14' Series Diesel Heaters

alexvk2

Member
Nov 30, 2016
85
72
18
Sydney
Hi everyone, I am new to these forums so this is my first post on anything like this. I have a Jayco Expanda 20.64.1 OB and want to put in a diesel heater. I have had a previous caravan that had a slide out like this one where the duct work for the diesel heater.fed through the cupboards and it was nice and neat, but a completely different design. Has anyone (and is it possible) to run the ductwork under the caravan and then up through the floor - much like what you would see in a household situation? Does it need to travel through the cupboards? I was thinking about attaching the main unit under the caravan and then running the ducts along the bottom of the floor (under caravan) and then popping up with the outlet through the floor instead of through the cupboards. Does anyone see any issues with this? Thank you.

The heater I was looking at was an Eberspacher D4. I know the initial outlay is high, but I have been let down so many time with cheaper Chinese copies that has left me a little bitter. It has ended up costing me more in the long run and each time I take a risk, I end up regretting it so this time I'd like to go for something that I feel comfortable with and get a better known brand with backup service and warranty.

If someone has run ducting for a similar carvan model as this, can I ask about the architecture and how you went about installing it? Or, if anyone is an expert and knows, that's equally as good.

I appreciate any comments and thank you for taking the time reading this.

I bought the D2 with comprehensive installation kit from UK last year for around $1K -- I guess you are on your own for warranty - despite assurances - however the Eberspacher has a very good reputation and parts should never be a problem. I fitted a small inline fuel filter from Repco at the tank to head off any clogging problems. It sure is good to press the button and get lots of warm air on a cold night.
 

Barmacc

New Member
May 27, 2018
2
3
3
Victoria
Wow! Thank you for everyone's great advice and replies! I will have a look at the D2 unit.

I picked the Eberspacher D4 unit as it delivered a higher heating capacity. Based on all the forums that I read, and the fact the two ends open up, people suggested the D4 unit was better (greater volume of air) and didn't have to work at 100% all of the time to maintain temperature.

I often work in places that have no power (generator only) and as I continue to find, the generator is extremely unreliable and the operators switch it off at 11pm and restart it at around 8am - During that time, the overnight temperatures fall to below -3 degrees, and the last few times (whilst I have had lots of blankets to keep me warm) my throat dries out, gets very irritated and my daughters asthma causes a lot of trouble due to the extreme cold air. Of course, when I have power, I can run the heater but it's not an option on the remote sites I visit.

I looked at how I could run ducts underneath the van without being damaged by stones etc. I came across some old, flexible corrugated ag pipe in the shed, and worked out that the duct could fit through that. Effectively being placed in conduit. It has small holes in it to allow water to penetrate, but small enough to not let water in, so if water was to enter the conduit, it would exit rather quickly. It would also provide a degree of ventalation around the duct. It is rated to 110 degrees C (water temp) and therefore I think it would be perfect for what I'm after.

I was thinking of installing it under the lounge seat. That means the fuel line would be less than 2 metres from the front draw bar in which I plan to put a 10 litre diesel tank. Running the duct neatly under the caravan means I can run a duct in the front, the middle and the back ensuite.

When it all comes together, I'm happy to take photo's. A little more planning yet though and reading to make sure I get it right.
 
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Crusty181

Well-Known Member
Feb 7, 2010
6,854
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Mentone, VIC
Wow! Thank you for everyone's great advice and replies! I will have a look at the D2 unit.

I picked the Eberspacher D4 unit as it delivered a higher heating capacity. Based on all the forums that I read, and the fact the two ends open up, people suggested the D4 unit was better (greater volume of air) and didn't have to work at 100% all of the time to maintain temperature.

I often work in places that have no power (generator only) and as I continue to find, the generator is extremely unreliable and the operators switch it off at 11pm and restart it at around 8am - During that time, the overnight temperatures fall to below -3 degrees, and the last few times (whilst I have had lots of blankets to keep me warm) my throat dries out, gets very irritated and my daughters asthma causes a lot of trouble due to the extreme cold air. Of course, when I have power, I can run the heater but it's not an option on the remote sites I visit.

I looked at how I could run ducts underneath the van without being damaged by stones etc. I came across some old, flexible corrugated ag pipe in the shed, and worked out that the duct could fit through that. Effectively being placed in conduit. It has small holes in it to allow water to penetrate, but small enough to not let water in, so if water was to enter the conduit, it would exit rather quickly. It would also provide a degree of ventalation around the duct. It is rated to 110 degrees C (water temp) and therefore I think it would be perfect for what I'm after.

I was thinking of installing it under the lounge seat. That means the fuel line would be less than 2 metres from the front draw bar in which I plan to put a 10 litre diesel tank. Running the duct neatly under the caravan means I can run a duct in the front, the middle and the back ensuite.

When it all comes together, I'm happy to take photo's. A little more planning yet though and reading to make sure I get it right.
My D2 heats the van fine, but it would thumping away constantly at full tilt in -3, I would have to put on the storm cover, and block the roof vents to give it some relief. I looked at the D4 and weighing up realistic temps for our camping, the fuel usage and power consumption of the D4 kinda offset any advantages. But I think the D4 would better serve you in constant sub zero temps

Looking forward to the pics of the ducting installation
 

Crusty181

Well-Known Member
Feb 7, 2010
6,854
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For what its worth .... !!!!

Catch link

Catch diesel.jpg
 
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SpizzandQ

New Member
Jun 18, 2018
15
4
3
43
NSW
I decided to pay the bit extra and get the one from Tassie. I spoke to the guy down there numerous times before I bought it and his knowledge and service were great. He always answered the phone or returned my calls. He has an 18’ Expanda fitted with diesel heater so has experience. He also said he has countless phone calls from people who spend $400 on eBay purchases as they sellers on eBay seem to not answer phones after sales. They offer 3 different types of fuel tank solutions. I have a quick release tank that I travel with in my front boot and attached to my rear bumper when set up.
 

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Macropod

Member
Sep 5, 2013
76
89
18
56
Cordeaux Heights, NSW
Just finished installing a cheap chinese one. Underslung a 40L diesel tank which works great. With the 20.63 OB I have the slide out so tricky to locate the heater. Managed to put it under the slideout but it was an exercise in zen like patience trying to work on it. Will post full install pics soon...because there is a series of "what not to do" moments that might be helpful to others. While on a roll I built a portable unit as well to heat the annex. That turned out pretty damn good. Will post pics soon as well. Heading to the snow so will get a good workout down there.
 

geedub

Member
Aug 23, 2017
33
25
18
59
Sydney
I've also installed a 5kw $300 ebay special in my 21' Basestation. It took quite a bit of effort to locate so I could have outlets in the front and rear but we got there in the end by going under the sink.

The next problem I had was the length of the supplied ducting which was not enough. I ended up finding some silicon ducting which is rated to 300c and the correct diameter.

Now that it is installed swapping it out if I have any problems will be easy. I'm not too concerned about reliability as there isn't a lot to them and parts or replacement units are plentiful. I'm tempted to buy another unit just for spares.
 
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Drover

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Nov 7, 2013
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I have found with my outlets in middle of van they throw the heat to the ends very well, 23ft van and bed and ensuite are nice and cosy, fitting a 45mm exhaust extension to the 25mm pipe to shoot it out the back of van.
 

Four of us

Active Member
Apr 27, 2011
386
133
43
Ipswich QLD
I put a 2kw in our 17.56 which works great. I just bought a 3kw full kit (fuel tank everything)for $250 for our camper trailer we just bought, I couldn’t justify spending a heap on it as we only got the camper to do a couple of trips. I bench tested it for a couple of hrs and works fine. Going to fit it today, if it fails so be it was only $250.
Hi..I’m thinking of putting one of these diesel heaters in my 17-56-2.....would you be able to take some pictures as I’m not sure where to place the fuel tank and the heater. Thanks
 

Macropod

Member
Sep 5, 2013
76
89
18
56
Cordeaux Heights, NSW
Hi Geedub...just a quick heads up on the silicon heater duct. I could not get the right angles that I needed in time so I used some silicon turbo ducting. Could handle the heat easily enough...but...when we powered it up at Yarrangobilly we were overpowered by hot rubber fumes. even at just the 80 degrees or so that comes out of the outlet it was enough to release a rubber smell. It was so overpowering that we had to shut it down and vent the van.

I just came back from the snow and my portable unit worked brilliantly - on a minus 8 degree night the annex was a tropical (well almost) 18 degrees. Funnily enough I originally had the return air to the heater drawn from inside the annex - thinking that sending warm air through the heater would make it all more efficient. What this did however was create lower pressure (the unit sucks in a lot of air) in the annex that drew in all the minus 8 degree air through all the gaps in the annex. When I disconnected the internal air return and just had the unit suck in the outside air only it pressurised the annex and kept all the cold air from leaking in and raised the temperature by around 4 degrees. Temperature at the heater outlet in the annex using internal air was 82 degrees and 76 degrees when using external air however the actual temperature inside the annex using internal air was 14 degrees and external air was 18 degrees.

The internal unit was another story. Worked fine the last few uses and worked well when we stopped in Goulburn for a break...but when I turned it on at sawpit creek....white smoke. Flushed the lines with kero, used winterised fuel etc etc but the unit let me down. I think that there is a filter blocked or the atomiser screen is blocked. Pulling it apart this week to have a look. The ebay store I bought it from have so far been keen to help and want a video (of the smoke ???) so they can advise on if it is a replacement...hmmm...wonder how this will work out.
 

1DayIll

Well-Known Member
Apr 26, 2016
997
900
93
59
South Morang, Victoria
I just came back from the snow and my portable unit worked brilliantly - on a minus 8 degree night the annex was a tropical (well almost) 18 degrees. Funnily enough I originally had the return air to the heater drawn from inside the annex - thinking that sending warm air through the heater would make it all more efficient. What this did however was create lower pressure (the unit sucks in a lot of air) in the annex that drew in all the minus 8 degree air through all the gaps in the annex. When I disconnected the internal air return and just had the unit suck in the outside air only it pressurised the annex and kept all the cold air from leaking in and raised the temperature by around 4 degrees. Temperature at the heater outlet in the annex using internal air was 82 degrees and 76 degrees when using external air however the actual temperature inside the annex using internal air was 14 degrees and external air was 18 degrees.
Hi,
What is this portable unit you speak of?
 

Crusty181

Well-Known Member
Feb 7, 2010
6,854
13,971
113
Mentone, VIC
Hi Geedub...just a quick heads up on the silicon heater duct. I could not get the right angles that I needed in time so I used some silicon turbo ducting. Could handle the heat easily enough...but...when we powered it up at Yarrangobilly we were overpowered by hot rubber fumes. even at just the 80 degrees or so that comes out of the outlet it was enough to release a rubber smell. It was so overpowering that we had to shut it down and vent the van.

I just came back from the snow and my portable unit worked brilliantly - on a minus 8 degree night the annex was a tropical (well almost) 18 degrees. Funnily enough I originally had the return air to the heater drawn from inside the annex - thinking that sending warm air through the heater would make it all more efficient. What this did however was create lower pressure (the unit sucks in a lot of air) in the annex that drew in all the minus 8 degree air through all the gaps in the annex. When I disconnected the internal air return and just had the unit suck in the outside air only it pressurised the annex and kept all the cold air from leaking in and raised the temperature by around 4 degrees. Temperature at the heater outlet in the annex using internal air was 82 degrees and 76 degrees when using external air however the actual temperature inside the annex using internal air was 14 degrees and external air was 18 degrees.

The internal unit was another story. Worked fine the last few uses and worked well when we stopped in Goulburn for a break...but when I turned it on at sawpit creek....white smoke. Flushed the lines with kero, used winterised fuel etc etc but the unit let me down. I think that there is a filter blocked or the atomiser screen is blocked. Pulling it apart this week to have a look. The ebay store I bought it from have so far been keen to help and want a video (of the smoke ???) so they can advise on if it is a replacement...hmmm...wonder how this will work out.
I get about 20 or 30 seconds or so of white smoke with my diesel heater when I turn it on, which is a new thing. From the InterGoogleWeb seems to be quite common and is said to be only a bit of unburnt fuel and no real issue
 

Drover

Well-Known Member
Nov 7, 2013
12,723
19,450
113
QLD
If you extended the exhaust for a few metres but used the same diameter pipe this can cause restricted flow and too much heat in furnace which burns the injector tip or something like that anyway white smoke from over fuelling and dead heater, exhaust extensions need to be twice the diameter it seems to allow unrestricted flow of gases..............................been there done that.

Being broke but wanting to add another vent inside I made a small timber box up drilled 3 big holes and bingo !!!!! fed hose from heater in one and hoses to vents from other 2, works a treat........ saved $30 to spend later at bottle shop.
 

Macropod

Member
Sep 5, 2013
76
89
18
56
Cordeaux Heights, NSW
Thanks Drover - I extended the exhaust around 500mm - would not have thought that would be a big problem. There is a bend or two though.

1dayill - I made up a portable unit that sits outside the annex in a checkerplate toolbox. Will post some pictures later tonight.
 
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geedub

Member
Aug 23, 2017
33
25
18
59
Sydney
Hi Geedub...just a quick heads up on the silicon heater duct. I could not get the right angles that I needed in time so I used some silicon turbo ducting. Could handle the heat easily enough...but...when we powered it up at Yarrangobilly we were overpowered by hot rubber fumes. even at just the 80 degrees or so that comes out of the outlet it was enough to release a rubber smell. It was so overpowering that we had to shut it down and vent the van.

I just came back from the snow and my portable unit worked brilliantly - on a minus 8 degree night the annex was a tropical (well almost) 18 degrees. Funnily enough I originally had the return air to the heater drawn from inside the annex - thinking that sending warm air through the heater would make it all more efficient. What this did however was create lower pressure (the unit sucks in a lot of air) in the annex that drew in all the minus 8 degree air through all the gaps in the annex. When I disconnected the internal air return and just had the unit suck in the outside air only it pressurised the annex and kept all the cold air from leaking in and raised the temperature by around 4 degrees. Temperature at the heater outlet in the annex using internal air was 82 degrees and 76 degrees when using external air however the actual temperature inside the annex using internal air was 14 degrees and external air was 18 degrees.

The internal unit was another story. Worked fine the last few uses and worked well when we stopped in Goulburn for a break...but when I turned it on at sawpit creek....white smoke. Flushed the lines with kero, used winterised fuel etc etc but the unit let me down. I think that there is a filter blocked or the atomiser screen is blocked. Pulling it apart this week to have a look. The ebay store I bought it from have so far been keen to help and want a video (of the smoke ???) so they can advise on if it is a replacement...hmmm...wonder how this will work out.

I just got back from a week of camping and using my heater. It worked very well the only problem being I didn't get time to complete my install and it was missing the vents I had to put in my cupboard for the air intake so I had to leave the cupboard door open when running the heater.

The silicon hoses I used didn't give any fumes that I could detect. These are what I purchased.
I have extended my exhaust by 1m but read in the installation instructions that It should be no longer than 2m. Mine is currently 1.6m and gave no problems. I wanted two outlets as the Basestation has 2 rooms separated by a door which we often close when my daughter has gone to bed but this causes the front area to cool down as cold air is drawn in because half of the heated air is going to the other room. A vent in the door will rectify that problem.
Overall I'm very happy with the heater and my install. We used 12l over 6 nights running the heater for 2-3 hours per night. It was comfortable inside with shorts and a T shirt but the floor is still cold so socks, slippers or some other foot cover is required.
 

Drover

Well-Known Member
Nov 7, 2013
12,723
19,450
113
QLD
Thanks Drover - I extended the exhaust around 500mm - would not have thought that would be a big problem. There is a bend or two though. .



Thats what i thought originally also so I extended mine with a 25mm tube for about 1.5m and it all worked well for awhile, say about 8 hrs of running, maybe 12 in total then fizz, white smoke, fan dropped off then eventually shut down, that was with the el cheapo so since they didn't want to know me Ebay refunded, bought a better unit from a reputable mob and it did the same after awhile, it was fixed under warranty and even though the exhaust was within the specs I was advised to double the size of the pipe if I want to extend it longer than whats supplied and looking at the way the things operate it does sound a plausable reason, like an engine if you can't get the exhaust flow right the whole thing chokes.........................I have now run the heater at home for about 12 hrs so I have some running time up before we launch next month..............

I've been wanting to give underneath the floor a spray with sound deadener to hope for some more insulation, seemed to work on the old rig but Big Mal just has spray of chassis black, my QLD toes are sensitive to the cold lino.
 
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SpizzandQ

New Member
Jun 18, 2018
15
4
3
43
NSW
I've just included a link to a thread I did a while back about bed end options that also included diesel heaters. Could be some info in there that is handy. I also have some pics in there. I went with the Tassie crew as they have excellent support and always answered the phone and replied to emails. The units are the same as the Tuite ones through pinnacle.

Good luck.

http://expandasdownunder.com/threads/bed-end-storage-options.11345/#post-190878