heaters

G'day Barry
I have two heaters, a 2kw, local purchase $900 in 17ft poptop van and 5kw unit, from Sydney $200, in ready made In a metal box to heat a shed space. The 2kw is ample for heat and slow/low control of heat in the van. It has smaller dia inlet and outlet than the 5kw has at around 75mm. The physical size of the 5kw is noticeably larger than the 2kw is. On setting 1 the 2 kw is nice and keeps van warm inside. The 5kw unit ,if in the van, would be far too big to fit in my van and uncontrollable , because the tick rate and subsequent fuel delivery to the burn chamber cannot be turned low enough and would have to be switched off and on again to regulate heat required for my van. The 5kw use far more fuel on all settings but does provide much higher heat output too. The output temp is close to 100C. Give careful consideration to the size you need as bigger is not necessarily better if wanting it in a van. I have heard of people buying larger replacements than their original smaller unit and the new one gives too much heat and being larger was a pain to fit as size
of everything is different.
PS. Are you near Central Vic?

Have a Webasto, cost an arm and a leg but just works and has been doing so for around 6 years.

Regarding the comments above and size of the unit, the Webasto came with a thermostat similar to your normal home system, set the temperature and it does the rest. I also purchased an optional timer that allows you to set the heater to turn on and off at preset times.

Had a $135 ebay special for just over 2 years now after sifting through caravanners forum experiences, which were, on the whole, very positive. Still waiting for it to fall apart. I opted for the analogue knob/heat regulator because I can easily reach it from the bed and don’t need to look at temperatures etc. The more Hi-tech monitor was also available for the same price but as I’d had this same model before (had that one 12 months and sold the van) decided it was easy to install and operate so bought the same model again.

Our van is fairly small and heats up in no time.