[Clever Forum Name]

Hi Spruce, just wanted to pick your brains please.

You said

I'm not sure why you want that amount of water as a single operator unless you are away from base regularly.

I have a swb Relay with a twin operator DIY system. On my own I hardly ever use more than half a tank, maybe 400 liters on occassion.

If you are going the heat on demand heater, then gas is the cheapest and best way forward. The gas heater most favoured of late is a 16kw heater, so well able to keep up with a single or even twin operator system.

A diesel heater driven by a 5kw heater will only just keep your brush warm. A 9kw heater will do better but these are expensive to run and maintain.

So whats the advantages of using diesel over gas then, as i was dead set on diesel  

Thank you

[Clever Forum Name]

56 views and spruce ain't one 

[ben M]

56 views and spruce ain't one 

73 now 

[Clever Forum Name]

I bet spruce has checked it 50 times and is winding me up lmao.

[Spruce]

Sorry guys,
I'm having Internet problems since Virgin Media has rebooted system. Explorer isn't working this afternoon or evening.

Diesel was always credited as being a safer medium than gas.

For me, I started messing around with a diesel heater about 6 years ago, which was probably when gas was in its infancy with the L5 heater.

I didn't like the idea of the gas heater venting into the van, or having to leave the back doors open to vent it. When the tankless heaters from China started to gain popularity, I didn't fancy cutting a hole in the van's roof for the vent, mainly because sod's law would then kick in and I would find another more convenient place in the van.

A diesel heater requires 2 small holes in the van's floor, 1 for the inlet and the other for the exhaust - much better than a 5" hole cut in the roof.

I was also worried about the gas bottle issue, but always thought the if I ever went the gas route, I would fit and LPG tank and LPG filler.

As I mentioned, my recent experience is that an expensive 9kw diesel heater (Webasto 90s only) which costs over a grand new is still a long way short of the Chinese imports of 16kw for £129.99 (was £79.99).

From a costing point of view, you can get a gas heater in your van for around £500 including roof vent, piping etc  depending on how far your go.

A diesel heater costs around 6 times that.

Maintenance is also quite costly on a diesel heater. A service will set you back about £500 if they have to replace the ignitor. You can buy a couple of spare gas heaters for that price.

 

[Clever Forum Name]

Thanks for the post spruce. So are you saying the only advantage is not having to carry a gas bottle?

[andyM]

The diesel heaters do sound a bit troublesome.
If you do a search on here you should find some posts about it.
 http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=166665.0

[Spruce]

Thanks for the post spruce. So are you saying the only advantage is not having to carry a gas bottle?

They are conveniently connected up to the van tank so another tank isn't necessary.

One supplier does offer to fit a second tank on the assumption that the heater will be cheaper to run if the owner uses red (agricultural) diesel.

Webasto have had a lot of adverse publicity over the last couple of years from boat owners who have had endless trouble using red diesel which is supplied on all Marinas as boats are allowed to use this fuel.

Webasto have concluded that road diesel is the most ideal fuel to use although one of the marine outlets advises users to use Kerosene. (Webasto haven't confirmed this is a suitable fuel).

For a window cleaning business with employees, a diesel heater is preferable as a safer product for staff to use. Can an employer always be sure that is employee will turn the gas off at the gas bottle every time he moves the van? An employer usually has to take responsibility for the actions of his staff even if he isn't there at the time, whereas a single business owner operator will take responsibility for his own actions.

Given the right conditions a gas leak from a gas bottle can cause a major explosion, which may frighten some people. Gas regulations in commercial and residential properties only allowing qualified Corgi (what ever it is now) engineers to touch gas powered equipment have added to people's hesitation.