TheSamba.com :: View topic - The official Chinese Diesel Heater thread (Webasto Knockoff)

Mon Mar 15, 2021 11:29 am

one of these 5.5L (1.45Gal) tanks 'should' fit in the side pocket. $16/shipped
https://www.ebay.com/itm/5-5L-Fuel-Oil-Gasoline-Ta...Sw5WVfnaTb

Mon Mar 15, 2021 2:44 pm

Looking for help. Have used the heater for several weekends to camp in VT this winter without issues, but last night with temp at 0Deg, is shut off with an E8 error code , but I wasn’t out of fuel. After several attempts, hours later it started again, only to shut off after 10min. Now it will start , and produce heat , but but pumps more rapidly than usual, and after 10min it shuts down and shows E8 error code. I have the pump installed with the correct upward angle, and very short runs of hose before and after the pump, so I don’t think it is air locked. I took the filter apart and checked it, and tightened all the hose clamps. Not sure what else to do, and not looking forward to the cold night ahead. Any thoughts on the possible problem are much appreciated.

Mon Mar 15, 2021 3:55 pm

This has been my "temporary" solution for far far longer than intended.

Mon Mar 15, 2021 4:40 pm

what fuel are you using? could have froze/gelled
or if you are sucking air bubbles, if the rubber hose shrunk on the plastic line.

JEL91Westy wrote: Looking for help. Have used the heater for several weekends to camp in VT this winter without issues, but last night with temp at 0Deg, is shut off with an E8 error code , but I wasn’t out of fuel. After several attempts, hours later it started again, only to shut off after 10min. Now it will start , and produce heat , but but pumps more rapidly than usual, and after 10min it shuts down and shows E8 error code. I have the pump installed with the correct upward angle, and very short runs of hose before and after the pump, so I don’t think it is air locked. I took the filter apart and checked it, and tightened all the hose clamps. Not sure what else to do, and not looking forward to the cold night ahead. Any thoughts on the possible problem are much appreciated.

Mon Mar 15, 2021 4:45 pm

Thanks for the thoughts. I am burning diesel, and tightened all of the clamps holding the hose to the line. I assume the diesel is treated cold enough not to gel at 0

Mon Mar 15, 2021 6:16 pm

JEL91Westy wrote: ...I assume the diesel is treated cold enough not to gel at 0...
^^^ Assume nothing...just sayin'... <shrug>

- Dave

Mon Mar 15, 2021 7:15 pm

Did you run it out of fuel and lose prime? I used a Mityvac to pull the diesel to the pump initially. Maybe throw some Kerosene in there and re prime it.

Mon Mar 15, 2021 11:17 pm

Has anyone ever mounted their CDH inside the driver's battery box and have the hot air pipe out near the front table mount? I saw a post on page 24 by hans j but it wasn't clear if that would take a significant amount of fabrication (no more swivel, if I'm understanding correctly? Higher seat base?). I have a proper 2KW sized CDH.

Also, has anyone ever mounted a diesel tank behind the passenger side tail light AND utilized the passenger side vent for being able to fill up the tank?

Otherwise, I may go with Shaggin's strategy w.r.t. mounting to the fuse box. Shaggin', if you're reading this, if you ever sourced that proper fitting vent cover for the fuse cutout from your friend, I might also be interested in one.

Thanks!

Tue Mar 16, 2021 10:56 am

joyfulpursuit wrote: Has anyone ever mounted their CDH inside the driver's battery box and have the hot air pipe out near the front table mount? I saw a post on page 24 by hans j but it wasn't clear if that would take a significant amount of fabrication (no more swivel, if I'm understanding correctly? Higher seat base?). I have a proper 2KW sized CDH.

Also, has anyone ever mounted a diesel tank behind the passenger side tail light AND utilized the passenger side vent for being able to fill up the tank?

Otherwise, I may go with Shaggin's strategy w.r.t. mounting to the fuse box. Shaggin', if you're reading this, if you ever sourced that proper fitting vent cover for the fuse cutout from your friend, I might also be interested in one.

Thanks!

Thanks what I was thinking. Does the heater fiscally fit in the box?

Tue Mar 16, 2021 11:10 am

I was just looking at this the other day as that was my plan.
I think the little heaters will fit not sure about the bigger ones.

Even with the little one you will have to move the heater over as far as possible so you don't end up blocking the inlet

I really wanted to put my heater up front so the exhaust is as far away from where I am sleeping as possible.

Tue Mar 16, 2021 11:20 am

vwhammer wrote:

I really wanted to put my heater up front so the exhaust is as far away from where I am sleeping as possible.

Completely agree. Plus, it blows towards the back, and it blends into the carpet, looking factory/OEM+. It just crosses off so many checkmarks for me, personally. I'm hoping to see some further documentation and might have to bug hans j and see if he can do us all a large favor by unveiling his setup a bit more :)

Wed Mar 17, 2021 9:22 am

I've done some more research, and it doesn't appear possible to mount the heater under the driver's seat without removing the swivel. That's unfortunate, as that is a necessity for me. I really enjoy being able to swivel to utilize the front table with the passenger seat.

I will now be looking into Shaggin's technique.

Wed Mar 17, 2021 9:45 am

joyfulpursuit wrote: I've done some more research, and it doesn't appear possible to mount the heater under the driver's seat without removing the swivel.

Hold the phone a sec Joy,

The swivel part bolts down on top of a plate which is significantly shorter, leaving a much larger opening than you see with the swivel turret still in place. I have absolutely no doubt that the 4 nylock nuts holding down your swivel base will come out easily then lift our the base to reveal the larger hole. Just be sure NOT to torque them down to hard on replacement, as there needs to be a little room to allow the rotation of the captains chair....

Wed Mar 17, 2021 6:07 pm

bobbyblack wrote: joyfulpursuit wrote: I've done some more research, and it doesn't appear possible to mount the heater under the driver's seat without removing the swivel.

Hold the phone a sec Joy,

The swivel part bolts down on top of a plate which is significantly shorter, leaving a much larger opening than you see with the swivel turret still in place. I have absolutely no doubt that the 4 nylock nuts holding down your swivel base will come out easily then lift our the base to reveal the larger hole. Just be sure NOT to torque them down to hard on replacement, as there needs to be a little room to allow the rotation of the captains chair....

Thanks for the tip - I still don't think there's enough clearance to tuck a 2KW heater unit in there after re-installing the seat swivel. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Tue Apr 27, 2021 6:25 am

If anyone is interested, I've been talking with one of my suppliers and have procured 3\5\8kw heaters in both the stand-alone and installable versions, I have them listed in the classifieds. Use coupon code SAMBA to save 10%. Mods, delete this if not allowed. Thanks.

Tue Apr 27, 2021 6:32 am

erste wrote: fxr wrote: uberaudi wrote:
I might also foam wrap the pump to mitigate the sound a bit. I have it zip tied and partially hanging, but it still seems a bit loud to fall asleep to.
Just another ticking clock. I was worried about that too - but it turned out to be a non-problem.
I’m pretty sure I woke up the other night after the pump stopped ticking when it got to temp, so I like the idea of wrapping it in foam even with the rubber mount. Espar D2 but should apply to these heaters too.

I ended up fixing my fuel pump bracket to a frame member by using zip ties instead of bolting it to the frame. The zip ties give a vibration gap and the pump pulses do not reach the frame member. No noise inside at all now.

Tue Apr 27, 2021 9:25 am

old_man wrote: I finally got around to installing it.

I need a longer exhaust pipe but for now it will work fine. The intake and exhaust are behind the front grill near the RH headlight and are piped downwards. Fuel comes from a 'T' off the main fuel line from the truck's diesel tank. Hopefully that doesn't leak in the future.

The hot air blows right into the Vanagon's HVAC air box. From there it goes to all the vents. I tried it without the truck's blower running, the air flow isn't that strong. I don't know how comfortable I would be running it for extended periods of time with the blower going, I think I would be worried about some air flow choking and over heating going on. I don't know if the heater's internal fan will speed up if it senses overheat.

With the blower going it's just nice. No more driving around in a cold truck waiting for the damn TDI to heat up.

I did try turning it own before starting the truck. The heater doesn't seem to mind the electrical interruption of glow plugs/start cycle of the truck. It did not shut off.

I'm curious how this worked out for you?
Is there enough of the hot airflow being able to get through the original heating vents?

Tue May 25, 2021 4:59 pm

Can anyone suggest how to join the exhaust hose to the muffler if I cut the hose?
Is there a way to flare it? Can I use JB Weld high heat?

It was too long, so I cut it already. Now I can't connect them. I already tried swearing and cursing.

Tue May 25, 2021 6:29 pm

Rorke wrote: Now I can't connect them. I already tried swearing and cursing.

Feel your pain on that, ya, I've had that problem. As I got through it by just throwing more bits at it, ordering extra stuff, etc to just cut pieces out of, I'd have to say that I didn't quite think up a more simple solution;

A needle nosed pliers, perhaps more like a vice-grip (trademarked, and I don't endorse them) type tool, you just squeeze the pliers a bit into the tube, like say an inch, and keep moving around and around the tube until its all flattened out. Then, if its too tight, go around another couple times.

If you need to tighten it back up later, just use a hack saw to make a slit, and clamp it good!

Tue May 25, 2021 6:37 pm

I had the same problem.

My fix:

Tightly clamp a 1/2" socket drive extension (4' or 8") into your vise. Slip the exhaust pipe portion that you want to open up over the large end of the socket extension. Now hammer on the exhaust tube to flatten the accordion while turning the exhaust pipe around the socket drive extension. This expands the inside diameter of the pipe.