Would anyone have one of these installed on the Bellarine Penninsula that we could have a look at please? Or if anyone has one installed could you please send a photo of where you have the exhaust positioned? is it on the side or back?
Just in the process of installing the Webasto version - where are you placing the diesel fuel tank ( 10 L I presume ) - as our heater will be under the dinette, the tank needs to be either in the front boot or on the A frame - trying to decide.
Where the exhaust is concerned, ours will exit fwd of the front axle, near side facing down & aft ( away from direction of travel ) and close enough to the side to easily put on a " travel cap" on both exhaust & combustion air inlet to keep the rubbish out.
Thanks Richard. We are at the deciding stage as well. At the moment think the exhaust will be similar to where you mentioned. Still actually have to decide where we will put the unit and diesel. Wasnt thinking of 10 lt as they are so efficient but then again as it isn't dangerous we have jerry can holders on back bumper, maybe could use one of those? How many ducts are you having? One in the bathroom?
looking at putting a heater in too but was thinking of gas believe the run cleaner what benifit is it going diesel? would love to see what you think before i get one or the other
We bought the diesel on recommendation of a friend. So happy it will be ok. But!!! When we picked up the van they go this is the plumbing for the gas heater if you want one. Wished we had known that the week before. Both are very economical but if you went the gas you wouldn't have to carry different fuel. I'm confident the diesel will be fine due to my friends recommendation, but would go gas if starting off now .
Thanks for the welcome to the forum and the VAST knowledge resource of the archived comments.
We are going one outlet for the diesel heater - too far back to the ensuite. I was going under the settee on off side but over several
thought sessions, reversed to under dinette as this gives a less obstructed air flow back to the bedroom area. Heater & outlet is going in line with the table leg
- reason being that less likely someone will be sitting in that middle seat & so their ankles wont be in direct line of the hot air.
Went diesel as easier to install ( no gas fitter etc ) and if we ever run out of gas or have a supply problem then we also lose use of fridge, stove, BBQ, HWS - way more problematic than just no heater - can always pump a few liters from the main diesel tank if that necessary.
The local repairer is pumping for gas over diesel - I think very much even playing field so personal choice in each case - Personally, I felt the potential problems of running out of gas swung the decision in favor of diesel - time will tell.
Now where to mount the diesel heater's fuel tank is the ( main ) remaining problem - or should I say challenge.
Yes you are right, boils down to preference. And the diesel is supposed to be easier to install. We are putting the unit and pipes in the cupboards on the floor under the sink etc. We were deciding where to put our diesel heater fuel tank and realised we had an external cupboard which was built to hold our generator but gennie is too big so that will be the tank home.
Now where to mount the diesel heater's fuel tank is the ( main ) remaining problem - or should I say challenge.
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Our fuel tank is on front left hand body front of van. protected by checker plate. Outlets in van - main van area in living area, another in ensuite Currently in Denmark about 10 degrees outside, 20 inside.
-- Edited by Dunmowin on Tuesday 16th of July 2013 11:27:41 PM
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Managed a few hours on the heater install today - location under the dinette slightly changed to avoid cross member & water tank - thought best to keep the exhaust pipe well clear of the tank just in case.
Heater now installed on a fore & aft line about 60mm outboard of the chassis with the exhaust pipe running fwd to just behind the step (so well protected ) and with a steady downhill pipe run with the recommended downward near 90 deg bend to vertical so exhaust end is just below chassis.
Combustion air inlet - light weight 22mm hose is also run fwd along under the floor and right outboard so protected by the body trim. Both in easy reach to install a travel cap ( chair leg rubber end ) to keep any water or bugs out.
Webasto made up electrical & control leads are LONG ( well for my positioning ) so tripled up in a spit conduit and zipped to the dinette seating alloy framing - one to temp control , other to new battery position right beside wheel arch.
10L plastic J can will go into the front boot against the gas divider, sadly not enough room in the gas locker, so making up a 2 sided ply partition with a all sided rubber lining to stop any chafe. heater feed line will come from the breather cap as just right size, so just need to crack open the filler a tad as breather. Filter & pump in HD 50mm plastic pipe off cut next to the tank and fuel line exits via the boot drain hole probably in a length of garden hose back to heater inlet - another cup of coffee & all should be done - BTW, I am always the optomist.
Am on the final stage of diesel heater installation, in fact, it is the second heater I have installed in caravans.
The first van we had the diesel heater in for 3 years and it was brilliant...... sold the van with the heater.
My comment for this thread is do not go overboard with fuel tank capacity. The heaters I have installed are 2KW capacity and in an insulated caravan take little time to heat the van to the required temperature and then the unit just ticks over maintaining the set temperature. Average fuel use in the first van over 3 years usage was 85 ml per hour so this new van installation will not be fitted with a large fuel tank. ( because the longer the diesel sits the more bugs it grows.)
Finished the Webasto 2Kw install this morning - a couple of " undocumented features" that did cause some head scratching and a download from the Webasto AU web site of the workshop manual and the service manual - well worth it.
Feature one that had me stumped was that the fuel pump power is the cable that comes out of the combustion air inlet ! No mention of this anywhere - I thought this lead was for the external temperature sensor so was looking for a decent pair of about 1.5mm conductor to match the separate pump loom. Finally the light dawned, BUT with the Webasto the lead from the heater is actually TWO light weight black wires, where as the separate pump loom is brown ( earth ) & blue. The schematic in the booklet just shows a one to one connector - oh well just twitch the wires to see what happens.
Feature two - the supplied booklet does not mention that when powered up the heater fan will run for 50 SECONDS before the fuel pump activates so when nothing happened I was not surprised as so far as I could see, there was no earth connection.
I have also just installed a CTEK D250s DC-DC charger for combining solar and tow vehicle charging, the CTEK manual does NOT show the earth side of the schematic, so though that the Webasto may be the same. Looking at a schematic in the workshop manual gives a more detailed display and one of the thin black wires is shown as being earthed through the heater internal wiring, AND a note about the 50 second delay feature.
Powered up again, fan on and no fuel pump ticking, sit & wait and WOW a ticking from the pump!!! Took about 3 start cycles to get the fuel through - about 3 meters - Somewhere I recall a warning to be certain to check for any fuel leaks as the system fuel pressure is pressure is high - not certain but I THINK I read a pressure of 145 PSI - just went looking to confirm but cannot find - so may be way off with this.
The fuel pump loom and the fuel line can both fit in 13mm watering system supply hose and by slightly warming the fuel line, it can easily be slid through a 90 deg fitting - I did not try to get the loom through as well - just cut an small exit hole in the 13mm pipe and used flex conduit .
No smell after the first few minutes as the new exhaust burnt in - certainly no diesel smell right up against the exhaust outlet, Some noise but not that much - will be fitting a silencer though for external peace - inside fan is about that of a small fan heater.
An interesting if frustrating exercise and really very easy install one to do once the quirky wiring was understood.
Ruff mentions the fuel consumption and no need for a large tank- spot on comments - as such I have used a 10L diesel tank ( sort of mustard coloured ) in the front boot and reckon that will do way better than a week of long nights - also after winter, will be dosing the diesel with about 10% kero to keep any bugs at bay.
A final update on the diesel heater install - trial run was a 4 day round trip Brisbane to the Childers Festival & back.
SWMBO reckons the furnace has paid for itself in this one trip
Due to a communications breakdown, we did not take the doona or the spare blanket First night was at Moore - between Kilcoy & Yarraman - pretty cool & fog in the morning, Childers milder but the last night was at the top of the range near Toowoomba - good gentle breeze & plain cold.
Trouble was the heater ran out of diesel just as we were going to bed - had a look in the tank - plenty left BUT I had not made the pickup long enough nor weighted the pickup end - a zip tie around a stubby screwdriver & the pickup now held the end low - bled the system & heat again available - trouble was the pickup was just too short & out of fuel again at about 3 AM !!!!!
Object lesson here is to tick off the packing list & do the install fuel line measurement in the tank correctly.
Remember - MEASURE TWICE - CUT ONCE ( & don't forget the doona )
Gooday I have bought a Prestige Diesel heater in kit form which includes a small fuel tank, I mounted the heater unit under the bed and the fuel tank in the front boot against the drivers side, outlet blows towards the other end of the van, our van is a Avan Liam hard top and this heater will heat the van in about 5 minutes, I think it is absolutely brilliant. If you read the fitting and especially the wiring instructions carefully (as you do the second attempt) fitting this unit is quite simple, only the wiring is a bit fiddly and instructions are a bit vague.
- a zip tie around a stubby screwdriver & the pickup now held the end low - bled the system & heat again available - trouble was the pickup was just too short & out of fuel again at about 3 AM !!!!!
