mfexpanda

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Apr 1, 2011
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I can't believe you would let me spend $1500 on a heater .... and then drop that gem :confused-87:

We need something for off grid camping (thats the real reason) Which aircon you do guys have ??
its the Coleman mk3 I think maybe mk7 but its a coleman and it worked ok . definitely blew hot air out over the weekend nights .
but as you said need something when off the grid without having my generator running all night
 
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Crusty181

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Got the Eberspacher diesel heater installed and running .... puts out some heat too. Even heats up the annex
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Crusty181

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I struck the first blow in the battle of the perpetually opening shower door. Pulled the stinking thing apart and cut about 7mm off the top of the left vertical frame. (the left being the closing side on my van) In my case 7mm was about the maximum without needing to modify other bits and bobs.

Theres adjustment in the door sliding mechanism to plumb or square up the doors.

Re-assembled the frame with a now slight downhill from open to close. Should give me a little bit of an edge in the fight to keep it closed. I choose to setup with the van on a slight tilt toward the awning and toward the front anyway to stop water pooling on the roof, so the shower door tilt mod should be p.e.r.f.e.c.t for us.

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Crusty181

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Eberspacher/Dometic diesel heater installed and working a treat.

After Nagambie weekend and the horrible freezing realisation the Ibis aint to happy in zero temps, ive bitten the bullet and plonked in the Eberspacher. Bit more expensive than the other offering but the local 2 year factory warranty is excellent, and research suggests they cant be surpassed. Not to say the Planar isnt a good unit.

The biggest installation hurdle was working out where each component would/could/should be placed. The actual labour element was probably around the 5 hour mark, but add double that 5 hours looking, thinking, looking, deciding, undeciding, thinking ...... i have a heap of photos of the install but would require to much explanation of each pic to be of use, plus its unique to my 20.63.1OB

I have two ducts so that created its own issues. Each ideal location for individual components impacted on other components ideal locations. Eg. Having the fuel tank at the rear of the van placed the pump in an area i wasnt happy so I moved the tank to the front. It was all became about compromise, combined with necessity and availabilty.

As a side issue, diesel can be carried on the rear of a van, so theres an option there. As it turned out, i position my tank at the front on the same side as the car filler so i can fill them both without needing to move the car.

The Eberspacher is completely automatic, set and forget thermo controlled with no manual overide; and that works very well. According to Dometic stats, they get single figure warranty claims Australia wide each year.

Noise is subjective and everybody has different thresholds. A cold start results in high fan and high furnace. The fan is the only noise inside, and even at its highest is not anywhere near as noisey as the Ibis aircon. There is the "ticking" of what they call the dosing fuel pump. Each "tick" delivers a tiny dose of fuel, so the ticking frequency matches how hard the heater is working. At the startup "ticking" furiously, and at temp a tick every other second or so. The "tick" could be described as about as annoying as a reasonably quiet clock in the next room.

The aircon running all night doesnt keep us awake, so the heater pump certainly will not. The noise of the pump would be inaudible in any adjoining van

Ive only had the heater in 2 days and I really only notice the pump "ticking" if i consciously decide to listen for it.

Outside, the heater noise is a different animal. At a cold startup it is very noticable, bit like a low pitched hairdryer on low ... not super loud but very noticable. The noise comes from the combination of exhaust and intake. The exhaust has an inline muffler which without that would absolutely cause complaints.

The consulation would be at bed time the heater would be at a low temperture maintenance setting, which is barely audible outside or inside for that matter.

Routing the exhaust was a bit of a headache. After the process of elimination in location all the components, the areas and avenues to rout the exhaust were limited, with the necessessity to point the exhaust end away from the annex (and toward the neighbours) combined with masses of waterlines and electrical wires and the high temps of the exhaust which i was worried might melt something.

The fuel usage is very low, and admittedly the vans inside the factory but after starting the heater there was very rapidly a scent of torched fuel in the air. It will interesting to see how the fumes woft about in a caravan park

A more expensive controller is available which has a 7 day timer to program the heater like the home ducted heater. Even with the normally packaged electronic controller you can leave the heater turned on (even whilst travelling if you choose) and it will only fire up when it needs to in order maintain the temp as set.

The unit itself only gets warm to the touch so can be jambed into small cavities surrounded by combustibles. The unit is 12v only, and power consumption is minimal. Ive lost about a loaf of bread size area in storage space

The end result ... the all important heating performance ... it pumps out a large amount of hot air, heats the van very quickly, effectively, quietly and cheaply ... and most importantly off the grid, free camping. Its a very comfortable heat which unlike the aircon starts at floor level and vents downwards which make a significant difference.

Once its installed, it takes up bugger all hidden space, and all you can see is 2 x 60mm vents in the lounge base and a tiny controller on the fridge wall.

For caravan park travellers, the install cost is ridiculously expensive when the reverse cycle aircon will work "most" of the time, and a couple of $30 blow heater will take over when the aircon wont. But for free campers its a no brainer, absolute, no compromise comfort .... better than our caravan park compatriots, whilst off the grid with no fuel or power rationing required.
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Crusty181

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Thanks @Crusty181 now I want one .......... More money
I havent given up yet, but ive temporarily suspended research on adding another closable vent in the wall of the van to heat the annex. My only possible heater install locale was the other side of the van, but im not convinced i cant pipe under the floor across to the annex ..... stay tuned
 
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Crusty181

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Any pics of the diesel tank location
Not yet. Im getting a 1800x600mm alum tool box from QLD to mount on the drawbar, and ill bolt the tank to the back of that. At the moment the super heater has it fuel hose dangling into my 5ltr chainsaw jerry sitting on the ground. (But at least its sitting on the ground directly under where the tank will be mounted :))

Neat, flat 10ltr fuel tank with inbuilt moulded mounting holes, should sit nicely on the back of the tool box
Diesel-tankl.jpg
 

Mustang

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Feb 16, 2015
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Not yet. Im getting a 1800x600mm alum tool box from QLD to mount on the drawbar, and ill bolt the tank to the back of that. At the moment the super heater has it fuel hose dangling into my 5ltr chainsaw jerry sitting on the ground. (But at least its sitting on the ground directly under where the tank will be mounted :))

Neat, flat 10ltr fuel tank with inbuilt moulded mounting holes, should sit nicely on the back of the tool box
View attachment 32782
How much for the alum tool box...just starting to look for one myself..which way will yours open? Cheers..
 

AzHaych

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Mar 15, 2013
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Very nice install @Crusty181 love it.... Mods like these are what keeps my wallet empty, my wife is the tight arse (one of us has to be) (thankfully she doesn't read these threads) but not even I could justify spending that type of money on a heater with our caravan park holidays. As you said if I was off grid camping all the time it would be worth its weight and I reckon even the finance minister would have it in the budget!

Az
 
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Crusty181

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How much for the alum tool box...just starting to look for one myself..which way will yours open? Cheers..
Just over $600 del from QLD. Its the biggest off the shelf ebay box i could find, 1800x600x500. 2000 would be nice, but should squeeze it into 1800
$_57.JPG
 

Crusty181

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Feb 7, 2010
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@Crusty181 sorry if this is inappropriate but I found this tool box in Kilsyth, its not quite as tall as yours being 2000mm x 500mm x 500mm and is 2mm thick sheet compared to 2.5mm but the side doors are a bonus at $480.

Az

View attachment 32837
Help is always appreciated. Nice work. Thats just my luck, i need the 600mm for the chairs. Bugger. The one im looking at is around $550, but its the freight from QLD that kicks it up.

Good find and i appreciate you posting it up. i havent "actually" bought mine yet .. i have about 3 months before i need it, so every option is worth a look
 
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Crusty181

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Ok. We've had one real world cold night in Echuca with the diesel heater. It has passed all but one test, and for each catergory it punched well above its weight for ease of use, heat production, fuel consumption, convenience and temperture stability

Its pretty quiet as far as other neighbouring van would be concerned, and you only get the very occassional woft of light diesel fumes ... nothing enough to bother anyone

Its with a heavy heart that i report that constant god $#&%=÷£¥ damned ticking of the fuel pump plays with your mind after a while. When the sun is up you cant hear it at all, but at 2am it sounds like Michael Jordan is bouncing a bloody cement basketball under the bed. We turned the heater off around 3am, but we'll try again tonight ....

Its only an issue when your trying to sleep directly over the pump and we never have heaters on over night before, in the period in our lives we now refer to as "that sad cold empty time before diesel". The problem now is, having the convenience of the quiet comfortable warmth of the diesel heater makes me want to leave it on over night.

May need to reconsider the setup, and put the fuel tank and pump at the rear of the van where it will only annoy the mini Crusty, who sleeps like a corpse anyway

All first world problems, i know
 
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twscoot

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Jun 9, 2013
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Sitting here in beside the fire in a chilly Stanthorpe evening beside the fire trying to explain to my family why I am laughing so much! I think I'll go plug in the Aldi electric throw...... And check the smoke detector. Enjoy your trip! We are. So good to be away.