Diesel Heater - Usage Report (1st time in our 2007 T5)

[BigPritch]

Seen lots of posts on here about, how, how much, efficiency etc, so thought I'd post this post our recent 2 nighter away to Scotland.
Having replaced the main starter battery a few weeks ago (which seems to have solved a lot of 'issues', and it was the ORIGINAL battery), we decided on a road trip to give it a bit of a 'cold weather' outing.
Regrettably, cold, it was not (+10 deg at 0200), unseasonable for Edinburgh, but heaters were still needed.
We were on hook up (deliberate choice), so knew we had a bit of a safety blanket battery wise.
1st night we had the Kampa Cube running low, on its thermostat, no issues.
2nd night we decided to run the Aux Heater (3/4 tank and knew battery was 100%).
Kicked it off on 3 just to get the edge off at about 1730, and was toasty warm (too warm), so set it on 1.
We ran it all night till about 0800 the next morning, having been toasty warm all night (roof up as we sleep downstairs).

So, no complaints & it was very very efficient, and has given us a good degree of confidence in using it again, and a good 12+ hrs of usage has probably done it some good as well.
Going off the fuel gauge, it was just below 3/4 full at the start, and was just over half, when we turned it off, so used a bit more than I thought we would, but it was always a 'trial'.

HTH

 

[pchmlk]

I’m surprised at your fuel use. I’ve had mine on all night (lvl2) a few times and the needle has not budged at all. They use a tiny amount of fuel.

 

[Steve1]

Seen lots of posts on here about, how, how much, efficiency etc, so thought I'd post this post our recent 2 nighter away to Scotland.
Having replaced the main starter battery a few weeks ago (which seems to have solved a lot of 'issues', and it was the ORIGINAL battery), we decided on a road trip to give it a bit of a 'cold weather' outing.
Regrettably, cold, it was not (+10 deg at 0200), unseasonable for Edinburgh, but heaters were still needed.
We were on hook up (deliberate choice), so knew we had a bit of a safety blanket battery wise.
1st night we had the Kampa Cube running low, on its thermostat, no issues.
2nd night we decided to run the Aux Heater (3/4 tank and knew battery was 100%).
Kicked it off on 3 just to get the edge off at about 1730, and was toasty warm (too warm), so set it on 1.
We ran it all night till about 0800 the next morning, having been toasty warm all night (roof up as we sleep downstairs).

So, no complaints & it was very very efficient, and has given us a good degree of confidence in using it again, and a good 12+ hrs of usage has probably done it some good as well.
Going off the fuel gauge, it was just below 3/4 full at the start, and was just over half, when we turned it off, so used a bit more than I thought we would, but it was always a 'trial'.

HTH

It definitely won't have used a 1/4 tank in one night unless it's got a serious problem. I have used it continuously for 6 days straight in December with 0C overnight and it used about 1 litre in total.

 

[TripleBee]

This is a very rough calculation.
The manual says it uses 0.3 liters of diesel per hour, on maximum load. This means, when set to 7, it keeps on using 0.3 liters per hour. This would mean, on a 80 liter tank (as I suppose you have), you can run the heater on maximum for over 11 days. In real life it will be a lot more, as the heater will stop from time to time when the set temperature is reached. And I don't think anyone will set it on 7 for over 11 days.
As you have used it, it should never use 1/4 tank in 1 night.
Maybe run a few more tests to see what is happening, preferably on hard surface to see if you have any diesel leaks on the feeding lines to the heater.
Are your plastic under trays oily wet with clear fluid (diesel)?

 

[Steve1]

It definitely won't have used a 1/4 tank in one night unless it's got a serious problem. I have used it continuously for 6 days straight in December with 0C overnight and it used about 1 litre in total.

Sorry I made a mistake with that it was 1 gallon in total so about 5 litres. But definitely not 1/4 tank

 

[BigPritch]

Thanks all, there is of course the potential that the fuel gauge is not reporting correctly, as like you all, I 'felt' the usage was on the high side. However, when we next use, it, will try & take more accurate (as much as I can) record.
Bottom line however, is a) it worked all night, b) it kept us warm, c) we have total confidence in it.

That at the end of the day is what its all about.

Thanks all.