I just traded a couple of aluminum deck plates I found on a dive recently for a used Espar D2 heater a buddy of mine had that had been used as a boat heater. I need to get it in to be serviced. I'm in Long Beach. Lots of boats and trucks around the harbor that are using these units but the closest service location I've been able to find is in Fontana. I'd love to find something closers for service and install if anyone could point me in the right direction?
Also, from the manual and discussion I've seen in this thread it looks like these units are designed to be mounted inside. If it were housed properly would there be any issues with mounting it externally and ducting the heated air into the Van? I like the peace of mind that if a leak in the exhaust line ever popped up it wouldn't affect us inside.
Thanks for any input, looking forward to some warm nights this winter!
If it's mounted properly you won't have issues with exhaust leaks, especially into the cabin. I installed mine over a year ago with no prior experience and it's been great.
Don't deviate from the directions and you'll be fine.
As I type from my very warm (72 deg) rig despite the outside temps last night being 46.
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Rob.
Current:
2001 E350 PSD w/ a bunch of stuff.
And had three other E350s...
What about noise reduction by mounting externally? In one maintenance video I watched the unit sounded pretty loud at startup. Doe's the heater kicking on at night wake you up?
I like being cozy but I like my sleep too..
I installed ours last Fall and think it is fantastic. I found a spot for it under the couch in our 50 plan and it purrs along on cold nights without being a distraction. These heaters are quite loud when they first fire up but will quiet down as the fan moderates to adjust output. The exhaust is quite loud outside the rig at this time as well but we added a muffler which cut that noise down considerably. We don't hear any exhaust noise inside the van.
I agree with Bbasso - install as directed and you shouldn't have any complaints.
Joe
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Joe
2003 EB50 7.3L PSD Q4X4
2000 Chevy Express 3500 High Top EB37 - Sold
2003 EB30 - Sold
Thanks for heads up about the air intake. Mine is routed down then up then down again to prevent anything from getting in and if it does it hopefully will get stuck in the bend going up... so it seems to work well because nearly two years have gone by and D4 is still working great.
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Rob.
Current:
2001 E350 PSD w/ a bunch of stuff.
And had three other E350s...
Turns out my fuel supply line had touched the exshust and melted it. So I had diesil spraying out and running down my exhaust and fresh air supply amkingnit smoke to hell.