DIESEL HEATER FAILS in EXTREME COLD | IS THIS THE END OF OUR ARCTIC ROAD TRIP???
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- čas přidán 25. 03. 2023
- #vanlife #dieselheater #wintervanlife
After an initial diesel heater failure at -18.5°C (-1.3°F) that we fixed. We thought our problems were over but that was just the beginning. We then had a second breakdown at -32°C (-25.6°F) and no way to fix it! Could this be the end of our Arctic road trip?
This video highlights the need to have a working and vehical assured carbon monoxide alarm which is the main reason we have posted it.
For us it also highlighted the importance of our seperate diesel preheater.
Although these cirrcumastances were not ideal. We now know what we would do differently.
We would carry a full spare diesel heater unit with us in the furture and also probably a spare burn chamber or two as well as all of the spare parts we already had with us.
We have posted this short snippet of what happened on our journey to help other people avoid this happening to them if they are planning a similar winter road trip.
What went wrong? The fluctuating winter temperatures this year in Scandinavia initially caused the fuel pickup line fittings to contract allowing air to enter the fuel line.
This issue was resolved by retightening the clamps around the fittings and lead to us frequently checking all of the clamps throughout the rest of our journey as the same thing happened to our engine clasps aswell...so everything needed to be tightened up.
We believe the second issue may have been the result of the repriming of the diesel heater but we are still unsure. We were using Arctic winterized diesel which should not freeze in the temperatures we were in. So why the sealed component of the burn chamber blocked remains a mystery???
After replacing the burn chamber the heater has been working perfectly again! 🥰
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next time that happens blow hard into the air intake hose till it clears out. run it flat out, don,t play with temp settings if you are hot turn it off, then on if you feel chilly ,or it will happen again .
A guess:
When the 12v feed wire to the heater is too small then the igniter does not get hot enough to start the heater. It just smokes, eventually it might get hot enough to ignite but it may not. Increase the wire size, then the igniter gets it’s rated voltage and ignites the heater quickly with minimum smoke.
This is not your problem here however but it is relevant.
At -32C the battery voltage is likely to drop by 3 volts, down to 9 volts. I have noticed heaters work well down to 9-10 volts. Below that they are unable to regulate the rpm of the blower. At 9volts it is probably out of its capture range and the blower just continues to slow as the voltage drops. The pulse pump is unaffected, it still puts out the same fuel as if the fan is running at it’s set speed. This means the mixture is rich, incomplete combustion occurs, much CO is produced at the exhaust. CO alarm detects a wiff of this and alarm sounds….
When the heater is started in this cold, the battery voltage is down to eg. 10v, the igniter will not get it’s rated 12v so it does not get hot enough to ignite, just smokes a lot.
What is needed is a DC to DC regulator beside the heater. Eg 6 to 14 volts input gives 12 volts out. It would need to can handle 4-5amps, plus any surge current. Now regardless of the battery voltage the output feeding the heater is 12volts. The regulator needs to be able to handle the surge current of the igniter being turned on and also accept very low input voltages and still produce 12v.
Another issue is that lithium batteries do not like cold and are damaged at this temperature. I would put the batteries in the heated space to help restore their voltage and also capacity as they warm up, then they have a chance of lasting the night. The batteries are a weak point at these low temps and will suffer less damage if warmed up.
I went through 6 of those heaters. Never again. They make you so happy, at first.
I work through -45C in Alberta. I can relate to wanting to leave.
Another awesome video guys,loving the drone shots ,We are so glad you met Alex and managed to fix the diesel heater it is really dengerous with that extremely low temperatures at The Arctic 🥶 and We are happy that your Winter adventures didn't stop there and We met you 🤗 Safe travels 🚐
Thanks guys!!! So glad we met you too! How is your engine coming along? Hope you are both okay and it is all going to plan! 🥰
@@our.dailyadventure Waiting on the injectors to arrive tomorrow and fingers crossed all go to plan 🤞
I just subscribed to your channel. Hope you stay safe and warm.
Lovely
Beautiful video 😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀
你得清理柴油暖风机了，机器积碳过多 运行时就会有烟雾冒出。
I had this problem twice with my diesel Webasto on a winter trip to Lapland with my motorhome a few years ago. I managed to figure out the issue: diesel fuel froze up inside the pump under -20C and below.
As a rule, the pump is installed underneath the vehicle and is exposed to freezing temperatures outside which turns diesel inside the pump to gel.
My case was not an exception. An attempt of the Webasto climate control system to reignite gelled diesel resulted in smoke sucked into the cabin by the heater vent.
My solution was to move the pump inside the vehicle. It resolved the issue of the carbon plumes but resulted in the sound of the functioning pump becoming a bit louder than before :).
The problem can also be resolved by warming the pump with a 12V heating cord. Additional insulation of the pump will also be a wise thing to do.
Please consider using lpg propex heater is the best fuel source in the winter
Thanks for the suggestion! 😊 We don't have LPG in our van.
12 volt electric blanket!!! 2 of them !!!! I started using 12 volt electric blankets in 08. There Great !!! And battery drain is only I don't know 18%. If you have more than one battery there's no drain. At All. Really good zero degree sleeping bags Queen size. Teton Mammoth Sports Sleeping Bag Liner.. 91 X 58. Or two of them. But U Already knew All this ??????
We keep getting repeat comments. Please see the video description for any questions on carrying a spare heater 😊. We have acknowledged that an entire spare heater would have been beneficial plus a new burn chamber or two. We realised this quite early on! 🙈😂
The most important takeaway here is that you should always carry a working vehical assured carbon monoxide alarm as it could save your life! We were lucky enough to also have lots of things with us to keep us warm as we headed off to find somewhere a little less chilly to fix the van.
Without our engine preheater we also don't think our engine would have started so this is another must have for winter vanlife! 😊
Propex L.P. heater is the key..uh huh
some diesel will solidify or become gelly under extreme cold. Did you have a diesel additive that prevents it from solidifying under extreme cold?
Yep, we had winterized arctic diesel so it shouldn't have solidified in the burn chamber but we are still not sure exactly what caused it to block and produce as much back pressure as it did.
How long does the van take to start when your heater isn't working?
We cut the preheat short to 15-20mins when it broke down in -32 as it was getting very cold without the heater and she started absolutely fine! An engine preheater in our opinion is a must in these temperatures as lots of vans won't start up once you get into these cold temps without one!
#70subscribed
Thank you! 😊
This why women need men... and why men need women... its times like this where the false reality and narrative disappears!
Next time buy a proper diesel heater or have another one as backup.
What would you count as a "proper" diesel heater? If you mean a branded webasto unfortunately It would have made no difference 🙈. The issue started because the external fittings (that the webasto also has) expanded and contracted in the fluctuating temperatures. Thank you for the tip! A backup is a must have 😁. We have said in the video description that we would carry a spare heater in the future if we do anymore wintervanlife trips. 😊
Those Chinese diesel heaters are junk. Try to save a buck on a heater is stupid. Did you take it apart & clean it
not going to comment on what i think but just ask the question why on earth would anyone travel in constant sub zero temps for weeks without a second diesel heater fitted and working ???
they cost less than £100 and take 2 hours to fit....
its beyond me lol
I'm not to comment and then you spend the rest of the time commenting 😂