side of the tank! Will check out the other side tomorrow.

Did you figure it out?

 

[paddymcc]

No! No outlet on the other side as far as I can see so I suspect it goes up vertically supplying the vent in the garage. I wouldn't know for sure unless I opened up the hidden compartment in the garage so I will leave it for now.

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[Urs4_2008]

If the hidden compartment is anything like mine it’s only four screws that need undoing.

 

[Urs4_2008]

0 degrees Fahrenheit (-18 degrees Celsius) this weekend, Webasto had no issues keeping the motorhome nice and toasty and even some sun, so the panels had topped everything up again by noon Heating in cupboards and now bathroom worked perfectly.

 

[Urs4_2008]

-6 degrees Fahrenheit (-22 celcius) at Geilo, Norway this Easter and the Webasto has no trouble keeping the motorhome at 75 Fahrenheit (24 celsius). Even having the main sky roof partly open to air out moist air. No moisture except the front window after a nights sleep (little circulation when front bed is lowered) and if the blinds are shut on the smaller windows (again preventing circulation). After a few hours the front window is clear again. I had more problems with moisture with only Truma running.

The diesel heater doesn’t run at full speed either, so will probably work fine even below -22F / -30C. And I still have 6000 watts of Truma gas heating to turn on if the Webasto isn’t enough.

Clothes and shoes dry very quickly in the cupboards

There are a few other motorhome here as well. I saw one of the neighbours out very early to change gas bottles. Can’t say I miss that

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[mat-mh]

The video seems to be locked, anybody know how to view it?

 

[Ivory55]

The video seems to be locked, anybody know how to view it?

I think some stuff is only available if you’re a paid up member, that might be why.