Club 80-90 Forums

Hi all,

I'm looking at adding heating to my 1982 Viking with 2.0 CU petrol engine and wonder if there is a view as to which is better to use for heating.

As far as i can see the eberspacher is winning because i don't have to carry lots of Gas cans - space is always a premium - but it costs more to buy and install than a propex gas heater.

Is there a difference in performance or efficiency that i should take into account?

I will get an authorise dealer to fit it as i do not want to mess around with gas or petrol when my family are riding in the bus!

Let me know your collective thoughts.

Choppski wrote:As far as i can see the eberspacher is winning because i don't have to carry lots of Gas cans - space is always a premium - but it costs more to buy and install than a propex gas heater.

Is there a difference in performance or efficiency that i should take into account?

Surely if you get a gas Eber you will have to carry gas bottles like you would with a Propex? Unless you fit an LPG tank but even then a Propex will run off LPG too. I'm fairly certain you'll have trouble getting a petrol Eber; I think they stopped making them due to risk involved with petrol so the choice now is gas or diesel as far as I'm aware. A Propex is supposed to be a bit quieter than an Eber. How the heat outputs differ I don't know, but Propex do a 2.0kW (blue) unit and did a 1.6kW (red) one. Whether the red one is still produced new I don't know but you can give Propex a ring as they're quite a helpful bunch by all accounts

Diesel Eberspachers are usually either the D1LC or D1L types http://www.espar.com/documents/D1LCc.pdf they are plenty warm enough for a van the size of a T25, we don't leave our's on overnight unless it's really freezing outside.

Fitting one to a petrol van obviously you need to have an auxillary fuel tank for the red diesel or kerosene to run it on (diesel vans just T into the fuel line) I've just had a 2.6 gallon (~12 litre) stainless diesel tank made for our van and installed it in the void where the battery is on a diesel van.



It's filled through a tube down the rear air intake

Ian

I run a propex from a 3.9kg propane bottle. I have space for 2 so I never run out.

Gasure is round your way for fitting a new propex

Don't believe those that say you cannot get petrol heaters. Or those that quote only two old models of heaters - there is a vast range of available heaters.

Eberspacher make the current Airtronic B4. Webasto make the current Airtop 2000 B.

Petrol Webasto link

Airtronic B4 link

Nearly a grand

You will be hard pushed to get an authorized dealer to fit a second hand one. There was no mention of any low budget requirement either.

Oldiebut goodie wrote: Or those that quote only two old models of heaters

Sorry I was speaking of the most commonly (and reasonably) available pre-loved d****l Eberspacher heaters the D1L and the newER D1LC ... many are out of ex BT vans.

Ian

Oldiebut goodie wrote:You will be hard pushed to get an authorized dealer to fit a second hand one. There was no mention of any low budget requirement either.

Have a day off...

jed

Who jerked your chain? What a puerile comment by a plebian of the first order.

id say if you are going to go a installer you need to be talking propex, cheaper to buy, but dearer to run.
little or no difference in noise overall, inside nor out.

the correct installation of a eberspacher eludes many on here.........few know as much about them as oldiebutgoodie.

petrol ebers are still made, but why would you want to pay that much to get heat, when diesel and lpg are cheaper?

Mocki wrote:id say if you are going to go a installer you need to be talking propex, cheaper to buy, but dearer to run.
little or no difference in noise overall, inside nor out.

the correct installation of a eberspacher eludes many on here.........few know as much about them as oldiebutgoodie.

petrol ebers are still made, but why would you want to pay that much to get heat, when diesel and lpg are cheaper?

This is true, but if my van is petrol i don't want to carry another tank for diesel or gas. I've found an authorised dealer that would fit one, yes it is a tad on the high side, but then at least it should be done right and if any problems then i've got come back. Interestingly the dealer said they have never fitted a petrol one to a VW camper...which has set my alarm bells ringing somewhat.

Choppski wrote: Interestingly the dealer said they have never fitted a petrol one to a VW camper...which has set my alarm bells ringing somewhat.

Have you SEEN the price of petrol !! which is precisely why so many of us use the older D1LC Ebers (costing around the £250 mark) and have done for years.

Ian

I can't see that the price of petrol is such a great disincentive - here diesel is 9.8p per litre more expensive. Weighing that alongside the convenience of just having the vehicle tank to worry about using the same fuel as the vehicle it makes sense. Only if you have a cheap source of diesel that you can use all the the time such as when you are away half way up a mountain in a foreign country (taking it to it's extreme) does it really seem advantageous to use a diesel heater in a petrol vehicle.
The days of diesel being cheaper at the pumps are long gone.

Oldiebut goodie wrote:The days of diesel being cheaper at the pumps are long gone.

I think most us use red or kerosene, fair point though if you had to pay pump price for Derv.