Retrofit a Engine Pre-heater on any Van!

[@vladislavdoychinov5889]

Once I watched a film about life in Siberia from 1950 - 1960. Ppl there leak their hot oil in buckets after using their vehicles and bring it in the house. Next day they heat it on the stove and pour it back in the engine. They explained that it's important that the oil must be hot so the engine could start with ease. They didn't care about the antifreeze being warm, only the oil, which makes sense. And they were doing that for decades in -70°C. That's wild

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Yeah, they have to do a lot of mad things out there although. the oils used to most modern engines is so so much thinner than the type of oil is used back then. It’s not so much the coolant itself being hot is that the hot coolant has heated the block up enough that it’s not super tight and causing a lot of resistance and all the parts. Even after I’ve started the engine with the hot coolant thawing out the block I always wait 5 to 10 minutes for the oil temperature gauge to come up as well.

[@David_11111]

love the spanner trick :)

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Glad you liked that!

[@WelshRabbit79]

Great video, inspired me to buy one for my transit custom. As in the winter, trying to get it to warm up can take for ever. Especially when only doing shorter journeys.

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

They are great bits of kit still using mine three years later

[@bullithedjames937]

I want one for my truck easier starting an old diesel in winter

[@TIGFab97]

Does the coolant pump stay on while driving?

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Only if the heater is running, if the heater is off, it’s not running however it doesn’t cause any issues as it’s a centrifugal type pump which easily allows liquid to pass through whilst off with little resistance

[@robertanker9901]

Great instructional vid. Knew nothing about how my 2017 Transit Custom, engine heater system worked. Watching this made sense to even thicko me🙃😊 THANKS!

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Glad to hear! Not many transits ( well in the uk ) have them factory fitted. Nice feature for the winter if they do

[@drewhodge3820]

I installed my 240v pre-heater onto the vans heater matrix pipework on my 22 year old Fiat Ducato.

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Yes in my research I did see quite a lot of the electric ones I presume it’s integrated in a pretty similar point?

[@drewhodge3820]

@@MispronouncedAdventures My electric pre-heater sits above the head of the engine. The area where you joined onto the pipework. I had to cut the inlet pipe to the heater matrix once. Great for cold morning. The whole engine bay heats up and that means the starter battery that's under the bonnet isn't cold either. Far less pressure on the engine/starter motor/starter battery. My electric version is no good for off grid. That's why my new camper build is having a diesel water heater fitted. Unfortunately the diesel water heater is sitting in the box in my living room. LOL

[@ringonotts]

Fantastic stuff. The webasto that came fitted to my old Westfalia Florida campervan also turned on the heater fan - so the window would be clear too. Unfortunately it stopped working and as I don't need it in the UK i never looked into fixing it. I might do it now after watching this lol

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

They are fantastic units. Vehicles which usually come with them factory. They are integrated into the van system so you can have the option of the blower fan turning on to heat up the cab. I’ve done a simpler more isolated installation here. Whilst not needed from an engine. Preheat it in the UK. I’ve definitely been using it in the UK a bit just before increased comfort early on the drive because why not. If it worked before, hopefully it should work again, probably just fuse or a damaged or disconnected wire

[@carlsadventures2361]

Great video and very interesting at the same time.

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Glad it was enjoyed!

[@cotocan]

Great, useful material. I will install a hydronic heating system soon and this is extremely helpful. Thanks!

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Glad you found it helpful :)

[@keswickadventure]

Great info, cheers. I’m looking to do similin my Crafter, but wanting to ALSO have it doing my habitation heat and water. I don’t fancy an expansion tank adding yo habitation, so trying to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Good tip for looking at the factory parts catalogue!

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

I’m pretty sure you would be able to make it work for the habitation as well. Because in my research I found that the minibus version of my transit had coolant pipes coming off this section going towards the rear of the van for the minibus rear auxiliary heater. I don’t see why this idea couldn’t be adapted and using it for your own hot air or hot water

[@Nogodsnomasterz]

How'd you get on with this? I'm using one for my hot water, hab blowers and underfloor heating.

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Engine preheater worked great all arctic trip last winter

[@Alivefrom45]

Great video Alex, well done.

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Thank you!

[@rawbennett]

Very useful video!! Thanks Alex

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Glad it was helpful. I’ve been using mine for two years

[@rogergregory5981]

Thanks for all the very useful info and time taken researching and explaing, great addition very tempted to fit one now ..thanks again

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Glad you found it helpful I hope that the video will translate for other models of van as well as I believe they have similar coolant layouts so the same principle should apply

[@johnallan5821]

Brilliant video pal 👍👍👍

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Thank you, help it been helpful in it something your working on

[@julianrout1347]

Thankyou for all the info and eazy to understand the way you tell us... Great channel and great work thanks,, Stay safe 👍👍🚙🚙

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Glad you found it helpful

[@gerryr1893]

I used one also to heat my hot tub and pool

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Coincidently the 99p Webasto I got was bought from someone who had previously got it from a scraped Land Rover and then use it to heat the hot tub.

[@jordanhagan1996]

Thank you so so much! But please show more of the electrics please in the van

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

There are lots of videos on the build series, all about the electrics in the van from day one

[@jordanhagan1996]

@@MispronouncedAdventures I’m off to binge watch lol thank you

[@TomBedlammusic]

Thank you so much for this man! Feeling pretty confident to give this a go for this winters ski season. Van started to struggle a bit last year

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Hope it works out for you and Enjoy the ski season.

[@houseinavan194]

Good install....nicely done....clever lad....Were due to hook up with polly and sam next week near Hertford...if your down that way pop by....

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Thank you! Have fun with Polly and Sam! I’m currently in Germany and going north at the moment

[@houseinavan194]

@@MispronouncedAdventures No flies on you mate....off away already..look forward to seeing your adventures..

[@chrisbolton745]

Love this sort of useful vlog keep it up 😁

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Thank you and will do :)

[@stevenyaremy5466]

Great videos boss Keep it up Great info

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Thank you!

[@davidsunderland3478]

Great content made a lot of sense good video.

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Glad it was helpful

[@stephenbulmer7148]

another great video, love the idea. be interesting to see your views when you've used it on one of your trips to colder climates. i've been thinking of linking one of these hydronic heater with a clarifier for hot water. safe travels Alex

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Yeah looking forward to using it in practice. Maybe if I was doing the van again I would consider adding hydraulic aspects to the leisure system

[@njakts]

I wonder if the Land Rover units will work with Webasto 1533 timer since it has w-bus output.

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Indeed, they do. a lot of Land Rover did have the 1533. I’d like to get hold of one myself thats generally the original controller I mentioned was missing from second hand unit

[@stevebrown6665]

Very interesting!!

[@njakts]

I don't know if that's the case with Ford, but many modern cars engine temp dial is pretty much fake. It climbs to middle and stays there basically saying, you're good to go and the engine temp can fluctuate from 80 to 100 degrees depending on conditions and the needle will stay in the middle reportings that everything's all right.

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

I’ve had mine works well. I had a thermostat go and I could see the fluctuations. I also have a OBD2 read out of my coolant temp ( and others information) on my dash so I can see the numbers change between 80-100

[@njakts]

@MispronouncedAdventures Good to know. for those who know something more about cars, it is useful to know actual temp. For housewives, it is enough that the arrow shows at least something, then it's ok

[@shaneparsons3910]

Ready to fit thermotop v how can I tell which way the water is flowing when the thermostat is open. So I don’t have conflicting pumps? Thank you.

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Depends a lot of model of vehicle. I used the Ford parts manual for mine is a shows pipes as red for hot and blue for cold return

[@roseymarsh6749]

Great video, thank you! We are looking to install a pre-heater in our Peugeot Boxer van for a trip to Norway. Do you use the leisure battery to run the pump etc. or the van battery?

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

I run it’s all of the leisure battery

[@El-Tel63-Terry.]

Not relevant for me but nevertheless an interesting video and very well explained and filmed 👍🏻

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Glad you thought it was good anyway :)

[@saidt.8200]

Great setup. How you get to bypass the thermostat to get the coolant circulate around the cylinders chambers?

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

You don’t need too. The pre heater is put on the engine block and air matrix loop on the air matrix return . The thermostat opens and closes that loop to the radiator.

[@pedrofilipeqo]

My only question about this type of preheating is regarding the coolant flow through the diesel heater and its electrical pump. Does the regular coolant flow of the engine interfere with the electrical pump? Great video! Go on!!

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Being a centrifugal type pump for the pre heater there isn’t any or much resistance at all in regular coolant flow from the engine when the heater / pump is not running

[@jasmun5550]

hey, do you think this could be fitted onto a diesel car?

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Yes, same principle of install applies. they make petrol versions as well

[@mymbrain]

do you think i can add a heat exchanger in this setup to hear water for the shower? My van came with this this already installed, I don't want to remove it but would be nice to have it as water heater too. I'm a bit scared of adding heat exchanger might cause some issues with the flow.

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

That should work no problem. If you are worried about flow. You could doing a T off and extra pump opposed to running it inline

[@lucasn2535]

Hey! Great video! My transit already has the engine pre heater installed and it’s using the auxiliary fuel port. Can I just cut the fuel line going to that heater and split off that to run my diesel heater?

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

@@lucasn2535 yes that’s more or less no different as to what I’ve done. I use the auxiliary fuel port from my Ford Transit fuel tank and then have a Y splitter. I’ve had no problem running both at the same time for three years of Arctic winters

[@lucasn2535]

@@MispronouncedAdventures Great, I will replicate that then. Also, do you think it will be ok with a 4mm or 5mm Y splitter instead of 6mm like you used?

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

@lucasn2535 yep since the bore of the fuel line is only 2mm that should be fine. I just used what I could get hold of.

[@HaggisMuncher-69-420]

I recently bought a land rover in Romania after moving from the UK We had -13 degrees a couple weeks ago and the poor guy was struggling to start to the point that it damaged the fuel filter and intercooler hose. Definitely getting one of these for next winter.

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

They are good for any engine on a cold morning. It was -23c here last night. Mine started like a summers day, the others took many attempts to catch

[@michaelmounts1269]

great video---what's your thermostat temp and where does it sit in relation to your heater feed....?

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

As in the engine thermostat?

[@NOMAD-LEISURE]

Alex if installed to just heat water for a shower in a camper can it be controlled to heat water to say 45⁰?

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Not directly, as those units aren’t designed to be running water directly. But a coolant loop instead. so there is no way to set out the temperature on the unit. If you want to get safe water temperature, you need to install a plated heat exchanger on the coolant loop and then a thermostat mix valve

[@NOMAD-LEISURE]

@@MispronouncedAdventures thanks so can the unit be switched off safely without reaching 80⁰c? I'm thinking wiring it with wbus and switch but unsure whether it will go through the cool down mode safely?

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

@selfbuiltcampervans yep, there was no problem with the unit going off before 80c that’s done by turning off the W-bus module switch! not turning off the heater

[@NOMAD-LEISURE]

@@MispronouncedAdventures ok Alex yeah thinking putting temp sensor in tank and switching it off when it reaches 45⁰ manually

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

@selfbuiltcampervans are you running water directly through the unit?

[@bulka5305]

Can I preheat car interior with it or engine itself? (By timer)

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Yes, there is a number of ways you can have the cabin fan turn on as well.

[@johnplyler7054]

So, you used the vehicle's radiator as your expansion tank, right? Thanks

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

It’s just directly plumbed in line into the air heater matrix return the same as on vehicles equipped with one from factory. So the vehicles radiator isn’t going to be the expansion tank as the loop would have no access to it when the engine thermostat is closed.

[@c1tlr340]

I'm looking at getting a Defender soon and fitting one of these. Great video, answered a lot of my questions I had. What did you do about broken housing?

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Broken housing? As in the leak? It was the 90° plastic joints which were damaged and not the units Body. Genuine Webasto replacements were pretty cheap to buy

[@darren1540]

What a great bit of info, obviously i now need one! During your research did you come across any info related to the Sprinter or crafter? or do you know anyone that has fitted one?

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

More or less the principle is the same. The heater goes inline on the cabin heater return. just finding the location to put it and fittings required is the slightly different bit

[@ourvanviv8858]

Cracking vlog, I'd love to get my hands on one of those heaters but can't find any that cheap, what did you search under, I've got a heating project in mind, cheers

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

They are fun units to play with. I like playing with stuff like this

[@pau1phi11ips]

Interesting video, as always. How cold does it need to be for this to be relevant? I don't think I've had a problem starting a car or van in the cold since the car had a manual choke.

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

I guess relevant has two options here. As it both works as a engine and cabin preheater. for cabin preheater I guess it could be any low temperature, if you wanted it set for a timer in the morning so you had the comfort of getting into a vehicle in the morning and not having to wait for the heating to warm up or not having to defrost the vehicle. For my use as an an engine for a preheater. I am not entirely sure what low temperature. It seems that almost all of the Nordic vehicles will have some type of engine preheater to allow them to start easier. But if it’s any type of cold temp a warmer engine is it gonna be a lot less stress and wear and tear then starting a cold engine

[@maydayone]

Great Stuff as usual! On a different note, from the UK perspective, have you re-classified your van from a commercial vehicle to a camper/motorhome ? Is it worth it? I think the MOT cost for vans is more expensive compared to campers ?, but on the other hand when re-classifying I take you need to provide certs for the electrics and gas(if you have one). I'd love to get your perspective on the matter. Thanks

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Thank you. So on your question. No I’ve not reclassified my van from a light goods vehicle to a campervan, The V5 aspect of that only regards “body type” which only regards the physical appearance of the vehicle in traffic ). I wouldn’t gain anything by changing the classification, it also is currently quite difficult to get it done. Quite often it is believed that changing the body type of vehicle to motorhome allows you to drive at faster speeds unfortunately this is a complete myth and not true. The classifications for vehicles speed limits is not related to body type classification, it’s done by weight. MOT wise I have the van MOT as a campervan. Because the “presented as” at MOT is different than the V5 body type description of the vehicle. The UK industry for converting vans is effectively completely unregulated for personal use, however if you are hiring out vehicles or selling they do need a gas difficult I believe. I don’t have any gas anyway.

[@maydayone]

@@MispronouncedAdventures Thank you for the detailed reply - definitely makes it much clearer for me now! On the last matter you mentioned... not sure if I got it right...when selling/hiring you need a gas certificate(if you have one) and don't need one for the electrics? Thanks

[@lezbriddon]

dont these heaters need a can-bus signal or something complicated

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Sort off, these heater is “W-bus” protocol on the communication. But it’s pretty dumb it’s just turn on or off. There are lots of third-party controllers which mimic the signal. Some older Thermo Top Z model where a simple 12V voltage to turn on or off. The only complicated ones are heaters when taking from a VW because many of those ones speak different protocol which I think was directly with the vehicles ECU. Basically with a W-bus adapter/controller it’s very simple

[@lezbriddon]

@MispronouncedAdventures maybe at the weekend I can try and cement and Arduino to mine..... My old one needed 12v thought these were the same but didn't really research. I killed the old one years ago and they wanted 280 for a replacement board so built my own board, I still have a few spares but if I have to do this one I may as well start over and do it with Bluetooth/WiFi and upgrade my old one too

[@gerryr1893]

You’ve not connected into the interior fans

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Indeed, It haven’t not massively important for me because it’s a campervan so the interior heating is on overnight. It’s very easy to heat up the cab quickly. And the cabin fans are extremely powerful. It would seriously delay the preheating of the engines in the morning when I’m in -20 or 30 in the Nordic. For your normal every day User, who might want to preheat the engine and cab for when they enter the vehicle in the morning, interior fans would be way more helpful. Usually a pretty simple wiring job, five prong relay to intercept the normal power Pos cable to the fan. With a preheater “on” as a signal to the relay.

[@j-rocsk]

if you ran it through the engine block it would be more effective to heat the engine.

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

? It is running through the engine block

[@David_11111]

yay

[@sommeone4582]

That muffler supposed to be further away (long pipe on other side)

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Normally you see it the other way round yes. But exhaust pipe doesn’t fit directly on the exhaust port on the unit. So I’m almost using the muffler as effectively a adapter between the different sizes. I don’t see any issues using it in such a way it’s not going to increase or decrease pressure in the burn chamber. And a lot of the factory fitted variations of this heater as an engine pre heater and have the muffler just as close or a few centimetres away from the heater port.

[@gordonevans7781]

The blue fuel pipe you are using isn't fuel grade ,that type of plastic gets brittle overtime

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

I’m going to disagree with you, is it fuel grade hardline , it’s Eberspacher own fuel line they supply with any of the diesel heater kit ( hydronic or air )

[@gordonevans7781]

@@MispronouncedAdventures we had to replay some some pipes on a machine at work for fuel grade as they had use normal air pipe six months before (an apprentice not his fault ) very similar looking he never read the print on it and it disintegrated

[@basketballperson1350]

hypothetically could I add a small radiator to the loop in series on the hot side of the webasto in the rear part of my van? I would love for the rear compartment to warm up along with the engine with a single webasto instead of buying two

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

Yes, no problem at all. An Air Matrix as they called are quite common to add the loop for extra air heating

[@basketballperson1350]

@@MispronouncedAdventures when the engine is running, how can I control how much heat the matrix puts out

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

A heater matrix has a fan. The fan speed results in the energy transfer from hot liquid to hot air in the pan is not running no heat from the air matrix.

[@MichaelEricMenk]

You can get the hydronic heater to turn on the cabin fan in the car (by sending 12V power to the fan). This is quite normal to do, in order to melt the ice one the window. I have used these heaters down to about -40°C, and they work very nicely....

[@MispronouncedAdventures]

@@MichaelEricMenk definitely that’s normally how they are integrate when factory fit for its comfort mode as well and engine pre heater. Retrofitting that into vehicles can be easy or slightly more difficult, depending if the modern one is more climate control is dumb or integrated in the ECU.