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

Fri Nov 01, 2019 8:22 pm

Just bench tested my $120 chinese diesel heater. I kinda made the test bench out of wood so I can try it out this weekend. It took my about 3 hours to build a stand out of wood and get it going.

The longest part was the directions. I used the below diagram to help me out. The instructions were wrong or improperly labeled.

It took like 30 minutes for the pump to prime. It gave me an e10 error code. I believe it is lack of fuel code. You could hear fuel pump tick. I guess it was trying to prime it? But damn it took forever to prime it.

Anyway. It works. I think I'm going to like the idea of going with a 4k heater.

Fri Nov 01, 2019 8:28 pm

shagginwagon83 wrote: It took like 30 minutes for the pump to prime.
It should certainly not take that long given the pictured configuration.

There should be a keystroke combination to prime the pump that doesn’t end in an error message. For me it is:
Right button then gear button together, then left arrow to toggle the pump on and off.

Fri Nov 01, 2019 8:30 pm

CessnaJon wrote: Hans j, do you have any pics of your install? I just bought a Webasto B1Lc and would like to put it under the front seat.

This is about all I have!

I cut off the swivel and welded some other T3 seat tracks from a parts van, and welded a couple blocks on to them to raise them up back to the standard seat height.

Sat Nov 02, 2019 11:34 am

Anyone figure out how to run the fan without the burner going? A.k.a. AC mode.

Sat Nov 02, 2019 11:43 am

Just run a separate switched pos/neg to the fan motor, and then add diodes to stock wiring so it doesn't backfeed power to the board.

Sat Nov 02, 2019 2:01 pm

rmcd wrote: Anyone figure out how to run the fan without the burner going? A.k.a. AC mode.

personally, i'd find another way to circulate air. between the brushes on the DC motor and Chinesium armature bushings, i just wouldn't want to run it more than necessary. there's some really nice brushless DC motors/fans with quality oil-float bearings that can run for extended periods with low amp draw.

Sat Nov 02, 2019 3:04 pm

Agreed.

Sat Nov 02, 2019 8:12 pm

Mocked up install of enclosure box I got from the UK.

https://www.ebay.com/str/steelappealheaterboxes

Built brackets with mounts for a skid plate on the bottom.

Sun Nov 03, 2019 7:32 pm

RMCD, thank you so much for those photos! Looks awesome!

I used my diesel heater this weekend. We were at a campground that had electricity but I wanted to try it out. The unit was outside on my homemade wooden test rig.

There was a Halloween camp out this weekend and I used my diesel heater this time. I ran an electric heater inside the van and had the 4k CDH heater pumping hot air into the ARB deluxe awning room. It was incredible how warm it kept the add a room. It was 32'F last night and I'd say the add-a-room was a toasty 60+ degrees. It was great because at one point I say we had close to 10 people inside my van/awning room enjoying the heat. Mike (Mikemtnbike) even made it out and got to check out my heater!

I can't wait til this is installed into my van! I really think I'm going to make a 'treasure box' along my passenger side of the van to enclose my CDH. The treasure box will hold my heater, aux battery, and maybe tools/parts. My friend Jeff did this with his propex and lifepo4 lithium aux battery.

LiveWorkWander did the storage box also on passenger side.

Mon Nov 04, 2019 5:42 am

rmcd wrote: Mocked up install of enclosure box I got from the UK.

https://www.ebay.com/str/steelappealheaterboxes

Built brackets with mounts for a skid plate on the bottom.

Thanks for showing the box. It's been one of the things I wanted to check out vs. a large "Ammo Can" where the front spare tire was.

Mon Nov 04, 2019 5:50 am

How hot do the bodies of these heaters get?
Put inside a sealed box, say an Ammo Can, do you think the heat would affect the rubber seal on the lid?

Mon Nov 04, 2019 8:15 am

Steve M. wrote: How hot do the bodies of these heaters get?
Put inside a sealed box, say an Ammo Can, do you think the heat would affect the rubber seal on the lid?
No. The heater has excellent temperature control. The blower stays on until the unit is cooled down.

Mon Nov 04, 2019 10:31 am

Couple gotchas about that location.

Routing the exhaust hose requires that the unit is mounted Low enough to be able to clear the structural rail on the side. My design clears by a quarter inch or so.

Also the box is wide and if do you want to route 3 inch hose past it you have to plan for that. There is just enough room for both the ss box, clearance for the exhaust hose and the 3” intake hose.

Thu Nov 14, 2019 9:09 am

For a summary of what went wrong the first time we used our Chinese heater in anger look here:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=727904

The mistakes I made:

I didn't realise how cold it was going to get.
I didn't check the elevation of our first night's stop.
I installed the original fuel filter - BIG MISTAKE.
I had no spare fuel line.
I had forgotten the password to get into the fuel/air mixture settings.
I had forgotten to bring the printed-out full instructions.

However, having gratefully survived that first night (~20°F inside the van, ~5°F outside) and removed the cracked fuel filter that had let in air, the heater performed just great - and it worked fine with elevations up to 9,000 ft (didn't try higher) without changing settings.

This is a 2kW heater, and once the van is up to temperature, the idle output (at 1.4Hz, 1450rpm) was too great to let the temperature go down again to the set level! This wasn't important as it happened, as either the morning warmed up or we went to bed in the evening, so switching the heater off anyway.

Apart from that, as originally received, the heater had several show-stopping faults. The fan was jammed, the connector for the temp sensor was mis-wired, and it came with an unknown controller (knob + three buttons) that didn't work. However, having bought a black LCD controller (and now an Afterburner!) all worked just fine on all tests (several hours) until that first trip. ;)

For the price, provided you are prepared to do some fettling and can problem-solve, this is a great value bit of kit.

Thu Nov 14, 2019 9:49 am

great review fxr and an awesome trip at colder temps.

a question. for those of us w/o facebook.
is the controller access password a secret or can we just get it listed in the thread for these heaters?

Thu Nov 14, 2019 9:52 am

Steve M. wrote: How hot do the bodies of these heaters get?
Put inside a sealed box, say an Ammo Can, do you think the heat would affect the rubber seal on the lid?

To keep my Espar under the back seat from getting damaged or getting something too hot, I made an aluminum insulated cover to protect it. Nothing has melted and the heater hasn't gotten damaged.

Thu Nov 14, 2019 10:27 am

danfromsyr wrote: great review fxr and an awesome trip at colder temps.

a question. for those of us w/o facebook.
is the controller access password a secret or can we just get it listed in the thread for these heaters?
1688 worked for me. Apparently there are a couple more that might work. It's a PITA to use though - you have to make a key-press every 3 seconds or so or else it reverts to 'normal'. Entering the passcode is bad enough (12 key-presses every time) and then you have to remember the correct order for other key-presses to change profile.

Fri Nov 15, 2019 3:58 pm

AND I've just fitted the Afterburner controller that arrived the day after we had left on the trip. Oh joy! Full praise to Ray Jones for producing this - a superb bit of kit.

Sat Nov 16, 2019 11:59 am

Afterburner should be here any day for me. Really looking forward to it. I'm probably going to make my own aux fuel tank to in rear behind tail light with analog fuel gauge. It should hook up the the afterburner and give me fuel level on my phone.

Also, I asked Dave to rename this thread - as it's not clear what the topic is about.

Sat Nov 16, 2019 12:22 pm

(I posted this on the propex vs diesel heater thread, but it probably better here)

Hi,

I’ve been trying out my cheap knock off heater in the workshop for almost a month now, discovered something interesting.

I bought mine, advertised as 8kw , I knew enough to know that’s not right, probably 5kw. Was from banggood, 160 Canadian plus shipping, landed it was around 200 Canadian.

That seems to be on the lower side of the range of prices.

Came with key fob remote. Simple on and off (was paired and worked right away). The lcd controller is the black one with the animated icons.

The unit fired up right away, hz range 1-5.5. However, doing a quick timed count, the 1hz is closer to 2hz.

I used two ammeters to measure power. One shunt, and one dc Hall effect meter. The urgent readings fluctuate on both meters, I’m thinking due to the pump action. My rough readings are:

1hz - 0.6 A, 6-8 W
2hz - 1.0 A, 8-12 W
3hz - 1.7 A, 16-19 W
4hz - 2.0 A, 20-23 W
5hz - 2.8 A, 32-36 W
5.5hz - 3.9 A, 38 W

Take the numbers as a rough guide, by no means accurate.

So, so far ok, more or less.

But the lcd controller I have is a bum steer. Or should I say, it’s crippled.

No icon for the fuel pump, or the glow plug.
Clock does not hold time, or even close.
Can not access the admin settings.

I can set a timer, but as the clock is hooped...

I can change between hz and temp.

For a while I thought it was me, unable to press the right buttons combo to access admin. But no, it’s not me .

I thought no big deal as I was planning to buy an afterburner unit from Ray. I corresponded to him, and showed pics of the motherboard of the unit.

He says the board is not right. He’s seen one or two of this type before, and his controll unit will not work with this board. He noted differences in the board compared to the board that “should be” there.

Here are two pics of the board. And yes, that connector is where I found it. Resetting it correctly produces and error code. So it’s back to where I found it. It’s for the temp sensor on the heater body.

So I’m sending a complaint to banggood, and have to get another motherboard. Then I’ll get the afterburner controller.

So, in my situation the heater is more of a kit. I like the increased heat and air volume ( and that the heat can be controlled) over my Propex 2000, but I’m a little annoyed that I need to do this much fiddling with it.

Alistair