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Old 08-28-2018, 03:07 PM   #11
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Run it frequently? I don't run mine for 6 months (or so) at a time and never had a failure to perform.

I would suggest pulling the fuel line off the pump that provides fuel to the unit and see if fuel comes out. If so let it run some fuel through the lines then connect it back to the unit and try firing it up again.

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Old 09-03-2018, 11:56 AM   #12
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Sorry for the non-responses here as I was out and about on a 5 day much needed motorcycle trip around western CO.

Yes, I have the high altitude kit and switch that on every time as part of the ritual. I am going to pull the inlet filter first and take a look at that. I have the tank pretty much empty right now in case that I had to drop the tank. I'll go get a half tank or so and try it many, many times. I even have a tape pull tab on the fuse for the heater as SMB says you have to reset it now and then after trying to start it up. I'll see what happens tomorrow.

Thanks.
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Old 09-03-2018, 02:06 PM   #13
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Letting the tank get near empty is a problem. The Espar fuel pickup hose does not extend to the bottom of the tank. I never let it go less than a quarter tank but it has gone to one eighth or so without letting air in the espar fuel line. Every install may be a little different, but it is a good general practice. One time I nearly ran out of fuel before a fill station appeared, but it was summertime and I didn't need the heater for a while. Later on I injected diesel fuel into the heater lines (near the little pumps) with a syringe to prime them and it fired up fine.
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Old 09-03-2018, 05:39 PM   #14
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The instructions that came with my D4 said to mount the pickup 1 inch from the bottom on a flat tank...
Which leaves approximately 2 to 3 gallons of fuel. I can run down my fuel gauge to the low side of E and still fire up the heater.
Don't forget about the proper angle the pump needs to be. It does effect the performance. (A tree branch knocked mine off angle and the heater still fired but I could hear a difference.)
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Old 09-06-2018, 02:33 PM   #15
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So... got it going again thanks to you all. I got the little screen out that sits at the base of the fuel pump and it was a bit icky for lack of a better word. Cleaned it out as suggested then put it back together with new clamps. Had to run the startup sequence 4 times which equals 8 tries by the system then it fired up. Pulled and replaced the furnace fuse after each pair of cycles.

Thinking back on what could have happened is that we got low on fuel on the GC trip and that's where the trouble started. Another time after that, we were too low on fuel too so the system basically pumped itself dry. Geez, I would think I would have figured this out by now from reading all the threads on this stuff.

Thanks again for your help and encouragement.
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Old 09-23-2018, 06:08 PM   #16
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Back to this thread again as the heater will not fire up. Camped up at 11.5k feet and the heater would not fire up and neither would the water heater. I was told at purchase that I have the high altitude kit and to use it, flip the lighted switch and all would be good. Now I wonder WTF I really have. I think the little thingie second from left is the altitude sensor but now not sure it's wired correctly per below.

Still could not get it to fire again once we got back home but during many, many start sequences it did manage to get a lot of gray smoke from the exhaust.

The guys at Thermo-King PHX overstepped what I wanted them to do and re-wired the SMB wiring so I now think they f'd it up. Technician said they had it wired up all wrong so he "fixed" it. Of course they did not ask if I wanted them to do that or not but it was done.

Attached is a photo of my setup with the furnace being on the left and the water heater on the right. My wife did get the water heater working and got hot water out of the faucet so that makes me think the heater is jacked up. Thermo King Denver guy says he will take it all apart and sandblast it clean and put in all new stuff so looks like a trip to Denver soon.

I am going to try to get underneath and disconnect the air inlet pipe and blow it out to see if by chance it is clogged up as the error code "could" be lack of fuel or lack of air.

Any comments on operation with this setup? Worked before.

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Old 10-05-2018, 11:39 AM   #17
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Got this D4 Espar unit partially pulled but I am not wiggly enough to get it all the way out. Before I started on this part of the project I noticed that it appears that the diesel fuel is leaking out. Really goopy and sticky dirt around the outside base of the unit. Got it pulled enough to check the fuel hose connection and it is tight. Fuel seems to be leaking out of the unit somewhere else and is all over the exhaust and intake tubing.

Still won't fire up but the water heater will. So off to Thermo King Denver to get it fixed next week and hope they can. They did say they had a new D2 in stock and could install that but not sure if it is plug-n-play or not but looking at the installation manual it appears they are the same size. I could go this way IF the D4 is somehow f'd up inside and needs more parts to fix.

Question is would the D2 at 7500 BTU be sufficient where the D4 puts out 13,650? When it used to work the D4 was more than enough to heat the interior of the van even with the top up. Price for the final removal, complete (normal) rebuild and install of the D4 is $525 where the D2 would be new at $750 plus $100 installation.

New is good but I'll have to wait to see what they find when they get it out.
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Old 10-05-2018, 03:52 PM   #18
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The little thingy is actually the remote temp sensor. As far as the heat capacity, I have the B4, the gas equivalent to the D4. I am a bit partial to having the larger unit. But it really depends if you camp in the winter and what your comfort level is.
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Old 10-05-2018, 03:57 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Flux View Post
D2 will do the job, D4 will do it better.
X2




The message you have entered is too short. Please lengthen your message to at least 10 characters.
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Old 10-05-2018, 04:00 PM   #20
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Yep.




B4 is same output as D4. Cranks!!! Hit low 30's last trip out and I am not done for the year yet. Probably do a couple winter runs to snowboard and fish the eastern sierra. So yeah. Love the extra BTU's
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