I know it's early but got to get this done before winter, not buying new membrane and housings yet again!
Going to get a eberspacher or a propex, not interested in fan heaters/rads etc. parked van away from a socket overnight once when I had no choice and it froze so no electric! Going to work out cheaper in the long run to spend on the diesel or gas option.
My question is, who uses either and how do you get on with them?
I had decided on a eberspacher but reading up on them I'm now not so sure as someone told me they are not really designed to be started and stopped a lot by a thermostat? Don't really know much about the propex except it means lugging a gas bottle, although if it works I'm happy with that.
Not cheap for either so I want to get it right first time.
Not sure why someone told you the Eberspatcher isn't designed to work off a thermostat - these units are how thousands of truckers keep their sleeper cabs warm in the winter.
I have one in my van, which can be set on a timer overnight to keep the van warm. (We use an electric heater on a thermostat to keep the vans from freezing at the moment).
There is an optional thermostat that is more temperature sensitive and would probably work better.
One of the problems I see from experience would be the cost of diesel to run the unit. On tickover it uses about 1/3 of a litre per hour. It won't be running all the time, but will use more diesel when it starts up. (I would guess at diesel prices today it could cost you +-£10 a night.) The other issue is that it the 'glowplug' draws a fair burst of current ( around 12 amps for about 30 seconds) to get the diesel flame ignited, so if it restarts many times in the night, then the drain on the battery is a consideration, probably even to the extent of a larger leisure battery or a second one to supply the over night heater.
There are a couple on here who have fitted a gas Propex air heater, which is the way I would go TBH. I would also have an LPG autogas tank fitted in the van that can be filled from an Autogas pump at some Petrol stations. Its more expensive than an diesel heater but the lower cost of gas will reduce the deficit. The Propex heater also uses must less battery power to start it. Its design is the same as an Eberspatcher - mounted on the vans floor with 2 holes to the outside, one for air intake and the other for exhaust.
I guess the Propex unit needs an exhaust silencer. The Eberspatcher does - without it, it sounds like a jet engine and I can hear it around the back of the house I'm working on when it's running, so I couldn't use this as it is at night.
