Night heater - questions on this fitout

[stevelaing]

Hi all just bought. 2018 Danbury surf kingthere was no night heater but was agreed it would get 1 fitted, after all we stay in the Highlands
Bit dubious on how this has been fitted
There is onboard water tank right behind the drivers seat
And the heater is approx 3.5" away from it and it gets quite hot,
The temp in the van is up 5degree in an hour, as when the seat is in its driving position, there is no vent
also the exhaust from heater is directed to the silencer approx 4" is that a good idea ?
Any thoughts on this would be most helpfull,
This work was carried out by a professional

 

[stevelaing]

Sorry forgot to add a over all piccheers

Steve

 

[Higgidav]

Looks like an Autoterm Planar heater. Personally I would be asking for my money back and take it somewhere who can fit one properly.

I would get one fitted underneath the van in the OEM position and ducted to a suitable outlet position.

 

[hoggle]

Hi Steve, @oldiebut goodie is your man to ask all things Diesel heaters on here.
Maybe drop him a PM asking his advice on this matter if he doesen't read this.
But to my untrained Eye, the outlet vent should be no where near anything that close. Though i may be proved wrong.
And there is normally ducting connected to the Heater and vented to a outlet vent grill.

 

[oldiebut goodie]

Putting it bluntly - an absolute balls up!
There is no way that the hot air should be directed onto a piece of the furniture like that. Depending upon the heater fitted average temp at the outlet is around 100 degrees but can reach 115 - 120.
A silencer should be fitted close to the exhaust outlet from the heater, not waving about on the end like that. The fact that it is pointed at the silencer that close isn't that bad but recommendation is that the exhaust should run to the side of the van and also point downwards at the end. ( I know that OEM fit directs the exhaust to the middle of the van but I disagree with that because there is a possibility of gas collecting under the van and rising through to the interior if you have any drop out vents in the van )

I would ask for your money back as they obviously haven't a clue about safe heater installation. Professional my arse!

 

[Farnorthsurfer]

You may also find that the Autoterm wiring loom is bundled up under the seat in a big nest.
The loom is very long as it comes, might be good news if you get it relocated.
There are photos of an external fit in my build thread.
@oldiebut goodie helped me with the wiring and plumbing questions that were badly covered in the installation manual.
I did have the remote Simcom unit but gave up trying to keep it working.
The heater works fine and does the job for the price I paid.

 

[Bigsidavies]

That looks like let’s fit this the easiest cheapest way we can.
However, going forward, the elephant in the room is the position of that water tank.
All the heater installs I’ve seen have the hot air outlet vent either out of the back of the seat base or up through the floor behind the driver’s seat.
My guess is that has put the job in the ‘too hard to do’ bracket and they’ve bodged it.
However, they obviously don’t know what they are doing, especially fitting the exhaust pipes the wrong way round. The flexi goes after the silencer so it can be angled to direct the exhaust gas in the chosen direction-at least it does on mine.

 

[Linoleum Bonypart]

Yes easier to move the water tank

 

[bobbybasic]

Hot water onboard. Bonus.

 

[SamD]

they should have fitted it under the van below the drivers step and then brought the pipe up under the seat, the inlet on mine is in the footwell and then the outlet points into the back of the van. you can fit them under the seat like they have done but personally under the van is better as it takes up less space and it cuts down on noise. Autoterm are based in Wrexham from memory, so you could take it to them or find someone better to refit it.

 

[stevelaing]

Looks like an Autoterm Planar heater. Personally I would be asking for my money back and take it somewhere who can fit one properly.

I would get one fitted underneath the van in the OEM position and ducted to a suitable outlet position.

Still waiting what the dealer says, thanks for your thoughts on this

 

[stevelaing]

Hot water onboard. Bonus.

More like legionnaire disease

 

[stevelaing]

Yes easier to move the water tank

And some duck tape to cover the water inlet hole

 

[stevelaing]

Putting it bluntly - an absolute balls up!
There is no way that the hot air should be directed onto a piece of the furniture like that. Depending upon the heater fitted average temp at the outlet is around 100 degrees but can reach 115 - 120.
A silencer should be fitted close to the exhaust outlet from the heater, not waving about on the end like that. The fact that it is pointed at the silencer that close isn't that bad but recommendation is that the exhaust should run to the side of the van and also point downwards at the end. ( I know that OEM fit directs the exhaust to the middle of the van but I disagree with that because there is a possibility of gas collecting under the van and rising through to the interior if you have any drop out vents in the van )

I would ask for your money back as they obviously haven't a clue about safe heater installation. Professional my arse!

Yer it did look dodgy to me, awaiting dealer to get back to me, thanks

 

[stevelaing]

You may also find that the Autoterm wiring loom is bundled up under the seat in a big nest.
The loom is very long as it comes, might be good news if you get it relocated.
There are photos of an external fit in my build thread.
@oldiebut goodie helped me with the wiring and plumbing questions that were badly covered in the installation manual.
I did have the remote Simcom unit but gave up trying to keep it working.
The heater works fine and does the job for the price I paid.

Yep will have a look for the ball of wire, thanks

 

[stevelaing]

Yes easier to move the water tank

Nah I don't think that would happen, could use duck tape to cover the water holecap outside

 

[stevelaing]

That looks like let’s fit this the easiest cheapest way we can.
However, going forward, the elephant in the room is the position of that water tank.
All the heater installs I’ve seen have the hot air outlet vent either out of the back of the seat base or up through the floor behind the driver’s seat.
My guess is that has put the job in the ‘too hard to do’ bracket and they’ve bodged it.
However, they obviously don’t know what they are doing, especially fitting the exhaust pipes the wrong way round. The flexi goes after the silencer so it can be angled to direct the exhaust gas in the chosen direction-at least it does on mine.

Is there anything that would stop putting it under the passenger seat, there seems enough room and a panel to make a proper vent

 

[stevelaing]

they should have fitted it under the van below the drivers step and then brought the pipe up under the seat, the inlet on mine is in the footwell and then the outlet points into the back of the van. you can fit them under the seat like they have done but personally under the van is better as it takes up less space and it cuts down on noise. Autoterm are based in Wrexham from memory, so you could take it to them or find someone better to refit it.

Yer will wait and see what the dealer says, typical we bought it 90 miles away, thanks for the input

 

[oldiebut goodie]

Name and shame so that others can avoid them.

 

[DXX]

The temp in the van is up 5degree in an hour,

Aside from the dubious installation, raising the temperature of the van just 5 degrees in one hour is pretty crap. Say you come back from a days winter walking and the van is at ambient temp of around 3 degrees, would you be happy to sit in your outdoor clothes for hours until the van warms up.
I’d like to assume that Danbury vans are insulated but some converters don’t insulate.
Get your money back.