Help with operation of aux heater on t6.1

[sidepod]

How can it be so complicated?

I turn mine on, set the temp and it does it’s thing until I turn it off. Initially quick pump/fan then it slows down as the temp comes up. It never modulates on/off.

I do find it odd that people need it on all night?
We go to bed with it on but once the duvet is up to temp then we turn the heater off.

 

[chockswahay]

I still think it’s all smoke and mirrors

@sidepod do you sleep up top when outside is zero? And have you had the heating running for more than say an hour?

 

[Steve_D]

As per previous comments it’s a really effective heater (it definitely works) but theres no getting away from the fact that the system overall is poorly thought out. Most people would agree that the T6 version was much better, so pretty disappointing that the 6.1 implementation is a step backwards. I use mine all year around so needs to stay on over night, it’s usually for pub stop overs in winter so the stop/start doesn’t seem to bother me for some reason! .

 

[sidepod]

I still think it’s all smoke and mirrors

@sidepod do you sleep up top when outside is zero? And have you had the heating running for more than say an hour?

No and yes.

 

[chockswahay]

No and yes.

We want to do more winter camping hence the interest in overnight heating

 

[sidepod]

Difficult subject. We are only two (no kids) so we sleep downstairs/winter duvet.
We’ve camped down to -7 in the Alps and never felt the need for heaters/screen covers/bellows covers etc. Believe me, I set everything to “surface of the sun” when it comes to warmth.

 

[WelshGas]

We want to do more winter camping hence the interest in overnight heating

The longest I've run the Parking Heater was 5 days on EHU and 3 days off EHU when I was at Nordkapp in Norway.
If set too high, depending on ambient temperature, it will switch off and on, but if set lower it will fire up and then reduce to idle, fuel pump click slows down, and occasionally speeds up and back to idle.
It all depends on the temperature of the intake air as that temperature is measured at the step air intake on the drivers side RHD. I always have the drivers window open slightly for ventilation so the air intake is taking in colder air. Once fired up on Level 3 or 4 it just keeps running and I drop it to 1 or 2 at night. This is on a T5.1. May be different on the T6.1.

 

[chockswahay]

The longest I've run the Parking Heater was 5 days on EHU and 3 days off EHU when I was at Nordkapp in Norway.
If set too high, depending on ambient temperature, it will switch off and on, but if set lower it will fire up and then reduce to idle, fuel pump click slows down, and occasionally speeds up and back to idle.
It all depends on the temperature of the intake air as that temperature is measured at the step air intake on the drivers side RHD. I always have the drivers window open slightly for ventilation so the air intake is taking in colder air. Once fired up on Level 3 or 4 it just keeps running and I drop it to 1 or 2 at night. This is on a T5.1. May be different on the T6.1.

Ah that’s the stuff, thanks @WelshGas i shall try that next time

 

[sidepod]

Pretty cold at the moment, try sleeping on the van in the driveway tonight

 

[chockswahay]

Pretty cold at the moment, try sleeping on the van in the driveway tonight

Haha, well my owner is away this weekend helping with grandchild no 2……. so I might be tempted

 

[Corradobrit]

try sleeping on the van

No amount of auxiliary heating is going help you there.

 

[HectaTheSpecta]

Read all of the latest comments and didn’t know which to reply to so putting my experiences of it below

I’m thinking the T6 and below systems are far more efficient than the T6.1’s. To get any real warm it needs to 6+ in the such cold conditions we have been having recently. The heat immediately is hopeless! Use the function once or twice and it crashes and cannot be used again until the engine has been turned on and left running for a period of time so we tend to use heat continuously but even this crashes after 6 to 7 hours of use and will not switch on again (back to starting the engine for a period of time to reset it). The other problem is that the leisure batteries are almost depleted by the end of the day as the current draw fluctuates between 2A and 15A during its use.

To summarise, for its net output it’s a pretty power hungry unreliable inefficient system. So fairly poor all round in my experience.

 

[nomadicjonboy77]

You do not

You’ll need to turn the ignition on if you want to put it on timer

Thanks @HectaTheSpecta. And is there any way for the headlights not to come on when I switch on ignition. Switching from 'auto' to 'off' does not seem to work.

 

[andyinluton]

Thanks @HectaTheSpecta. And is there any way for the headlights not to come on when I switch on ignition. Switching from 'auto' to 'off' does not seem to work.

Select camping mode on the control panel, it gives options for the headlights and internal lights.

 

[WelshGas]

Thanks @HectaTheSpecta. And is there any way for the headlights not to come on when I switch on ignition. Switching from 'auto' to 'off' does not seem to work.

I think you will find it is the DRL lights that come on with Ignition On, not the headlights and as @andyinluton says, on the T6.1 you switch to Camping Mode.

 

[Beaker]

Does the heater draw in air from the outside when on constant or immediate heat as I have a diesel smell. Not sure if it is exhaust or something else. Not always, so was assuming it depends on the wind direction.
I might put in my NEST smoke and CO alarm and see if it triggers.

 

[sidepod]

Does the heater draw in air from the outside when on constant or immediate heat as I have a diesel smell. Not sure if it is exhaust or something else. Not always, so was assuming it depends on the wind direction.
I might put in my NEST smoke and CO alarm and see if it triggers.

I think it’s almost impossible not to smell diesel given the heater exhaust is directly under the van and exiting to the side.

 

[WelshGas]

Does the heater draw in air from the outside when on constant or immediate heat as I have a diesel smell. Not sure if it is exhaust or something else. Not always, so was assuming it depends on the wind direction.
I might put in my NEST smoke and CO alarm and see if it triggers.

The heater draws air for Combustion ONLY from underneath and the exhaust is under the vehicle directed downwards towards the centre line under the sliding door.
Air is drawn from the cabin via the air intake in the drivers step well RHD. Heated via a heat exchanger then vented into the cabin via the B pillar vents on the drivers side RHD.
Combustion air/exhaust Do Not Mix with the heated air.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

Thanks @HectaTheSpecta. And is there any way for the headlights not to come on when I switch on ignition. Switching from 'auto' to 'off' does not seem to work.

You can program it out with Carista on our T5.1, so would assume you can also do it in later models.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

Does the heater draw in air from the outside when on constant or immediate heat as I have a diesel smell. Not sure if it is exhaust or something else. Not always, so was assuming it depends on the wind direction.
I might put in my NEST smoke and CO alarm and see if it triggers.

The heater has a slight smell outside the van, but it’s quite distinctive. (Different to usual diesel smell if that makes sense!).

 

[Californication69]

Used our heater for the first time last nite while eating chips, chicken and steak pie in Matlock. I could sometimes catch a whiff of fish.
Wasn’t sure if it was the Chippy or the heater being new ?

 

[GrahamB]

Used our heater for the first time last nite while eating chips, chicken and steak pie in Matlock. I could sometimes catch a whiff of fish.
Wasn’t sure if it was the Chippy or the heater being new ?

Sounds like your brain was telling you you should have had the battered cod!

 

[HectaTheSpecta]

The heater has a slight smell outside the van, but it’s quite distinctive. (Different to usual diesel smell if that makes sense!).

Smells like jet fuel I’ve found. Almost as if the
engines spun up and you're sitting in your seat in the plane is about to taxi

 

[HectaTheSpecta]

Thanks @HectaTheSpecta. And is there any way for the headlights not to come on when I switch on ignition. Switching from 'auto' to 'off' does not seem to work.

Unfortunately not possible to go completely stealth with the ignition or trying to be discreet.

Switch to off appears to leave the DRLs still on. As others have said more than probable to code that out using vcds (Ross tech) or Carista, the former being my preferred choice as there’s far more configurable options.

Not sure if this is helpful to you but often we’ll schedule the timer before we get to our final destination therefore negating the ignition scenario, park up and use the rest function for a bit of warmth.

 

[HectaTheSpecta]

I think you will find it is the DRL lights that come on with Ignition On, not the headlights and as @andyinluton says, on the T6.1 you switch to Camping Mode.

Camping mode does not turn off DRLs even with the lights in the off position, bonkers!