Thread: Diesel heater

Originally Posted by POD

There is the warm glow you get from not having bought chinese though.

Indeed... says me, typing on an iMac, made guess where....

Primed it a few times and no go, went back to basics and checked the new filter was in the correct orientation ( it wasn't) rectified that then checked that the pump was pumping fuel which it was then turned it on and bingo.
Pumps out a lot of heat, not sure if its a 2 or 5kw since i bought it of gumtree 2 years for $60. One thing i will change is to replace the plastic tank with a stainless steel one, only $50 off ebay and will be a better fit in the front boot section of the van.

Originally Posted by loanrangie

Primed it a few times and no go, went back to basics and checked the new filter was in the correct orientation ( it wasn't) rectified that then checked that the pump was pumping fuel which it was then turned it on and bingo.
Pumps out a lot of heat, not sure if its a 2 or 5kw since i bought it of gumtree 2 years for $60. One thing i will change is to replace the plastic tank with a stainless steel one, only $50 off ebay and will be a better fit in the front boot section of the van.

the 2 and 5k units are basically the same, with the key differences being the size of the injector, the pump and the run rate of the pump.

if you try hard enough most of the parts for them both can be had online so if it clags out you can DIY repair it... once you have it running get a spare pump, filter fuel line and clips for the line.

It's running but I think the temp sensor is stuffed as the fan keeps running when you turn it off, new sensor is cheap so I'll just use a switch til I get one next week.
Parts don't seem to be an issue for them.

The 2k units are actually smaller than the 5k which are badged anywhere from 3k to 8k in my experience. The actual heater is much larger in the bigger ones but uses the same footprint to mount. Apart from the physical differences the fuel pumps and electronics are different as they provide more fuel to the larger units. The smaller ones use smaller ducting as well and obviously use less fuel.
I've removed a couple of the larger units to replace them with the 2k unit and you must change the pump and control head as the ones from the larger units will overfuel the smaller heater. Wiring is the same in the ones I've used.
As far as interchaneability of parts between the two heater sizes I suspect that the "glow" plugs are the same and the gauze tube around it is the same but most everything else is different.

Originally Posted by oka374

The 2k units are actually smaller than the 5k which are badged anywhere from 3k to 8k in my experience. The actual heater is much larger in the bigger ones but uses the same footprint to mount. Apart from the physical differences the fuel pumps and electronics are different as they provide more fuel to the larger units. The smaller ones use smaller ducting as well and obviously use less fuel.
I've removed a couple of the larger units to replace them with the 2k unit and you must change the pump and control head as the ones from the larger units will overfuel the smaller heater. Wiring is the same in the ones I've used.
As far as interchaneability of parts between the two heater sizes I suspect that the "glow" plugs are the same and the gauze tube around it is the same but most everything else is different.

odd, Ive had a few unbranded knock offs come through as broken unwanted donations, and the guts of them have been largely the same dimensions. I wonder if its a case of the really cheap ones are manufactured the same to cut costs...


What brands have you got?

(for clarity, the issues have usually been a clogged screen/combustion chamber or melted bits when theyve been powered off by means of electrical disconnection when hot.)

Added a switch in a convenient location, I was hoping that when it had cooled down and switched off that when it is switched on again it would be ready to go but it's still in a cool down loop.
Not likely to find a replacement sensor before tomorrow arvo.

Well i went onto Amazon and got one coming tomorrow, double the ebay price but thems the breaks.
I might order a few from aliexpress so i have spares.

Blknight they've mostly been chinese ones, I don't think the Eberspacher/Webasto make a larger version.
I've got a photo somewhere of the different sizes, until you get them side by side it's not immediately obvious. Cross section is about 100mm square on the small ones and about 120 on the bigger ones. The bigger ones are quite often sold as anything between 3 and 8kw but as they're all the same size the difference would be in the fuel pump and electonics. The other thing to watch is that the heaters often come with a different fuel hose to fit between the pump and heater, it has a specific ID and sometimes length so that the resistance created by that hose actually controls the fuel delivery from the pump. A trap when changing heaters, always use the hose and pump supplied with the new heater.
The biggest giveaway is the cabin air ducting, the smaller ones run a smaller ducting, something like 65mm instead of 75.
Yes melted plugs and clogged up from running too long at low heat is the biggest problem.
We had one that became so clogged that it started pushing the exhaust gas past the rubber seals for the fuel and wiring out into the heated air casing, that made the CO2 detector go ape!
The biggest worry was that we had noticed a haze in the cabin but couldn't smell anything until the detector went off and frightened the crap out of us, we'd never heard the noise it made before.