auxiliary heater ...

[phillme]

evening ... regarding the auxiliary water heater which comes as standard on the cali but is an extra on the transporter, is it a worth while extra or is it only worth it for extreme climates ? or does it have other benefits ? ... thanks

 

[GrannyJen]

For me it is an essential, but then I camp all the year round and not phased by extremes of climate.

It takes a few minutes to warm the Cali, it has immense reserves of heating capacity, it can be programmed to come on when you want it to, it can be remote controlled (wake up in the middle of the night freezing, press a button, two minutes all snuggled up and warm without getting out of bed).

It is independent of needing gas, or looking for electrical hook-up, economical, as long as there are reserves of diesel in the tank you have cold weather capability, and you will need certifying if you go into wild remote region in bad weather without reserves of diesel anyway.

Horses for courses but for me it turns the Cali into an all year round wild weather camper.

It does not need to be just for extreme climates. This next week will prove it's worth, and if I manage to get away to Devon I will be very grateful for it. Yes, I will have hook-up, I can carry an oil-filled radiator, but why lumber myself with all that, and the thinking and planning time, when I can just be away and happy and warm and snug.

 

[Hotel California]

@GrannyJen , think he's referring to the engine coolant pre-heater....

 

[phillme]

thanks Gj but it's the water heater not the blown air heater info I'm after ... x

 

[GrannyJen]

@GrannyJen , think he's referring to the engine coolant pre-heater....

Then I am all embarrassed and feeling totally stupid and being totally non-techie would not even know what that is but hey-ho, I am still standing by my enthusiastic eulogy of the human heating in the California.

I'm allowed to be stupid at my age and, after-all, I've spent years practising it

 

[phillme]

gj ... u can add me to the w sussex stupid club x

 

[GrannyJen]

Well as I do not know what one of those water heating wotsits are I cannot eulogise or otherwise but I can say I am now sleeping under my mulberry silk duvet in my camper and its ....

GORGEOUS!

Decadence on 4 wheels ...

Now, thread drift over. I'm off to be certified. Talk amongst yourselves

 

[Hotel California]

So @phillme ,
You are looking to buy a.....Beach , Coast ( witch a doubt) or Ocean?
...or older model...

 

[phillme]

hi hotel .... maybe a window van ... maybe ... maybe not .. ! all the extras are making my head spin

 

[Hotel California]

There are things written about the coolant heater , try the search function.
As for options on other VW models i am not aware , mine came with both the standard heaters.

 

[rod_vw]

From my experience of a coolant heater previously on a T4 it was beneficial in accelerating the warm-up of the engine in sub 5 degree C ambient temperatures. This may have improved the fuel consumption figures and made heater output available a bit sooner on cold starts.
None of my three T5s have had a coolant heater but all have had a blown air heater. The most recent has an internal digital thermostat (Eberspacher 801 modulator) that controls the van temperature within a 4 degree range. A blown air heater would be my preference over the auxiliary heater if I was specifying a new base vehicle.

Rod

 

[phillme]

thanks rod .. I'm definitely having the heater as the tent I'm in is f ... ing freezing just wondered if it's worth the extra for the water heater ..

 

[CALI FATE]

I have the water heater and the blown heater - ive no idea how the water heater works and have tried to look it up a couple of times in the handbook - the blown heater is amazing ....... so good i cant be bothered to find out about the water heater ....... if anyone can explain it id be interested to hear it - sometimes i almost envy the need but dont see the prize

 

[snowy55]

The water heater heats the engine water automatically when the ambient temperature is 5c or less.
It's fitted to hasten the warming of the engine.
When it is operating you can hear the same tap, tap, tap noise the blown air heater makes coming from the left hand seat footwell area, in the right conditions you can see exhaust "steam" and smell fumes in the vicinity of the left hand front wheel.

 

[phillme]

thanks guys ... does that mean it would be better to have for short trips as the engine gets to temperature quicker ?

 

[snowy55]

thanks guys ... does that mean it would be better to have for short trips as the engine gets to temperature quicker ?

Yes, I guess that is what is fitted for and just to get the engine to working temp asap.

 

[iDandelions]

Is it possible to switch the heater on before starting the engine or does it only work when the engine is running ?

 

[briwy]

There is a kit avaliable to provide a remote control to turn the coolant heater on.
http://www.carsystems.pl/?a=sklep&q=Transporter&start=0&order=i&dir=a&f=&pk=6&pF=45.00&pT=1449.00

 

[MattBW]

Its a Webasto Thermotop C I believe and you can indeed get a kit to enable the blower for upto 30 minutes with the engine off. Or order it with a remote of course. I dont know if that will allow the fans to work as the VW remote does.

I don't think its a substitute for a parking heater, but would be handy for warming up the van before leaving on a cold morning or a quick blast of heat when needed.

I looked into it, but decided to go for a full on parking heater rather than a remote for the auxiliary.

 

[CALI FATE]

The water heater heats the engine water automatically when the ambient temperature is 5c or less.
It's fitted to hasten the warming of the engine.
When it is operating you can hear the same tap, tap, tap noise the blown air heater makes coming from the left hand seat footwell area, in the right conditions you can see exhaust "steam" and smell fumes in the vicinity of the left hand front wheel.

How do you control - turn on / off the system - is it via the over head control panel that controls the auxiliary heater ?.

 

[snowy55]

How do you control - turn on / off the system - is it via the over head control panel that controls the auxiliary heater ?.

No control over its function unless you buy one of the kits that briwy posted.
It comes on automatically at 5c or below.

 

[MattBW]

It just comes on when the temp is below 5c I believe unless you have the remote option.


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[WelshGas]

The Auxillary Water Heater comes on automatically at ambient air temperature of 5c or below and switches off when the Engine Coolant temperature is 70c or ambient air temperature is above 5c.

A remote control system can be fitted to manually switch on this system, but this seems to negate the automatic function .

The Heater is a useful accessory if the vehicle undertakes lots of short journeys in the winter months.

 

[methley]

I fitted the car systems.pl Telestart remote kit. Great for warming the engine and clearing frosted windows on winter mornings.