Afterburner Controller for Chinese Diesel Heater

[@madetoexplore]

Thank you guys for watching! What do you think of the Afterburner? Also, which solar controller should i get?!

[@ochjoo77]

Have mine for years and it's amazing. Never had a flame out or any other issues. Also integration into home assistant via mqtt is amazing!

[@madetoexplore]

@@ochjoo77 that’s great! We’re loving ours still too

[@kirkebales]

For solar controllers I have the Epever controller. It’s my second controller the first one I had was Renergy and it got super hot and melted part of the plastic. The Epever is a metal case and it has worked flawlessly. I have four 100 W panels in series. Wiring them in series helps to reduce the wire gauge from your panels to your controller because you’re working at a higher voltage and the Epever can be used at a higher voltage. Thanks for your video on the afterburner controller. I think I’m going to go for it. I’ve been through a few of the Chinese diesel heater’s and I think I’ve got it pretty well figured out, and I have replaced most of the weak parts. I’m finding that the wiring harness from the Chinese heaters are causing a lot of problems. Their wire gauge is too small. If you read the fine print, it will say connect power to battery with no longer than a 3 ft, even though the positive wire supplied with the wiring harness is about 10 feet long. I think the inferior wire harness could be causing the controllers to fail. If someone were to develop an aftermarket wiring harness for the Chinese diesel heaters, they would be doing everybody a huge favor.

[@madetoexplore]

Thanks for the info Kirk! That’s interesting about the wiring harness and could be my issue as well. I would highly recommend this controller! Been using for the last 3 months and haven’t had a single issue. The cycle feature keeps the van at the perfect temperature much consistently (although it does use more power).

[@ManWander]

i very much appreciate your series on these chinese diesel heaters especially this one about the new controller. I just installed my vevor 3kw heater using the original hardware and controller and so far so good. Thanks!

[@madetoexplore]

Very welcome! Glad you’ve found the videos useful 😄

[@Zekerose]

Thanks for the video. Just putting my 1st diesel heater together and your video popped up today. I look forward to your review on the remote.

[@madetoexplore]

Welcome! Thanks for watching. This controller is definitely worth it. It’s been such an upgrade for us over the past couple weeks.

[@Gavle_bocken]

I use the RaspController apk for heating. connected it to the 433mhz remote control and can turn it on and off wherever I am

[@jamesmason7124]

I've been wanting to get a afterburner controller, but I've been waiting for him to make a multiple heater version

[@madetoexplore]

Yeah that would be a nice addition 👍

[@rljzathras]

As the ECUs do not support such "party line" control, it is simply not possible.

[@jamesmason7124]

@@rljzathras what about if the heaters were wired in parallel or if you made a two channel version, where both heaters are connected to the Afterburner and you switch between the two heaters by switching channels

[@rljzathras]

@@jamesmason7124 Anything is possible of course, but the duplication of everything is really not worth the trouble when the reality is 2 totally independent heaters can be chained together at a high level via something like Home Assistant or Node Red. By everything I mean complete reporting of the heater status over wifi etc - a lot of duplication, and questionable merit for the considerable effort that it would involve to refactor a LOT of code. It is simply not worth spending my time on it. As for the actual head unit - well the menus are already quite full as it is without adding confusion over which unit am I dealing with. Whereas 2 panels in Home Assistant boom done, all the info is there. Combine the units? Build some automation scripts to control both heaters from one front end, boom done.

[@jamesmason7124]

@@rljzathras thank you Ray for responding, I really want to buy your controller but I can't afford two of them 😭

[@snakeclaw]

Can you recommend an 8k heater with compatible ECU for the afterburner so i don't have any drama? Thx. Nice vid

[@MultiOutdoorman]

Most controller faults are low voltage ( volts lost over the thin cable run) Startup needs more current for the glowplug to get hot so higher amps and larger gauge wire needed, maybe even with a relay. Also powering off ( killing the supply) the heater without allowing for its phased shut down ( cooling) cycle is to be avoided. Which itself can melt controller boards.... Otherwise simple devices and generally reliable and frugal.

[@madetoexplore]

Thanks for the tips!

[@stevenmark8156]

So would you say that it would be wise to rewire the system with larger gauge wire?

[@Fyrfotaanders]

For me, the Afterburner makes my chinese dieselheater great. Also the Victron MPPT just works. And the ”talking” to my other Victron stuff is also great. Not sponsored , just amazed. No, the Afterburner don’t talk to Victron… 😊

[@madetoexplore]

I agree the afterburner is the way to go 👍

[@raczyk]

If you have a vevor unit which is not compatible can you just buy a spare ECU online somwhere and then connect the afterburner controller?

[@madetoexplore]

Yes for sure!

[@billyclarke3354]

@@madetoexplore Hey do you have a link to where I could purchase a compatible ECU?

[@Sup_Evox]

Vevor makes a Bluetooth one now with all the stuff you mentioned included

[@madetoexplore]

@@Sup_Evox yeah I actually have it installed in my garage but it’s not even close to as good as the Afterburner. I plan on making a video on it soon!

[@logansteed1204]

how does the controller work in extreme cold? I'm in northern Canada and winter temps get as low as -40, wondering how much better the afterburner would be

[@madetoexplore]

I haven’t had any issues with the controller in low temps and I’m in Calgary. We had a week of -35 last winter and this controller did perfectly fine

[@cristinaszel5306]

hi there!I Am curious about does it really maintain a certain temperature or how it actually behaves when set temp is reached

[@madetoexplore]

@@cristinaszel5306 it does an excellent job! You can adjust the variance to whatever you like. For example, ours is set to turn on at 19 degrees and turn off at 21. The heater will be going full blast at 19 degrees but will slow down once the temperature starts to get closer to 21. If the temperature reaches 21.5, it will shut off. These values are all customizable too.

[@SamWolfandCo.fossickandfind]

As I found out after running my Chinese diesel heater on a low setting after start up temp was achieved, I ran the heater for around twenty hours until it had shut down by itself which was something I hadn't expected but on going through the menu the E__ showed up or the Er .Odd then I tapped the exhaust pipe by accident and gobs of soot came out so I checked online and a couple of different KZbinRS had been there and done that so I dismantled the heater and there was huge amounts of soot/carbon in the expansion chamber and the exhaust outlet. So if you have the E__ showing up it means clean the the darn thing, buying new electronics won't fix it DUDE, Really get to and do some maintenance these diesel heater are better running on the higher settings as on the lower setting they really soot up and don't burn off the excess soot etc; as I have learnt so it's a cheap fix and you might have to get your hands dirty but that washes off and your EGO won't get damaged either. As for the after market Afterburner Chinese diesel heaters come out with a remote and BLUETOOTH/WiFi and would more than likely be cheaper than that gadget so not sure there's any advantage except to the sales of the After Burner manufacturer. A penny wise and a pound short.

[@madetoexplore]

I’ve had this issue. You need to adjust your fuel settings because there’s to much fuel being delivered which is causing the build up. This is also related to elevation.

[@sl3rtyb3rdf3rts]

Do you have a link to buy the compatible Controller and ECU trying to avoid the dreaded 07 Error

[@madetoexplore]

The link is in the description!

[@lennymalley745]

Does he do them for a eight kilowatt diesel heater?I just got my diesel heater and i'm wanting to upgrade to one of these before I even install

[@patrick.tayamara]

Can the Controller & Remote (ecu unit) from your link be used on all types of Vevor diesel heatres? I can't find anything about this. And is this plug and play or do we have to switch out all kind of wires? We have not purchased a heater yet, but we want to purchase one that works with the Afterburner, and this is a good solution. Thanks for the video

[@madetoexplore]

It’s making sure you have the correct ECU. These can be easily swapped with most, if not all, Chinese diesel heaters. There’s a ton of information on the afterburner website and in my video. I don’t believe the stock ECU VEVOR one is compatible but you can buy a different ECU on Amazon. It’s in my video description. It’s plug and play 👍

[@LynnRichens]

I keep getting error 07, can’t figure it out I have bought a new controller and a new motherboard and I don’t know what to do.

[@madetoexplore]

Did the heater worked when you first installed it right? Just checking to see if this is a new install. I would double check that you installed the wiring correctly on the new motherboard. I would also check all the wiring for damage and/or loose connections. Try replacing the fuse with a different fuse.

[@LynnRichens]

This is a brand new installl, I ordered two units and they both are saying error 07, I ordered a third unit and it actually works! I will try using another fuse. I wonder if the motherboard I got isn’t compatible with the controller, so confusing with zero instructions in the box

[@madetoexplore]

@@LynnRichens sounds like a motherboard issue to me 🤔

[@drott150]

I'm trying to find an afterburner compatible 2kw (or maybe 5kw) heater on ebay and amazon. I am looking for the features on his pdf. For the life of me I do not see that screw on round connector on a single unit. I do see a few with the red remote that he says can be compatible. But I never see the round connector he says is complatiuble (it's always a square plug). I also dont see the round connector on your setup. Just the square plug joining the motherboard to the controller. Can you help explain this and if you know of a known compatible heater available now - where is it? Thanks.

[@thorbenkaufmann5682]

I gave up on this, bought several of these rotten China heaters. Each of them had a different protocol. I will now purchase one from Webasto...

[@madetoexplore]

@@drott150 the square connector is for connecting the diesel heater to the extension wiring that goes up to the controller. The connector for the controller is typically triangular for 5 and 8kw heaters. I believe you are missing the extension cable that transitions from square on one end at the heater to triangular on the other for the controller.I believe the round one is typically for the 2kw diesel heater controller. The 5 and 8 kw are essentially the same heater so I would go for a 5kw heater if you have space as they are slightly bigger.

[@madetoexplore]

@@thorbenkaufmann5682 I understand your frustration but I’ve had great success with these for years. So have many other people. I’d much rather spend $150 than $1,000 on a webasto.

[@drott150]

@@madetoexplore Thanks for the reply. So I found a programmable controller on ebay that is passcode protected (and allows tweaking of fanspeed/fuel pump frequencies) and its plug is triangular like you say. Also, the ECU that works with it has a square connector. So when I see these heaters for sale on ebay etc and they have the square plug on the wire sticking out of them, that doesn't necessarily mean it isn't compatible with Afterburner. It may or may not be depending on what type of ECU it has under the hood (which they dont show in the ads). The round threaded plug pertains to the 2kw version (or did, maybe it still does or doesnt in recent times?) which is almost always compatible. But the triangular connector means it may or may not be compatible. Ok, I think I have it. And based on what I'm learning from you and other in the chinese diesel heater cult forums (lol) is that these heaters ARE great once you understand them and make certain changes to them. Also, by learning this stuff up front and by simply bringing a few spare parts along that are very cheap, you can be your own on-the-spot HVAC guy while camping in the unlikely case something does go wrong. So I'm loving it! Just gotta get through the learning curve. Thanks again!

[@madetoexplore]

@ you got it! Glad to help 😄

[@naui1980]

Where did you buy it ???

[@madetoexplore]

You have to order it from his website. The link is in the description.

[@rowangallagher]

Did you have to pay duty or vat etc on the import?

[@madetoexplore]

Yeah I think I had to pay 5%

[@kellymcdonald8956]

What brand is your heater?

[@madetoexplore]

Mine is Foknya and my backup is Happybuy. I wouldn’t worry too much about much about the brand. They are all pretty much built the same.

[@jacobolsen6696]

Where can you buy this

[@madetoexplore]

Links in the description!

[@nickabel8279]

Amazing piece of kit just seems ridiculously high priced considering some of these heaters are a third of the price

[@madetoexplore]

It’s worth the price!

[@nickabel8279]

@madetoexplore I'm on the fence bc it does seem so and there's really no competition. But.... The price is just so high when it's controlling something cheaper than it.

[@madetoexplore]

@ yeah it’s true. I’m testing out the new BT controller by VEVOR in my garage and it’s not great to be honest. The app is very limited. Probably will do a video on it soon

[@nickabel8279]

@madetoexplore looking forward to the video. I've heard you can't turn the heater on thru the app? What distances have you seen?

[@jonathanwhite9051]

It's too bad you really have no information on the new controller that you swapped out, I don't think mine will work because it is a Vevor. Do you have a link for a just a controller? Also, not all of your links work in your description. Thanks!

[@madetoexplore]

That’s what the links in the description are for and yes, there’s a link to the controller in the description. All you have to do it switch out your control board and it’ll work.

[@tombryant4518]

So why can’t you use your iPhone with it? It has Bluetooth and wifi, so I’m confused. I’m not a tech guy either so I’m not picking up what you’re putting down.

[@madetoexplore]

iPhone will work via Wifi but it won’t work via Bluetooth because the app isn’t compatible with IOS devices.

[@tombryant4518]

@@madetoexplore Ah, ok.

[@markdoesstuff2023]

So, you can set the temperature for the heater to turn on / off and it can then be left to its own devices thereby turning on / off repeatedly?

[@madetoexplore]

Yes, it’ll work the same as a furnace for a house. It’ll cycle on/off as required although this setting does use more power.

[@Sugarkryptonite]

@@madetoexploreHi there. I was under the impression that the controllers that come with the diesel heaters from Amazon have a thermostat in them, or is that wrong? How do they know when to turn on/off with the original controller and what makes this Afterburner so much better?

[@scottyz]

@@Sugarkryptonitethe controllers that come with CDH will not turn off when thermostat reaches set temp, they simply turn way down to the lowest output setting.

[@Sugarkryptonite]

@@scottyzI see that now after getting mine going. So Afterburner actually turns off completely? How does it do it without sooting up the combustion chamber? Does it do a high power burn like the original controller before turning off?

[@ArifGhostwriter]

​@@SugarkryptoniteYes it will. Although all these folk preferring full Off each time, must have 10 batteries for one night - the thing draws 10 Amps every start-up cycle, & uses the glowplug a little for shut-down as well.

[@biehpham8323]

What's the price in 🇺🇸 dollars?

[@madetoexplore]

$85-110 USD plus shipping

[@letzgow6110]

Dang that sux! No Apple

[@madetoexplore]

@@letzgow6110 sure does! Maybe there will be an update for that one day

[@thorbenkaufmann5682]

In the end I got reasonable: Yes those chinese crap-heaters do a good job with some maybes. Worst thing ever is that they are not switching off and on after leaving threshold region. This means they simply keep up heating until you wanna wear sweat pants. Afterburner is a good approach, definitely! But here comes the but: All the time I wasted and all the money told me the lesson that I will save my money and precious lifetime and get me a quality product which is able to hit a target temperature and keep this over time (Webasto etc.) and pay maybe 2..3x the price I pay for the chinese crap. But this saves lifetime and reduces the risk of heart attack significantly!

[@madetoexplore]

@@thorbenkaufmann5682 time and health are more important than money! Totally agree with that 👍