Propex vs Eberspacher?

[Cruz]

I'm still fannying about trying to decide which heatsource to go for....Propex or a Diesel Eberspacher/webasto.
Still watching the heaters bringing eye watering prices on ebay......I'm not in a rush so I could yet find a bargain

Propex I can just tap into a small propane bottle in the cupboard whereas with an eber I would have to get and mount a small tank under the r&r bed. (or is there another place other than in the spare wheel if it's positioned under the r&r bed?)

Which is the most economical? (only have access to normal diesel not red)

[ninja.turtle007]

I would imagine the Propex would cost a small fortune to run if your're running it off a bottle.

I have an Eber which I had running on a low setting all night last night as temps were down to 1 degree. IIRC it works out to be around £1.50-£2 per night to run. However that must greatly depend on how warm you like to be.

I would put my bets on a a diesel heater being the cheapest to run.

[Oldiebut goodie]

You can put the diesel tank anywhere you want - mine is in the wardrobe!
24v Webasto just went for £105 on fleabay today.

[jed the spread]

I have an Eber which I had running on a low setting all night last night as temps were down to 1 degree.
.

Where did you end up?

jed

[jed the spread]

I'm still fannying about trying to decide which heatsource to go for....Propex or a Diesel Eberspacher/webasto.
Still watching the heaters bringing eye watering prices on ebay......I'm not in a rush so I could yet find a bargain

Propex I can just tap into a small propane bottle in the cupboard whereas with an eber I would have to get and mount a small tank under the r&r bed. (or is there another place other than in the spare wheel if it's positioned under the r&r bed?)

Which is the most economical? (only have access to normal diesel not red)

Quite a few petrol ebbers on ebay at the moment.

jed

[Cruz]

You can put the diesel tank anywhere you want - mine is in the wardrobe!
24v Webasto just went for £105 on fleabay today.

How would you go about converting it to 12v?

Quite a few petrol ebbers on ebay at the moment.

jed

I just assumed as petrol ebbers are old and no longer made it would be hard to source spares.

I do have a very old looking B3L that I picked up very cheap a while ago. The wiring is a bit scabby, the fuel pump looks old and it only has an on/off control.
Don't have any fuel line to test if it even works.
Can the more common diesel timers/thermostats be used on this model?
Could I take it to someone to get it checked out/overhauled?

I would imagine the Propex would cost a small fortune to run if your're running it off a bottle.

Just searched and according to propex a 3.9kg propane bottle would last an average of 27 hours of continuous running

That equates to 51p an hour at £13.99 for a refill. So for an 8 hour night that's approx £4

But obviously with a thermostat it would not be on for 8 hours

[Plasticman]

Why cant you get red? any reason heating oil cant be used?
mike

[Cruz]

Where do you get red from? I'm not rurally based

[Oldiebut goodie]

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=223723 Sometimes they are on offer - I only paid £20 when they were £40.

[Cruz]

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=223723 Sometimes they are on offer - I only paid £20 when they were £40.

How much power would that consume? I only have a 72amp leisure battery (starter) and I use that for lighting, tap pump and radio when camped

[Plasticman]

Ok if no farmer joe's your way then all plant and equipment, jcb and the like , generators , boatyards, the list goes on, most fuel depos sell it we use rix here need to fill a few forms out as hm etc dont like the thought of you running your vans on it (though all the joskins stick it in the fast tracks and the like and haul carrots about etc)rant over.
old deisels will run on heating oil so whilst not tried myself if I had an eber I would ntry it
mike

[Oldiebut goodie]

Depends upon how you use it - a starter battery is not as forgiving as a leisure. I wouldn't take the battery down below 50% so you don't have a lot to play with. The main consumption is upon firing up when it will take around 7-8A for the glow plug for a couple of minutes then drops to around .8A when running. If you keep restarting it it will use a lot more juice. I only use mine for a short while whilst sitting around and first thing in the morning. I don't worry if the temp. gets down to -5 or so overnight - you don't need heat to sleep in a decent bed (I still have a vent open even then). I have a solar panel to put the juice back in also.

[Ian Hulley]

An Ebber (and I'm pretty sure a Propex too) has a low voltage cut-out that knocks the heater off if the voltage reaches 12 volts (or summat like that) That's the reason many people can't get theirs to run ... if you have an iffy leisure or starter battery you may need the engine running to supply enough voltage for the initial fire up.

We have an ebber, have had it for years now, and run it on red diesel acquired at werk I did consider swapping it for a Propex now we have the leisure gas tank but planning permission was refused

Ian

[Plasticman]

eeeeh lad, was t'planning commitee a group of 1
mike

[Mocki]

now i didnt tell you this, but ebbers will run on parafin, red diesel, heating diesel and white derv. Not sure they would run on chip fat, im not trying it with mine.
But i have run it on parafin, and all colours of diesel.... mine uses less than a litre every 24hrs on the thermostat min setting, and only seems to start up about 3 times in total..in 24hrs.

propex might be cheaper to buy, but they are more to run, and no hotter or controlable.

my ebberfuel tank is infront of the rear light cluster on the o/s and the filler for it is in the airvent, i wouldnt want that smelly stuff inside my bedroom.....