Having it run for aprox. 1 year now. Still working amazingly well. Not for everyone I guess but when you want to get most out of your heater it is definitely for you. Even far better than all those Webasto, Eberspächer, Autoterm controllers I saw.
Im running the Afterburner in my van, its such a huge improvement over the original controller. My chinese controller only worked half the time and the timers were broken too, so now I`m a happy camper.
Firstly David thanks for the unintentional comedy in the video. I love the way your exactly like me trying to make a explanatory video to help others but things don't all go to plan so you naturally revert to a natural state of normal you. Absolutely hilarious makes for a great watch. Oh and you make some interesting points in the process regarding the standard unit and the addition of the after burner. I think I will be buying one after seeing this. Looking forward to new vids from you. 👍
Yeah I don't really plan a video. I just start and see where it goes. Which does mean sometimes I start making a video and then nothing works and I have to scrap it. But it makes things interesting.
Cheers for the video on changing the bearings on the motor, i changed both bearings on a noisy motor and noticed the same play and noise when spun by hand. I tried a few drops of motorcycle chain oil and it solved the problem. Good byyyyyeeee
I ordered one a year ago and only just found the bloody thing after moving stuff round and now going to fit this weekend on my van, excellent video as norm, nice jobs bigman 👊🙌
Ordered mine today and have a tracking number.. can’t wait for it to arrive! Ray seems like a nice guy & is actively developing the product so I’m looking forward to experimenting with it.
Another doozy of an episode. David, your candidness and down to earth presentations are such a relief from that vile corporate world of hype and half truths, lies and downright money grubbing arseholery. I've contacted Ray about the unit - thanks. I'm interested in the basic unit...no bluetooth, GPIB, wifi - just want better temperature control in my camper.
I'd Be interested in seeing videos on setting it to auto turn on once the room hits a certain temperature. I want it to compliment my wood stove and have it run either in the night after the fire goes down and during the day when I am at work.
Quick question - possibly to be included in a future video: my heater (as probably all heaters) will drop the battery voltage considerably while the glow plug is on - say from 12.4V all the way down to 11.5V. Now I don't mind that, because I know it is temporary, because of the increased draw of the glow plug - as soon as the start up is completed, the voltage goes back up. However, during normal heater operation, I wouldn't want the battery to drop much further than, say 11.9V - as that would really mean draining the battery, not just a temporary voltage drop. Can you find out (or test) if the Afterburner is intelligent enough to distinguish between the two situations - because it wouldn't be of much use either if it aborts the start up when the battery drops during the glow plug activation - or the opposite, if it would let the battery drain all the way down to 11.5V during normal use. I hope the above makes sense.
The battery voltage is not dropping to 11.5 with the glow plug on, that's just the voltage at the end of those long wires. Using thicker shorter wires with less connections, or doubling up, would minimise this low voltage reading.
Neat to see it uses the esp32. I'm just starting to learn about microcontrollers and thought that making a replacement controller for my heater might be an interesting project in the future.
_Thanks; I went straight to the Afterburner site from your link too, and sent out an email to buy one. The cost is a bit, but it's not if it does as you say. Again thanks!_
@@HorseboxCamper, thanks, and I have already been in contact with him. He's waiting on more supplies and putting people on a list. Thought I would pass that along too.
Morning, you asked for suggestions as to questions or things we would like more information on... well ;-) First, I have all in 1 5kw heater similar to your red tall one. The tank fuel take off is 30mm plus up the end so it never uses all the diesel, ok now I know, what are the implications of heater running out of fuel (apart from the obvious) secondly I have a 2m plus temp exhaust pipe exiting the house via a cat flap and angled down, so no condensation build up. I am getting lots of white smoke / steam out of the end and some evidence of soot. I am looking to reduce exhaust length but could do with your expertise in showing / describing setting up the hz and blower settings and their impact on running. My understanding is up the blower settings esp in low to give more air and therefore better combustion, so less soot, but your indepth advice / demo would be great. Many thanks Paul
can it regulate the temperature smoothly? because mine standard control when it is in thermostat mode adjust the temperature by switching from lowest to highest heating output all the time and that's annoying...
@@MrPeiringer best feature is slowly ramping up or down fuel supply and fan speed to maintain a set temperature. Great facebook group with tons of info as well.
Great vid as ever. I’ve just ordered an Afterburner from down under for my heater. Freeze protection would be great, also setting up the linear frequency temp control - and maybe seeing how much battery power it can save over night? Cheers
I would also be keen to see a video on this working with that unit if it's compatible. See how it works with the water and the heat combind or separate.👍 😁
START AT PAGE 1 AND KEEP GOING LOL I JUST BOUGHT A HEATER LIKE YOURS ALL IN ONE IT HAS A ALL ALUMINIUM CASE AND A 4 HOLE OUTLET I WAS BLOWN AWAY ITS ALL ALUMINUM LOOKS GREAT CANT WAIT TO HOOK IT UP !! THANKS FOR ALL YOUR KNOWLEDGE BUDDY !
As always, love your videos. Would be great to know if you can set it to come on as a frost protection device when away from the heater eg in a camper. Also really REALLY keen to see how one would connect to it over the cellular network and what extra hardware is required. I’m just hoping my heater is compatible after all this lol.
2 Questions: 1. Can you hook up a float sensor to this so it tells the controller when to shut off the heater, and will tell me how much fuel time I have left? 2. Could this make running the diesel heaters on Makita Battery/ies easier since it has voltage sense/GPIO input? I intend to use one of these for a backup heat/shop heater at home, and I thought about using it for camping if I can hook up about 3 or 4 tool batteries to pre-heat a tent or small cabin before I get a wood stove going. Sorry if these were already answered. It's funny because something like this oddly excites me.
I looked at this last year but despite my engineering knowledge, this looked too out of my depth, especially with the software side so glad you're covering it now 👍
If you can do Video on using the diesel heater on a standard thermostat would be great like a digital thermostat I have a cabin and went to visit and seen my pipes froze. I use my cabin a lot so didn't think to drain the Lines as I wasn't gone long but would be nice to control the temp when I away.
So the question is (for me and you!ha) do I go for a 5kw CDH plus the afterburner, or 4kw Autoterm and comfort controller? Reliability is more important than price to me as we’re going to go to cold places and the Mrs don’t like the cold!lol if our heater packed up she would literally fly home and leave me 😂👍🏼 Happy Christmas mate, appreciate the effort you put in to these sort of videos
@@DavidMcLuckiethe Lavaner is in the post right now 😊 just rewatching this to get familiar with how to setup the afterburner once I hear back from Ray 👍🏼 thanks again
Can someone please tell me how to set up the fuel usage Maximum/warning settings... I cannot figure out how it can know how large of a tank i am using to shut down and give me a warning before it runs dry.. I can not find, where to tell the unit what size tank i have ?
Just found this video, what a great upgrade for these heaters. Just a quick question does it turn the heater on and off as it reaches temp or does the heater constantly run like the original controller. I love your videos always informative. Thanks for sharing. Steve.
The Afterburner unit is fantastic, much better than the original heater controller fitted to our RV it has enabled much better control over the Chinese heater with far more functions than the original noisy inefficient blown air LPG system.
Have Chinese diesel heater with the same stock controller that is mounted on your heater . The problem I'm having is the heater still runs on low heat mode when the set temperature in my RV is satisfied. There for overheating the RV making it very uncomfortable, have to shut the heater off manually and turn back on when he is needed ( not a good design) does the afterburner shut the heater down completely and then restarts at when heat is needed again . Like the thermostat does in my house . Please reply ASAP thank you George
I'm pretty interested in how well Afterburner does actual temp control. Stock 5kW does it so that when outside is -2 to -5 and inside is set to +20°C, it runs full steam to exceed set value, then idles until drops 1 degree below set. Then full steam cycle to idle. For that exterior temps, my campervan does two cycles per hour. That consumes way much more battery charge than needed and likely also more fuel. Really working PI control algorithm would learn the control response and just raise a bit fuel pump bpm and speed up fans accordingly a bit. If Afterburner does that, it'll be excellent replacement. I'm just little worried that heater control board is too much responsible for controlling temps...
I read that it's adjustable. No idea why the stock controller doesn't have PI control, totally ridiculous. Maybe if you're okay with a slower warmup, you could turn down the maximum hz to something more manageable. Kind of a stop gap
Afterburner has a window so you can have a more gradual ramp instead of a bang on - bang off setup. I used mine all of last winter through -50 weather and it worked great.
@@Firebat45 How do you actually make this so? I've read the instructions fully (esp page 43 onwards) - & all it seems to be able to do is go from min to max, in order to maintain a set temp! I bought it in the hopes that it could do *other* than the standard controller, in this specific regard!
Can you put up a video into setting minimum voltage on startup, as I have the same controller you did have but my heater will not produce heat unless van engine being run for approx 2 minutes. Thanks
i would be interested in, if you run the afterburner in thermostat mode if it has fixed the issue that the heater runs always just in lowest mode and highest mode. it would be nice if it could adjust the temperature smoothly!? thx
Hi David, Love your videos nothing wrong with the language, if someone acts like ane, Cnut is absolutely appropriate. Ordered an afterburner, looks magic... A couple o questions on other stuff I cannae find, wanting tae rig up a 240/12V transformer as ane on my heaters is in my workshop. Would a neat wee 10A LED transformer do???? An another, I cant seem to get a reliable answer...what is the max length o exhaust really need is 2m, this would go straight up for at least 4 foot??? Keep up the good work, from sunny Glenisla
Looks pretty good i would like to know more about the frost mode what it can do and how good it is in frost mode and if you can set the desired temperature to come on
Pretty much as you've described. You set the temperature you want frost mode to kick in at and it'll sit there in standby until that happens. Then it'll fire up.
I have a brand new diesel heater that I cant get to power up. When I have 12 volts going to it, im presented with the led screen. I've primed the pump, when I press the power button to start it, it shuts down immediately without any error codes. Its 87 degrees fahrenheit where im at. I just wanted to test this thing out. Could the thermostat be preventing this thing from firing up?
@@DavidMcLuckie Thank you for your reply friend. As a guy who likes to take things apart to see what makes them tick, I enjoy your content. Thanks for what you do.
I have recently purchased a "discrete" unit (ie, 10l tank separate from heater) and so far it seems to be working OK in my container home, mounted on the wall. I haven't worked out how to set the temperature yet, but the default H1-H6 settings seem to cover my needs. Power consumption is only significant during glowplug operation, so I'm not too fussed about that. Wondering two things: What advantages would this device offer me, and why "Afterburner" - which word specifically applies to secondary combustion of partially burned exhaust gasses - which obviously is not the case here.
By your description of having H1-6 as your heat settings it's unlikely the Afterburner would have been compatible with your ECU anyway. As for the name you'd have to ask Ray.
@@DavidMcLuckie Thanks for the prompt reply. The title "The Afterburner" caught my eye was all. I guess that "Alternative Control Unit" isn't as sexy to sell your (his) merchandise as "Afterburner". After-market, yes. After-burner it is not. Me, I prefer honesty and transparency in advertising, so even tho he's a fellow-Aussie, that's a huge point against him from where I stand. But that's me. Other's might think it's cute, or don't care. As I commented, I purchased a very standard Chinese diesel heater, and I have been trawling through YT for any and all tips from people who've got any experience and advice to offer. All has been interesting and helpful, and your material is well-presented. So far I'm pretty happy with my device. I did all the suggested things (like mounting the pump at a 30º angle), and it fires up with no problems. The clicking isn't a problem, tho the general dB level of the unit (having it inside) is a bit overwhelming. Thing is, I wanted to have it recirculating the air inside as it heats it, rather than sucking in cold air from outside. That turns out to have been a wise choice, because if it really IS pumping 8kW of heat out on H6, then it only JUST keeps ahead of the cold if my slow combustion stove has gone out. Much better than nothing, but not as warm as I'd hoped when I selected the 5-8kW model. Cheers
@@Tassie-Devil If you think you bought an 8kW cheap CDH, you are mistaken or have been conned. No such device exists. The “8kW” versions are basically no different to the “5kW” versions. The 5kW versions are unlikely to deliver 5kW, btw. Mine doesn’t - but I knew/suspected that before I purchased it.
@@oliver90owner Yep, I guess I knew that - more I was naming the title it was sold under, like many. Now I have it running on temp-control (the setting between 6 and 1) it seems to do a good job. I mostly use it for brief cold snaps over shoulder-seasons when it's not worth lighting the wood fire, so it doesn't have to battle snow-level cold. The other innovation which has helped is installing a small fan above the main wood stove, to push hot ceiling-level air back down to floor level and keep things circulating. This has also been effective when I run the diesel heater, so by and large it is fulfilling its purpose.
@@Tassie-Devil Hi again. Running on H1 - H6 is constant pump setting, so constant heat output at the particular setting. If wanting temperature control you need to select that mode with the controller. Mine is lousy in that It doesn’t reduce the heat output until the temperature gets to about 7 Celsius beyond the set temperature. The joys of cheap chinese heaters!🙂
Try injecting kerosene I have been running mine now three years now never had to clean chamber only replaced glow plugs ,really enjoy the show.hope this comment goes to the right vid
I’m still waiting on a controller that can control air to fuel mixtures for the aspligo dual brushless motor units, the factory one sucks a lot, it would be awesome to control how much air is fed into the burn chamber it would be nice to see better atomizations of fuel thus maximizing heat and or efficiency this would be very nice
I bought one of these after seeing this video and love it mate 👍🏻 but have you tried running and eberspacher d2/d4 off one? I believe you can run d2 with a chinese ecu😮 would be interesting to see if the amazing afterburner can do eberspächer too 🤔
There doesn't appear to be a buy page on the website. How did you get your hands on it? I recently bought a RF device that I have synced my remote to. So I can turn it on and off, up and down the heat but nothing to this extent. I should had done more research!
Good shot making this video, I was about to buy the Challenger ACLS sells, if my holmebuild setup fails. But now I will go for the Afterburner. 1. It's not a copy of a aftermarket bit. (4th party thing?) 2. Seems to have better features and reviews.
@@DavidMcLuckie Industrial espionage happens everywhere shite patter but it happens... I read somewhere the Aussie guy is not delivering them to the uk due to the brexit rules ???? How else can we get them if not from the Scottish company mate?
So I know when my diesel heater goes to idle when it's at temp but it doesn't shut off. Will the after burner shut it off completely until it needs to heat again and turn back on my garadge is insulated very well so it would only need to run for a few hours a day in the winter.
Yes it will you set it to "Frost Mode" set the ON temp and the Off temp I have one in the greenhouse set ON at 10 deg and OFF at 11Deg and one in the garage set at ON at 8 deg OFF at 10 deg both work perfect, you can also look at how much fuel it has used and also hours run Also I have the garage one set to 20 Deg as well so when I go in I just press the middle button and it comes on ramps up to 20 then goes on tick over when I leave press middle button again it goes off and sits in frost mode If you connect it to a phone / laptop it is on a big screen and it is easier to see the settings and it will do practically anything you want it to If your Garage is close enough for bluetooth you can use that as well I bought a temp sensor with a 5M lead (£3 on Ebay) and plugged that in in place of the supplied one and fitted it in the middle of the garage roof space away from the heater for a better temp control; If you have any questions just e.mail Ray he is verry helpfull and nothing to much trouble for him I sent him about 10 e.mails and he answeredthem all within the time lapse UK to AUS
Thanks David - I was having a mare of a day and your use of the C words cheered me up no end! I went to the Afterburner site but confused to if the 8kw or 5kw vehicle heaters could be used - there is no real way of telling which controller board I'd get from an Ebay advert! anyone know?
I own an 8DM PLANAR diesel heater. Will it work for that!? Thanks. Can you set it to make the heater burn more efficiently !? Where do I buy one...and what's it called.
Hi David I have a eberspacher hydronic for heating my water in my van and a cdh for heating the air. I can turn on my hydronic through WiFi with a nest thermostat using the yellow wire on the heater connected to the hot water supply switch. Is there a way to turn on the cdh with the 12v supply wire from the nest thermostat? I love your very entertaining and informative videos and would value your advice on this. Thanks
Hi David. Thanks again for your help in the past. Question, what is the easiest way to ascertain the core module type in a heater. Hope the answer will also be of use to others. Cheers. Jim.
@ 4:54-- "...and I'm ashamed to say... there is a Scottish company that is selling them as their own kind." I knew from that point on I'd get the real deal from you. Even though I'm an American of Scottish descent I can see things happening in Scotland that would enrage my grandfather. Perhaps that's why he emigrated, he could see it coming.
Hi everybody, I'm totally brand new to these type of heaters can anyone point me in the right direction of which model is the best to buy, there seems to be so many! And of course where to purchase from, thanks.
Hi from Alaska, I’ve been using webastos and espars at work alot in the past, new to the knockoff heaters, I’m really interested in getting one of these afterburners, because both of the 2 different heaters I just bought don’t have very many functions at all which is kinda lame I thought they were all supposed to be the same between the brands and what not, I was looking at the controllers, what is the difference between the normal one and the GPIO?
Just watched "Mispronounced Adventures" video on his stripping down the heater, he promoted the after burner unit as well. Which led to your link of the unit. He mentioned he only uses high grade diesel in his unit, others have used Red diesel. Have you done any tests of the affects of the different brands of Diesel ?
Here in the UK red diesel is the exact same as road diesel except for the red dye*. I think America might have different grades but don't quote me on that. I know the American cetane values for diesel can vary state to state. For this application, more cetane would be good as it makes the diesel easier to ignite. *now only farmers are allowed to use red diesel.
Great informative vid my friend. Thank you. I wonder if you have an idea on how well these China heaters would work on long-term use. I'm needing constant running heat for weeks or longer at one time. With a larger fuel source and being able to refuel live I will be hoping to operate at a continuous cycle. Let us know if these heaters are good to run long term with no shut downs!
That would be difficult to predict. Based on their price point quality control is fairly low. You might get a heater built with good parts and it runs for months on end for years. But you're also as likely to get one that dies on its second day.
I have a 5KW on the go since last October 2020 in continuous use, all day and night more or less and definitely 24 hours in cold weather. So far so good, I suspect I will start getting noisy bearings or total bearing failure but so far no noises to concern me. Just bought a second one as a back up. Considering the price even if it failed after a year they are superb value.
I set mine up about 2 days ago and it’s been on continuously since then. If you don’t want to spend the money to buy a whole second unit for backup, you can buy all of the internal parts that are likely to fail like a spare fan unit, new control board, combustion chamber, etc. the parts are cheap, something like $25 for a new control board, $20 for the blower assembly.
2 years later...is this still needed? Or has technology caught up with factory units to include a lot of these features? Looking to purchase my first diesel heater and stumbled across this video.
None of the factory units as yet can replace an Afterburner. Some of them have bluetooth control and better temperature control control, but they also lack features like being able to tune them properly.
Hi David, enjoy your videos, do you have make models of your heater as I have the afterburner on its way and need to buy suitable heater. One all in one for workshop install and one for van install. Thanks
I have a question, that I hope you can help me with. I have just bought a new PCB for my burner. But this version uses magnetics on the input fan. Does the polarity of the magnet's matter
Sort of. There is an option on the controller if you have two magnets with different polarity or one magnet, and the other is two magnets of the same polarity. If you get it wrong the heater will think the fan is spinning either faster or slower than it is.
@@DavidMcLuckie Thanks.. I thought so. Basically a speed controller for the fuel pump. I can say I have enjoyed your presentation of your videos and your thoughts of them. Thanks again
Does this controller actually shut the burner off when the area is up to or above temperature? My chinese controller will turn the pump speed all the way down, but no matter what temperature the thermostat is detecting, it won't actually shut the heater off.
Read a bit about this controller on their website. Some might find this funny, but as a ‘ yank ‘ I really appreciate that it can operate in Fahrenheit 🤠
I Like to learn also more on Chinese Diesel water heater ( like your vid recently)..my project want to pre Heat engine and second heat source for an installed Alde heater....
@David McLuckie with your videos, make me realize that with a diesel truck you can get a very high comfortable camper with extreme ease... My question, for cooking... What limit you on cutting the diesel heater as you did in the past and you direct heats from the flam to make a nice diesel oven??? With one fuel from the car you will have hot air, hot water and hot food 🔥😉 what is your thoughts?
A lot of companies make diesel powered stoves, ovens,water heaters, heaters and Webasto is one such company and makes a very good diesel stove I want to install into my bus
You don't even need a diesel powered vehicle. Most of these heaters come with a little fuel tank, or you can simply buy a portable 5 gallon diesel tank and install it somewhere in your vehicle just for the heater. These little heaters are awesome, I just installed one in my shed and it kicks ass compared to those smelly propane heaters.
Just ordered one and reading the manual ready for when it arrives Messages with Ray he seems a real nice guy and verry helpfull Can anyone tell me the easist way to set the "Frost Mode" Its for the greenhouse so I want it to maintain 12 Deg C It looks easy enough to do but any help is appreciated Thanks in advance
I just found your air/fuel tuning video. I seriously didn't know that I was causing the soot build up in my heater by running at the wrong mix... Anyway now I'm playing with my Afterburner's BT app to tune and monitor fan speed, pump speed, and comparing body temperatures as I don't have your fancy O2 sensor. I'm curious about the linear hz setting for the thermostat and if you can maintain a good ratio even as it approaches the target temp and varies the fan/pump speeds?
Hi David. I would like to see you test out the GPIO functions. I'd like to see how you wire in a digital input using a switch at the tank when you refill it (mine is outside) to reset the fuel used figure in the afterburner, or any other cool features you can think of. I'd also like to see you set up the MQTT broker and see if you can access the AB using just your cellular signal or from a remote location. That I'm really interested in. I'd really like to see Ray add on an API call to allow you to link it with Alexa for voice commands. Love your videos by the way. One last question. I'm running my heater with a 12V power supply and want to incorporate the relay in one of the videos you did, to switch to a small battery in the case of a power failure. I just want to use a small battery just powerful enough to allow the fan to run while it goes into cooling mode before it shuts down as I'm only interested in protecting the ecu from frying. What's the smallest battery I can get away with in terms of amperage as I don't want to use a massive great big car battery. Also would I need a trickle charger on the battery whilst it's on mains power. Again space is at a premium so I want to use a small profile charger. Any suggestions?
Hi David after I connect the afterburner with it owen controller I then fire it up when I shut it down do I turn off the power and disconnect the old controller or just plug it out even there is power going to it
@@DavidMcLuckie thanks David. do I have to go to input settings and put the settings from my old controller into the afterburner or when I plug the to on together the new afterburner automatically uploads the settings from the old controller by it's self or do I have to do this manual
@@DavidMcLuckie thanks very much David for replying. David when I connect the two controllers for the first time will the afterburner automatically upload the settings from my old controller
There is an option to have it copy the settings from the old controller. It's in the manual somewhere. I found it easier just to write down the settings and then put them back into the Afterburner.
I'm dying to know if this can be made to work with the combo air/water heater model! Worst case just the heater part and wire up a switch manually for the circ. pump.
If you replace the ECU board with one of the compatible units then yes, as the heater is basically still the same. And if you bought the Afterburner with the GPIO (general purpose inputs outputs) then you could put a relay on one of the outputs and have it turn the pump on and off.
I'm looking at this too! A digital ecu can be found very cheep though wiring it into the heater unit will require some new connectors and knowledge of which pin goes where. This last part I'm stuck on. Great to know if you find a solution :)
Is this unit Bluetooth or wifi Bluetooth is local like the remote wifi you can control miles away please confirm what it is ? Wifi or Bluetooth. Thanks
@kjc200763 you say "prematurely" but using the fan motor without heat has it's purposes. Besides, it's not like there's a manufacturer warranty to worry about voiding.
@@DavidMcLuckie if you have a fresh air damper for your cool air, you could open it & use "fan only" to get fresh air into your space. For example, if you're soldering in your shed and you want to have some fresh air. I would use that feature in my travel trailer when I want unheated fresh air brought in.
Not yet. But I'm in the process of making a DIY UnRaid server which should let me host an MQTT broker. Maybe I could set it up for all our Afterburner friends.
Great video! So, is the afterburner android app mostly a monitor with limited control features, or does the app offer the same controls as the main afterburner module(?)
Hi I would love to see a video on you turning the heater on using WiFi only. So you can be miles away from the heater and see the settings and user interface.
I'm looking to fit one of these heaters to my small workshop to maintain a reasonable temperature in it. Any idea if the afterburner can take inputs from other sources? Either physical connections or over wifi. I want to integrate temp/humidity sensing, de-humidifier and heating in to a smart home solution but i've no idea how i would trigger the heater to start/ stop remotely.
@@DavidMcLuckie other option I've looked at is getting one with a remote and using a micro controller with blynk to mimic it or tap wired directly in to the controllers buttons.... ah well... I shall think of something! Need to actually buy a heater first :)
Having it run for aprox. 1 year now. Still working amazingly well. Not for everyone I guess but when you want to get most out of your heater it is definitely for you. Even far better than all those Webasto, Eberspächer, Autoterm controllers I saw.
Whats the main problems with it?
Im running the Afterburner in my van, its such a huge improvement over the original controller. My chinese controller only worked half the time and the timers were broken too, so now I`m a happy camper.
Firstly David thanks for the unintentional comedy in the video. I love the way your exactly like me trying to make a explanatory video to help others but things don't all go to plan so you naturally revert to a natural state of normal you. Absolutely hilarious makes for a great watch.
Oh and you make some interesting points in the process regarding the standard unit and the addition of the after burner. I think I will be buying one after seeing this.
Looking forward to new vids from you. 👍
Yeah I don't really plan a video. I just start and see where it goes. Which does mean sometimes I start making a video and then nothing works and I have to scrap it. But it makes things interesting.
Cheers for the video on changing the bearings on the motor, i changed both bearings on a noisy motor and noticed the same play and noise when spun by hand. I tried a few drops of motorcycle chain oil and it solved the problem. Good byyyyyeeee
I ordered one a year ago and only just found the bloody thing after moving stuff round and now going to fit this weekend on my van, excellent video as norm, nice jobs bigman 👊🙌
Ordered mine today and have a tracking number.. can’t wait for it to arrive! Ray seems like a nice guy & is actively developing the product so I’m looking forward to experimenting with it.
Nice! I got mine a month ago. Heater was installed today. Installing the AB next. So glad you connected with Ray. He’s so great to work with.
Thanks for all videos you made, I have bough this unit to my heater now, waiting it to arrive from down under. All because of your videos.
Another doozy of an episode. David, your candidness and down to earth presentations are such a relief from that vile corporate world of hype and half truths, lies and downright money grubbing arseholery. I've contacted Ray about the unit - thanks. I'm interested in the basic unit...no bluetooth, GPIB, wifi - just want better temperature control in my camper.
@@geraldhenrickson7472 WTF?? - what are you smoking my man?
My heater works really good now and to improve it more would be sweet as well . Tks for what you show and hope all is well
I'd Be interested in seeing videos on setting it to auto turn on once the room hits a certain temperature. I want it to compliment my wood stove and have it run either in the night after the fire goes down and during the day when I am at work.
Took me about 6secs to spot the classic Impreza STi badges. Good man.
Been using that afterburner off ray for 4 months , i never used the cdh ecu, works great with a phone
Quick question - possibly to be included in a future video: my heater (as probably all heaters) will drop the battery voltage considerably while the glow plug is on - say from 12.4V all the way down to 11.5V. Now I don't mind that, because I know it is temporary, because of the increased draw of the glow plug - as soon as the start up is completed, the voltage goes back up. However, during normal heater operation, I wouldn't want the battery to drop much further than, say 11.9V - as that would really mean draining the battery, not just a temporary voltage drop. Can you find out (or test) if the Afterburner is intelligent enough to distinguish between the two situations - because it wouldn't be of much use either if it aborts the start up when the battery drops during the glow plug activation - or the opposite, if it would let the battery drain all the way down to 11.5V during normal use. I hope the above makes sense.
That is something I can test.
Brilliant - thank you!
The battery voltage is not dropping to 11.5 with the glow plug on, that's just the voltage at the end of those long wires. Using thicker shorter wires with less connections, or doubling up, would minimise this low voltage reading.
Neat to see it uses the esp32. I'm just starting to learn about microcontrollers and thought that making a replacement controller for my heater might be an interesting project in the future.
_Thanks; I went straight to the Afterburner site from your link too, and sent out an email to buy one. The cost is a bit, but it's not if it does as you say. Again thanks!_
Don’t forget the price is in Australian dollars, for what it does I think it is amazing value.
@@HorseboxCamper, thanks, and I have already been in contact with him. He's waiting on more supplies and putting people on a list. Thought I would pass that along too.
@@FirstSuiGeneris Ray surprised me as I only had to wait 2 weeks before he sent me the invoice after ordering then despatched the next day!
@@HorseboxCamper that's great news, thanks!
Morning, you asked for suggestions as to questions or things we would like more information on... well ;-)
First, I have all in 1 5kw heater similar to your red tall one. The tank fuel take off is 30mm plus up the end so it never uses all the diesel, ok now I know, what are the implications of heater running out of fuel (apart from the obvious) secondly I have a 2m plus temp exhaust pipe exiting the house via a cat flap and angled down, so no condensation build up. I am getting lots of white smoke / steam out of the end and some evidence of soot. I am looking to reduce exhaust length but could do with your expertise in showing / describing setting up the hz and blower settings and their impact on running. My understanding is up the blower settings esp in low to give more air and therefore better combustion, so less soot, but your indepth advice / demo would be great. Many thanks Paul
Afterburner is awesome! Been using mine for over 1 year.
can it regulate the temperature smoothly? because mine standard control when it is in thermostat mode adjust the temperature by switching from lowest to highest heating output all the time and that's annoying...
@@MrPeiringer best feature is slowly ramping up or down fuel supply and fan speed to maintain a set temperature. Great facebook group with tons of info as well.
@@ryanh4889 thanks for the info! :)
@@MrPeiringer Afterburner has a Linear HZ mode that does a good job of smoothing out the rollercoaster temp swings
i wonder iff you can tru to save more from the exhaust form webast like put on some radiator and fan
Great vid as ever.
I’ve just ordered an Afterburner from down under for my heater. Freeze protection would be great, also setting up the linear frequency temp control - and maybe seeing how much battery power it can save over night? Cheers
Just ordered mine I want to set frost mode for greenhouse was it easy to do
@@michaelbailey7112 how did you order it please
I would also be keen to see a video on this working with that unit if it's compatible. See how it works with the water and the heat combind or separate.👍 😁
START AT PAGE 1 AND KEEP GOING LOL I JUST BOUGHT A HEATER LIKE YOURS ALL IN ONE IT HAS A ALL ALUMINIUM CASE AND A 4 HOLE OUTLET I WAS BLOWN AWAY ITS ALL ALUMINUM LOOKS GREAT CANT WAIT TO HOOK IT UP !! THANKS FOR ALL YOUR KNOWLEDGE BUDDY !
@@geraldhenrickson7472 thats the first all aluminium heater ive seen . very cool though lol
As always, love your videos.
Would be great to know if you can set it to come on as a frost protection device when away from the heater eg in a camper. Also really REALLY keen to see how one would connect to it over the cellular network and what extra hardware is required. I’m just hoping my heater is compatible after all this lol.
Yes, it's literally got a frost setting in the menu. :)
That'd be a good video, explaining the ° on/off and how much battery it might be using if it's going through a cycle several times a day.
david you are the expert can you convert this to heat water.regards. declan
2 Questions:
1. Can you hook up a float sensor to this so it tells the controller when to shut off the heater, and will tell me how much fuel time I have left?
2. Could this make running the diesel heaters on Makita Battery/ies easier since it has voltage sense/GPIO input?
I intend to use one of these for a backup heat/shop heater at home, and I thought about using it for camping if I can hook up about 3 or 4 tool batteries to pre-heat a tent or small cabin before I get a wood stove going.
Sorry if these were already answered. It's funny because something like this oddly excites me.
I looked at this last year but despite my engineering knowledge, this looked too out of my depth, especially with the software side so glad you're covering it now 👍
If you can do Video on using the diesel heater on a standard thermostat would be great like a digital thermostat I have a cabin and went to visit and seen my pipes froze. I use my cabin a lot so didn't think to drain the
Lines as I wasn't gone long but would be nice to control the temp when I away.
Glad I'm not the only one that gets the screws in backwards
I thought screws were stripped. But my screw driver was broken. Handle was spinning but not the bit.
App could use Prime pump. I use web site. But pita when phone disconnects wifi due to lack of internet
So the question is (for me and you!ha) do I go for a 5kw CDH plus the afterburner, or 4kw Autoterm and comfort controller?
Reliability is more important than price to me as we’re going to go to cold places and the Mrs don’t like the cold!lol if our heater packed up she would literally fly home and leave me 😂👍🏼
Happy Christmas mate, appreciate the effort you put in to these sort of videos
Why not a Lavaner Pro heater and an Afterburner. High quality heater and afterburner compatible.
@@DavidMcLuckiethe Lavaner is in the post right now 😊 just rewatching this to get familiar with how to setup the afterburner once I hear back from Ray 👍🏼 thanks again
Can someone please tell me how to set up the fuel usage Maximum/warning settings... I cannot figure out how it can know how large of a tank i am using to shut down and give me a warning before it runs dry.. I can not find, where to tell the unit what size tank i have ?
Just found this video, what a great upgrade for these heaters. Just a quick question does it turn the heater on and off as it reaches temp or does the heater constantly run like the original controller.
I love your videos always informative. Thanks for sharing. Steve.
'made to explore' posted recently that this controller does indeed shut off the heater - a major improvement IMHO
The Afterburner unit is fantastic, much better than the original heater controller fitted to our RV it has enabled much better control over the Chinese heater with far more functions than the original noisy inefficient blown air LPG system.
Have Chinese diesel heater with the same stock controller that is mounted on your heater . The problem I'm having is the heater still runs on low heat mode when the set temperature in my RV is satisfied. There for overheating the RV making it very uncomfortable, have to shut the heater off manually and turn back on when he is needed ( not a good design) does the afterburner shut the heater down completely and then restarts at when heat is needed again . Like the thermostat does in my house . Please reply ASAP thank you George
That is one of the options on the Afterburner, it will turn the heater all the way off and start it back it up again.
I'm pretty interested in how well Afterburner does actual temp control. Stock 5kW does it so that when outside is -2 to -5 and inside is set to +20°C, it runs full steam to exceed set value, then idles until drops 1 degree below set. Then full steam cycle to idle.
For that exterior temps, my campervan does two cycles per hour. That consumes way much more battery charge than needed and likely also more fuel.
Really working PI control algorithm would learn the control response and just raise a bit fuel pump bpm and speed up fans accordingly a bit.
If Afterburner does that, it'll be excellent replacement. I'm just little worried that heater control board is too much responsible for controlling temps...
I read that it's adjustable. No idea why the stock controller doesn't have PI control, totally ridiculous. Maybe if you're okay with a slower warmup, you could turn down the maximum hz to something more manageable. Kind of a stop gap
Afterburner has a window so you can have a more gradual ramp instead of a bang on - bang off setup. I used mine all of last winter through -50 weather and it worked great.
@@Firebat45 How do you actually make this so? I've read the instructions fully (esp page 43 onwards) - & all it seems to be able to do is go from min to max, in order to maintain a set temp! I bought it in the hopes that it could do *other* than the standard controller, in this specific regard!
@@Lucentlens You need to put it into linear Hz mode and give it a window of at least a few degrees.
@@Firebat45 Fantastic buddy! Very many thanks!! This was the main reason that I forked out for these units! 👍🏽👍🏽
Can you put up a video into setting minimum voltage on startup, as I have the same controller you did have but my heater will not produce heat unless van engine being run for approx 2 minutes. Thanks
i would be interested in, if you run the afterburner in thermostat mode if it has fixed the issue that the heater runs always just in lowest mode and highest mode. it would be nice if it could adjust the temperature smoothly!? thx
What Ryan H said. :)
Another brilliant video 👍🏻👍🏻
Congrats on buying one! They are great
Hi David, Love your videos nothing wrong with the language, if someone acts like ane, Cnut is absolutely appropriate. Ordered an afterburner, looks magic... A couple o questions on other stuff I cannae find, wanting tae rig up a 240/12V transformer as ane on my heaters is in my workshop. Would a neat wee 10A LED transformer do????
An another, I cant seem to get a reliable answer...what is the max length o exhaust really need is 2m, this would go straight up for at least 4 foot???
Keep up the good work, from sunny Glenisla
Looks pretty good i would like to know more about the frost mode what it can do and how good it is in frost mode and if you can set the desired temperature to come on
Pretty much as you've described. You set the temperature you want frost mode to kick in at and it'll sit there in standby until that happens. Then it'll fire up.
I have a brand new diesel heater that I cant get to power up. When I have 12 volts going to it, im presented with the led screen. I've primed the pump, when I press the power button to start it, it shuts down immediately without any error codes. Its 87 degrees fahrenheit where im at. I just wanted to test this thing out. Could the thermostat be preventing this thing from firing up?
Yes. If you've set the stop temperature higher than the current temperature it'll just sit there waiting for it to be cold enough to fire up.
@@DavidMcLuckie Thank you for your reply friend. As a guy who likes to take things apart to see what makes them tick, I enjoy your content. Thanks for what you do.
I have recently purchased a "discrete" unit (ie, 10l tank separate from heater) and so far it seems to be working OK in my container home, mounted on the wall.
I haven't worked out how to set the temperature yet, but the default H1-H6 settings seem to cover my needs. Power consumption is only significant during glowplug operation, so I'm not too fussed about that.
Wondering two things: What advantages would this device offer me, and why "Afterburner" - which word specifically applies to secondary combustion of partially burned exhaust gasses - which obviously is not the case here.
By your description of having H1-6 as your heat settings it's unlikely the Afterburner would have been compatible with your ECU anyway. As for the name you'd have to ask Ray.
@@DavidMcLuckie Thanks for the prompt reply.
The title "The Afterburner" caught my eye was all. I guess that "Alternative Control Unit" isn't as sexy to sell your (his) merchandise as "Afterburner". After-market, yes. After-burner it is not.
Me, I prefer honesty and transparency in advertising, so even tho he's a fellow-Aussie, that's a huge point against him from where I stand. But that's me. Other's might think it's cute, or don't care.
As I commented, I purchased a very standard Chinese diesel heater, and I have been trawling through YT for any and all tips from people who've got any experience and advice to offer.
All has been interesting and helpful, and your material is well-presented.
So far I'm pretty happy with my device. I did all the suggested things (like mounting the pump at a 30º angle), and it fires up with no problems.
The clicking isn't a problem, tho the general dB level of the unit (having it inside) is a bit overwhelming.
Thing is, I wanted to have it recirculating the air inside as it heats it, rather than sucking in cold air from outside.
That turns out to have been a wise choice, because if it really IS pumping 8kW of heat out on H6, then it only JUST keeps ahead of the cold if my slow combustion stove has gone out.
Much better than nothing, but not as warm as I'd hoped when I selected the 5-8kW model.
Cheers
@@Tassie-Devil If you think you bought an 8kW cheap CDH, you are mistaken or have been conned. No such device exists. The “8kW” versions are basically no different to the “5kW” versions. The 5kW versions are unlikely to deliver 5kW, btw. Mine doesn’t - but I knew/suspected that before I purchased it.
@@oliver90owner Yep, I guess I knew that - more I was naming the title it was sold under, like many. Now I have it running on temp-control (the setting between 6 and 1) it seems to do a good job.
I mostly use it for brief cold snaps over shoulder-seasons when it's not worth lighting the wood fire, so it doesn't have to battle snow-level cold.
The other innovation which has helped is installing a small fan above the main wood stove, to push hot ceiling-level air back down to floor level and keep things circulating. This has also been effective when I run the diesel heater, so by and large it is fulfilling its purpose.
@@Tassie-Devil Hi again. Running on H1 - H6 is constant pump setting, so constant heat output at the particular setting. If wanting temperature control you need to select that mode with the controller. Mine is lousy in that It doesn’t reduce the heat output until the temperature gets to about 7 Celsius beyond the set temperature. The joys of cheap chinese heaters!🙂
is it possible to run 2 dieselheaters on 1 controller maybe you can test it
Very much enjoy your videos. Sounding like my 2 favourite UA-camrs (Clive and AVE) talking about my current obsession
Try injecting kerosene I have been running mine now three years now never had to clean chamber only replaced glow plugs ,really enjoy the show.hope this comment goes to the right vid
Have you ever tried running one of these heaters off a 12v super capacitor?
I’m still waiting on a controller that can control air to fuel mixtures for the aspligo dual brushless motor units, the factory one sucks a lot, it would be awesome to control how much air is fed into the burn chamber it would be nice to see better atomizations of fuel thus maximizing heat and or efficiency this would be very nice
I don't suppose you have a link to the heater? I haven't been able to find anywhere that sells them.
I bought one of these after seeing this video and love it mate 👍🏻 but have you tried running and eberspacher d2/d4 off one? I believe you can run d2 with a chinese ecu😮 would be interesting to see if the amazing afterburner can do eberspächer too 🤔
There doesn't appear to be a buy page on the website. How did you get your hands on it? I recently bought a RF device that I have synced my remote to. So I can turn it on and off, up and down the heat but nothing to this extent. I should had done more research!
Good shot making this video, I was about to buy the Challenger ACLS sells, if my holmebuild setup fails. But now I will go for the Afterburner.
1. It's not a copy of a aftermarket bit. (4th party thing?)
2. Seems to have better features and reviews.
Challenger are the thieving cunts that stole the design and are selling it as their own.
@@DavidMcLuckie so they are the company you mentioned. That is cheeky as fuck to reverse Engineer something and then say you did it!!
@@DavidMcLuckie
Industrial espionage happens everywhere shite patter but it happens... I read somewhere the Aussie guy is not delivering them to the uk due to the brexit rules ???? How else can we get them if not from the Scottish company mate?
So I know when my diesel heater goes to idle when it's at temp but it doesn't shut off. Will the after burner shut it off completely until it needs to heat again and turn back on my garadge is insulated very well so it would only need to run for a few hours a day in the winter.
Yes it will you set it to "Frost Mode" set the ON temp and the Off temp I have one in the greenhouse set ON at 10 deg and OFF at 11Deg and one in the garage set at ON at 8 deg OFF at 10 deg both work perfect, you can also look at how much fuel it has used and also hours run Also I have the garage one set to 20 Deg as well so when I go in I just press the middle button and it comes on ramps up to 20 then goes on tick over when I leave press middle button again it goes off and sits in frost mode If you connect it to a phone / laptop it is on a big screen and it is easier to see the settings and it will do practically anything you want it to If your Garage is close enough for bluetooth you can use that as well I bought a temp sensor with a 5M lead (£3 on Ebay) and plugged that in in place of the supplied one and fitted it in the middle of the garage roof space away from the heater for a better temp control; If you have any questions just e.mail Ray he is verry helpfull and nothing to much trouble for him I sent him about 10 e.mails and he answeredthem all within the time lapse UK to AUS
Thanks David - I was having a mare of a day and your use of the C words cheered me up no end! I went to the Afterburner site but confused to if the 8kw or 5kw vehicle heaters could be used - there is no real way of telling which controller board I'd get from an Ebay advert! anyone know?
That is a problem. Especially now they are making a shite controller that looks exactly like the good one, until you turn it on or look at the board.
@@DavidMcLuckie bugger - I do not have the funds to keep buying various 8kw heaters until I find the 'one'
When I bought my heater it came with a incompatible ecu so I bought a compatible ecu for $15 from aliexpress. Now It works perfectly with afterburner
How or where do I buy one? Couldn't even find it on the afterburner site. Thanks
I own an 8DM PLANAR diesel heater. Will it work for that!? Thanks. Can you set it to make the heater burn more efficiently !? Where do I buy one...and what's it called.
David - just came across this. Can you get more heat out of these heaters by whacking up the frequency of the pump pulses?
I subscribed right after that Mrs. Doubtfire greeting. 😂
was just looking into using a webasto climate controller on my jina heater. NICE
Hi David I have a eberspacher hydronic for heating my water in my van and a cdh for heating the air. I can turn on my hydronic through WiFi with a nest thermostat using the yellow wire on the heater connected to the hot water supply switch. Is there a way to turn on the cdh with the 12v supply wire from the nest thermostat? I love your very entertaining and informative videos and would value your advice on this. Thanks
To my knowledge there is no single trigger wire for the heater.
I use afterburner in work van timer are the best nothing beat getting into van no ice or snow and 80 degres in cab............................
Hi I've just follow the link for Ray but it's saying not shipping to the UK love your vids
He does sometimes if you ask nice or can arrange a group buy. Except just now as the global chip shortage is starting to bite.
love what you do ;but i feel you would be better off with a gasland 12v propain on call hot water heater. it runs until you run out of gas or water.
@@geraldhenrickson7472 sorry, should have mentioned mine is for a house.
Can one use The fan in it without the heating with it?
Hi David. Thanks again for your help in the past. Question, what is the easiest way to ascertain the core module type in a heater. Hope the answer will also be of use to others. Cheers. Jim.
Other than opening the heater and having a look and being able to compare to the Afterburner site, there isn't an easy way to tell.
@ 4:54-- "...and I'm ashamed to say... there is a Scottish company that is selling them as their own kind." I knew from that point on I'd get the real deal from you. Even though I'm an American of Scottish descent I can see things happening in Scotland that would enrage my grandfather.
Perhaps that's why he emigrated, he could see it coming.
Cool! Can you show us how it can be connected to a WiFi network so the heater can be controlled like this.
Hi everybody, I'm totally brand new to these type of heaters can anyone point me in the right direction of which model is the best to buy, there seems to be so many! And of course where to purchase from, thanks.
Hi from Alaska, I’ve been using webastos and espars at work alot in the past, new to the knockoff heaters, I’m really interested in getting one of these afterburners, because both of the 2 different heaters I just bought don’t have very many functions at all which is kinda lame I thought they were all supposed to be the same between the brands and what not, I was looking at the controllers, what is the difference between the normal one and the GPIO?
Very informative David. Thank you 🙏
Just keep making videos like you do now, they're all interesting. The Aussie voice should end each phase with "Cobber".
I was thinking of another C word. :)
class video as always I took you advice and I ordered from ray . Friend have you any more videos on this
Just watched "Mispronounced Adventures" video on his stripping down the heater, he promoted the after burner unit as well. Which led to your link of the unit.
He mentioned he only uses high grade diesel in his unit, others have used Red diesel. Have you done any tests of the affects of the different brands of Diesel ?
Here in the UK red diesel is the exact same as road diesel except for the red dye*. I think America might have different grades but don't quote me on that. I know the American cetane values for diesel can vary state to state.
For this application, more cetane would be good as it makes the diesel easier to ignite.
*now only farmers are allowed to use red diesel.
How are people in the UK getting hold of these? I see that Mr Jones doesn't ship here ??
Great informative vid my friend. Thank you. I wonder if you have an idea on how well these China heaters would work on long-term use. I'm needing constant running heat for weeks or longer at one time. With a larger fuel source and being able to refuel live I will be hoping to operate at a continuous cycle. Let us know if these heaters are good to run long term with no shut downs!
That would be difficult to predict. Based on their price point quality control is fairly low. You might get a heater built with good parts and it runs for months on end for years. But you're also as likely to get one that dies on its second day.
@@DavidMcLuckie I fully understand. Thanks D 🙂
I have a 5KW on the go since last October 2020 in continuous use, all day and night more or less and definitely 24 hours in cold weather. So far so good, I suspect I will start getting noisy bearings or total bearing failure but so far no noises to concern me. Just bought a second one as a back up. Considering the price even if it failed after a year they are superb value.
I set mine up about 2 days ago and it’s been on continuously since then. If you don’t want to spend the money to buy a whole second unit for backup, you can buy all of the internal parts that are likely to fail like a spare fan unit, new control board, combustion chamber, etc. the parts are cheap, something like $25 for a new control board, $20 for the blower assembly.
@@MittyNuke1 good planning with the spare parts.
Thanks, good luck!
2 years later...is this still needed? Or has technology caught up with factory units to include a lot of these features? Looking to purchase my first diesel heater and stumbled across this video.
None of the factory units as yet can replace an Afterburner. Some of them have bluetooth control and better temperature control control, but they also lack features like being able to tune them properly.
@@DavidMcLuckie Right on! I guess that's what I wasn't sure of. Appreciate the information very much!!!
Hi.
Can u make a vid about frost mode and timer?
From what I understand from the website, you cannot operate this after burner on an Apple device ??
Hi David, enjoy your videos, do you have make models of your heater as I have the afterburner on its way and need to buy suitable heater. One all in one for workshop install and one for van install. Thanks
I have a question, that I hope you can help me with.
I have just bought a new PCB for my burner. But this version uses magnetics on the input fan. Does the polarity of the magnet's matter
Sort of. There is an option on the controller if you have two magnets with different polarity or one magnet, and the other is two magnets of the same polarity. If you get it wrong the heater will think the fan is spinning either faster or slower than it is.
@@DavidMcLuckie
Thanks.. I thought so. Basically a speed controller for the fuel pump.
I can say I have enjoyed your presentation of your videos and your thoughts of them.
Thanks again
Does this controller actually shut the burner off when the area is up to or above temperature? My chinese controller will turn the pump speed all the way down, but no matter what temperature the thermostat is detecting, it won't actually shut the heater off.
Yes. One of the thermostat options is to fully shut down the heater at a desired temperature.
Read a bit about this controller on their website. Some might find this funny, but as a ‘ yank ‘ I really appreciate that it can operate in Fahrenheit 🤠
I think that’s awesome cause I also live in the US… and while I know 21 c is about 70 f… I still want to see 70 😅
I went to your after burner link and my computer is telling me it's not a secure site and not to continue. What's that all about?
Rays website doesn't use HTTPS.
I Like to learn also more on Chinese Diesel water heater ( like your vid recently)..my project want to pre Heat engine and second heat source for an installed Alde heater....
@David McLuckie with your videos, make me realize that with a diesel truck you can get a very high comfortable camper with extreme ease... My question, for cooking... What limit you on cutting the diesel heater as you did in the past and you direct heats from the flam to make a nice diesel oven??? With one fuel from the car you will have hot air, hot water and hot food 🔥😉 what is your thoughts?
A lot of companies make diesel powered stoves, ovens,water heaters, heaters and Webasto is one such company and makes a very good diesel stove I want to install into my bus
You don't even need a diesel powered vehicle. Most of these heaters come with a little fuel tank, or you can simply buy a portable 5 gallon diesel tank and install it somewhere in your vehicle just for the heater. These little heaters are awesome, I just installed one in my shed and it kicks ass compared to those smelly propane heaters.
Just ordered one and reading the manual ready for when it arrives Messages with Ray he seems a real nice guy and verry helpfull
Can anyone tell me the easist way to set the "Frost Mode"
Its for the greenhouse so I want it to maintain 12 Deg C It looks easy enough to do but any help is appreciated
Thanks in advance
Any idea on timescales for next Afterburner video?
Great stuff,
Geaham
I just found your air/fuel tuning video. I seriously didn't know that I was causing the soot build up in my heater by running at the wrong mix... Anyway now I'm playing with my Afterburner's BT app to tune and monitor fan speed, pump speed, and comparing body temperatures as I don't have your fancy O2 sensor. I'm curious about the linear hz setting for the thermostat and if you can maintain a good ratio even as it approaches the target temp and varies the fan/pump speeds?
There is also the video tuning with the cheap CO meter, I recommend that for easy tuning.
Hi David. I would like to see you test out the GPIO functions. I'd like to see how you wire in a digital input using a switch at the tank when you refill it (mine is outside) to reset the fuel used figure in the afterburner, or any other cool features you can think of. I'd also like to see you set up the MQTT broker and see if you can access the AB using just your cellular signal or from a remote location. That I'm really interested in. I'd really like to see Ray add on an API call to allow you to link it with Alexa for voice commands. Love your videos by the way. One last question. I'm running my heater with a 12V power supply and want to incorporate the relay in one of the videos you did, to switch to a small battery in the case of a power failure. I just want to use a small battery just powerful enough to allow the fan to run while it goes into cooling mode before it shuts down as I'm only interested in protecting the ecu from frying. What's the smallest battery I can get away with in terms of amperage as I don't want to use a massive great big car battery. Also would I need a trickle charger on the battery whilst it's on mains power. Again space is at a premium so I want to use a small profile charger. Any suggestions?
Hi David after I connect the afterburner with it owen controller I then fire it up when I shut it down do I turn off the power and disconnect the old controller or just plug it out even there is power going to it
For the sake of safety I'd fully shut it down and remove power then remove the old controller.
@@DavidMcLuckie thanks David. do I have to go to input settings and put the settings from my old controller into the afterburner or when I plug the to on together the new afterburner automatically uploads the settings from the old controller by it's self or do I have to do this manual
@@DavidMcLuckie thanks very much David for replying. David when I connect the two controllers for the first time will the afterburner automatically upload the settings from my old controller
There is an option to have it copy the settings from the old controller. It's in the manual somewhere. I found it easier just to write down the settings and then put them back into the Afterburner.
@@DavidMcLuckie legend 👍
I'm dying to know if this can be made to work with the combo air/water heater model! Worst case just the heater part and wire up a switch manually for the circ. pump.
If you replace the ECU board with one of the compatible units then yes, as the heater is basically still the same. And if you bought the Afterburner with the GPIO (general purpose inputs outputs) then you could put a relay on one of the outputs and have it turn the pump on and off.
I'm looking at this too! A digital ecu can be found very cheep though wiring it into the heater unit will require some new connectors and knowledge of which pin goes where. This last part I'm stuck on. Great to know if you find a solution :)
Hey David, the term you were after at the end was Hysteresis :-)
And PID, being the software routine that learns the behaviour of the overall system.
Is this unit Bluetooth or wifi Bluetooth is local like the remote wifi you can control miles away please confirm what it is ? Wifi or Bluetooth. Thanks
Both.
@@DavidMcLuckie great were can I purchase a unit like so
Is this compatible with the Eberspächer? My 4Kw Eberspächer came with the basic rheostat rotary controller.
Negative. Only the cheap chinese ECUs.
Hello david.
I'm in Spain. Is there any way to buy it here?
thanks for your work on the videos
Hi David,do these heaters turn themselves off,Safely, when or if they run out of fuel ?
The Aussie Chick's voice far surpasses the Chinese one! 😂👍
Can the Afterburner allow the fan to run independently to circulate air without firing up?
@kjc200763 you say "prematurely" but using the fan motor without heat has it's purposes. Besides, it's not like there's a manufacturer warranty to worry about voiding.
I am interested as to why you would want to move air around?
@@DavidMcLuckie if you have a fresh air damper for your cool air, you could open it & use "fan only" to get fresh air into your space. For example, if you're soldering in your shed and you want to have some fresh air. I would use that feature in my travel trailer when I want unheated fresh air brought in.
Hi David have you managed to set up mtq broker yet.
I'm struggling to set up .
Cheers fella , great reviews
Not yet. But I'm in the process of making a DIY UnRaid server which should let me host an MQTT broker. Maybe I could set it up for all our Afterburner friends.
Great video! So, is the afterburner android app mostly a monitor with limited control features, or does the app offer the same controls as the main afterburner module(?)
Ah the app. I've actually forgotten what the app can actually do as the best advise is to ignore the app and just use the web interface from a phone.
Hi I would love to see a video on you turning the heater on using WiFi only. So you can be miles away from the heater and see the settings and user interface.
I'm looking to fit one of these heaters to my small workshop to maintain a reasonable temperature in it. Any idea if the afterburner can take inputs from other sources? Either physical connections or over wifi. I want to integrate temp/humidity sensing, de-humidifier and heating in to a smart home solution but i've no idea how i would trigger the heater to start/ stop remotely.
It can. But we can't get them in UK right now.
@@DavidMcLuckie other option I've looked at is getting one with a remote and using a micro controller with blynk to mimic it or tap wired directly in to the controllers buttons.... ah well... I shall think of something!
Need to actually buy a heater first :)