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Old 09-18-2019, 05:19 PM   #21
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Originally Posted by Versatile View Post
Chinese copies work very well and cost about $150.00
Could you post a link?

I have seen plenty of Chinese air heaters but have not found a coolant heater yet.

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Old 09-18-2019, 05:25 PM   #22
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there are plenty of them but you must buy direct from china to get them


https://www.alibaba.com/showroom/die...nt-heater.html
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Old 09-18-2019, 05:26 PM   #23
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They are all over eBay. I paid $138 for one. I assume if it doesn't say where it was made, it was made in China. Nowhere on my item does it say where it was manufactured, but the box labels are a giveaway.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/5KW-12V-Air...sAAOSwSVNcNY6z
That's an air heater, which is what I have. I asked about a coolant heater.

Name brand product: https://www.webasto-comfort.com/en-u...olant-heaters/
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Old 09-18-2019, 05:50 PM   #24
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there are plenty of them but you must buy direct from china to get them


https://www.alibaba.com/showroom/die...nt-heater.html
I've been eyeballing those but am hoping to find a domestic seller... I still haven't decided if coolant heater is the right idea for me, my air heater in my TC2000 works so nicely...
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Old 09-18-2019, 08:13 PM   #25
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Option 3

Wood stove
Can't really use it to keep your bus heated when you're away. I plan to have one but I will also need an alternative heat source (probably a diesel furnace).
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Old 09-18-2019, 08:16 PM   #26
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That's an air heater, which is what I have. I asked about a coolant heater.

Name brand product: https://www.webasto-comfort.com/en-u...olant-heaters/
I realized that after I posted. Does the coolant heater actually heat the coolant and circulate it through the motor? I don't understand what happening here. Does it heat the air by running hot coolant through it like a regular heater, or does it electrically heat the coolant? If it runs off hot coolant, does it work when engine not running?
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Old 09-18-2019, 11:58 PM   #27
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I realized that after I posted. Does the coolant heater actually heat the coolant and circulate it through the motor? I don't understand what happening here. Does it heat the air by running hot coolant through it like a regular heater, or does it electrically heat the coolant? If it runs off hot coolant, does it work when engine not running?
Searched it, understand them know. How different than my stock plug in coolant heater other than a timer feature?
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Old 09-19-2019, 01:04 AM   #28
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Bigger. Your plug in heater is 1000 or so watts.. the diesel units are anywhere from 5kw up to 15 kw from what I’ve seen.
Idea being you could run this and with creative valuing either with the engine in the loop for starting ease or engine valves off and bypassed for cabin heating only. You would use the standard bus heaters that already exist for getting the heat into the cabin
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Old 09-19-2019, 07:16 AM   #29
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Bigger. Your plug in heater is 1000 or so watts.. the diesel units are anywhere from 5kw up to 15 kw from what I’ve seen.
Idea being you could run this and with creative valuing either with the engine in the loop for starting ease or engine valves off and bypassed for cabin heating only. You would use the standard bus heaters that already exist for getting the heat into the cabin
This is my understanding as well, I see most have an internal circulator pump to push the coolant around too.

I am planning to install one in the rear, in my "trunk" area attached to the coolant lines that used to feed the rear heater which has been removed. It is close to the fuel tank and has good options for exhaust piping. I will be replacing the midship heater with a nice unit from Jegs (unless I find a better deal elsewhere) placing it either in a toe-kick configuration under the kitchen cabinets or under the couch seat, and wiring it to the "house" batteries while leaving the front dash blower and defroster blower on the engine batteries.

I don't plan on a lot of winter camping so I think its a good compromise for us.
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Old 09-19-2019, 08:15 AM   #30
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I would look closely at a diesel powered coolant heater like this:

https://www.webasto-comfort.com/en-u...olant-heaters/

or this:

https://thermokingmichigan.com/products/hydronic/

While these brand new fancy ones are pretty expensive, I am confident a used one could be found at a fraction of the price.



Your already carrying a ton of diesel onboard, they will allow you to use your existing engine based heaters, and give you the ability to pre-warm your engine to avoid cold starts.

Rewire your existing heaters to run off the solar/house batteries instead of the engine batteries and you have a simple, safe solution.

EBAY has several.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/12V-8KW-Die....c100012.m1985
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Old 09-19-2019, 09:25 AM   #31
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These, again, are diesel air heaters. not diesel coolant heaters.
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Old 09-19-2019, 09:32 AM   #32
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cadillackid View Post
Bigger. Your plug in heater is 1000 or so watts.. the diesel units are anywhere from 5kw up to 15 kw from what I’ve seen.
Idea being you could run this and with creative valuing either with the engine in the loop for starting ease or engine valves off and bypassed for cabin heating only. You would use the standard bus heaters that already exist for getting the heat into the cabin
Now that I have a rear engine bus and have to have coolant lines running back to front (for defrost and dash heat), a coolant heater sounds more and more attractive. I like our current diesel air heater, it makes a lot of heat fast and sips fuel. In my head, a coolant heater with valves to cut out the engine and dash units when not needed could be just as good.
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Old 09-19-2019, 06:10 PM   #33
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Old 09-19-2019, 06:41 PM   #34
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Thats a diesel powered air heater. Another option to be sure, but much different that the coolant heaters I'm talking about, like this:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Webasto-The...cAAOSwj01c9A2y
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