Night heater recommendations

[blue estate]

One thing I will fit is a night heater
What’s your take on the eBay ones ? Like this one ?
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 3302815224


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[Carolsvan]

I am looking at getting one for my van before winter draws in as a few of my friends have them and they are amazing to be honest.
Read some reports of faulty ones arriving but if you get from eBay and pay with PayPal you are covered.
For the price you can't go wrong

[blue estate]

I am looking at getting one for my van before winter draws in as a few of my friends have them and they are amazing to be honest.
Read some reports of faulty ones arriving but if you get from eBay and pay with PayPal you are covered.
For the price you can't go wrong

I’m a truck driver so I know how good night heaters are , usauly leave my truck one on 18c in winter on cold nights and it cuts in and out at its leisure
I may direct plumb to tank rather than their little thing , unless I can get some cherry to use


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[Carolsvan]

From what I've read you do save a fair bit if you use red in them but the extra tank can cause extra problem like spills and stuff so prob be better in to tank.

[paulmusescu]

One thing I will fit is a night heater
What’s your take on the eBay ones ? Like this one ?
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 3302815224


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Hi there,

There are two companies that make the best ones out there and I would advice you to look for these rather than anything else. You probably know them by now.

-Webasto. Webasto ones work on diesel.
-Truma/Trumatic. Trumatic ones work on gas also known as GPL.

Based on your requirements I would say that the Webasto is the one you need.

Now, why do I say to look only for these two? Because of safety and reliability. Here are the arguments:

-First of all, these are truly tested and well thought. All campers come with one and people that are self building campers usually fit one anyway. Some commercial vehicles also come with Webasto system already installed.
-Safety. I would not trust any of these systems with chinese writing on them from ebay. Nor from a safety or reliability point of view. Things can go wrong from many things, from gas leaking in the cabin to other many things, potentially very dangerous.
-Reliability. If you connect such a system to your gas thank you would most likely like to forget about it and the unit to keep running for years. These are one of the "fit one time" thing and repairing or fiddling with them can be a huge pain in the..

I would not recommend one with an auxiliary tank. These, as Carol said, can spill and can be as well dangerous. Imagine having diesel spilled in your truck and for how long that would smell. It also takes really valuable space. Also, gas nozzles aren't that long so you will have to take the auxiliary tank and fill it out every time you need to do so. Remember that this needs to stay very well in place so it isn't as easy as just picking up a plastic recipient and filling it with gas.

You can look for webasto systems at the scrap yards made for campers. They don't need to be new. Mine is more than 10 years old and still keeps going. Look for ones that come with a guarantee or are tested and it is proven that they work.

Now, I don't say that getting this won't work but personally I wouldn't take anything else but the two systems mentioned above. Safety and reliability first. Money come and go..

There are others ways that can keep you warm too like isolation or the plain old sleeping bag. This could lead, sadly, to condensation. I have a sleeping bag that is rated to -15 celsius and I've slept outside, just on a Therm-A-Rest Z Lite in shorts and a t-shirt at 2 celsius with no problems, actually I was a little bit warm so sleeping bags can be a very capable and cheap solution.
If you are interested in talking more about this or looking for other informations let me know.

Thanks,
Paul

[Airthies]

Awright blue, now...

As Paul here has mentioned some valid points I'd just like to add a little to that.

There's more than just webasto out there if your looking for top of the line diesel heaters.
Eberspacher are another make which is hard to beat.
I've worked with and used both webasto and eberspacher in some prety extreme places, and currently have an eberspacher in my van though that's one of the water heater type and is used predominantly for defrosting van and getting engine to temp in the winters before heading off to work, and for keeping me warm an dry while I have my lunch and got an airtronic version in the wifes van/dayvan/camper.
Anyway I digress...
If your not keen on the outlay for either one of those kits then "planar" have a pretty good name amongst the self build community, think that's what loots got in red?

The other make of gas heater I can't remember right now but it's probably a little irelavent if your looking at diesel.

I run mine off a jerry of cherry in the back but I'm not speaking in there.
The electronic in the other van is plumbed into the van tank and would recommend this if your using the back for habitation/comfort use.
If plumbed into the tank, there is a fitting already in the fuel sender housing that you cut off the end and plug on the correct quick release and pipe for the heater (PFJones do the proper connection kit) you've got to keep it above 1/4 of a tank or heater won't get fuel though...

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[dumper]

For a gas one I had a propex heat source for years but on my last two vans I’ve had a second hand Eberspacher D3l1c with no problems just a full dealer service before I fitted it into my latest van

[paulmusescu]

Yes, Airthies is right.

There are other brands like the ones he mentioned that will be just as good. Eberspächer is from 1865 and Webasto from 1901. If they still are in the market today you know they are doing something right so either one would be a really good choice.

My advice would be to choose the one that it is most common in your country as this should mean that you easily find parts in case you need them or other things maybe at a better price.