I do not have one of these [bugger] my mates have them in their bushtrackers & they work very well. There is NO diesel ignighted in the van ,the burner is in a housing under the floor & ONLY the hot air is blown into the van, generaly at two locations at floor level.

justcruisin01 wrote:

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There is NO diesel ignighted in the van ,the burner is in a housing under the floor & ONLY the hot air is blown into the van, generaly at two locations at floor level.

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No, the furnace is mounted above the floor. It is just the fuel tank, exhaust and air intake that are external. Also many installations have only a single air outlet, these are an optional extra.

There are too many of these working around the world without mishap for them to be considered a hazard. I have no qualms about using my unit.

 

Haven't heard of these things... As they say on the adds "Where Do Ya Get It ? "

There are 2 makers that I know of. Eispatchier (sp??) which is branded Dometic, and Webasto.
They are quite similar, fairly expensive (at $1500-1800 + installation - make sure you have silencers fitted) but very effective and very economical to run.

Cheers,
Peter

Will add Webasto to our list of "visits" at caravan etc show.

Peter, why do you need silencers? If they are necessary,shouldn't they come with the product? Also, does this apply to both brands? Do you run one, how effective, how economical, how effective for 2ft van?

Dunmowin wrote:

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Peter, why do you need silencers? If they are necessary,shouldn't they come with the product? Also, does this apply to both brands? Do you run one, how effective, how economical, how effective for 2ft van?

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The combustion air and exhausts can make some noise, especially outside, but it does depend exactly how they are installed.
As Mike says, there are options for the 'handy person' to do their own.
We have not installed one yet because we have spent most of our time in the tropics since I built the OKA (and I ran out of money), but I did put in the wiring to a spot that I left for one.

There are 2 models from memory and the smaller of the 2 has a heat output between 1 and 2kW (plenty for most vans) and uses between 0.12 and 0.24 litres of diesel per hour (half a cup to a cup). 

Cheers,
Peter 

Dunmowin wrote:

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Will add Webasto to our list of "visits" at caravan etc show.

Peter, why do you need silencers? If they are necessary,shouldn't they come with the product? Also, does this apply to both brands? Do you run one, how effective, how economical, how effective for 2ft van?

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You must be awful skinny to fit in a 2ft van...LOL   I look forward to your report after the show. I didn't get to the Sydney show, so don't know whats available.
Cheers
Allara

 

Allara wrote:

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Dunmowin wrote:

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Will add Webasto to our list of "visits" at caravan etc show.

Peter, why do you need silencers? If they are necessary,shouldn't they come with the product? Also, does this apply to both brands? Do you run one, how effective, how economical, how effective for 2ft van?

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You must be awful skinny to fit in a 2ft van...LOL   I look forward to your report after the show. I didn't get to the Sydney show, so don't know whats available.
Cheers
Allara

 

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Allara, I must have been having a "chardy" moment.  As I recall, I had a lot of trouble getting my fingers around 214ft - 24 ft - there I got it right finally.

Counting down to caravan etc show this weekend, as well as hubby's 60th!

 

Hi All, Just a little up date on the heater.. Its a dometic d2 and every thing came with it even a little muffler..I did go for the digi read out come themastat extra 130 ..didnt get the fuel tank at 120 .. Had one made from a stainless square tube 2mts long and fixed it across the back of van....2mts+5inch+3inch.?. run the fuel line up in the middle of the chasie, to easy Worked out at 140 welded up. the only thing was the flexy stainless exaust pipe was hard to make air tight at the unit .. put a hydrolic hose clamp" better clamps" and some muffler putty.. asked the guy at the muffler shop. all good.. I sat mine on a bit of stainless tube and fixed that through the ply to the out side alm. skin..so any leek or fumes will go out side. Filled the gap between the ply and alm. with a big can of foam. Made it all very firm..Havent started it yet..So far with all the extra bits its around 1780. Came with plenty of cable and that sort of stuff. It will be boxed in and easy to get at. The out let will be in the front between our feet, when watching teli ,MMMM .Have a look on Ebay 1499. starting price...All up its a small unit and very well made ,Any handy man could fit one.. Im veeeery pleased ..Will be better than running that 2.6 kva genny with the rev.air con..Hope this helps...Bob n Bev

Hi Paul-nsw, Will try to do a few that matter. Its all in and finished .Im waiting for the digi controler to come..The dealer had some problems getting it in over the long weekend.. The stainless tank turned out ok and is bolted across the back of the van looks like a bumperbar.It held just under 10 lts. Thats 2mts by 5inch by3inch. I went for stainless because steel tanks get rust in them and small bitts would block the smallest of small fuel line...I ran the fuel line down the middle of the chasie in side a bit of black plastic tube..Put a inline filter as well and a tap at the tank..The exaust came out and up the front with stand offs to stop the paint getting singed..Had to redo the loom a bit and put a on off switch in, to keep it all under control. One thing I did add is a dust come lint filter made from a green scotchpad, couldnt think of anything eles to use that is easy to get. With all the dust and lint that flote about the van, didnt want any getting in to the heatexchange, it has all small fins and the fan would get clogged as well. There is not a lot to see, just a small black thingo and some black tube going places. found how to up load?? hope its ok..Bob n Bev

-- Edited by BobnBev on Thursday 17th of June 2010 09:30:43 AM

-- Edited by BobnBev on Thursday 17th of June 2010 09:33:33 AM

Well, There is one thing ,IF you own a G-string you would need to keep it handy ..Fired the thing up today and left it run on high for one hour just to see how hot the serounding bits got and yes it did get hot but you could still touch things . The fan is a little bit noisey on high, but very quite on low.. The exaust pipe that got warm.. One thing did put me out was the fuel pump, ok I looked at it ,, small white fuel line from the tank,, small in let on pump..easy right .... No!! The small fuel line goes on the big end of the pump and the big black fuel line goes on the small out let on the pump .. And there is no indication on the pump to say which way the flow is... Lucky I left a lot of fuel line so could do the switch over..Plus when I realy looked hard at the layout it is there .. But with a quick look.. You would miss it. ....One other thing , the digi control has its own loom .. The unit came with a analog control so I fitted that loom thinking a loom is a loom. When the digi control came I had to do a pin and plug change and solder job to get it right ..I was not going to pull the loom out after all the work too get it there.. summing up its realy good and we wont be cold anymore.. I could not hold my hand in front of the out let as the air was so hot.. Im sure this will be the last bit on this. Like I said if I can offer any help just ask...A warmer Bob n Bev

All really usefull information, we have ordered a dometic (Eberspacher) to go into our van before delivery, so we wont have to install

interesting fact have just found out. If you have one and using in the Alps (obviously in winter) you need to ensure you use Alpine Diesel, as the normal diesel will freeze.

Being a city dweller where "alpine diesel" is not available I add "Chemtech Diesel Power" to my D2 diesel heater tank at the rate of 2ml/L diesel prior to filling the tank. It is supposed to stop the waxing that occurs due to the cold and also prevent algae growth on storage. So far so good as we have not experienced the fuel pump blocking to date.

On our recently completed trip travelling through central western NSW we experienced many morning temps between -1 and +1C where the heater was very much appreciated.

BTW http://www.caravansplus.com.au/pdf/dometic/airtronic.pdf is an excellent manual (37 pages) for these units.

Dunmowin, Thats a good choise ,friends of ours have a Kedron and are very happy with it..
We would have to sell the house . smile. Looked at all the vans and yes it would be right there in the top 3 for sure. .Good luck with all the travels , there is no end to what you can do ..We are not ones to just go from cp to cp. Most times its in the out back ,dry creek bed ,hills , 2 wheel dirt roads ect...Nothing like it ,Our only problem is getting old to quick, dam it...BIG smile..Bob n Bev