I'm in the fortunate position of having no money due to the current cost of living crisis so don't have to worry about moral decisions for the time being.
Which night-heater?
- Thread starter Mark Woodhouse
- Start date
I stumbled across this heater today. Branded a Challenger
www.aclsretail.com
It comes with this control unit that will connect to a WiFi and then can be controlled from anywhere using the app. Also has bluetooth if the van doesn't have wifi. This control unit seems better than anything Eber or Webasto offer.
www.aclsretail.com
CHALLENGER DIESEL AUTOHEAT 2, 4 OR 6 kWh DIESEL AIR HEATER FULLY FITTED
Challenger, Eberspacher, Webasto, diesel heating specialists for sales and repairs.
It comes with this control unit that will connect to a WiFi and then can be controlled from anywhere using the app. Also has bluetooth if the van doesn't have wifi. This control unit seems better than anything Eber or Webasto offer.
Ignite Advanced Wifi Diesel Heater Controller
Challenger, Eberspacher, Webasto diesel heating specialists for sales and repairs.
Another chinese model at a higher price!
Better control units though.
I like the claim that you can switch the heater on from anywhere in the world! So if your van is in the UK you can switch it on from Australia! Pointless gimmick IMHO. Better - I am not so sure, people do seem to like shiny bright lights and screens on things for some reason though.
Switching mine on from 1000m away with the standard remote is more than enough.
Switching mine on from 1000m away with the standard remote is more than enough.
Thanks. I’ve had a quick look, but can’t find info on this standard remote. Is it through an app?I like the claim that you can switch the heater on from anywhere in the world! So if your van is in the UK you can switch it on from Australia! Pointless gimmick IMHO. Better - I am not so sure, people do seem to like shiny bright lights and screens on things for some reason though.
Switching mine on from 1000m away with the standard remote is more than enough.
By app I presume that you mean on a mobile phone? I don't have a mobile so don't know what you mean! I should think that the Thermocall TC4 would satisfy your craving for bling.
My remote is a HTM100
My remote is a HTM100
Interesting (the HTM100).
I didn’t know about that. I don’t suppose you know if there is an eberspacher equivalent?
Don't know - I know very little about Eberspächers really. Just have a few manuals basically.
Thanks for the reply.
Sorry, another question.
Would that remote work with:
webasto air top 2000 stc 12v heater kit with hd multi contoller and internal vw t5 t6 fitting kit - Kirknalls Ltd
webasto air top 2000 stc diesel heater with hd multi controller timer to fit the vw t5 and t6
kirknalls.co.uk
TIA
After about 12 weeks of research, I came to the following conclusion. It's just my opinion and thoughts so I hope it does not offend anyone:
- The Planar/Autoterms offering is a good quality product at a reasonable price. I just can't give my money to a Russian company fronting as a Latvian. 3 year warranty as standard.
- The Chinese cheap items have a pretty bad reputation. It seems there is a lot of highly inflated/manipulated reviews out there which just don't add up and seem very suspect to me. You get what you pay for and a diesel heater for £200 speaks volumes. No warranties.
- The Webasto and Eberspacher products are very expensive. No denying that but to be honest, this is my first foray into owning a campervan and it seems just about everything is expensive. On the plus side, both these manufacturers offer 3 year warranties. Reviews are very positive with any issues dealt with fairly under warranty.
There are a few other options such as the diesel heater and hob combo which seems a good alternative but a bit complicated for my needs. Given that I am in for around £40K investment of my T6, and that I take my family on holiday in it, I am not keen on the Chinese crap and frankly I am actively avoiding as much of it as I can. (Even though nearly everything is made there these days and my house is full of it!) That leaves me with the Webasto and Eberspacher - time to suck it up and convince myself that it's a sound investment of quality items and a good back-up warranty....
- Pricing: There are plenty of installers around and the pricing for a Webasto or Eberspacher seems to vary between £1200 fitted including VAT to £1500 fitted including VAT. Bodans is about the best at £1200 for the Webasto (not sure if that's including the HD timer/programmer or standard dial) but It's too far out of my way for 2 days to fit. Other places are similar pricing but all too far away for me so I have chosen a local installer with a good reputation who is just 15miles down the road from me. Not the cheapest just shy of £1500 including VAT but more convenient for me.
- The Planar/Autoterms offering is a good quality product at a reasonable price. I just can't give my money to a Russian company fronting as a Latvian. 3 year warranty as standard.
- The Chinese cheap items have a pretty bad reputation. It seems there is a lot of highly inflated/manipulated reviews out there which just don't add up and seem very suspect to me. You get what you pay for and a diesel heater for £200 speaks volumes. No warranties.
- The Webasto and Eberspacher products are very expensive. No denying that but to be honest, this is my first foray into owning a campervan and it seems just about everything is expensive. On the plus side, both these manufacturers offer 3 year warranties. Reviews are very positive with any issues dealt with fairly under warranty.
There are a few other options such as the diesel heater and hob combo which seems a good alternative but a bit complicated for my needs. Given that I am in for around £40K investment of my T6, and that I take my family on holiday in it, I am not keen on the Chinese crap and frankly I am actively avoiding as much of it as I can. (Even though nearly everything is made there these days and my house is full of it!) That leaves me with the Webasto and Eberspacher - time to suck it up and convince myself that it's a sound investment of quality items and a good back-up warranty....
- Pricing: There are plenty of installers around and the pricing for a Webasto or Eberspacher seems to vary between £1200 fitted including VAT to £1500 fitted including VAT. Bodans is about the best at £1200 for the Webasto (not sure if that's including the HD timer/programmer or standard dial) but It's too far out of my way for 2 days to fit. Other places are similar pricing but all too far away for me so I have chosen a local installer with a good reputation who is just 15miles down the road from me. Not the cheapest just shy of £1500 including VAT but more convenient for me.
I agree, it's a bit of a minefield.
I also would have probably chosen the Russian one, before this year.
However from the research I have done, and it is by no means conclusive, I am not convinced the Chinese ones are as bad. The real weaknesses seem to be noisy fuel pumps and less effective exhaust mufflers. Both of these are easily replaceable with better items. It seems that a lot of the parts for the 2 premium brands are made in China as well.
One thing I would like to do is set up Wifi in the van. Then connect my heater controller to this so I can switch the heater on remotely. However the 2 premium ones would not connect to this and would need another Simm card. Both the premium brands used to have a fob remote to do this but seems they have both dropped this. The only one I could find is a control unit that is called Challenger and works with the Chinese heaters that are digital controlled. I have yet to work out if it would work the Webasto/Eberspacher.
So my choice is pick the very expensive premium ones that don't do what I want, or a cheaper Chinese one that does exactly what I want, with the bonus the control unit is the best looking and most modern of the 3.
Such a difficult decision.
There is some promising evidence that a few of the Chinese ones are getting much better however the issue I see is that many do not have any simple safety devices such as overheat or flame-out detection. Glow plugs fail after 3 to 6 months and fans have cheap bearings which are very noisy. Most don't pass any of the EU safety standards either. It would have to be an informed choice really.
I looked at the pre-installed sim interface options for both of the Webasto and Eberspacher. Not cheap. Do you want to have full web-interface control through wi-fi only? It looks like there are pins on both products where you can connect a can/mod-bus signal to make a simple on or off command. After-market kit here: Webasto W-bus Functions Remote Module | eBay
As both of these products appear to have full data-bus capabilities for integration into a vehicle's system so there must be a way of controlling more functions remotely? It's out of my limited scope but someone must be able to find the list of commands which can be sent through a can/mod-bus or whichever data protocol is used for these. I have seen Volvos and BMWs which can remotely operate the auxy heating through their respective car-connect systems. Most car makers use Webasto or Eberspacher generic heaters connected to the car's can interface.
Last edited:
There's some interesting IoT projects here where a community is using a RasberryPi based system to interface with Webasto heaters in their vehicles. Webasto monitoring and controlling with AutoPi
Seems the Webasto W-bus connection is the same as K-Line. These AutoPi devices can connect via wifi to provide control over the heaters remotely. This stuff is for enthusiasts/experts though and a way above my understanding...
Seems the Webasto W-bus connection is the same as K-Line. These AutoPi devices can connect via wifi to provide control over the heaters remotely. This stuff is for enthusiasts/experts though and a way above my understanding...
I would like something like this, not sure if it can be connected to the Eberspacher or Webasto:
CHALLENGER DIESEL AUTOHEAT 2, 4 OR 6 kWh DIESEL AIR HEATER FULLY FITTED
Challenger, Eberspacher, Webasto, diesel heating specialists for sales and repairs.
These ones are getting good reviews:
m.vevor.co.uk
VEVOR Diesel Heater | VEVOR UK
Get free shipping on qualified Diesel Heater in the Automotive Department at lowest price and fastest delivery in 2 days.
There's an email to contact. Might be worth asking as it's likely they also operate on the K-line/W-bus protocol. If they do, then it should work on an Eberspacher.I would like something like this, not sure if it can be connected to the Eberspacher or Webasto:
View attachment 175088
CHALLENGER DIESEL AUTOHEAT 2, 4 OR 6 kWh DIESEL AIR HEATER FULLY FITTED
Challenger, Eberspacher, Webasto, diesel heating specialists for sales and repairs.
I found a project site which says these do not communicate with Webasto or Eberspacher. They are not K-line.
Also, found this group on FB. If you are thinking of buying a Chinese heater then it will give you a fair idea of the problems they face. The official chinese diesel heater troubleshooting & support group | Facebook
Also, found this group on FB. If you are thinking of buying a Chinese heater then it will give you a fair idea of the problems they face. The official chinese diesel heater troubleshooting & support group | Facebook
