Doesn't need maintenance every few months. I had mine serviced after 5 years. You should probably take it out and idle.
Anyone have Airtronic/Espar heater?
- Thread starter 8978
- Start date
Doesn't need maintenance every few months. I had mine serviced after 5 years. You should probably take it out and idle.
Duck
Sarcastic remark goes here
I don't even own a dog.
But I've never owned one that didn't have a tail.
And every Espar heater I've ever had in a truck was a worthless piece of ****. Webastos are more reliable, but still have problems from time to time.
And the one in this particular truck, .. I can't even see the damn thing cuz it's hidden in a super secret compartment under the bunk that requires a phillips screwdriver and freezing my ass off while standing beside the truck with all my crap stacked up on the catwalk to make room to access the thing. So when it quits, I just idle the dang engine & call the safety/recruiting guy & he gives me an exemption on my idle bonus so I can idle all I want & still get the extra 4 CPM.
Duck
Sarcastic remark goes here
Our guys are anal compulsive about maintenance.
These heaters are supposed to be maintenance free. There's a fine line between "maintenance" and "repairs".
Would you consider an overhaul of an engine with a cracked head to be "maintenance" or a "repair"?
The espar heaters we had were unreliable garbage. That's all there was to it. On our newer trucks though, they're saying they haven't had any problems with them in the past several years. So I'm guessing they improved the design or something.
Duck
Sarcastic remark goes here
I just pulled out the manual.
The only actual maintenance besides inspection is cleaning the glow pin and screen.
That's what they do when these things quit working. They have to take the thing apart and it takes them all freakin' day to do it.
I don't consider a "maintenance" task to be something that takes all freakin' day. That would be considered a "repair" IMO.
In the first page of the manual, it says don't run biodiesel though. It says up to 5% is ok. But WTF? I've been seeing more and more diesel pumps labeled "contains up to 20% bio-diesel". All that means to me is that the truck will get crappy fuel economy and I'll have to use more anti-gel. I didn't know it'll **** up the bunk heater.
The only actual maintenance besides inspection is cleaning the glow pin and screen.
That's what they do when these things quit working. They have to take the thing apart and it takes them all freakin' day to do it.
I don't consider a "maintenance" task to be something that takes all freakin' day. That would be considered a "repair" IMO.
In the first page of the manual, it says don't run biodiesel though. It says up to 5% is ok. But WTF? I've been seeing more and more diesel pumps labeled "contains up to 20% bio-diesel". All that means to me is that the truck will get crappy fuel economy and I'll have to use more anti-gel. I didn't know it'll **** up the bunk heater.
Well, like I said, maybe you should idle. It's obvious you and your company cannot handle the challenge of owning and maintaining the unit. Mine has worked excellent for 5 or 6 years as does most others. And NO, they are not maintenance free. Did you pull that statement out of your ???.
I'm not sure what your problem is but this thread was not about asking your opinion about the Espar. It's about a thermostat. Do I need to bow down and say what a piece of junk it is? Really, take a pill. Take two.
I'm not sure what your problem is but this thread was not about asking your opinion about the Espar. It's about a thermostat. Do I need to bow down and say what a piece of junk it is? Really, take a pill. Take two.
Duck
Sarcastic remark goes here
They were sold to our company by Espar, and the company was told they're maintenance free.
They're not.
They were ripped off.
So?
Yes, that will be sufficient.
They DO pay for themselves in fuel savings. Aint' no disputing that.
But it boils down to the fact that it's nothing more than a simple heater, ... If someone wanted to heat a small cabin or an RV with one, they would be a terrible choice. They're terribly overpriced for what they actually do, and are very unreliable when compared to something that would run on propane or even kerosene. Why in the hell must a small heater that burns diesel fuel and has a 12 volt fan and a glow plug cost $1000?
Funny. Just make that up?
Like I said, you need to idle, the Espar is way to complicated for you and the company. I'll keep mine.
Duck
Sarcastic remark goes here
That's what the head mechanic told me about 5 or 6 years ago. He's been working on trucks for the past 36 years. He's not exactly an idiot.
Yes it's way too complicated. Push the button, red light comes on. In a few minutes, it it ain't blowing hot air, it's a piece of **** and it's time to start the truck.
If it's not maintenance free, they shouldn't have sold them as being maintenance free.
The company switched to Webasto heaters, which are more reliable but still have problems every other winter. At least they're not like the older Espars that have to be taken apart & cleaned every 3 weeks.
If yours is from the same era (older than 2006 I think) and it works reliably without having to be taken apart every few weeks, you should go buy a lottery ticket.
Actually I've got the truck running right now, cuz the Espar can't keep it warm in here. It's 10 degrees outside. And also because the bunk heater shuts down if the battery volts drops below 12.2.
Well, that's debatable. He obviously knows nothing about the Espar. I'm guessing he can't read? Everything is in the manual in black and white on routine maintenance just like a big truck. I've got it right in front of me at the moment. Shall I scan it in for your 36 year veteran mechanic?
Duck
Sarcastic remark goes here
If you have a scanner, that would be great. Post it here, if your photobucket account doesn't shrink the scans too small to read.
I have the same manual, but I don't have a scanner in the truck. It says "Airtronic" on it. (I thought it was a Webasto cuz it clicks, ... the older Espars don't make that clicking sound)
But most of the manual covers fault codes for some kind of electronic thermostat that mine doesn't have. This one's just got a little box with 3 buttons and a round knob like the volume control on a stereo system. No fault codes to see.
I'm not sure what your clicking sound is. I have two Espar units and neither one clicks. You can download the manual and service manual from any place. Not sure if your familiar with Google but you can type things in like "Espar D2 Service Manual" or "Espar D2 fault codes"
http://www.esparofmichigan.com/tech...4/Airtronic 2-4 TD TS Parts 08-2009 ESPAR.pdf
The screen and glow plug are just two of the items that need attention mentioned in the manual. You can bring the unit to any Thermo King and have the whole kit put in for about $340 and takes less then 1/2 an hour or you can buy the rebuild kit for even less and do it yourself.
My Espar runs for 20 hours on 1 gallon of fuel on low and keeps the cab at 60 degrees on the coldest days. 60 is too hot for me to sleep and that's why I just bought the digital thermostat. It goes down to 40 degrees and also shows the fault codes.
http://www.esparofmichigan.com/tech...4/Airtronic 2-4 TD TS Parts 08-2009 ESPAR.pdf
The screen and glow plug are just two of the items that need attention mentioned in the manual. You can bring the unit to any Thermo King and have the whole kit put in for about $340 and takes less then 1/2 an hour or you can buy the rebuild kit for even less and do it yourself.
My Espar runs for 20 hours on 1 gallon of fuel on low and keeps the cab at 60 degrees on the coldest days. 60 is too hot for me to sleep and that's why I just bought the digital thermostat. It goes down to 40 degrees and also shows the fault codes.
Duck
Sarcastic remark goes here
The clicking is the fuel pump. Webasto's and newer Espars apparently make that clicking sound.
I think I just figured out why we're in disagreement over these things though:
I just lost 90 minutes of sleep because the stupid piece of **** inexplicably decided to turn itself off at some point around 2:30 AM. There was no voltage problem because I was using the reefer unit with jumper cables as a battery charger. The truck's volts were around 14. It was 8 degrees when I turned on the key to check the voltage. My first thought was I burned up the reefer's alternator.
It was probably about 30 degrees in this truck. I started the truck, set it to idle at one million RPM, put the front heat on & sat there shivering for 90 minutes til the alarm went off. When I got up I turned the Espar piece of **** off & waited a few minutes, then turned it back on & it's working fine now.
There's no reason a thousand dollar heater should be that unreliable.
And there's also no freakin' reason the bunk shouldn't lift up on this T-660. I can't even get to that heater even if I did feel like getting my hands all stinking like diesel fuel taking the damn thing apart for it's monthly overhaul.
Similar threads
