[Nathanael Jones]

Some of the commercial work I do is in an area where I'd always make sure the van is closed and locked, even if I'm only round the corner,....

[U.S. wfp USER]

What do you make of it? It's a product i've been looking at for a long time,.. but haven't heard much feedback about it!
I'm guessing its not perfect for the job, or you wouldn't be looking for a webasto one!!

It works quite well, but Im not keen on carrying around the propane gas.

[Nathanael Jones]

I have to agree with you,.. from a safety point of view, diesel is far better.
 The german ebay has a lot of these heaters,.. but the prices often get quite high by auction end.

[U.S. wfp USER]

Well the on demand cheap unit that we talked about has busted.

One of the lines inside the unit burst.

I am looking to have a webasto fitted in the next few weeks.  Estimated cost is $2500.00US with a built in Digital thermostat.

[Village Gleam]

I've noticed a few times it's carried on burning. Once the hose burst, other times i've caught it. More so when the gas is low or changed. I just assumed mine was a bit dim like it's dad.
 How many weeks did you run it for?
There is another heater called infinity which is better quality.

[Nathanael Jones]

I'm looking into a dual source heating system.
Using a large twin coil calorifier, I'd use the excess heat from the engine to heat one coil, and an "on demand" heater to boost the temp through the other coil. The water would be heated far too hot for windows,.. but by using that thermostatic mixing valve I posted a link to earlier, it'd be easy to adjust the temp going down the minibore.
I just have to find a cheap calorifier tank now!!!

[Village Gleam]

I honestly don't understand this.
The on demand works great. Why complicate it with a calorififier?
The running costs are minimal, so there's no money to save.

[Nathanael Jones]

The calorifier would provide heat from the engine should I ever run out of gas half way through a job, and would mean that I'd have no worries about overheating/burst pipes should the on demand heater fail to shut down,.. something that seems to happen a lot with the cheap propane heaters.

[TennetClean]

Won't work

[matt]

Won't work

another objective post  : :

[TennetClean]

 

[Nathanael Jones]

I've seen a similar system in action,.. and it worked very well. The calorifier was smaller than the unit I'd choose,.. and was only a single coil, so only heated when the engine ran,... but 11 gallons of water heated in only a few minutes and would stay hot for 24 hours or more when not used,....

[U.S. wfp USER]

http://www.arctic-fox.com/sitepages/pid44.php

[Nathanael Jones]

http://www.arctic-fox.com/sitepages/pid44.php

I'd imagine you'd need a much bigger coil in your tank for it to heat up fast enough,.. but its the right idea!

I saw this on ebay weeks ago which would do a slightly better job i'd imagine,.. but still not a big enough coil:
http://cgi.ebay.ie/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280181794130&_trksid=p3907.m32&_trkparms=tab%3DWatching

[Village Gleam]

Nathaniel
Why would it mean no need to worry about burst pressures if the heater failed to shut down?
If you are incorporating an on demand heater you run the same risks and you might as well let it do the lot.

Matt,
the reason we can't disscuss this more fully or post on the diy site is that there are safety issues. But what i've got works brilliantly.

Tennet Clean
I agree. Keep it simple. No way is water going to stay hot for a start, so only heating what you need with no pilot light makes far more sence. Diesel things are dirty smelly things with a whacking Tax burden

USA user,
Have you thought about an lpg  conversion? They put a tank where your spare wheel is.

[U.S. wfp USER]

I am not a fan of LP gas in my vehicle. 

[Nathanael Jones]

Nathaniel
Why would it mean no need to worry about burst pressures if the heater failed to shut down?
If you are incorporating an on demand heater you run the same risks and you might as well let it do the lot.

Matt,
the reason we can't disscuss this more fully or post on the diy site is that there are safety issues. But what i've got works brilliantly.

Tennet Clean
I agree. Keep it simple. No way is water going to stay hot for a start, so only heating what you need with no pilot light makes far more sence. Diesel things are dirty smelly things with a whacking Tax burden

USA user,
Have you thought about an lpg  conversion? They put a tank where your spare wheel is.

The on demand heater would be plumbed into the calorifier tank using heavy duty pipe that will never burst under the temps pressures involved here,.. no microbore until after the thermostatic mixer, so it eliminates the chance of burst pipes etc. There would of course be a pressure valve in the indirect circuit containing the heater, as a standard safety feature.

Depending on the tank you get, unused heated water will only drop 2 - 5 deg C in 24 hours,.. they are highly insulated tanks.

The Diesel heaters are clean and easy to run. They draw fuel from your main tank, but a secondary tank can be fitted and if you do this it is legal to run them on red diesel,.. saving even more money. What Tax burden would be involved in a diesel heater?

[Jon-scwindows]

i thought whether one of these could be used? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=180191023921&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=008

[Village Gleam]

Red diesel okay, except you need a lovely 1000l tank where your missus would ideally like some garden. The tax burden is buying it at the pump.

The pressure valve you mention is probably the solution. Don't suppose you know where I can get one? what one looks like?
If the heater carries on with no flow nothing could withstand the pressure.

The system I use could be fitted working perfectly to your vehicle in fifteen minutes and completely bypassed in 15 seconds. You yourself did a post explaining the economics but I don't think you believe that it works. That's okay, i'm trying to filch ideas from others, not recruit people. Horse to water and all that.

[Nathanael Jones]

i thought whether one of these could be used? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=180191023921&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=008

That'd be perfect for the job jonrob!