I think all the deisel heaters have some sort of thermostat. Our Eberspacher certainly does. Some are much more sophisticated than others - some can be controlled remotely from your phone. Some just have a dial. Ours is a simple digital one.

 

Ive got a erberspatcher d2 and have a Remote+ controller as well as the easystart 7 day controller, the Remote+ has a separate thermostat in the van which controls the heating. Im pretty sure the standard controller measures the air temp going back in the air intake.

 

Thanks guys. I'm presuming the remote+ can be added to a standard D2 setup? ? not so fussed about the 7 day programmer thing.

 

Technically it's not hard to add one - Webasto also make a thermostat kit, which I believe is based on a Heatmiser unit. The Webasto/Eber branded ones do seem ridiculously expensive, though.

The practical issue is noise. An Eber/Webasto may seem only a bit noisy during the daytime, but it's going to be a different matter when one fires up at three in the morning!

I have held off fitting the Heatmiser thermostat that I bought a couple of years ago for that reason. If I'm on hookup I prefer to use a much quieter electric heater, and if I'm away from hookup I just use an extra blanket...

 

I think it can be, just had both in case i loose or damage the remote then i can use the 7 day timer, as for noise when its at to temp it drops down and you can hardly hear it and the wildlife make more noise, we had an oil filled radiator for 3 years and having to always have hook up limited our choices and the space it took up

 

as for noise when its at to temp it drops down and you can hardly hear it

Agreed - my Webasto is almost whisper quiet when up to temperature (and the Eber on my previous van was only slightly louder) but the problem is that you can't avoid the full-tilt warm-up part if it's been off for a while (with a thermostat it could be off for hours and only come on when the temperature drops during the night). If that happens you - and the people in nearby tents - will all have to be a very sound sleepers or you will be woken up by it...

 

If you go for an MV Airo one they come with a dual operation controller:
They can either a) operate as per the Webasto ie thermostat switches on and off, unit fires up and winds down with the associated noises, or b) switch it to a fixed output mode, ie turn the temperature knob up or down and it pumps out more or less heat at a constant output level - so at bed time you can just switch it to minimal heat output constantly and it does exactly that so you get a constant low level fan noise without the switching on and off you get with thermostat mode.

I run mine that way just because it doesn't wake me up during the night.

Cheers
Rob
Kiravans

 

Didn't quite consider the noise of the unit. I had an E39 BMW a couple of years back with a factory fitted Eberspacer which wasn't too loud, but kicked out a heck of a lot of smoke from the exhaust. I just pulled the fuse as I never used it. Haha!

What sort of cost are these then? Whilst we're converting on a budget, I'd be interested to know what unit to look for second hand Are they easily serviceable? Are parts for Eber, Webasto and MV Airo's easily available?

Thanks in advance T:

 

This is the man you want to speak to as he does recon units http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/member.php?u=29489 . He fitted mine, what this controller does is gets it up to temp then just ticks over to maintain temp so does not switch off then cut back in keeping the noise at a minimum , yeh when you first start it there a bit of smoke but then when warmed up there is hardly a sniff.

 

The noise isn't too bad and campsites tend to be quieter in winter!

At glenmore last winter there were a few vans with the diesel whine going at 3am, but I only noticed it when I went for my 3am toilet visit! I can't hear any others from in our van.

Ian

 

I had e a Truma E2400 gas heater which is thermostat controlled and is as quite as a diesel heater
and Im in the process of fitting the same heater in my new van T: