2KW diesel heater installed. Review, performance, sound, cost.

[Gromett]

Well sooted up, how long had it run for
( sorry can’t remember)

5 weeks. Pretty much non stop on the lowest setting.

The replacement I am running on full power at least one a day to get the burn chamber up to the highest temperature and burn off the soot.
Will see how that goes once I fix the exhaust problem.

 

[Gromett]

While I was sat at my computer waiting for a client to respond, The global network for Digital Ocean in NYC and Toronto went down so I couldn't do that particular job.

So I went out to my man cave and decided to have another go at it. I got my Jewellers Loupe out and my thread pitch gauges and figured out the right thread pitch size.
Out came the tap and die set and I retapped the hole including a little bit of one side of the new burn chamber hole. Naughty but it is literally 2mm of the circumference so will be fine.
I then trimmed the gasket so it wasn't obstructing 1/3rd of the hole and then went to town on the pipe.

Anyway, I finally got it all back together and the massive pile of soot cleaned up. I just went to get a photo of the soot pile off my phone and realised I didn't take one
So to put it into context. I had literally a full coffee mug of soot and the burn chamber is a cup and a half in size perhaps a cup and 2/3rds. So it was well full of soot.

Unfortunately the base rubber seal had hardened and when I tried to put it back on over the kinked fuel inlet pipe it cracked. So another part to order.

At this rate I am going to become pretty adept at servicing these things

I am not pulling my bed to pieces tonight and crawling under the caravan. So you will have to wait till tomorrow to find out if I fixed it or REALLY broke it.

 

[OnlyTony]

While I was sat at my computer waiting for a client to respond, The global network for Digital Ocean in NYC and Toronto went down so I couldn't do that particular job.

So I went out to my man cave and decided to have another go at it. I got my Jewellers Loupe out and my thread pitch gauges and figured out the right thread pitch size.
Out came the tap and die set and I retapped the hole including a little bit of one side of the new burn chamber hole. Naughty but it is literally 2mm of the circumference so will be fine.
I then trimmed the gasket so it wasn't obstructing 1/3rd of the hole and then went to town on the pipe.

Anyway, I finally got it all back together and the massive pile of soot cleaned up. I just went to get a photo of the soot pile off my phone and realised I didn't take one
So to put it into context. I had literally a full coffee mug of soot and the burn chamber is a cup and a half in size perhaps a cup and 2/3rds. So it was well full of soot.

Unfortunately the base rubber seal had hardened and when I tried to put it back on over the kinked fuel inlet pipe it cracked. So another part to order.

At this rate I am going to become pretty adept at servicing these things

I am not pulling my bed to pieces tonight and crawling under the caravan. So you will have to wait till tomorrow to find out if I fixed it or REALLY broke it.

Waiting with bated breath for the out come as I want to put one in my Burstner desperate for some heat .

 

[Two on Tour]

Waiting with bated breath for the out come as I want to put one in my Burstner desperate for some heat .

Lots of threads on Chinese diesel heaters on the forum to have a look through.

Broken Link Removed

 

[Raul]

Waiting with bated breath for the out come as I want to put one in my Burstner desperate for some heat .

No need to wait, buy and fit one, there are few of us here, been running them for years without problems.

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[herald_400rl]

Gromett do you happen to know how many Ah per day the heater is using?

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

They are probably all delayed in transit due to the issues in the middle east with the shipping in the gulf and having to go via South Africa rather than the suez.

 

[Gromett]

Gromett do you happen to know how many Ah per day the heater is using?

Yes, I did post that early in the thread. I can't remember off the top of my head and I am just heading out for a laundrette run. If you can't find it let me know and I will read through and find it for you when I get back.

 

[Terry]

Hi Karl, i think you said between 7/8 ltrs of diesel per week and used about 25 amp hrs of battery

 

[herald_400rl]

Yes, I did post that early in the thread. I can't remember off the top of my head and I am just heading out for a laundrette run. If you can't find it let me know and I will read through and find it for you when I get back.

That you did, found it!
"My 100Ah Lithium battery is down to 77% so it has used 23AH to power it for the week"

Thanks, that's less than I thought which is good as our lead acid is only 70ish amps and we get 4 days off grid as-is. Presumably this would drop us to 2.

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[3crispies]

Gromett I'm interested to hear how the Chinese heater performs. Will you be using it for extended periods, i.e. overnight etc?

I have installed 2.2kW Eberspachers in a number of my vans and found them very good although in a very different price bracket. Recent ones have been used with an 801 modulator with the external thermostat wired, this enables the heater to shut down completely and re-start when the 'stat calls for heat. The re-start is not the full run-up to boost but a much quieter one so peaceful in the night.
The Eberspacher also has a recirculation mode without heating which is nice on hot summer afternoons south of the English Channel! Do the Chinese ones have that mode?

I'm looking at an Autotherm (Planar) version for my new MAN TGE which is a bit less expensive than the Eberspacher but does seem to have very similar functionality. I will also have Truma gas/electric heating in the vehicle but think the additional diesel version may be good.

I'm looking at an Autotherm (Planar) version for my new MAN TGE which is a bit less expensive than the Eberspacher but does seem to have very similar functionality. . apologies late reply; had planar in our last two T6s and now in our T6.1. great for a van but we only have basic mode but never had any issues over last 5+ years...

 

[Brian Thompson]

I installed a 2KW diesel heater 2 days ago. Here is my initial review.

I was heading towards the peak winter usage of gas at 1 bottle per week and these are currently costing £42.99 per swap.
In addition my gas heater just doesn't cut it in the winter even on full blast. So a Diesel heater has been long on the cards.

Now I have my industrial unit I could strip stuff down and had places to store all the crap while I did the work and it wasn't so much of a hassle to do.

Soo. The install. I wanted to install it under the bench seat opposite the one I use as a bed. But due to the water heater being in an awkward position this was not possible with the chassis rails.
Moving it is possible but is a future project and I didn't want to do it just now. So. I installed it under my bed as that is the easiest place to get to. Right at the head of the bed.
It wasn't until I started testing it I suddenly thought about having that fan/tick right next to my head whilst trying to sleep and got a bit concerned.

This fear turned out to be unfounded as once the cushions were back on it is actually quieter than the blower in my Truma gas/electric heater.

Noise levels are therefore not an issue at all with the 2Kw heaters at low. And at low it is heating my caravan beautifully. I have had to turn it off once due to it getting too hot in here once, the sun was out and heating the van up.
Then twice I have opened a roof vent with the fan on for 2 minutes each time to knock down the heat a bit at night. Turning it off cools the van too much and then it has to ramp up to get the temp back up again. So letting a little bit of the hot air out works out better.
It is not something you have to do often with the 2KW heater.

2KW vs 5KW heater. I chose the 2KW heater because I would rather have one that could go very low and use the least diesel rather than work most efficiently in the winter. I think this was the correct decision. The 5KW in my van cab pumps out a LOT more heat on the lowest setting and would have been too much for my caravan.

Usage: The diesel tank gauge hasn't moved off full in the 2 days I have been using it. So I just timed the ticks. It is running at 1 tick a second at night and during the day it drops lower than this. But I just did the maths based on 1 tick per second.
1 tick = a 0.02ml dose. So 0.02ml x 60 x 60 is 72ml an hour and 1.728L a day. I am buying my red diesel at 99p per litre. So the cost is £1.71 a day or £11.97 per week. Even if I have to go the more expensive supplier round here it is £1.15 per litre it would be £1.99 per day or £14 per week. When I can get onto the kerosene it will be £0.79 per litre or £1.36 per day or £9.55 per week. I was considering getting a Kerosene bunded tank but the cost of it and the savings means it is probably not worth the effort. The payback time would be too long.
Anyway I think that is off the beaten track

My calculations are that if you can get red diesel then the cost of running a 2KW diesel heater is a quarter of the price to a third of the price of gas bottles and probably half the cost of LPG.


Summary. Not as noisy as expected, much cheaper to run than expected. Dead easy to install and a good level of heat even on the lowest setting. For a caravan it is better because refillable LPG are not always practical. For a motorhome if you use the main diesel tank I think it still works out cheaper than LPG in a refillable but perhaps not as clear cut depending on the price of Diesel. However, if you are fulltiming during the winter. Having the diesel heater running from your main tank gives you a much long run time before needing to seek a refill. With a dual 13KG gaslow in the peak of winter you would be seeking a refill every 14-18 days. A 90 Litre tank in a fiat ducato would last 53 Days. So there is that advantage to consider also. In 2009 and 2010 winters I got snowed in and had a hellish job getting cyclinders delivered. I couldn't get out to get my Gaslow bottles topped up. It hasn't happened since, but...

Anyway, I will post follow ups if I have any further information.

Hi Very informative posting . I've been looking at a diesel heater for our Autotrail Apache. Would i be able to splice the air output into all my outlet vents or does it just do one vent please ? As we use two separate sleeping areas with a dividing door i need at least two outlets of the diesel heater

 

[Gromett]

Hi Very informative posting . I've been looking at a diesel heater for our Autotrail Apache. Would i be able to splice the air output into all my outlet vents or does it just do one vent please ? As we use two separate sleeping areas with a dividing door i need at least two outlets of the diesel heater

I have also answered this earlier in the thread.

I would recommend against it.
1) You would need to disconnect the output of your old heater and join the pipes together, other wise you would be pumping the air back into your old heater with unknown consequences.
2) The length of the pipe may exceed what the heater can handle reliably and you may end up running rich and sooting it up.

I would recommend keeping your existing heater in place as a backup and install a single or at most 2 vents from the diesel heater.

 

[Tony50]

And that's my conundrum, which way to go. If I go the diesel route I'd want to utilise the circulation system already in the van, but until I get the van I can't take it to the fitter to get them to look at feasible options. I'll also need to consider possible warranty issues as its a new PVC. I'll save on quite a bit of space if I go underslung LPG as well. If I go diesel I'll need to still have LPG for cooking/hot water, although I can get hot water via diesel. Diesel has in the past been my preferred option (fitted as standard on the Chausson and Challenger's we had). Supply of LPG is also an issue. The place you said it was £1.20 is I think the second nearest LPG supplier to me (Birdham?) I'm near Bognor Regis, so after Morrisons at Littlehampton its either pay through the nose at Birdham or trek to Southampton or Brighton. Having said that, most of our travelling will be over the water where LPG seems a lot more plentiful.

We had a Chausson and the diesel water and habitation heating was brilliant, I would ask how could I find a diesel fitting company in Suffolk? For habitation heating only.

 

[Soycd]

We had a Chausson and the diesel water and habitation heating was brilliant, I would ask how could I find a diesel fitting company in Suffolk? For habitation heating only.

If you google diesel heater motorhome installation suffolk you should find a few. The one below might be a starting point? I'm in West Sussex so I don't really know about possibilities in Suffolk.

Vehicle Heating - Excalibur Auto Electrics

Providing vehicle heating services including servicing, fitment, sale, and repair working with top brands including Eberspacher & Webasto.

www.excaliburautoelectrics.co.uk

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[Two on Tour]

I'm looking at an Autotherm (Planar) version for my new MAN TGE which is a bit less expensive than the Eberspacher but does seem to have very similar functionality. . apologies late reply; had planar in our last two T6s and now in our T6.1. great for a van but we only have basic mode but never had any issues over last 5+ years...

Just a personal view, but I personally will never use anything Autotherm (Planar) as they are a Russian owned company.

 

[Pausim]

We had a Chausson and the diesel water and habitation heating was brilliant, I would ask how could I find a diesel fitting company in Suffolk? For habitation heating only.

What heater did you have in your Chausson?

 

[Tony50]

What heater did you have in your Chausson?

Truma factory fitted

 

[Tony50]

If you google diesel heater motorhome installation suffolk you should find a few. The one below might be a starting point? I'm in West Sussex so I don't really know about possibilities in Suffolk.

Vehicle Heating - Excalibur Auto Electrics

Providing vehicle heating services including servicing, fitment, sale, and repair working with top brands including Eberspacher & Webasto.

www.excaliburautoelectrics.co.uk

Thanks I have just done that .
As I was looking , I also looked at Suffolk Trading Standards site on same page as it caught my eye, they have stated that they have seized 973 Chinese diesel heaters due to as far as I understand it is because the fitting instructions are of poor quality , and heater Suppliers have been removed from eBay ( I have not checked eBay site )

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

The instruction may be rubbish but the heaters certainly are not.The fittings are ok. It's just poor translations from chinese to English.
It's a shame they don't have a proper translation.

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[Soycd]

Thanks I have just done that .
As I was looking , I also looked at Suffolk Trading Standards site on same page as it caught my eye, they have stated that they have seized 973 Chinese diesel heaters due to as far as I understand it is because the fitting instructions are of poor quality , and heater Suppliers have been removed from eBay ( I have not checked eBay site )

Yes I saw that as well. I bought an all in one unit for my shed, of a bloke at a market, secondhand. It was all set up so all I had to do was sort out an exhaust outlet in the shed and get a 12v supply. It works a treat, chucks out a lot of heat.

 

[Soycd]

Truma factory fitted

Interesting. The Chauson we owned came with an Eberspacher factory fitted. I reckon they’ve switched to Truma, Eberspacher are quite expensive.

 

[Pausim]

Interesting. The Chauson we owned came with an Eberspacher factory fitted. I reckon they’ve switched to Truma, Eberspacher are quite expensive.

Are the Truma cheaper?

 

[Squeakin]

Well I’ve just spent ages reading through this thread as I’ve been thinking about fitting a diesel heater as, like Grommet, my gas heating doesn’t get remotely warm in winter even though it eats the gas. One thing I wondered, could these work with some sort of thermostat because, although we like it warm at night we don’t like it too warm, it affects my asthma when I sleep in a too warm room. Not sure if I’ve missed a bit where a thermostat was fitted.

 

[rod_vw]

Well I’ve just spent ages reading through this thread as I’ve been thinking about fitting a diesel heater as, like Grommet, my gas heating doesn’t get remotely warm in winter even though it eats the gas. One thing I wondered, could these work with some sort of thermostat because, although we like it warm at night we don’t like it too warm, it affects my asthma when I sleep in a too warm room. Not sure if I’ve missed a bit where a thermostat was fitted.

An Eberspacher with a 801 controller wired to use the external temperature sensor is very controllable. By external, it means that the sensor is in the control box instead of in the ingoing air duct of the heater thus the location of the 801 is critical to manage the habitation area temperature. Activating this mode only involves one wire connection between the units.
It should be noted that by design this controller allows the shut-down of the heater at set temp +2 degrees and re-starts the heater as the sensed temperature falls below the set temperature. I assume that this is to prevent oscillation from off to on in a short period of time.
I'm seriously thinking of fitting a Eberspacher D2 Airtronic in the above fashion in our new LWB MAN TGE to supplement the gas powered Truma. This is most likely to be installed in the chassis area below the right front seat on the OEM MAN/VW brackets with its ingoing heating air taken from the right front door step and the output exiting backwards from below the right front seat. This is how I have installed Airtronics in previous VW T5s & T6 with good success. This should be good for heating the cab and front lounge area but probably poor for the rear bedroom space, time will tell.

Here is an example of what's currently available, other suppliers are available.

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[Gromett]

Well I’ve just spent ages reading through this thread as I’ve been thinking about fitting a diesel heater as, like Grommet, my gas heating doesn’t get remotely warm in winter even though it eats the gas. One thing I wondered, could these work with some sort of thermostat because, although we like it warm at night we don’t like it too warm, it affects my asthma when I sleep in a too warm room. Not sure if I’ve missed a bit where a thermostat was fitted.

No thermostat I am afraid. That is why I fitted a 2KW rather than a 4/5KW. Run on low the 2KW doesn't over heat the van in temps below 4-6°C. When the temp gets above that, I switch it off over night.

I am not sure if the more expensive ones have the capability to switch on and off automatically. But the ramp up and ramp down would be intrusive if it happened multiple times during the night.

 

[Squeakin]

Thank you, I shall look into,it now I know it can be done

 

[rod_vw]

No thermostat I am afraid. That is why I fitted a 2KW rather than a 4/5KW. Run on low the 2KW doesn't over heat the van in temps below 4-6°C. When the temp gets above that, I switch it off over night.

I am not sure if the more expensive ones have the capability to switch on and off automatically. But the ramp up and ramp down would be intrusive if it happened multiple times during the night.

Gromett I have a thermostat fitted to mine as in my recent post. The noisy ramp up only occurs on first fire-up, after that it seems to start at a medium output with very little extra noise. I does shut down completely in this mode not the very slow fan speed when 'sampling' the ingoing air od the version without the external sensor connected. The wiring looms that I have had with supplied kits has always had that wire missing so I've had to insert it into the loom. See this diagram Optional pin 12 connection.

 

[Gromett]

Gromett I have a thermostat fitted to mine as in my recent post. The noisy ramp up only occurs on first fire-up, after that it seems to start at a medium output with very little extra noise. I does shut down completely in this mode not the very slow fan speed when 'sampling' the ingoing air od the version without the external sensor connected. The wiring looms that I have had with supplied kits has always had that wire missing so I've had to insert it into the loom. See this diagram Optional pin 12 connection.

That's an Eberspacher not a cheap chinese one like mine. I can only talk about the cheapest of the Chinese ones.

 

[Two on Tour]

I use an aftermarket "Afterburner" controller on our Chinese diesel heater which has a DS18B20 thermistor to sense the room temperature and sends this information to the Afterburner which in turn when I have the thermostat set to "LinearHz" mode will have the heater maintain the desired temperature by controlling the fuel delivery to the heater.
Once the desired room temperature is reached, any increase above the desired temperature and the heater will throttle back and any decrease in the desired temperature and the heater will throttle up. The amount that the heater throttles up and down is minimal and hardly noticeable and at no point does the heater shut down and restart while maintaining the desired room temperature.
The green area on dial of the second image is the window that the heater will keep the tempreture within and this can be set to the prefered room temperature that you want.

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