Gotta love the diesel heater!

[chockswahay]

I must confess that sometimes in this really cold weather I have indulged in the luxury of preheating the cabin about 30 minutes before driving……………

Perhaps I’m going soft in my old age………

 

[66tim99]

I must confess that sometimes in this really cold weather I have indulged in the luxury of preheating the cabin about 30 minutes before driving……………

Perhaps I’m going soft in my old age………

I enjoyed setting up the bed and pulling the blinds in the pub car park recently, having a great meal, then firing the remote as I ordered my last pint. No doubt snored the night away on my own, no sharp elbows.
Blisssss.....zzzz

 

[pchmlk]

I must confess that sometimes in this really cold weather I have indulged in the luxury of preheating the cabin about 30 minutes before driving……………

Perhaps I’m going soft in my old age………

It’s become a habit of mine too.
I work shifts so it’s particularly welcome at 5am.

 

[Hawthorn37]

We camped in the snow last weekend at Cirencester Park. Nice pizza and wine at the restaurant in the park, snowy walk home to be greeted by a toastie warm van

 

[Hotel du van]

I must confess that sometimes in this really cold weather I have indulged in the luxury of preheating the cabin about 30 minutes before driving……………

Perhaps I’m going soft in my old age………

Me too.

 

[wildslammer22]

I must confess that sometimes in this really cold weather I have indulged in the luxury of preheating the cabin about 30 minutes before driving……………

Perhaps I’m going soft in my old age………

Me too! The heater remote is also a boon when it’s cold, the range is very impressive if you have a clear sight of the van - I can’t help but feel a bit smug when I’ve been able to fire up the heater on the descent from a hill after a cold walk.

 

[m10chkcalifornia]

This is our first winter with the Cali and I really hadn’t appreciated what an absolute gem the heater would be when using it (as we mostly do atm) as our main vehicle. Driving back and forth between edinburgh and york with the dogs. Stop for refreshments and out comes the table and on goes the heater and there we sit cosy and smug!

 

[The Zigster]

I’ve used it in the mornings to defrost the van from the living room, but have one question : does it turn off automatically after a certain time?

 

[Vagophile]

does it turn off automatically after a certain time?

No, it maintains the temperature that it is set at (which may involve shutting down then starting up again) unless programmed otherwise.

 

[chockswahay]

I’ve used it in the mornings to defrost the van from the living room, but have one question : does it turn off automatically after a certain time?

if you used the remote to start it then it will turn off after 2 hours

 

[Hawthorn37]

I’ve used it in the mornings to defrost the van from the living room, but have one question : does it turn off automatically after a certain time?

Yes, the standard run time is 20 minutes. If you reset, you can run it up to120 minutes and then you’ll need to run the van for a while to reset the max run time.

 

[Vagophile]

Ref #10 and#11, I think I need to look at my handbook and heater settings. When I use the remote, the heater continues to work much longer than two hours. Cold weather clearance is the only reason that I have ever used the heater; need to do some homework on operation!

 

[pchmlk]

Ref #10 and#11, I think I need to look at my handbook and heater settings. When I use the remote, the heater continues to work much longer than two hours. Cold weather clearance is the only reason that I have ever used the heater; need to do some homework on operation!

When you set a programme, my default is 2 hours and I wondered if this why the key fob limit is the same. Out of interest, what’s your default when you set a new programme?

 

[Vagophile]

what’s your default when you set a new programme?

I've never set one. Apart from winter clearance, the heater sees very little use and when it is used, I just turn it on and it runs for the duration I need it. Tbh, I've never really thought about it and wasn't aware that there could be a limit.

 

[Kingfisher]

I seem to remember that there is a difference between the old (T5, T5.1, T6) and the new (T6.1) control panel here. On the pre-6.1 models the remote just turns the heater on for continuous heating, until it's turned off again on the control panel or via remote. If the control panel was already on, the heater comes on at its current setting. If the control has been turned off, the heater setting defaults to 7 on my van.

 

[Mansfieldman750]

The heater is fantastic but how much diesel does it use ?
Well we’re just back from 6 very cold days and nights at Keswick. Left home with a full tank of diesel, the van never left the campsite and it took 34.9 litres to fill it at Keswick this morning.
Brimmed it again when we got back to Mansfield and it took 18.9 litres.
So 16 litres for the heater over 6 very cold days and nights.
Of course there are huge variables like how long were you actually in the van with the heater running ( 2 nights watching the football on the iPad and one we actually cooked a dinner ) was the roof up or down ( up ) what setting ( 6 during day, 2 or 3 overnight ) etc.
All in all, I think an average of less than 3 litres of diesel a day in the dead of winter is great.

Regards using it to heat the van for half an hour before setting off, the cost is coppers.

 

[66tim99]

3 litres of diesel a day

More than I was expecting tbh, I’d heard the heater used negligible amounts of fuel. But when you think you had a warm van for £1.43x3=£4.29 per 24hrs
It’s pretty good

 

[pchmlk]

I recall the heater uses 300ml/hour at full chat.

 

[Kingfisher]

I recall the heater uses 300ml/hour at full chat.

True, and 110 ml/hour at minimum burn, just slowly ticking away. I googled the heater model once for the data sheet. Installed model is mentioned on the sticker in the drivers door.

 

[AdamsFamily]

I must confess that sometimes in this really cold weather I have indulged in the luxury of preheating the cabin about 30 minutes before driving……………

Perhaps I’m going soft in my old age………

Only sometimes? Wife puts hers on every day it's below 5 degrees

 

[myvanrodney]

I must confess that sometimes in this really cold weather I have indulged in the luxury of preheating the cabin about 30 minutes before driving……………

Perhaps I’m going soft in my old age………

I think the diesel heater is awesome!.. quiet, modulates via a thermostat AND the above party trick. Brilliant!

 

[Karlos Fandango]

What heater? We have a Beach beach

 

[stephen watson]

What heater? We have a Beach beach

 

[Ghostbuster]

Some years ago I had a transit van with a eberspacher water and cab heater.
It used to break down a lot and would require decoking often.
By comparison how reliable are these in the California would you say.

 

[andyinluton]

Some years ago I had a transit van with a eberspacher water and cab heater.
It used to break down a lot and would require decoking often.
By comparison how reliable are these in the California would you say.

Total of 10 years use over 4 different vans, used most days in winter for pre warming along with normal use when camping & have never had a problem.