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Date:         Tue, 4 Jan 2000 01:06:42 +0100
Reply-To:     Robin Oomkes <robin.oomkes@SWIFT.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Robin Oomkes <robin.oomkes@SWIFT.COM>
Organization: S.W.I.F.T. sc
Subject:      Gas fired heaters (long) (was: heating parkedvanagon)]
Comments: To: d t <tinkerman@USA.NET>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

> This is news to me. What is this "gas fired water heater" system you're > describing? > It IS possible that I'm thinking along the lines of other smart people that > already made a product. I'd prefer to learn from their mistakes, not > mine...(and save my energy for my own, unique ones...;-)

Over here in Yoorp, we have 2 main manufacturers of gas (or diesel) fired water heater systems: Webasto and Eberspächer. Both are German. Eberspächers hot air heaters have come with VWs for a long time; they are a relic from the air cooled era when the engines didn't produce enough heat to heat the interior under all conditions. (Bulley: did I phrase that carefully enough?)

Webasto is the main manufacturer of gas fired water heaters, although Eberspächer also makes them. These are typically installed on passenger cars as an aftermarket add-on. They consist of a combustion chamber/heat exchanger unit installed somewhere under the hood, various plumbery to link to the coolant system, an electric fuel pump, sometimes an electric water pump for better circulation and a dash-mounted control unit. Some systems link into the car's standard heating system, and e.g. set the defroster fan to 'max' when the coolant has heated up sufficiently. Upmarket versions come with a timer and/or a radio remote to be able to switch on the heater from the comfort of your own home...

Cost of a medium range Webasto system, installed: approx USD 1500. Advantages: drive off with warm engine (less wear), clean emissions almost immediately, nice and warm interior, no ice on windows.

The Westfalias in Europe have always had the factory option of an Eberspächer hot air heater for heating the interior. It comes in a package with an auxiliary battery, is mounted underfloor with its own exhaust pipe, burns gasoline or diesel oil taken from the main fuel tank by its own little electric pump, and through a heat exchanger heats air which is blown into the interior by a fan. They don't come cheap: approx USD2000 for the whole package. These heaters have great output and use little fuel: I can heat my Westy to a comfortable 22 degrees Celsius (70 Fahrenheit?) when outside it's around the freezing point, with the poptop raised! Consumption is around 0.25 litres of diesel per hour. On my Westy, there's a digital timer with 3 memories to make the heater switch on at different times. Nice for a cold morning, but as soon as you start driving, the heat blows away through the vents, and the engine remains as cold as ever. Eberspächer also sells these units for ambulances, military vehicles etc.

HTH, Robin / the Netherlands '90 Vanagon Atlantic TD (with Eberspächer) '84 Westy Joker D (also with Eberspächer, just as powerful, but no timer)


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