Espar Heater Problems - Page 7

kzemach · 01-02-2009, 11:46 AM

This has been a really nice thread. My 2006 Espar has never worked continuously from day one, but has USUALLY run for about 15 minutes before stopping with an error code (F08, F12, or F52; any and all of them as I recall), which is enough to get the van warm. Have done no maintenance, although I like the kerosene idea. It's gonna be parked for a year unused, so perhaps I'll do the kerosene trick when I get back. Or, just re-read the thread and see what everyone else has figured out!

Several people here have talked of pictures. A picture tutorial of getting to it, getting the top off, and various fixes would be appreciated. Perhaps do that in the known issues thread.

Railvan · 01-12-2009, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kzemach

Several people here have talked of pictures. A picture tutorial of getting to it, getting the top off, and various fixes would be appreciated. Perhaps do that in the known issues thread.

Well, I am pulling my Espar out of the van today. I'd like to have a chat with the guy who decided it was a good idea to install the heater and then build the cabinets around it... I ended up cutting out part of the cabinet wall near the heater as it was the only way to reach two of the four screws that held the heater to the floor.

I do have photos but they'll have to wait a bit longer. I just have to diconnect the fuel line from the bottom of the heater and it will be fully out of the van.

Oh yeah, I did make a second trip to Kent for service at ThermoKing last Monday. They spent four hours of labor checking it out, and didn't get it to run, and then told me it would have to be removed and have the chamber cleaned. And they didn't have the gasket in stock that is needed when the heater goes back together, so I have to wait two weeks until they get it. Then, I can make another 4 hour round trip to get it serviced. They are charging me way more per hour than I make at my job, so I didn't want them spending hours just getting the heater out of the van. Hence, I decided to pull it out of the van myself.

This Espar furnace is a great theory, but the real world application leaves a lot to be desired... Sigh...

Brian

LanduytG · 01-20-2009, 05:30 PM

I would like to say HI to everyone here. My name is Greg and I'm the guy that sells SMB the Espar's they install. Give me a few days and I will post some part numbers with prices and a TSB about the carbon issue.

What I would like now is to know at what altitude you operate the heater at most of the time, fuel used, and how much the heater runs on low speed.

Greg

Railvan · 01-20-2009, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LanduytG

I would like to say HI to everyone here. My name is Greg and I'm the guy that sells SMB the Espar's they install. Give me a few days and I will post some part numbers with prices and a TSB about the carbon issue.

What I would like now is to know at what altitude you operate the heater at most of the time, fuel used, and how much the heater runs on low speed.

Greg

Hi Greg,

Thanks for posting to this forum.

I'm adding Amsoil additives, the Cetane Boost Diesel Fuel Additive and the Diesel Fuel Additive Concentrate. I add the amount suggested on the bottles. This was at the suggestion of the folks at SMBW when the ULSD fuel came out. Alan said at the 2007 SMB rally there was lots of talk about the ULSD and the Ford rep said to add additive to replace the lubrication that would be missing with less sulphur in the fuel.

I have the simple furnace controller with just the ON, OFF, and FAN settings, and a dial for temp control. Most of the time the furnace has run on the lower settings. (The service tech said I had 57 hours on the unit.) I also have the switch for low or high altitude. Most of the use is below 3,000 feet so it runs on setting "1" most all of the time.

I am headed to ThermoKingNW in Kent, WA this coming Monday for the third time to have the furnace cleaned and (hopefully) fixed. The service tech told me the unit should be serviced once a year. This would include cleaning the combustion chamber, which requires removing the unit from the van. If this is true, than I have to question the location picked by SMB to install the furnace. I had to cut out part of the wall of a cabinet to get to two of the four screws holding the unit down. Clearly it was not designed to be serviced once a year.

Regards,

Brian Rutherford

LanduytG · 01-20-2009, 07:02 PM

Brian
57 hours is hardly any use at all. Does it run on low a lot? As for servicing once a year I would say yes if it was used for several hundred hours a year. The carbon problem is due to the heater being over sized and the heater runs on low to much. If the combustion tube is not carbon ed up to bad it can be cleaned but if its bad it is almost cheaper to replace it. I have two TSB's that I would like to make available to everyone here. Is there a place on the forum to post them?

Greg

Railvan · 01-20-2009, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LanduytG

Brian
57 hours is hardly any use at all. Does it run on low a lot? As for servicing once a year I would say yes if it was used for several hundred hours a year. The carbon problem is due to the heater being over sized and the heater runs on low to much. If the combustion tube is not carbon ed up to bad it can be cleaned but if its bad it is almost cheaper to replace it. I have two TSB's that I would like to make available to everyone here. Is there a place on the forum to post them?

Greg

Greg,

I would say it has run at the middle of the temp dial most of the time. I was told recently by the service tech that it should be run on high 20 minutes a month to help keep it clean. I doubt it has run on high for 20 minutes total since it was new.

Brian

LanduytG · 01-20-2009, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by railbat

Quote:

Originally Posted by LanduytG

Brian
57 hours is hardly any use at all. Does it run on low a lot? As for servicing once a year I would say yes if it was used for several hundred hours a year. The carbon problem is due to the heater being over sized and the heater runs on low to much. If the combustion tube is not carbon ed up to bad it can be cleaned but if its bad it is almost cheaper to replace it. I have two TSB's that I would like to make available to everyone here. Is there a place on the forum to post them?

Greg

Greg,

I would say it has run at the middle of the temp dial most of the time. I was told recently by the service tech that it should be run on high 20 minutes a month to help keep it clean. I doubt it has run on high for 20 minutes total since it was new.

Brian

That is 99% of the issue. It needs to run on high to keep it clean. IMHO the heater should be wired so it runs on high when it does run. Yes you will have a little big temp swing but its better than having trouble.
I have tried to add the TSB's to this reply.
Greg

Railvan · 01-20-2009, 09:05 PM

Thank you very much for posting these TSBs.

Items 4 and 5 in the pre-season check list make it clear that the unit should have easy access to it, and that owners need to be told that they need to do yearly maintenance.

Now I know...

Brian

**daveb** · 01-21-2009, 11:24 PM

OK, I have a separate thermostat (located toward the rear bed) but I was under the impression that it only controls the Starcool A/C. Have I missed something all these years? I always thought that knob on the controller was the thermostat and it worked in cooperation with the little sensor located next to the controller/timer. I’m not grasping this set it to high thing.
Dave.

LanduytG · 01-22-2009, 05:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daveb

OK, I have a separate thermostat (located toward the rear bed) but I was under the impression that it only controls the Starcool A/C. Have I missed something all these years? I always thought that knob on the controller was the thermostat and it worked in cooperation with the little sensor located next to the controller/timer. I’m not grasping this set it to high thing.
Dave.

The control you are describing is the control for the Espar.
.
Greg