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pb24ss
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Joined: June 30, 2005
Posts: 1665
Location: sitting around the fire with the bluegrass band - colorado
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 Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2007 6:42 pm Post subject: Eberspacher Airtronic D2 installation - day 1 (and day 2) |
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I recently purchased a brand new Airtronic D2 unit. I'm going to use a high quality 2 gallon racing fuel cell to feed the unit kerosene. The full gory details can be seen at http://pictures.radom.org/v/vw/projects/heating/airtronic/installation/
The highlights are as follows
my cutting hole for the unit
heater on mounting plate
hole for heater and cover for westy sink drain pipe and previous owner hole
hose routed for recirculated air
cover for recirculated air inlet on cabinet above ice box
heater and hot air tube
fuel tank vent line
The tank I"m using is this one
The supply will have a barbed petcock, and the vent will have a barbed end. There is no return. The tank will be located in the top of the cabinet on the left side of the divided shelf.
Last edited by pb24ss on Sun Oct 21, 2007 1:43 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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boos-k_nb
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Joined: January 15, 2006
Posts: 213
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| Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2007 8:59 pm Post subject: |
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Bravo! Thanks for putting the project on photo.....I have a BN4 but have big dual IDF intakes on a 2213cc 69' westy and I don't want to butcher things up to make the BN4 work.
I'm anxious to see how well the BTU's heat up! Looks good, but I'd use some butel sealent to fill the holes and paint on the bottem cover before you finish up. How do you like the controls for the unit; is it a cord remote?? I like the intake cover, looks sharp!! And the fuel vent is sleek, I like....
How long is the unit with plumbing? I have an older style westy with the jump seat....I can put one there if it's small enough?? If not under the seat/bed....Is there anything specific about exhaust and intake air as far as material and direction?? Thanks alot for posting!!
Nick |
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pb24ss
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Joined: June 30, 2005
Posts: 1665
Location: sitting around the fire with the bluegrass band - colorado
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| Posted: Sun Oct 21, 2007 7:29 am Post subject: |
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| boos-k_nb wrote: |
Bravo! Thanks for putting the project on photo.....I have a BN4 but have big dual IDF intakes on a 2213cc 69' westy and I don't want to butcher things up to make the BN4 work.
I'm anxious to see how well the BTU's heat up! Looks good, but I'd use some butel sealent to fill the holes and paint on the bottem cover before you finish up. How do you like the controls for the unit; is it a cord remote?? I like the intake cover, looks sharp!! And the fuel vent is sleek, I like....
How long is the unit with plumbing? I have an older style westy with the jump seat....I can put one there if it's small enough?? If not under the seat/bed....Is there anything specific about exhaust and intake air as far as material and direction?? Thanks alot for posting!!
Nick |
The unit is controlled with a mini-controller. It has a thermostat, and the heater cycles through 4 settings (low, medium, high anbd boost) to maintain the desired temperature. It will be mounted just above the spare tire opening in the westy sink cabinet.
The unit is very small. Maybe half as long as your BN4. My other bus has a early westy junpseat, and if I ever install one in that bus it will all go under the jumpseat. Here's a picture of it next to a standard 8 1/2 X 11" piece of paper.
I will seal and paint the hole cover. It's part of the plan. The intake cover came with the kit. If you think that is sharp wait till you see the hot air tube cover. it's beveled and it swivels. The exhaust and combustion air intake only need to be 2" apart according to the manufacturer. I'm running the exhaust and exiting it out just before the rear tire. The intake tube will stop a few inches short of the heater.
I had planned on running the wiring and exhaust and intake tubes today, but it's cold and snowy. I guess that's all the more reason to get it done. I'll post more pics as they're available. I'll have the fuel tank on Monday. |
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pb24ss
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Joined: June 30, 2005
Posts: 1665
Location: sitting around the fire with the bluegrass band - colorado
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| Posted: Sun Oct 21, 2007 1:41 pm Post subject: |
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Day 1 (yesterday) was sunny and in the 70's. Today was snowy and in the 30's. The full details are http://pictures.radom.org/v/vw/projects/heating/airtronic/installation/?g2_page=6
Day 3 (hopefully tomorrow) will be installing the fuel tank. It's at the local UPS facility and will be delivered tomorrow. It's going in the upper left portion of the new cabinet.
Here are the highlights from day 2 ...
exhaust pipe routed (i love the end cap)
intake pipe routed (cap not so neat)
intake and exhaust
wiring harness
main power run (to fuse panel connected to auxiliary battery)
main power and fuse panel
neat little mini controller / thermostat
hot air blower tube
cabinet with all the new shelves in
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dwill49965
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Joined: August 08, 2005
Posts: 1404
Location: Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
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| Posted: Sun Oct 21, 2007 4:35 pm Post subject: |
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Looks like a good job. How much did you pay for the Airtronic unit? I've considered going this route too.
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Darryl
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'78 Westy, Boston Bob built 2.0 L, FI, MSD 6A |
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pb24ss
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Location: sitting around the fire with the bluegrass band - colorado
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| Posted: Sun Oct 21, 2007 5:39 pm Post subject: |
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$1000 plus
I was able to find it locally and avoided shipping charges. I was also able to get the seller to beat the cheapest online price I could find which was ebay at the time.
The fuel cell with the fittings I ordered was around $225
It's an expensive project, but well worth the investment in peace of mind. Me and my kids and our pets will be sleeping in here for years to come. |
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davis911s
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Joined: July 07, 2005
Posts: 976
Location: Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
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| Posted: Sun Oct 21, 2007 6:34 pm Post subject: |
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Looks EXCELLENT
It is pricey though, has anyone here used these yet ? If so please give feedback on if they are worth the $
Shawn
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1979 Westfalia (SOLD) |
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Mark
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Joined: January 20, 2003
Posts: 1523
Location: Victoria, BC Canada
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| Posted: Sun Oct 21, 2007 7:31 pm Post subject: |
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That's looking good my friend. It seems a nice alternative to the BN4 & BA6 units.
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otiswesty
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Joined: November 21, 2006
Posts: 1768
Location: Portland
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| Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2007 1:42 pm Post subject: |
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| I did a BN4 installation a few years ago. There are a couple of Espar parts that I could use to finish off the install nicely. What was the source of your Espar parts? Any contact info would be very helpful. |
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pb24ss
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Location: sitting around the fire with the bluegrass band - colorado
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josh
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Location: laid back in the tall grass
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| Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2007 5:32 pm Post subject: |
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I noticed the the intake tube is in the open air under the bus.
I don't know this applies to the new unit but on the old ones this could cause problems (ie FIRE!) due to air being forced into or pulled out of the combustion chamber.
The factory solution was to hook the intake tube up to one of the holes in the frame cross members such as those directly in front of the tube.
Just a heads up. I'd hate to see your hard work cause something to burn down.
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Stoner A is cylinders #2/4 B is #1/3 The plugged bowl is the throttle, the bong is the manifold |
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pb24ss
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Location: sitting around the fire with the bluegrass band - colorado
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| Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 7:58 pm Post subject: |
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Here we are more than a year later. This past summer I purchased a dual hot air outlet for my heater. I just got around to installing it. a little forced air up front and I'm nice and toasty. I trimmed the host off at the carpet line.
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greg334
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Location: Land of the former Big 3
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| Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2008 11:29 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for the info, I am wondering why you got a diesel heater?
I just bought a Airtronic B5LC for cheap, $750. They can be found. I will put this in my wife's beetle when I get the thing next year (she likes heat in the winter time for some reason).
I know that the US dealers can order them from Eberspeacher, this one came from Alaska and was ordered just about 8 months ago but never installed.
I have found very few espar dealers who are good, Espar of Michigan is one of them that seems to go out of their way with customers. Many in my 'profession' buy from them with little complaining. |
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pb24ss
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Joined: June 30, 2005
Posts: 1665
Location: sitting around the fire with the bluegrass band - colorado
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| Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2008 12:22 pm Post subject: |
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| greg334 wrote: |
Thanks for the info, I am wondering why you got a diesel heater?
I just bought a Airtronic B5LC for cheap, $750. They can be found. I will put this in my wife's beetle when I get the thing next year (she likes heat in the winter time for some reason).
I know that the US dealers can order them from Eberspeacher, this one came from Alaska and was ordered just about 8 months ago but never installed.
I have found very few espar dealers who are good, Espar of Michigan is one of them that seems to go out of their way with customers. Many in my 'profession' buy from them with little complaining. |
I wasn't able to source a modern gas variant without spending an extra $1000. Maybe I didn't look hard enough. Aside form a drop or two of spilled kerosene I've had no problems. |
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greg334
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| Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2008 12:23 pm Post subject: |
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I understand, I guess I am too patient and cheap.
How does it work with Kero? |
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pb24ss
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Location: sitting around the fire with the bluegrass band - colorado
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| Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2008 1:16 pm Post subject: |
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| greg334 wrote: |
I understand, I guess I am too patient and cheap.
How does it work with Kero? |
I have nothing to compare to, but it works great. The exhaust doesn't smell, and when i drip a drop or two of kerosene when filling the tank it smells a little better than if i were using diesel. I was talking to the reseller when I was picking up some more hose for the dual ait outlet project and they were telling me that a lot of the truckets are starting to install kerosene tanks and running the heaters off kerosene only. They said that they ones that run diesel require more maintenance and cleaning, and the ones that get the bio are the dirtiest. They also explained that when they clean them they run straight kero though them. In the end I think it's a better choice than diesel, and since I'm only using 10 or 15 gallons a winter the cost differences aren't much. |
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pb24ss
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Posts: 1665
Location: sitting around the fire with the bluegrass band - colorado
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| Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2008 1:48 pm Post subject: |
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I borrowed a digital temperature gun and took some readings. These readings were taken about three minutes after turning the unit on.
main outlet
smaller front occupant outlet
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otiswesty
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Location: Portland
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| Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2008 6:53 pm Post subject: |
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Just curious if you put the sink and water tank back in?
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regis101
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Location: Livermore, Ca
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| Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2008 7:38 pm Post subject: |
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Interesting read. Thanks for the pictures.
How is the noise level when it's running. Anything to compare? Like it's less than normal conversation. Or it's too noisy to sleep.
Thanks
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enjoispammy8
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Joined: December 26, 2007
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Location: Long Beach, CA
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| Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2008 7:54 pm Post subject: |
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im wondering if perhaps this could work with biodisel? it would be cheaper fuel, most likely free fuel. and if im understanding what your saying, if it gets dirty from the bio, you just clean it out with kerosene?
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