Chinese Diesel Heater Controller Different?

[PeterPiper]

Something must be be going on with mine, completely different controller, randomly works fine then stops and is only a month old and I run it only 10-15 hrs a day on medium to high.

Could also be a defective glow plug.
I assure you there is a learning curve to get them working properly if you are new to them and there is an initial problem.

If you don't mind tinkering and learning then I would all but guarantee that you will eventually become knowledgeable with all the possible quirks and then making then run perfectly will be childs play for you and you will love the heater more than any other type.

Hang in there. Keep learning and tinkering.

I would also bet you were sent a return from someone else for the reasons you are experiencing. If you bought it less than 30 days ago, consider a return of this one and try a different one from a different seller.

I'm not kidding. Mine sit all year and fire right up every winter with ZERO problems season after season. The cheap Chinese ones can be super reliable.
You just have to know the basics and the tricks to keep them running perfect.

 

[frodo2222]

Something must be be going on with mine, completely different controller, randomly works fine then stops and is only a month old and I run it only 10-15 hrs a day on medium to high.

have you taken the plastic top off? It may be as simple as a connector being loose..I bought 2 lithium batteries and they both didn't work.I took the plastic top off and sure enough the wire connectors were loose or totally of..Got 2 free lithium batteries out of the deal

 

[frodo2222]

The expensive German units carbon up too, and for the same reasons. Mine runs on low sometimes for a week at a time 24 hrs per day. Still works fine. It is tuned to my 4000' altitude using a CO meter.

That is something I have never done tuned them and I have 3..is there some kind of write up on HOW to do it? or a link to it? TIA

 

[PeterPiper]

That is something I have never done tuned them and I have 3..is there some kind of write up on HOW to do it? or a link to it? TIA

Tuning them is as simple as getting a CO meter and getting a pump with a different pump volume to adjust the fuel delivery rate.
And adjusting fan speed

https://www.walmart.com/ip/SMART-SE...lay-Sound-and-Light-Alarm-0-1000ppm/886777357

If you get that CO meter and the CO content at the exhaust is in the proper range you are good to go.

 

[frodo2222]

Tuning them is as simple as getting a CO meter and getting a pump with a different pump volume to adjust the fuel delivery rate.
And adjusting fan speed

https://www.walmart.com/ip/SMART-SE...lay-Sound-and-Light-Alarm-0-1000ppm/886777357

If you get that CO meter and the CO content at the exhaust is in the proper range you are good to go.

Thanks for the video..although I still have no idea how to change the 4 to 7 like he did...it seems he used the same display to get it to do more or less heat..I saw the co go from 160 to over the limit..what is the proper range number where it should be at more or less? 160 or 100 or?

 

[PeterPiper]

Thanks for the video..although I still have no idea how to change the 4 to 7 like he did...it seems he used the same display to get it to do more or less heat..I saw the co go from 160 to over the limit..what is the proper range number where it should be at more or less? 160 or 100 or?

Can you adjust the fan speed on yours?
A lower fan speed means the chamber will run hotter and vice versa. Hotter means less emissions....but less heat volume.

The main thing that determines the CO levels is the pump volume. What is the volume printed on your fuel pump?

I will go run mine and get the current Co levels and let you know.
May be over the weekend before I can do that.

 

[hugemoth]

First thing you need in order to tune the air/fuel ratio is a controller that is capable of adjustment. David McLuckie isn't all that clear in his video but what you are adjusting is the maximum and minimum Hz in relation to the maximum and minimum fan RPM. Generally you leave the fan RPM alone. Say for instance the max Hz is 5.5 and min is 1.8 as it comes from the factory. Try adjusting max Hz to 4.5 and minimum Hz to 1.4 then check the CO reading of the exhaust. I suppose under 100ppm would be fine but mine are 13ppm on low and 24ppm on high. You'll need a CO meter like McLuckie uses in his video. Bought mine on eBay for $34.

 

[hugemoth]

BTW the common fuel pump is .022 ml per pulse. Nearly all pumps supplied with 5kw or 8kw heaters use .022 pumps. Should be etched into the pump if you look closely. No need to change the pump, just the Hz of the pump.

 

[frodo2222]

Can you adjust the fan speed on yours?
A lower fan speed means the chamber will run hotter and vice versa. Hotter means less emissions....but less heat volume.

The main thing that determines the CO levels is the pump volume. What is the volume printed on your fuel pump?

I will go run mine and get the current Co levels and let you know.
May be over the weekend before I can do that.

Hey thanks..mine are both 22/19 and I can get 1 up to 5 MZ.. and the other to 5.5...The 5.5 seems to be hotter per the heat thermostat gun....haven't tried to go to the sub menu with the 1688 code yet

 

[Surf44]

Is there any way to connect a thermostat to these? And is putting diesel additive to the fuel a good thing? I would guess it would help clean it out?

Edit: Also if I buy another one, would you suggest I replace the entire thing or instead replace the parts and not have to touch the exhaust and everything?

 

[frodo2222]

Is there any way to connect a thermostat to these? And is putting diesel additive to the fuel a good thing? I would guess it would help clean it out?

Edit: Also if I buy another one, would you suggest I replace the entire thing or instead replace the parts and not have to touch the exhaust and everything?

I know there is a way to put thermostat to it but looked complicated to me at least..as far as the additive, I drive a 93 dodge diesel which I put a additive to the tank in back (50 gallons) I fill my diesel heater from that tank and after 2 years of running solid all winter on my 30 footer fifth wheel the screen looked like new..never had a issue starting or smoking or sooting up...is it that additive or what I can't tell you BUT it works fine and even after a year of running that additive in my truck it also run better and cleaner....so...draw your own conclusions but I am going to keep on doing what is working so well for me!

 

[hugemoth]

Most controllers have thermostats built in.

Buying a second one with the controller you want isn't a bad idea. That'll give you spare parts.

 

[Surf44]

Which Chinese controller one has a thermostat? The updated version of my type I thought only had a timer.

I’ve been looking at buying one, the last one I got was on ebay and so far has been a ultimate fail, is amazon better?

 

[frodo2222]

Which Chinese controller one has a thermostat? The updated version of my type I thought only had a timer.

I’ve been looking at buying one, the last one I got was on ebay and so far has been a ultimate fail, is amazon better?

I'm not sure if they all have a thermostat but they all have a setting with the buttons that go up and down I have three of them two of them have the stupid remotes that don't tell you anything and then I have another one that's got an LCD that tells you the temperature of the ambient temperature the temperature of your setting would you be the thermostat to work and the temperature inside the motor and the voltage of the battery as well so I always tell people get that one was the other ones like I have no idea if it's even on or not you push a button and there's nothing to see you literally have to go look at the display to see if it's on or not but none of them are the true thermostat because it don't shut off they're just going to slow motion or slow burn until the temperature comes down and the thermostats are notoriously bad anyways hope that helps some I tell everybody get that remote control that has the LCD screen on it that by far the best from what I've seen

 

[hugemoth]

The blue colored controller with a remote like frodo2222 posted is the way to go. It will have a thermostat, a barometric altimeter, and two way communication with the remote. It also has a timer but the timer works by keying in how many hours from the current time to turn on or off rather than by keying in the time like 8:30 pm. It also has the passcode enabled (1688) admin adjustments to adjust air/fuel ratio etc..

 

[frodo2222]

The blue colored controller with a remote like frodo2222 posted is the way to go. It will have a thermostat, a barometric altimeter, and two way communication with the remote. It also has a timer but the timer works by keying in how many hours from the current time to turn on or off rather than by keying in the time like 8:30 pm. It also has the passcode enabled (1688) admin adjustments to adjust air/fuel ratio etc..

yEP..THE ONLY THING i FOUND IS THAT ONE HAS TO SET THE TIMER ever SINGLE TIME YOU WANT TO USE IT oops sorry...pain in the rear that is...some have actually made a real timer but t was way beyond my abilities or budget lol

 

[hugemoth]

Even on the common black rectangular 5 button controller the timer has to be set every time. You can't set it to come on every day at a set time.

 

[Surf44]

My van was in single digit temperatures for the last month, I’m now back in Florida since my heater kept not working, but even in single digits wind blowing, the heater was either too hot or if I ran it high to heat everything up really hot and turn it off it would be freezing after about 5 hrs.

So you pretty much after to run these things on low all night if your in those temps. But if you had a thermostat it could run on medium-high a couple times during the night and save fuel and carbon build up. It almost seems worth for the espar/propex just for the thermostat.

Is the espar controller not compatible with a little wiring? Or has anyone bought the afterburner controller?

 

[hugemoth]

Most of the Chinese heaters have a thermostat that works exactly like the expensive German units. The thermostat works by running the heater on a high setting until the set temperature is reached, then lowering the setting but never turning the heater all the way off. If the heater kept turning on and off the glow plug would be drawing a lot more battery power. Carbon build while running on a low setting is not a problem if your heater is tuned and installed properly.