Webasto Airtop heater

[Duck]

When I was making freight elevator gates, the counterweights were 2"x2" solid steel bars that slid up & down inside square tube.

The weight of the gate determined the length of the counterweights.

At the top of the counterweights I welded a scrap of angle iron with a hole in it for attaching the cables to & right at that height I had to cut an access hole for inspection and eventual cable replacement.

I used a 2-1/2" hole saw in a drill press. I had to use roller stands to support the square tube and hold it perfectly horizontal so it's square to the arbor, and use LOTS of oil.

It would squeal loudly, the noise resonating through the work piece like a big amplifier. You have to set the drill press at low RPM, which increases torque. If it binds, it can knock an entire 12 foot stick of 3-1/2" square tube off the roller stands & risk bending the arbor on the drill press or more likely, bending the hole saw cup so it wobbles & is junk.

I was going through hole saws every 3-4 jobs because they'd get dull quickly even when using plenty of oil & light pressure.

This is why I think using a hand drill would be a bitch. There's no way to hold it perfectly square, and it'll be difficult to control the speed with a typical variable speed drill. Not to mention holding it in a way that won't twist your arm off if it binds.

 

[Duck]

Kero isn't exactly easy to find these days except in gallon cans at $8-$10 or more per gallon.
It would be more cost effective to replace the unit every coupla-few years.

The gas station in town here sells it at the pump.

 

[Blood]

The gas station in town here sells it at the pump.

It used to be common for stations to have K1 & K2 pumps.
When I was a kid my dad was so tight that he's mix K2 with gasoline at the pump because it was 2 or 3 cents cheaper.

You could really smell it in the exhaust.


How much is it at the pump there?

Webasto says up to or over 22 hours per gallon so a 10 gallon tank would last quite a while.

 

[Blood]

Making some assumptions just for shiggles...
figuring 60 breaks per year [600 hours] which would probably be more than I would need,
and idling the big engine on breaks when the temp is warm enough to shut it down but too cold to leave it off would be...
let's just say 1/4 of those days.
We're down to 450 hours.

450 hours at $2 per gallon = $900

It would take me two years [conservatively] at retail prices to break even on an airtop.

Yeah, I know...
it cuts idle time and maintenance cost which is a big deal on newer equipment.
Minor consideration on pre-emmisions engines.

 

[Duck]

It used to be common for stations to have K1 & K2 pumps.
When I was a kid my dad was so tight that he's mix K2 with gasoline at the pump because it was 2 or 3 cents cheaper.

You could really smell it in the exhaust.


How much is it at the pump there?

Webasto says up to or over 22 hours per gallon so a 10 gallon tank would last quite a while.

@Skateboard says he runs his on regular diesel but periodically runs it overnight on kerosene or something.

A tee in the fuel line, capped or hooked to a little shutoff valve. I think you just rig up a little tube to a 1 gallon can on the catwalk. I imagine thee would be priming issues, maybe get a little squeeze bulb.

 

[8978]

@Skateboard says he runs his on regular diesel but periodically runs it overnight on kerosene or something.

A tee in the fuel line, capped or hooked to a little shutoff valve. I think you just rig up a little tube to a 1 gallon can on the catwalk. I imagine thee would be priming issues, maybe get a little squeeze bulb.

No T. It's just a regular rubber fuel line. Slide it off and put your own 3' fuel line on. Stick it in a bottle of kerosene from Walmart in the lamp section. There are some big companies out there that have a separate fuel tank for the Espar and run totally off kerosene.

No priming. It will shut off once then start again. That little fuel pump is pretty strong. If your unit is really dirty it will put out a light show at night from the burning carbon coming out.

 

[Blood]

If your unit is really dirty it will put out a light show at night from the burning carbon coming out.

Damn, ninja...
you done fell in with the wrong woman!









I'm going to call you zilch bag from now on.

 

[Copperhead]

Making some assumptions just for shiggles...
figuring 60 breaks per year [600 hours] which would probably be more than I would need,
and idling the big engine on breaks when the temp is warm enough to shut it down but too cold to leave it off would be...
let's just say 1/4 of those days.
We're down to 450 hours.

450 hours at $2 per gallon = $900

It would take me two years [conservatively] at retail prices to break even on an airtop.

Yeah, I know...
it cuts idle time and maintenance cost which is a big deal on newer equipment.
Minor consideration on pre-emmisions engines.

Really? I just got a brand new 2016 manufacture Webasto Airtop 2000 STC, complete install kit, delivered free, for $918. No sales tax either! And since fuel is now in the $250 range, your calculation on idling loses to the cost of the Webasto. And it is so nice to be able to be toasty in the truck when at a dock and they demand you not run the truck. The Webasto runs just fine during those times.

My previous Webasto has been a champ. It did 4 winters, but it now wants to be a parts queen. And Webasto sure loves to price parts into the stratosphere. It was more cost effective to get a brand new unit and kit. They also had the Webasto Thermo Top C coolant heater kits for the same price. Those things can have an engine up to near operating temperature in 1 hour even after sitting all night at -25F shut off. I am still seriously considering one of those units.

 

[mndriver]

Since I already have all the controls and such, the brand new replacement Espar heater for me cost $850 at Thermo-King of Missouri down in Sikeston MO.

It worked the week before and then you can hear these damn heaters go out. It will start to get a surge to the running. Going up and down in speed.

I had gone the rebuilt path in 2013, in 2014, I even followed the suggested maintenance procedures and put in a new glow screen and all that. Nice to see both Webasto and Espar both think very highly of their parts/units.

In Feb 2015, it gave up the ghost again for the OTHER component that went out that wasn't replaced. So instead of going with a rebuilt unit AGAIN and spending damn near the cost of a NEW unit, I just went with a new unit.

Google Maps

It doesn't get run now unless I KNOW I am parked for a good 15 minutes to let that thing get totally hot. When I get ready to leave, the first thing I do is shut it down on the control panel BEFORE I go to start the truck.

This is the one time I wish I had a standby switch on the dash for the APU system. So I can hit the switch if I want to move the truck with the bunk heater running for a short spell.

The insulation on my truck sucks enough, that on days it's getting to single digits, the bunk heater isn't such a good idea anymore. Sub-zero, I need to idle the truck. It would almost be nice to have a second stand alone heater for extra warmth then.

 

[8978]

Going up and down in speed is a sign the fan is going. The other symptom is the unit just stops dead. That's the computer saying something is wrong.

 

[Mike]

Going up and down in speed is a sign the fan is going. The other symptom is the unit just stops dead. That's the computer saying something is wrong.

Enough! Now I am sitting in here listening for things to go wrong with my heater!

 

[8978]

You can save yourself a lot of problems buy buying a bottle of lamp kerosene at Walmart and running it through on boost. Just get yourself like 3 or 4 feet of black hose. Stick it in the bottle and the other on the pump and watch the carbon sparks fly out.

 

[mndriver]

Enough! Now I am sitting in here listening for things to go wrong with my heater!

How do you think I feel every time I'm at home and have the reefer/truck on or software out on the road.

"Listening" to the equipment is the first indicator or a problem.

A slap of the top belt is the final indicator it's time to tighten belts.

The squeal of the fan clutch is the sign it's time to go into the shop.

HOW the reefer/apu/ engine is starting is another.

Thousand different sounds you listen to every day.

The most relaxing thing for me is NOT listening to my equipment run.

 

[mndriver]

Was getting ready to deliver my load. Was thinking my reefer was running rather long. It's set for 0, temp is +5°f.

Needs to see engine temp, volts and amps below 5 amps to shuts off.

Start stop in these cold temps are harder on it than winter.


Amps were right around 5 amps. So it sits and idles at 1450 until the battery is charged.

 

[Mike]

How do you think I feel every time I'm at home and have the reefer/truck on or software out on the road.

"Listening" to the equipment is the first indicator or a problem.

A slap of the top belt is the final indicator it's time to tighten belts.

The squeal of the fan clutch is the sign it's time to go into the shop.

HOW the reefer/apu/ engine is starting is another.

Thousand different sounds you listen to every day.

The most relaxing thing for me is NOT listening to my equipment run.

I would recommend ear plugs and leaving the hood closed.

 

[mndriver]

Why would I sleep with the hood open?

 

[Tazz]

I would recommend ear plugs and leaving the hood closed.

Don't forget cranking up the radio
I was sitting in line one Friday at Big G listening to the latest Slipknot album when the VP of maintenance walked up and asked what kind of speakers I had put in. I guess I had it turned up a little

Told him "Nah just what you guys have from factory"

He said "Well at least they work good"

"Yep I can crank it on up to cover up the sound of all those flat spotted tires your talented ****ing drivers keep creating. JUst max the radio out and they do not bother me one damn bit" Personal gripe about that company. Their tires were for shit.

"Well now I did not need to hear that"

"Well if the truth is inconvenient for you I suggest not engaging drivers"


Might have been a sign that I was not long for that company. Think I lasted a month maybe after that.

 

[Tazz]

Why would I sleep with the hood open?

S+M

 

[Mike]

Why would I sleep with the hood open?

See lots of folks doing that in the summer, lol.

 

[Blood]

S+M

I was gonna say,
So you can breath.

But you beat me to it.