Diesel Heater Non Starter

No you shouldn't need winter diesel, as for the fuel trickly through the pump, sounds suss and obviously not what you expect either, if the pump sounds ok I would be checking the obvious, plenty of fuel in tank, no valves turned off, filters, power supply to pump ok etc?

Cheers
Leigh

How old is the diesel, some have been have been having trouble with waxing.
Also check the orientation of the fuel pump, it should be mounted at least 15° off horizontal with the delivery side to heater uppermost.
Is the fuel tank breather clear?

Hullo John

We have a D4 as well and always "pickle" the diesel with kero - 1/2 litre of kero per tank.
No trouble starting, even in cold temps.

Cheers
Andrew

Hi Guys
I have a diesel heater from DHA and also have a few problems. I had to shorten the fuel line from tank to pump is about 8 inches and from pump to heater about 25 inches. I placed the tank on the ground under the rear wheel of the van.
The heater fires up OK ( sometimes ) but the heat blowing out goes cool after 2-3 hours of operation.
Any suggestions would also help
Thanks
Grant

Thanks fellows,
Will try and investigate further.
John

Mine wouldn't fire up for it's maintenence run a few weeks ago due to low battery. Could try that.
Paul

John E
I have a Wabasto unit in my van and if I obtain diesel on the Gold Coast and then go to Stanthorpe in winter the fuel will wax up, I have found that a 10% mix using ULP will do the job, also protecting the tank from the elements does help.

I normally carry some ULP to power the generator, I do not normally carry kerosene.

Hope this helps
Regards
Athol

John E,

Are you getting an error code on the electronic controller and if so, is it 52

If so, the problem is fuel supply. As others have said, the fuel will gel. Also, there is a small wire gauze filter on the inlet side of the pump. You might have to check it to see if its clogged.

I bought an inline filter for mine and also use the kero/diesel mix and have had no problems since doing all that.

Cheers,

Cruiser

I use a 50/50 mix for summer storage and in winter its 90% diesel and 10% Kero

Hope this helps

Cheers,

Cruiser

John,
Check the air intake is clear. I had mine fitted under the bed, and a bag had moved and partially blocked the intake. It had all the symptoms you have said, and I had bought kerosene to reduce waxing and never needed it. Of course we were in near zero temps when it failed, which put me off the track.

Hope it is as simple,

Bill

Thanks again for all your replies.
At this stage , have changed the diesel, no blockages ,Diesel flows through ok to and out of pump. pump is on the right angle.
Taking it in to a Dometic service agent next week, before going off road.
John

We've never had a problem with cold freezing the diesel, and camped in alot of freezing places....but 3 possibles, already mentioned actually...
1. Make sure the pump is pumping in an uphill direction, up to 30 deg uphill, check it hasn't been bumped or hit with something.
2. Make sure the inlet inside the van isn't blocked or even nearly blocked, the computer is very touchy and won't kick in if it doesn't have full flow air at the inlet.
3.Check that the battery in the van is well charged, our's stopped during the night once, everything else in the van was working fine, but the battery's had dropped below 12v, maybe 11v from memory, and the diesel heater didn't think much of that and decided to cut out.

cheers, and good luck, we can't live without our diesel heater..

John E
I also have a diesel heater in my van here in Tassy my fuel line I used is a heavier gauge than the one supplied with the heater and all bends I done with metal brake line hose and also enclosed the full fuel line inside a larger rubber hose mainly for protection .I run it on straight diesel with some Chemtec added .When I installed it I also put some stainless steel fly wire inside the inside heater air intake thinking I was doing a good job this got choked wit dust particles and the heater would only go for around ten minutes before cutting out .could then manually restart but do the same thing eventually removed the gauze I had put in the air intake and from there she ran like a kitten. Now fire the heater up monthly and no problems so check the air intake inside the van for blockages
Terry

Thanks again ,
I am booked in for service on Tuesday. The idea of a bigger hose sounds good. Will let you all know the outcome.
John

One last thing that you could check, wasp or spider nest in the combustion intake or exhaust.

Further to my heater fuel problem. Service agent says it needs a new pump due to dirt and water having set in it. There was water in the tank and I have drained it twice an rinsed with metho as per instructions. The suggestion from service agent was that condensation caused the water. It is a twenty litre aluminium tank located within a vented front aluminium box on the drawbar. Is it likely that the condensation could cause a small amount of water during a 24hour period?? I am reluctant to fit a new pump until I know how the water got in.

Thanks for your help,
John