Where to go for diesel heater install

[afblangley]

Are there diesel heaters that are higher quality? Perhaps not Chinese? Maybe with a quieter fuel pump?

There are three "name brand" manufactures: Espar, Webasto, and Planar. They cost about $1000, so they are significantly more expensive than the cheap Chinese heaters. I don't own one so I can't speak from personal experience. There are a few YouTube videos comparing them. Here's the best one I've seen:

My personal opinion: if someone has the mechanical skills to install one, they also have the ability to troubleshoot/repair it. There's little disadvantage to trying the Chinese heater. If someone is paying to have it installed, they probably can't service it either, so it's less risky to go with the a brand that has earned a reputation.

 

[eliyama]

Wow. What an offer. Can you extend that to someone actually ON the East Coast ?

I've found diesel heaters to be the very best overall heating solution for RV's.
Probably over a million in use.

I tried propane.....the moisture was a deal breaker....mold and mildew city.....plus propane is getting expensive....and had to leave windows open also.
Tried wood stove.....too messy....consumes too much O2...have to leave windows open....and wood is not cheap...unless you cut your own...here comes "messy" again
Tried electric...WAY too much power consumption.

Just my personal experience.

Diesel seems to be a forgotten source, it is excellent. You must assure proper venting. Aside from offer on East Coast, here are my resource pages: https://www.defender.com/category.jsp?id=2061078&path=-1|2061076
https://www.boatownersworld.com/

 

[crazybill]

There are three "name brand" manufactures: Espar, Webasto, and Planar. They cost about $1000, so they are significantly more expensive than the cheap Chinese heaters. I don't own one so I can't speak from personal experience. There are a few YouTube videos comparing them. Here's the best one I've seen:

My personal opinion: if someone has the mechanical skills to install one, they also have the ability to troubleshoot/repair it. There's little disadvantage to trying the Chinese heater. If someone is paying to have it installed, they probably can't service it either, so it's less risky to go with the a brand that has earned a reputation.

Thank you very much for that information, it was exactly what I was looking for.
-Bill-

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

That youtube video comparison between the Webasto and Chinese heater seemed pretty unfair. They were not comparing similar units. The Webasto is a smaller 2kw unit and the Chinese is a larger 8kw unit. Of course the Chinese one will use 2-3x more fuel, it's rated to but out 2-3x more heat! So complaining that the Chinese one being much larger is a silly statement.

That being said, The actual build quality between the two is no comparison. The Chinese unit is built like junk, and the price reflects that. But boy, that low price tag is so tempting! Worried about it breaking one you? No biggy, buy a spare! But that is about the only advantage I see with the Chinese heaters. Some good things about Webasto and Espar heaters is the reliability, build quality, customer support, available service centers, and the lower sound levels. Apparently, there is a huge difference in the mufflers between the two. The Chinese muffler pretty much doesn't do anything as it's just a hollow tube. But hey, you're paying for a $6 muffler, what do you expect? The Chinese units have zero certifications as far as I know, meaning no third party can verify how safe they're actually made. Roll your own dice.

I went with an Espar unit, and very glad I did. Mounted it underneath, next to chassis. The directions and entire install kit labels were all in German, so that was a pain. Used a friend who spoke some German to help me figure out what was what. Lots of stuff I didn't need mostly. But I'm sure the Chinese instructions are probably worse. At least the German ones were very detailed, I just can't read it!

As others have stated, a place like Thermo King would be perfect for installation assistance. But you will pay $$$ for them to install it, or they won't go near the Chinese heaters and try to sell you one of their Webasto or Espar units. I'm very handy and would be glad to help anyone with their heater install. Sorry to the west coast peoples, but I'm east coast for the winter with a broken engine at the moment. Glad my heater still works! Good luck!

 

[JP-SLC]

My 2 cents: I have a $1,100 Planar that has been troublesome since day 1 camping and I don't trust it anymore. My next build I will buy two from China on Ebay (ebay is about $40 less than amazon and elsewhere) for about $220 total. I'll keep the extra one and its parts in a bag in case it breaks or I break something.

 

[JP-SLC]

Regarding installation, it's quite easy to do and doesn't require any specialty service, so if you present the instructions to a mechanic, they can easily do it. If you talk to a small independent body shop, they may even be willing to do it and usually body shop hourly rates are substantially less than mechanics. If you prefer, any RV service shop or independent custom RV builder/restorer should be able to do it, but you might pay a premium that is unnecessary.

 

[Spicoli]

... I tried propane.....the moisture was a deal breaker....mold and mildew city.....plus propane is getting expensive....and had to leave windows open also ....

My experience with propane furnaces (Suburban and Dometic) vent the products of combustion outside the living space thus the water goes outside. Little Buddy propane-type heaters do not vent the combustibles outside and that is why you had to open your windows to release the moisture (and the heat! ).