I missed the screen clean, which one of the seasons is that in. I just wire brushed it and that worked fine. To extract the plug screen I ground a framing nail to a flat and then bend the end just enough to make a hook small enough so it would fit inside the screen to the bottom to hook under its edge and pulled it out. Its the only way to get it out in tact, and avoid buying a new one every time you inspect or want to clean it.
The experiment he did with the gap in the gasket was worrying. I rang a well established van repairer near me before I stripped my heater to ensure he had parts in case I needed any after the heater was in 100 pieces. He said after servicing a million (possibly exaggerated) heater he said I could salvage the fan gasket if Im careful but the burner camber gasket will absolutely guaranteed be gone, they never survive. He was spot on, that gasket was brittle like chalk and cracked through in 5 places, so the significance of those rubber seals is very very important. Not detracting from John in any way but its a point John missed, likely only because that would take a lot of practical service experience on abused real world heaters gather over a long time to know that every single gasket will fail. Ive managed to source a metal gasket, which in the heater now so Ill see how that goes over time.
I leave my heater on 24/7 when we are away in those cooler months where the days are comfortable (no heating req) but overnight its very cold. Eberspacher's controller and ECU is very good at silently and automatically controlling the heater, start/stop and maintaining the temp. The heater turns itself on and off, so as the sun starts to drop and the temps slowly fall with it, the heater silently cranks itself up very gently. Because it starts with minimal ambient temp difference it runs at a very low idle speed quiet often and for long periods, the claimed perfect combo for gumming up the heater. Its mostly only ever playing catch up on a degree or 2 from the minute is cranks up; we rarely if ever hear the heater because its always on low right from the time it turns itself on. My heaters plug and plug screen has carboned up twice (not particularly badly, but enough for the heater to start smoking at start up), which I suspect is a result on its constant low starts and low idling, but after 5 years the burn camber has only a micro black film much like a smoke stain but certainly no soot buildup. Maybe the Eberspacher's controller is better at managing the heater, and that is only measurable over time. Maybe only a very long term side by side real comparison would be a true comparison btw Chinese and genuine.
Partly because it makes sense after 5 years of consistent and virtually trouble free use in less than ideal conditions, and partly searching for validation after spending a $hit ton of money on Eberspacher
