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Thu Nov 08, 2012 10:17 pm

OK For those who have installed a diesel airtronic &&&
Ski / camp at the trial head

would you go d2 or d4
or long shot planar-4dm-12
http://www.sayautoterm.com/shop/air-heater-planar-4dm-12

Big question I have is will the d2 take van parked all day at say
-5 to -20 C, 20 to -5F upto toasty in 15mins 20C/72F
or do ya need a d4 to deliver the quick warm up

I am sure both will run fuel wise about the same over nite running on 1st
speed once we are up to temps

Fri Nov 09, 2012 3:02 am

tclark wrote: Big question I have is will the d2 take van parked all day at say
-5 to -20 C, 20 to -5F upto toasty in 15mins 20C/72F
or do ya need a d4 to deliver the quick warm up

I am sure both will run fuel wise about the same over nite running on 1st
speed once we are up to temps

TC.....

A D2 on high will cook you into a wearing a tee shirt within 15 min.
Even with the top popped. Top closed.. 10min...
Assuming, a calm wind outside....

The D2 will then cycle down to low and maintain a steady or even temp;
all day and throughout the night if necessary.

The one D4 install I'm aware of, cycled between too-hot then turned off until van cooled to below the thermostat set temp. Only to overshoot the set temperature and repeat... Literally, too much heat even on low.

A D4 will heat a long wheelbase Sprinter... :roll:

Mon Nov 12, 2012 8:05 am

Very happy with the D2. I am most likely going to purchase the snap in insulation for the camper top for both the heater and AC in the summers.

Mon Nov 12, 2012 8:43 am

A friend has been installing Hydronic/Airtronic combos on oil field rigs for the past two years. The company had him take technical/warranty
training from Espar.

The tech doing the training ( who worked for Webasto before Espar ) said one of the worse thing you could do was to run too big a unit.
It doesn't stay hot enough and more crud builds up requiring more maintenance.
In his opinion the D2 is a better choice for the westy.

Not completely related but the tech also said the altitude compensator is a waste of money unless it is run for extended hours at well above
the specified altitude. He recommended instead adjusting the angle of the dosing pump.
The manual recommends 15 to 35 degrees, so the higher you live or travel the higher the angle.

I've been monitering a friend's D4 and it seems to need cleaning sooner than my D2 under similar usage.
And the pump angle trick also seems to work, by restricting the fueling, reducing crud build up.

just my experience, hth

Thu Jan 03, 2013 10:53 am

This is an old post, but since I am in the middle of testing a D2 heater, I wanted to cast my vote for the D4. I don't think the max BTU rating of 7500 vs 13,750 is what you should look at. On low the D2 puts out 2900 BTUs and the D4 on low puts out 3400 BTUs. That is a small difference and not and not that much heat. I think you will be running on low or above most of the time on both units but the D4 would run on a lower setting more of the time and it would make less noise because they get noisier the higher the setting. If you live in cold areas and aren't looking for a fall camping heater, I woujld think the bigger one would be better. The other advantage of the bigger one is much faster heat up in the morning if you don't run it at night. Same reason I would get the propex 2800 over the 2000.

At this point of my testing, I am not sure I am fan of these heaters. Mine isn't installed properly so I can't gauge the true noise level, but I am a light sleeper.

Thu Jan 03, 2013 11:34 am

we have a D2 in our van and it's not going to be enough heat for trailhead comfort.. guess that depends on your comfort level..
and for the noise factor while sleepign I'll agree. this wouldn't be my choice either. and it isn't
we only installed our Espar D2 in Mom's van because
#1 we already owned it
#2 w/mom's van I can't risk not knowing the propane level for a propane heater, I installed a translucent tank for the D2 so I can check the fuel level with a quick eye.
#3 mom won't run aheater that long/much and we don't winter camp. it's just intended to take the chill off for fall or summer Mtn camping. she's ~70 and I can't risk her being cold or not being able to get warmed up.

my preference for comfort heating especially in any winter exposure is a propane furnace/heater with a larger or dual propane tank reserve.
that's my $.03 with experiance with these heaters..

and bigger/more capacity is always better IMHO because things can always get worse and you want overkill to spare.

Fri Jan 04, 2013 7:48 am

danfromsyr wrote: we have a D2 in our van and it's not going to be enough heat for trailhead comfort.. guess that depends on your comfort level..
and for the noise factor while sleepign I'll agree. this wouldn't be my choice either. and it isn't
we only installed our Espar D2 in Mom's van because
#1 we already owned it
#2 w/mom's van I can't risk not knowing the propane level for a propane heater, I installed a translucent tank for the D2 so I can check the fuel level with a quick eye.
#3 mom won't run aheater that long/much and we don't winter camp. it's just intended to take the chill off for fall or summer Mtn camping. she's ~70 and I can't risk her being cold or not being able to get warmed up.

my preference for comfort heating especially in any winter exposure is a propane furnace/heater with a larger or dual propane tank reserve.
that's my $.03 with experiance with these heaters..

and bigger/more capacity is always better IMHO because things can always get worse and you want overkill to spare.

My question about this is aren't almost all propane heaters/furnaces exhausting at least some water vapor?

Fri Jan 04, 2013 8:26 am

espar, propex & Atwood RV furnaces vent combustion outside
mr buddy & my japanese built Rinnai 329 vent inside, with CO & water vapor to contend with