Sprinter Adventure Van Build - Espar S2 D2L Diesel Heater Install -

[@mycolebeeson3028]

Definitely the most well done and informative video I've seen on it so far. Thank you so much.

[@moonrakerdesign]

Wow, thank you so much for taking the time to let us know that really means a lot to us. We definitely try to cover all the details, lessons learned and plan out the flow of each video it's nice to know it doesn't go unnoticed! Thanks again for taking the time to watch and comment 🙂

[@darrenrichardson6803]

Yes definitely the best sprinter heater install on KZbin !!!!

[@moonrakerdesign]

@@darrenrichardson6803 thank you for the kind words it means a lot to us!

[@mikes4352]

Just stumbled across your channel while searching Espar installs. Great channel, both entertaining and very informative. It's nice watching a machinist do the installation. Thanks for sharing.

[@moonrakerdesign]

Wow, thank you so much for the kind words. I really appreciate you stopping by and taking the time to comment! We are always happy to answer any additional questions too.

[@prestontziouvaras2588]

Just installed mine today, and your video was super helpful! Also appreciate TGoT intro 😂. Thank you!

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey Preston! Thanks so much for letting us know and glad the video was helpful! Haha this was definitely one of our more involved intros but the concept was too good not to do it!! Hope the rest of your build goes well!!

[@pwlw185]

Good move to put your silencer on the flat. Only those silencers with drain holes should be put upright.

[@moonrakerdesign]

Kinda one of those things where you are just working to get it done and it doesn’t make sense afterwards. Always fix it! Even if it’s finished and makes more work!

[@CadeHansen-i3v]

Best and most informative sprinter build vids I’ve seen! Thanks for inspiring me to do my own build! Keep them coming!

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey Cade, thanks so much for the feedback and the support. We really appreciate you taking the time to watch our videos and comment. We are trying to get more stuff out constantly, but time is limited with the new baby!

[@Cassienope]

The intro captures Nick perfectly everytime its a little cold.

[@davesitarski2310]

Thanks, by far the best heater installation video.

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey Dave thanks for taking the time to write this! We are humbled to hear you feedback!

[@LetsDoThisAlone]

You build is well documented! Can't wait to see your interior .👀👀

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey thanks a bunch. Trying to provide as much info as we can about our process! It takes a lot of time and slows things down a ton but hopefully it helps others along the way!

[@richmond-hollen]

You made it look so easy! I had to drop out the fuel tank and drop in the aux fuel line into the tank on a ford transit. It was a pain! Mercedes made this so much simpler :) such a clean looking install!

[@moonrakerdesign]

Thanks Richmond. Yeah the Sprinter made it a piece of cake! I guess that’s what you get with a German van and German heaters! Thanks for the kind words and nerding out on all the van stuff today!

[@eprohoda]

yeah!gorgeous content~brother!

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey thanks for stopping by & the kind words we really appreciate it!!

[@dalewoodiel]

Great video but you didn't show how you hooked up the power to the heater under the drivers seat

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey Dale, I didn't hook it up under the drivers seat. I actually just used the duct to pass the wires towards my house battery bank and bluesea distribution panel in the back. But since none of that was in when I filmed this video I didn't add it.

[@dalewoodiel]

@@moonrakerdesignok, thanks for the reply. I hooked mine up to the hot post under the drivers seat but will hook it to the Exhoflow breaker panel once my 10 gauge marine wire arrives. The video was great but the heater instructions they provide are lacking 😂.

[@alfredoroldan7888]

Where did you connect the power supply cable?

[@moonrakerdesign]

To the house battery bank. It’s not documented in this video unfortunately.

[@steven-adamski]

super cool

[@moonrakerdesign]

Thank you and thanks for stopping by!

[@omjaye]

Keep watching this excellent vid as I'm getting ready for the install. I looked under and see there's that big gray box that looks like it could impede with the exit of the combustion ports and tubing in that location. Do you know what I'm talking about? You can see it at 20:49 in your vid. For some reason mine looks like it's positioned further back and blocking access more. But maybe it's the same. Has it been a year since your friend has the exhaust on the driver side and are you going to switch?

[@moonrakerdesign]

Thanks @omjaye for the continued support! You can also see this at 5:12 too. Exhaust and intake do need to come at a slight angle to clear it but both are pretty flexible. Some people even route their intake over this towards the front of the vehicle. I can shoot a photo looking straight up at it for you if you want to shoot me an email. Let me follow up with my friend he installed about 8 months ago now if I remember right.

[@rod8073]

Hi Todd. Rewatching the Espar install. Not ready to install just yet but I have a question. I ordered my van with factory swivel seats. After bringing it home last month I noticed that the seat pedestals are shorter, nearly half? Wonder if the Espar will fit? Ever see this? If not I was thinking of installing it behind the drivers seat. Some have done it. ?? 2024 170 sprinter.

[@rod8073]

And I use Q tips to paint small holes. Also, keep the opening skits, you’re Hilarious!!🤣🤣🤣

[@omjaye]

@@rod8073 I installed mine under passenger seat with factory swivels 2023. If I were to do a redo I might position it differently so it's not so far up behind the gray thing underneath. That' made it difficult for the install. Also highly recommend the intake silencer as that's huge. Also I measured 3 times and then ended up having it reversed and drilled the small holes on the wrong side so check it 4 times and right before drilling.

[@rod8073]

@@omjaye Thanks. Install differently under the seat or another location in the van?

[@buckmanriver]

Are you doing the Espar S2 D2L and a hydronic system?

[@moonrakerdesign]

Yes. The D2 is such a great mild climate heater in terms of efficiency. The D5 was added primarily for a back up on the water heater and for engine block heating. But I am going to add an extra air handler in the rear of the van for super cold nights since it’s already there.

[@TheVertigoCycles]

In the odd chance that you don't already know about them, check out the Noga or Shaviv (x)30 style deburring blades. I've been using them for years for H20 holes, vent holes and what-have-you. They're great for getting the backside of thin wall tubes/sheet etc.

[@moonrakerdesign]

Actually this is a great suggestion. The life of someone who grew up with CNC and chamfer mills breaking all my corners my deburring game is admittedly a bit weak! I’m due for a new deburring tool with all these thin sheetmetal holes in the van, now might be the time to buy the Noga kit!

[@darrenrichardson6803]

Does a d4 or s4 fit in same location as its slightly bigger? Awesome installing!!

[@moonrakerdesign]

The D4 is quite a bit bigger. I don’t know if it would fit in the same exact position but I think you’d probably need one of these www.heatso.com/air-outlet-hood-90mm-90-degree-for-airtronic-d4/ to save space for the fan outlet loop.

[@rdutchman1]

Agree with others, one of the most concise videos on the espar install that I have viewed to date. One question that comes to mind, are you happy with the position of the exhaust pipe? I like the locations but want to make sure it is functioning as expected. Thanks again for your videos.

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey @rdutchman1 thanks so much for the kind words it really means a lot to us! The exhaust location is WAY better than exiting at the slider door with the length of exhaust tubing you have in the standard kit. I have a couple van friends with that setup and while neither is terribly bad our exhaust smell opening the door and coming in and out is noticeably less when running the heater. However, I think longer term I still plan to try to figure out how to route it to the drivers side. It’s a bit more involved on a 4x4 vs 2WD because you can’t keep it sloped downward across the entire run like the manual suggests. I have another friend that did it this way dipping below the transmission and I’m sort of waiting for his first year experience to see if there’s excess carbon build up or issues with the heater because of it.

[@rdutchman1]

@@moonrakerdesign thank you for the feedback. One additioal question, why not just use the supplied adapter with hose clamps and attach directly to the aux tap instead of using the dorman 800-188 quick connect?

[@moonrakerdesign]

@@rdutchman1 It's a good question and simply a matter of personal preference. The quick disconnect is nice for a tool-free disconnect in case that would ever need to happen on the road and you would'nt have to hunt for a tool. But other than that I can't think of a distinct advantage one over the other!

[@paniro21]

Best overall quality install I've seen! What will be your temp power source until your house system is complete?

[@moonrakerdesign]

Wow, thank you very much. Super humbled you'd say that. I hooked it up to a 12VDC 20amp power supply to do a functional test until all the other electrical is in. I've not been running it or using the van as a dedicated camper until I'm further along with my build. It's taking quite some time because of all the videos and other things in life that get in the way! But we are having fun and enjoying the journey!

[@timandsarahgreydanus3379]

Very nice video! I referenced it multiple times while putting an Espar heater in our 2023 AWD Sprinter over the last few days. I like the idea of putting the intake pipe in the hole of the support beam but a little concerned that it’ll just fall out off road or on rough roads. Did you secure it into the beam somehow, or bent it so it runs into the beam? Thanks again for all your videos! Good stuff! Winter is coming!

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey Tim and Sarah! Glad the video was helpful and congrats on the new van!! I didn't actually secure it to the van other than under its own spring tension. I would say it's in the hole about 2" and because the pipe is accordion it naturally wants to stay more or less straight so bending it around and up and into the hole adds a little bit of lateral force. So far I've had no issues with it coming out for 8 months now over varied terrain and thousands of miles of driving! I'm just about to install my D5 for hot water and going to be doing the same thing. Except in this case I was able to find the factory intake hose for the H88 option which also is mounted into the frame member but with a special grommet. If this works well I might do something like that on the D2 to keep things looking consistent under the van!

[@sammy.1976]

Thank you very much I finally find out the the size of the Mcon pins for the the pump, Where did you get those?

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey @samir.9029 sorry I forgot to add those to the video description, but I did just now and you can check this links there. I bought them from Newark.com. I would suggest getting a few extras of the pins so you can practice the crimping. I didn't want to spend the money for the actual TE Connectivity tool and did it with a set of needle nose pliers, but it does take some practice to get it right. I then did a simple pull test on the practice pieces to make sure I was satisfied with how I was doing it.

[@paniro21]

@@moonrakerdesign I am super intimidated to terminate those but I'm going to give it a shot.

[@moonrakerdesign]

@@paniro21 you shouldn't be, it's really not that bad and the shortened harness looks so much better. Buy a couple extra pieces as they are cheap (I bought 10 and ended up using 3 during testing) and test it out on some wire beforehand. I held the connector in a vise and pulled up really hard. My first one was as good as my 3rd test, but I wanted to see how repeatable I was. You got this.

[@paniro21]

I placed my order with Newark yesterday and got 10 as well. Thanks for the additional advice on terminating those, I’m feeling good about that vise method..Greatly appreciate everything you’re doing and for taking your time to respond!

[@lotuslightheart]

This video was helpful in understanding how this works. You did a great job with this video. How has this heater worked for you since you put in it in a year ago? Any thing you would mention about this setup or anything that you would recommend now after using it?

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey @trinitywave thanks for the kind words. The heater is great! We've been running it off a small rechargeable portable battery bank and it works well. We haven't been able to finish our insulation in the van just yet so the heater pretty much works overtime all the time if it's cold outside (

[@lotuslightheart]

@@moonrakerdesign thank you again for the reply. Do you need a power source for this heater? DIdn't see that. Glad it is working well for you, and you are staying warm. Do you have recommendations for window covers? Or a video that shows them? Just curious. Again great video, very well done.Love and Light.

[@moonrakerdesign]

@@lotuslightheart of course happy to help and share our experience. You do need a 12VDC power source for the heater fused or breakered at 20A for the heater itself and 5A for the EasyStart Pro controller. We didn't show that here because we are still running of our temporary setup until I have time to install our battery bank. I might post a YT Short of that temp setup soon to give people an overview of the connections. For the window covers we use xplroutfitters.com 4 season, but I've also heard good things about www.vanessential.com and shop.thewanderful.co. Let me know if you have any other questions and thanks again for stopping by!

[@harrytraction1380]

Do you do installations?

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey Harry thanks for the continued support. I've not done installs for anyone else at this point. I'd be open to discussing more about it though. Are you local in the Bay Area here? Anyways, the best way to continue the conversation is to email me at hello at farrframeworks dot com!

[@mitchellcamps7595]

Great video! I did a very similar install on a CDH, and even after purchasing a genuine Webasto rubber gasket, I am getting a horrible rubber smell when the heater gets up to temp. I wanted to run a CDH so I could use the Afterburner, but, even after purchasing a second CDH and using the genuine Webasto gasket, I am still getting a rubber smell once the heater is up to temp. I've tried running it for many hours as some say it just needs to burn off, but no luck. Do you get an smell from the Espar?

[@moonrakerdesign]

I didn’t notice any smells but we’ve only tested it for a short period of time (~10mins) with an external power supply to make sure everything was functional after the install. We are still working through other projects before the house battery bank goes in for the full real use test.

[@paniro21]

Could you confirm your interpretation of the torque values? For instance the combustion air intake value is stated at 3+0.5Nm, so is that actually requesting 3.5Nm rather than 3Nm? I understand that it is a very minimal difference only being around 4.5 in-lbs. difference.

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey @paniro2128. 3Nm is your nominal target but you can be + or - 0.5Nm off that and be okay. So the range you are aiming for is between 2.5Nm-3.5Nm.

[@kingofswamis]

Which fuel pump do I need for that baby? I didn’t get a fuel pump with mine. go ahead and link me I can just run through you if you want.

[@moonrakerdesign]

Do you have the D2L heater? And it didn’t come with a pump? I’d get the official Espar one You need the pump: PN 22.4552.03.0000 And the bracket to mount it: PN 22.1000.50.0300 Did your kit come with all the hoses and fittings?

[@kingofswamis]

@ Almost everything yes. And yes S2 D2L

[@kingofswamis]

“A HOLE DOZER” lol

[@moonrakerdesign]

@@kingofswamis lol! Yeah I think that covers everything additional you need then! Never seen one of these sold without the pump though. That's pretty odd!

[@jacobusdegroot7557]

😂

[@moonrakerdesign]

🙏🏻 🙏🏻 🙏🏻