Cheap heat and lots of it?

[kinggeorge13]

So I was at the RV show this past weekend (twice!) as I love going through the various campers and looking to see how they do stuff and especially the vendors who bring parts and equipment and ideas that I'd like to use in fixing up and adding to my Westy's and campers-to-be.   There was a guy there this year selling brand new genuine Eberspacher diesel heating units.  I talked with him a while because I was enamored with the idea of possibly installing an actual new, modern and reliable Eberspacher heater into a bus or two.  But man-o-man, it's an expensive proposition.

When I came home I did a little looking around online to see more about them and tripped across several of the off-shore cheaply-sold comparable versions that are available.  It's very hard to ignore the price.   Lots of Youtube videos about them.   Lots of positive ratings.  No stories (that I've seen yet) of any causing a vehicle to burn down.  I may get one just to play with and be able to make my own informed opinion.   

Any of you tried one of these or seen one installed?   

https://www.amazon.ca/Monitor-Thermostat-Defroster-Controller-Motor-Home/dp/B07K861VNR/ref=pd_ybh_a_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=7E58HMTCYJN8SQ9FSJ7Y

(and no, I'm not selling them)

-George

[bwaz]

that looks like a great idea... sometimes you just want to keep the frost down and i'm often too lazy to getting the camp stove going in the morning.

[silas]

^^ woodstove heat for the win!!

j/k kinggeorge, i saw that pic and couldnt resist 

that little gas heater from amazon you posted about looks allright.

i've also heard of a few people using those buddy heaters (portable, propane, for enclosed areas).

and of course with any indoor heating unit...be safe!!

[Bruce]

  No stories (that I've seen yet) of any causing a vehicle to burn down. 

Eberspacher heaters burning up cars is a myth.  Back in the olden days when VW's were plenty in the wrecking yards, not once did I see a car burnt at the heater.  Hands up all you oldsters, who's seen a VW burnt by a gas heater???  I've seen plenty of cars that had engine fires though. 

Beware when using any form of heater inside your bus that burns propane or kerosene without a vent.  Burning all types of hydrocarbons creates some carbon monoxide.  Don't do it.

[kinggeorge13]

  No stories (that I've seen yet) of any causing a vehicle to burn down. 

Eberspacher heaters burning up cars is a myth.  Back in the olden days when VW's were plenty in the wrecking yards, not once did I see a car burnt at the heater.  Hands up all you oldsters, who's seen a VW burnt by a gas heater???  I've seen plenty of cars that had engine fires though. 

Beware when using any form of heater inside your bus that burns propane or kerosene without a vent.  Burning all types of hydrocarbons creates some carbon monoxide.  Don't do it.

Just to clarify, I was meaning I had not found any stories online about these cheaper copy versions in my original post above failing and causing a vehicle to burn down.   

Now I have a question for you oldsters too (cuz I'm an oldster, I think).   Back when I was 16 (1977) and my first car was my family's throw-away car: their old VW squareback and we lived in Petawawa Ontario it was an adventure whenever I used my gas heater (mounted under the hood).   I spent more money at the local VW shop (Red's Garage) on that gas heater than every other thing in that car together.   The last winter of it's life the gas heater would pump out pure black smoke and I mean a LOT of black smoke until it got plenty heated up and then it was ok.   For the life of me I remember that smoke coming right into the car and having to run with my windows wide open in -20 until it stopped.   But nowadays when I think back on that, how would it even be possible for it to be pumping black smoke into my car?  Or was it that I had so many rust holes it was actually outside and just seeped in everywhere?  But I swear my memory was that it was coming plenty into the car and that's why I had to open my windows (or die, I suppose).   Does smoke from that heater seem possible to be pushed into the car?

[BUSDADDY]

Does smoke from that heater seem possible to be pushed into the car?

Not if everything is sealed up correctly, the exhaust on the type 3 went into the LF wheel well, any rust holes or missing grommets could allow the stink inside. Those diesel heaters come with a bendy exhaust pipe you can route out under the bus and away, as long as the bus is solid it should stay outside.

My Dad had a type 3 that belched the black smoke from the heater as well, you never forget that stink. Knowing what I know now it would have been an easy fix.

[kinggeorge13]

Does smoke from that heater seem possible to be pushed into the car?

Not if everything is sealed up correctly, the exhaust on the type 3 went into the LF wheel well, any rust holes or missing grommets could allow the stink inside. Those diesel heaters come with a bendy exhaust pipe you can route out under the bus and away, as long as the bus is solid it should stay outside.

My Dad had a type 3 that belched the black smoke from the heater as well, you never forget that stink. Knowing what I know now it would have been an easy fix.

Ok well based on all the other rusted out areas (no rocker panels at all) from my memory I would not be surprised at all that there were huge gaping holes up inside the wheel wells of that poor car.  It's entire life on winter roads in Manitoba and Ontario back when no one did rust protection and salt was dumped liberally all winter long (until it was too cold to be effective), these poor cars simply took a beating.   This was the car that I fixed the flapping bottom side panels (no rockers to hold them in place) by screwing in a self-tapping screw on the bottom of each side and running a tight wire underneath the car between them: kept them from flapping wildly at highway speeds.   Oh to be 16 again when repairs were so much more simple.  I miss that car.

[gsun]

I had a gas heater in a bus. It was either my 70 or 71. Can’t remember which had it. It also belched black smoke and it came inside. Neither had rust. At the time they were only a few years old. I never ran the heater when I slept in the bus. Just in case.