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diesel night heaters
imthinking about puting a diesel heater in my camper how much power is used (12)v and would a leasure battery run it and the lights its an erberspacher heater
im not sure on the model it was already in the passenger foot well of the van when i bought it the label has been painted over im moving it to the back so i guess i will start with one battery thanks for the advice
All the infomation you need, i.e watts etc you need to do the calaculations can be found on the eberspacher website.
Things to bear in mind is how well insulated your van is, how long do you plan to have the heater on for, where will you be and what is the outside temperature. All these things need to be factored in so you can estimate whether or not your leisure battery will take it.
The eberspachers use alot of current on start up but much less whilst running.
I have one in my van but i also have a large bank of leisure batteries too. I used it lots recently on a trip to the alps no problems.
the nightheater has a voltage sensor built into it and sould cut out ,should the voltage drop to low I took no chances and I am running a 1000ah battery for my aux equipment controlled via a electronic control that splits the alternator charge to where the power is needed i have seen over the years expensive camper/motorhome c**p that costs a bomb fitted into all sorts of vans and trucks best to try and keep it simple .hope my ramblings help
A 1000ah battery! That must be a huge beast?
KS
sure is we use them a work for the actros tractor units standard one is 900ah hd version is 1000ah fitted in pairs we have a even bigger 1300ah battery for coachs but me thinks thats overkill lol plus its a two man lift really, most of the ambulances i work on have a total 4/5 bats fitted imagine the fun we have with that system, makes camper van split charge systems look very poor in relation see pic for my split charge control fitted a few proved to be spot on
What are the dimensions of said battery? I have 4x225ah running off an adverc charging system with blocking diode.
KS
Hi KS i guess your van may have been fitted out buy UVG as thats there favourite charging system reliable if it the single alternator type and not the system they fitted on ldv v8 ambulances with 3 alternators they where pants. There is a battery sense wire on 1 one of the blocking diodes main battery studs its a thin wire cant recall the colour at the mo the only real prob iv had with this system is that if the 1 battery goes flat on the sense wire curcuit the system can be very reluctant to charge i will check the size tommorow of my battery i will say if you have that system stick with it as its far better than most things iv seen
No actually it was fitted out by myself, adverc, eberspacher, batteries, vegetable oil conversion and the whole interior. The only thing i didn't do was the air conditioning unit.
KS
yes I made a error on the battery rating T*t I am its 175ah I was thinking of the en rating which is 1000amp sorry for my incorrect info I blame the man flue I have lol!!!!!! I have also fitted out my van lwb 2003 lt35 as its hard to get a good 312 sprinter these days I work on sprinters every day and although they are a super van there are to many issues with the cdi engines, gearshift cables and antitheft systems to let you down when your away from home so thats why I went for the lt as it reverts back to a more torquey 5 pot engine proper gearstick 4 ton rear springs as standard and all the rest is a old school sprinter which is very well proven stuff.I also have the night heater good but a little noisy when first fired up ok when its warmed up a bit then all the other usual stuff micro wave sink gas hob toilet blaa blaa blaa just doing a winter makeover change the layout round a bit to try and free up some space for storage and a better bed layout would like to move the spare wheel back on the rear door but have not seen any wheel carriers in the uk as i want the space underneath for a fixed waste tank
try looking for one of an american van dodge, ford and chevy vans all have rear door wheel carriers on then i would try dodge first the merc sprinter is a dodge sprinter in the states
I am doing a van but I want to save my hydro for other things like a small fridge or cooler.
Instead my approaxch is to insulate the van all I can.
Then put in wall mounted propane lights on the walls like we did growing up in Northern Ontario Canada.
I will run the 3 lights off a 30 lb tank.For safety I will make sure I have a combination ----> (photo electric and ionization smoke detector) and (propane detector).
Each lamp produces light which is needed anyway and 2,300 BTU's each of heat.Another benefit is the low cost of these propane wall mount lamps.
At night I will use a really good winter sleeping bag which I already use in the winter at my brothers cabin that only has a wood stove.At night we let the wood stove burnout to conserve the cost of Canadian Maple trees.
Plus, the lack of fire and silence ecourages the wolf packs to come to the cabin and run around in the moon light.This is a beautiful thing to see UNLESS you have to make a run past the wolves to get to the out-house.
Anyway the lamps won't use much propane and it's healthier and safer to sleep in clean cold air.
Then in the A.M. crank up your stove burners along with the 3 lamps till it gets comfortable again and adjust the lamps to keep it at 70 or higher.
KISS FORMULA ----------> KEEP IT SIMPLE :0)
So why don't you just install a log burner in your van?
If i re did mine then that would be an absolute must. I would retro fit one but really the whole interior wood need to be rebuilt to accomadate it in a sensible place. No need for all your detectors.
KS
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Depends on the model. You generally need at least 1 x 110AH battery in good condition. Maybe more.