Off brand diesel coolant heaters

[cadillackid]

[QUOTE=Versatile;366339]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

the control unit for these isnt always necessary.. look at how the heater is operated if you can view its manual online..

the webasto 5kw I just installed in my bus CAN have a control unit to run it, however it only requires power be put to a single lead.. when i apply 12 volts the heater comes on and self-maintains the coolant temperature up to 160.. it varies its output so its running pretty slow by the time it gets up to 140 or so...



as for buying one from alibaba.. ive bought many things from alibaba from christmas lights to in-dash infotainment computers to mini-split Air conditioner parts..



one thing that I have found, is that while trump hates the chinese.. the chinese seem to Like the americans.. and if you show knowledge when contacting their support emails.. they are very respoinsive.. often WhatsApp is a great way to contact them.. and they respond rather quickly...

-Christopher[/QUOTE, My electronics board on my Chinese 5kw heater is toast. Are you saying that if I find the right wire; then the glow plug will work, the fan will run and the fuel pump will all run?

not likely if thre internal board is dead... mine can use an external controller or can be controlled with a switch... if I use the fancy external controller I think it gives you more options.. and has timer cycles, etc.. but the internal board runs the heater glowplug cycles.. the pump, fuel pump, etc.. input to the heater from outside can be through suppl;ying _+12 to a switch wire.. or connecting to the "diagnostic and control port".. but both require the internal board in the heater be operable..

[john61ct]

Originally Posted by Brewerbob

They said 7 days for that.

Then what can you do but wait for now?

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by john61ct

Then what can you do but wait for now?

7 days once I send payment. I need to call the bank and see if I can do it thru their site.

[john61ct]

I thought you already paid by CC?

I'd push for that if yours is good buyer protection, or PayPal.

Pay the extra 3% or whatever of course.

An intl wire is $15-20 fee usually and no recourse.

Maybe let them know you're also looking at other vendors?

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by john61ct

I thought you already paid by CC?

I'd push for that if yours is good buyer protection, or PayPal.

Pay the extra 3% or whatever of course.

An intl wire is $15-20 fee usually and no recourse.

Maybe let them know you're also looking at other vendors?

No, they don't deal with the website that uses the credit card starting Jan 2020.

[Booyah45828]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

not likely if thre internal board is dead... mine can use an external controller or can be controlled with a switch... if I use the fancy external controller I think it gives you more options.. and has timer cycles, etc.. but the internal board runs the heater glowplug cycles.. the pump, fuel pump, etc.. input to the heater from outside can be through suppl;ying _+12 to a switch wire.. or connecting to the "diagnostic and control port".. but both require the internal board in the heater be operable..

The one I fixed used a CAN bus that ran from the heater module to the external controller. I never checked into running it standalone without the controller, I just repaired the ground wiring to it and got it working again. I assumed, being on a can bus as it was, that the heater wouldn't operate without some sort of can signal being given or returned.

The controller was kind of neat honestly. It had an automatic on function that ran off the date and time settings, a mode that was for constantly keeping a certain temp, and a lot of other features I never really checked into. When the guy wanted to use, he simply hit the button and let it run for an hour or so, and then took off. He doesn't need or use the other features.

[PNW_Steve]

FWIW: I may be a little late with the suggestion... Check eBay. I paid around $500 shipped for a Webasto Scholastic 45k BTU.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by PNW_Steve

FWIW: I may be a little late with the suggestion... Check eBay. I paid around $500 shipped for a Webasto Scholastic 45k BTU.

Not yet and good idea. Amazon doesn't have squat but I did not check ebay.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by PNW_Steve

FWIW: I may be a little late with the suggestion... Check eBay. I paid around $500 shipped for a Webasto Scholastic 45k BTU.

Not finding any 45K but found some 17k. Not a bad price. No controllers tho. Maybe get two of these. One for the floor and a separate for hot potable water?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Webasto-Die...8AAOSwOANcxeah

[cadillackid]

not sure how good these would work for domestic hot water unless you are heating a tank.. they definitely dont fire up fast enough to be on demand.. and they want their pump to run all the time.. I wanted to control my pump externally,however if I unplugthe pump, the heater goes completely offline.. wont even stay in stand-by and wont reset until you completely power cycle it for a couple minutes.. I know why they do it.. just wanted a low -power mode

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

not sure how good these would work for domestic hot water unless you are heating a tank.. they definitely dont fire up fast enough to be on demand.. and they want their pump to run all the time.. I wanted to control my pump externally,however if I unplugthe pump, the heater goes completely offline.. wont even stay in stand-by and wont reset until you completely power cycle it for a couple minutes.. I know why they do it.. just wanted a low -power mode

Well that sucks!! On demand is what I was thinking. Even if I have to run it for half an hour first to heat the loop. Then run it thru a heat exchanger for the domestic side.

[Brewerbob]

The description sucks but the seller says this one is 12KW and gas or diesel. I dunno if I trust that last part; that it can run on either. I've seen gas or propane gennies and other equipment but I've not ever seen anything that is gas-diesel.

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by Brewerbob

Well that sucks!! On demand is what I was thinking. Even if I have to run it for half an hour first to heat the loop. Then run it thru a heat exchanger for the domestic side.

I had a 10 gallon RV water heater in my first bus that had a coolant heater exchanger built in. That would play with the Webasto as well as engine coolant.

I have seen similar features on some marine water heaters.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by PNW_Steve

I had a 10 gallon RV water heater in my first bus that had a coolant heater exchanger built in. That would play with the Webasto as well as engine coolant.

I have seen similar features on some marine water heaters.

I'm fine with buying a separate heat exchanger, running a small loop (summer hot water w/o heating the floor), separate domestic loops, etc. I just don't know 1) What size heater I need. I assume bigger is better. 2) What size heat exchanger I would need. 3) How big a loop I would need.

I really want the radiant and then use that as domestic water heating as well. It has to be possible. I just don't know if it practical on a bus or not.

[Brewerbob]

It arrived Wed I arrived Thurs and ripped it open. Below is review at first blush. I haven't powered it on much less installed it but I'm fairly impressed overall. Because my laptop is NOT to be trusted I'll do the Good, the Bad (indifferent, and the Ugly (not so good) in separate posts.

Starting with all the goodies.

[Brewerbob]

The Good:
it arrived in good shape and customs even did a decent job sealing it back up. They didn't reband the box but it was wrapped in plastic and tape.

The cabling is nice and long with 15~20 foot runs. It isn't combined together until the last couple of feet from the plug that goes to the heater. 3 way split to controller heater and battery will all the runs the same length.




The cabling itself is both Good and Bad (indifferent)... Good: The line to the battery has an in-line 30 amp fuse.



Indifferent is the sheathing itself. It's not all one piece but at least they used electrical tape at the joint.



The bad is the shrink sleeve or lack of at the controller end. You shouldn't have a gap like that.



Also good is the unit has been tested. There's a bit of coolant in one of the caps.

[Brewerbob]

More good is the coolant hose looks to be as long as the cabling give or take.



Also the fuel pick-up tube looks like it will reach the bottom of most fuel tanks.



I don't know if the part # on the fuel pump means anything to anyone but the pump has a nice heavy solid weight to it. It's a Thomas 163-10042-YS19





The muffler and ducting look decent too. Seems to be straight metal ducting sheathed ducting and the muffler has some baffling in it.

[Brewerbob]

The indifferent is the fuel filter. It has a nice metal mesh but it is not going to catch anything small. I will likely add a paper cartridge inline as well.

[Brewerbob]

Now the Ugly... the documentation. There's a parts list and instructions on setting the temp. NOTHING else. No install. No mention of head height. No specs on the pump. Install should be fairly straight forward but the docs didn't even come in the box. I asked for them before ordering.



The hose fittings are terrible. I believe they are AL. Just feel cheap. I'll get new ones.

[Brewerbob]

And all the other misc. pics...