Hi all, after spending 6 weeks in the UK in a motorhome with central heating it has made us think seriously about putting heating in our van. Live in central Victoria. We often like to go away in winter, but not necessarily north as it is so busy. Most of the time we book into caravan parks because of heating needs. Do others have gas or diesal heating in their vans? Which do you recommend? We have a petrol territory but will be upgrading to a diesal in a couple of years.
Your thoughts would be appreciated.
Glenda
Seems logical to me that diesel is the way to go if you will have a diesel tug.Less hassle with a single fuel sorce.The newer Diesel heaters are very efficient nowadays.
I used to drive trucks in Europe and we had Eberspercher Diesel heaters.Wonderful things when it's below freezing.
Is that Bamburgh Castle Northhumberland, in your Avatar?
Last time I was there I was in my grandfathers Caravan in March 1982 and we had a half inch of ice inside in the morning.
Seems logical to me that diesel is the way to go if you will have a diesel tug.Less hassle with a single fuel sorce.The newer Diesel heaters are very efficient nowadays.
I used to drive trucks in Europe and we had Eberspercher Diesel heaters.Wonderful things when it's below freezing.
Is that Bamburgh Castle Northhumberland, in your Avatar?
Last time I was there I was in my grandfathers Caravan in March 1982 and we had a half inch of ice inside in the morning.
Yuglamron, we experienced ice like that on the Isle of Skye, was an amazing sight, especially with the highland cattle in the paddocks.
Castle is Lindisfarne Castle on Holy Island, just north of Bambururgh Castle, you could actually see it in the distance from where I was sitting.
The price of gas now is enough to make you go diesel.
JC.
Thanks JC you are quite right there. In UK they fill up the gas bottles with LPG at the service station so worked out quite cheap, but having to continually fill our gas bottles would work out quite expensive......food for thought.
Glenda
Those with either a gas or diesel heaters will all testify as to what a great addition they are to their van and how effective they are.
Gas has the advantage of it is already on board your caravan. Depending on your gas usage with cooking, fridge, and maybe hot water for showers/cloths washing then it is probably a good way to go. However installation into the vans gas system needs to certified, though that is a one off cost. Availability/cost of gas in remote areas is a consideration if you travel in those areas. The gas heater is comparatively quiet and requires less power at start-up initially, and again when the temperature drops and the heater fires up again.
Diesel fuel is available virtually everywhere though a suitable tank will need to be installed on the van. The heater is noisy at start-up, though this can be minimised with mufflers, and if run overnight there is the constant ticking of the fuel pump. Also at start up there are some diesel fumes from the exhaust though once past the start-up phase this is not noticeable. Storage of diesel can be prolonged with additives to prevent algae growth, and stop gelling in cold (-ve) temperatures. It is recommended that on storing the van that the heater be fired up something like monthly.
We had a diesel heater installed before the current gas units were available. We carry 18kg of gas for cooking and occasional hot water for showers, our fridge is 12v. Today I would go gas as there is little likelihood we would run out of gas away from a main centre.
We have the controller for the heater next to the bed so we can switch it on prior to getting out of bed on those cold mornings. We dont run the heater overnight as we prefer the cooler air for sleeping.
If you want to save yourself some money and still have a great product check out www.dieselheatingaustralia. It works as well as the better known brands. Their service is exellent and I should know because I stuffed up during installation and they were very helpful. $899 is better than $1600