webasto heater

dave06 · Guru

webasto heater

DubDub · Veteran Member

Hey Dave,
Are ya thinking of putting one in the dragon?With the cost of the heater and diesel prices,I would think that a gas heater would be cheaper.I have seen a few advertised on web sites and I'm sure they were not that pricey.
Glenn.

dave06 · Guru

I dont think the wife would take kindly to me putting a heater in her ( "the dragon") we call the vehicle "little blue", I am going to put one in our next vehicle , probably a mazda t4600 or isuzu npr 250 alpine, when we head out on "the big one" in 3 years time for good, I just heard that was what the dealers are charging ($2,000) and up and I thought that was a bit rich, I had heard in a forum somewhere that a bloke put one in himself and I cant remember where it was, the experts reckon that one would suffocate if a gas heater was used indoors

OutbackAus · Veteran Member

diesel Dometic for single outlet around $1400 and $1550 for twin outlet
not far off putting one in my own van.

not difficult to install at all.
the action can be seen at this website for motorhome. mine is a caravan.
http://web.aanet.com.au/manins/motorhome/air_heater.html

you will need a reasonable amount of 12v power to run the diesel heater

you cannot buy a gas heater that is approved for installation in an RV of any type in Aus.
if you do want to use a gas heater the Coleman Procat is a catalytic heater and should be the only near safe heater to use in an RV. there are tens thousands using them now in Aus for heating this winter. $169 and $20 for hose to use gas bottle as disposeable bottles to expensive. you can get adaptor from the US to refill the Coleman disposeable bottles.

DubDub · Veteran Member

Sorry about the dragon thingie mix up Dave,
With any heating ya need good ventilation, thats par for the course,even a diesel heater takes air out of the room.They are very common on yachts only because of the gas/flash point factor.Have ya looked into the Ltr per hour cost of running a diesel heater?I know a bloke that has a LWB nissan that has a small(Read very small)potbelly installed,woods cheap and dosen't take much to warm up the small area you will have to heat.2,000 and up seems a bit dear for something thats gonna cost $'s per litre to run for the small hours you may need it.We traveled around in a coaster bus and I know how quick the heat dissapears once the heats off,thats when a bloody good 50/50 doona took over.Hope ya weren't thinking of running the diesel all night.
Glenn.

OutbackAus · Veteran Member

Diesel heaters do not take any air out of the room. All combustion air is external and exhaust is all external.
doubt anybody runs the diesel heater all night. Use it in the evening and switch it on prior to getting out of bed in the morning.

In the average caravan or motorhome powered would be powered on low majority of time. Taking an average you would be looking at approx 20c an hour.

Boost 0.280gm/hr
High 0.230gm/hr
Medium 0.140gm/hr
Low 0.030gm/hr

dave06 · Guru

yeh that backs up what I read somewhere, the consumption was something like 1/5 of a litre of diesel on low for the 3500 and a bit less for the 2000, even the pro cat catalytic cmca members say eats up the oxygen and leaves the co2, that $1400 is that instalation or purchase, I have contacted geelong winnebego about purchase and instalation but they are too busy as yet to reply. I seen the instalation process somewhere (it might have been you tube ) and it looked to be a relatively simple affair, the trouble is when we sell up I wont have the tools or place to do the job, might have to look for some cmca "helpers" I think and save a few bob, if one runs it before hopping in to bed and then send the dragon out to turn it off then the consumption wont be a problem, the energy use ( rated at 9 watts on low) shouldnt really bother us either just running for a couple of hours with a double bank of batterys and solar. as for the apology with the mix up between the dragon and little blue, if she finds out I'm calling her that on the forum I'm dead or hospitalised for a long time anyway

-- Edited by dave06 at 11:32, 2008-07-05

DubDub · Veteran Member

OutbackAus wrote:

Diesel heaters do not take any air out of the room. All combustion air is external and exhaust is all external.
doubt anybody runs the diesel heater all night. Use it in the evening and switch it on prior to getting out of bed in the morning.

In the average caravan or motorhome powered would be powered on low majority of time. Taking an average you would be looking at approx 20c an hour.

Boost 0.280gm/hr
High 0.230gm/hr
Medium 0.140gm/hr
Low 0.030gm/hr

I realise that now, I went to the link ya posted.It dosen't seem so bad but boy what a price tag.I soooo wanted a potbelly,come to think of it,I still might,guess I'll just keep a window open for some fresh air circulation.Your set up looks mighty tempting Outback,thanks for that.I especialy like the way the vehical is also set up for nights away,that makes a whole lot of sense and keeps ya totally free to be.Ya got me thinking now idea

.

Hey Dave,ya mean to say the missus dosen't read the forum,my you will be lucky. biggrin

Glenn.

dave06 · Guru

I found it the instalation demonstration that I was looking for is at http://www.around-oz.com/diy_mh/diy_webasto_installation.htm I think a lot of motorhomers will find it quite helpfull if you or someone you know is about to install or have one installed. this is what they charge over $2,000 for ( webasto anyway, dont know anything about airtronic ). I have printed it out for future reference smile