Diesel heater for your caravan.

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I got one off eBay, $177 delivered to WA.
I didn't get it through Kogan as their reviews weren't too good.
They are great, easy to install, just make sure you siphon the fuel down to the pump 1st before starting it up. :Y:
 
Here's mine installed;
1598665468_screenshot_20200829-094358_gallery.jpg


Put it under the couch, nice clean install
 
I have an 18' 3" caravan, with a Dometic (Erberspacher) Diesel heater. It is rated at 2 kW.

My next comment applies to all brands and both the 2 & 5 kW; If the temp in the van is say 19 C and you turn the heater on set to 20-21 C it comes on almost full bore, but only for 5-10 minutes until it reaches the set temp. Then it just ticks over to hold that temp. If it's 5 C in your van it will go like a jet turbine until it reaches temp and that can take 1-2 hours. It will also increase speed when it's really cold outside later in the night. In other words the bigger the temperature differential (TD), the harder it will work and the longer it will take. It will also use more diesel and battery. Therefore it's better to turn on earlier when the TD is less.

Point 2 - Unless you have a 25' or bigger van, a bus conversion or large motorhome, 2 kW is more than enough. The glowpin draws up to 10A to start the heater, but only for 1-2 minutes. Mine uses an average of 1.2 to 1.5 lt of diesel running from about 5 pm until 9 am and approx 1 AH per hour per day.

I run it at 20-21 when sitting up before bed, then turn it down to 14 when in bed, the doona does the rest (duvet for RR :) ) When turned down it auto shuts off and only comes on when the ambient at the controller reaches about 13 C. When, will depend on how cold it gets outside.

I have 3 friends in Victoria, they all have 5 kW (Chinglish) systems. From my observations, they are all noisier than my 2 kW, use more fuel and more battery. Two of them have had restart issues, fouled glowpins and flat batteries the next morning. NB Their battery condition and bad charging were the primary cause, but their heaters all cut out at around 12.3 v.

I've had mine for 6 years now, never had an issue, never stopped and always started.

If possible, put the controller near where you sleep, mine is just under the robe door and above the small bedside cubby, so I don't need to get out of bed to adjust or control it.

When I shower I open the ensuite and shower doors as soon as the heater goes on and never have any condensation or steamed up mirrors. I also get out of bed in the morning without fear, lol.....
 
For anyone installing one, there are a number of things to consider, but everyone's install will differ unless you have exactly the same van etc.

But, measure twice, cut once and really plan what you do......
 
C22,

The only thing these days is, the 2kw ones are around the $1,000 Mark, even the Chinese ones, 5kw, on the other hand are below the $200 Mark, which is what the Chinese 2kw ones used to be.

I used to install/service the more expensive units back in Germany and I can tell you, there's no difference in quality between the Eberspacher, Webasto and Chinese ones.

The Chinese units controller gives more info on running status than the bigger brand ones, and let's face it, for the price, if after a couple of years it gives up, buy another one and it's still cheaper than the bigger brand ones.

Cheers.
 
I can't remember how old my one is, must be 5 or 6 years.
Chinese copy, it was reasonably expensive back then, (maybe $450?) now they are dirt cheap.

The one I got has a pump which goes "tick, tick tick" you need to mount this with some kind of isolation, otherwise it will vibrate through the van and piss you off real bad.
I mounted mine in the front toolbox. Actually it just sits there in a lump of foam, it's not hard mounted at all.

The new ones may be a lot more quiet, dunno.

There are two ways mine can run.( I don't know if the newer ones run this way, check your manual)

1 thermostat setting. This will start up and turn itself off and keep the van within a couple of degrees. This uses $hitloads of power to run the glowplug each time it starts.

2nd way is to set it to run constant from level 1-5. This way it starts up and just keeps running without the need to restart and use gobs of power, when running you can adjust it from level 1-5 at any time.

I generally get it warm, when going to sleep, set it to level 1 and leave one of the vents in the pop top a tad open so it doesn't get too hot.
On this setting it uses absolutely bugger all fuel and doesn't foul up the glowplug, only electrical draw is to run the fan.

I just recently bought another for my shed, it hasn't arrived yet.
 
I bought a cheap Chinese 5kw desiel heater for my van. Was going to install it myself but decided on getting it installed professionally just to be on the safe side with insurance on the van. Works a treat, especially as we now like to free camp within proximity of where I'm going to detect.
 
Occasional_panner said:
I can't remember how old my one is, must be 5 or 6 years.
Chinese copy, it was reasonably expensive back then, (maybe $450?) now they are dirt cheap.

The one I got has a pump which goes "tick, tick tick" you need to mount this with some kind of isolation, otherwise it will vibrate through the van and piss you off real bad.
I mounted mine in the front toolbox. Actually it just sits there in a lump of foam, it's not hard mounted at all.

The new ones may be a lot more quiet, dunno.

There are two ways mine can run.( I don't know if the newer ones run this way, check your manual)

1 thermostat setting. This will start up and turn itself off and keep the van within a couple of degrees. This uses $hitloads of power to run the glowplug each time it starts.

2nd way is to set it to run constant from level 1-5. This way it starts up and just keeps running without the need to restart and use gobs of power, when running you can adjust it from level 1-5 at any time.

I generally get it warm, when going to sleep, set it to level 1 and leave one of the vents in the pop top a tad open so it doesn't get too hot.
On this setting it uses absolutely bugger all fuel and doesn't foul up the glowplug, only electrical draw is to run the fan.

I just recently bought another for my shed, it hasn't arrived yet.
Click to expand...

Sounds just like the 1 I've got, had 7 years now, I paid about $450 from Aliexpress, (retail here was over $1000 ) and works exactly as Occasional said. If mine had any problems at the price they are now I'd just go and buy a new 1
 
condor22 said:
I have an 18' 3" caravan, with a Dometic (Erberspacher) Diesel heater. It is rated at 2 kW.

My next comment applies to all brands and both the 2 & 5 kW; If the temp in the van is say 19 C and you turn the heater on set to 20-21 C it comes on almost full bore, but only for 5-10 minutes until it reaches the set temp. Then it just ticks over to hold that temp. If it's 5 C in your van it will go like a jet turbine until it reaches temp and that can take 1-2 hours. It will also increase speed when it's really cold outside later in the night. In other words the bigger the temperature differential (TD), the harder it will work and the longer it will take. It will also use more diesel and battery. Therefore it's better to turn on earlier when the TD is less.

Point 2 - Unless you have a 25' or bigger van, a bus conversion or large motorhome, 2 kW is more than enough. The glowpin draws up to 10A to start the heater, but only for 1-2 minutes. Mine uses an average of 1.2 to 1.5 lt of diesel running from about 5 pm until 9 am and approx 1 AH per hour per day.

I run it at 20-21 when sitting up before bed, then turn it down to 14 when in bed, the doona does the rest (duvet for RR :) ) When turned down it auto shuts off and only comes on when the ambient at the controller reaches about 13 C. When, will depend on how cold it gets outside.

I have 3 friends in Victoria, they all have 5 kW (Chinglish) systems. From my observations, they are all noisier than my 2 kW, use more fuel and more battery. Two of them have had restart issues, fouled glowpins and flat batteries the next morning. NB Their battery condition and bad charging were the primary cause, but their heaters all cut out at around 12.3 v.

I've had mine for 6 years now, never had an issue, never stopped and always started.

If possible, put the controller near where you sleep, mine is just under the robe door and above the small bedside cubby, so I don't need to get out of bed to adjust or control it.

When I shower I open the ensuite and shower doors as soon as the heater goes on and never have any condensation or steamed up mirrors. I also get out of bed in the morning without fear, lol.....
Click to expand...

Great post Condor, :Y:

Doona's for me Too, either that or me Fart Sack "Sleeping bag", LOL which is way too hot if it is warmer than -5* ]:D ]:D ]:D
 
nucopia said:
Would it be worthwhile to use in a camper trailer ?
Click to expand...

Yeah a lot of folks use them for that, I was going to fit one in the Van/Camper but due to the smallish size I might be going with electric, mainly because I have the battery power and as long as the solar can keep up it should be ok.
 
We have one in our camper, does both the water and heating the interior, uses around 5 litres of diesel per week based on normal use when camping, love the unit. Ours has a water storage tank which it heats then boosts during usage. Can't remember the make but can check in the morning.
 

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