omg- I have seen sooooo many videos poorly executing the instillation of this heating system, however, none have showed how and approx where to install the wiring holes. Life savers!!
have to be honest im not a fan of this heater the more I see it , we fitted the trauma combe 4e and it took us about 2 hrs from out of the box to working , with no faf as well 1 gas pipe 1 water pipe in and 1 out, this set up would have driven me nuts, hats off to you guys for doing this install.thank god you had the pig
@@FreedomStrider yer we all need a pig . There is something about lie in under a vehicle that just dose your neck in . And honestly LPG is a dream to work with . We have a 55ltr under tank and it lasts forever and was not even half as complicated to fit as we thought . The fuel line will be an easy one just drop tank and go in from the top and use a weighted filter on the end of your pipe . It’s 1 hole and done
@@UrbanVanlife very true, just the boiler system of the truma wouldn't work with our recirculating shower design and such is the main reason we didn't go with it 👍
Yep, get that, but the Truma is a big old thing and takes a lot space in the van. After much pondering, have decided to go for a similar set up as these guys, and induction hob, so no gas at all. Each to their own, as the man said!
Looking good! Seeing it happen is so exciting and informative. Very happy for you both. You've convinced me to do something similar in my future build. Good find with the bulkhead item.
Think I might have used a sealant to bed in the brass connectors and spring washers on any bolts...... but that’s just me wearing my belt and braces. Another great job well done. Looking forward to your next instalment.
Hi, you have a great video I was wondering if you could tell me how much or the length of your pecs that you used in your van and the diameter of the pecs.Thanks a lot
The heater is designed to be installed like this yep, you could put it in a homemade box for more protection, bit the heater is designed to just be mounted like so. 👍
There's a Scottish guy I found on UA-cam that seems to be having relatively good luck scavenging heat from the exhaust pipe from his heater to heat water, he just wrapped a copper pipe around the stainless steel exhaust a small pump and a tank, I thought it was a clever hack, well done doing all that fiddly stuff under the van,
That's pretty neat, we know you can do something silimar with the coolant of the van as well. We might look into something similar in the future, just want ot keep it simple right now.
@@FreedomStrider If I had more time to experiment I might try wrappinga copper coil around the exhaust pipe from the engine? That would get the kettle boiling all right!!!!
Good afternoon , i have this system but it does not fire up , there is voltage to the pump, even the small diesel pulse is not working, any help would be really helpful. many thanks
Do you get anything on the screen? If you get no power to the unit, check the electrical plugs in the heater and to your fuse box. Also check there are fuses in the inline fuse holder as well, hope this does it!
most heaters i see in utube are in the inside. does that heater works outside during winter time? say below -30C? it would be nice if its in the outside but i worry about the cold winter time and also salt they put on the road to melt the ice. i am in Canada.
According to the manual, the heater and pump can all operate down the -40C, at which point I believe diesel starts becoming more viscous anyway. As for inside vs outside mounting, this heater is specifically designed for external mounting, we are thinking about putting a plate to protect it more anyway (mainly to protect the wires/pipes) but it should be okay as is. Another UA-camr "Dares Drives" has installed one of these, he lives in Canada and is planning to make his camper 4 season, might be worth checking out his installation for such cold temperatures. Although we do want our camper to be able to stand -30C, we wont be staying in that sort of temperature for long if it does get that cold. The manual is here: www.melloronline.co.uk/product_uploads/15645835911.pdf (page 13)
thx. i will check out his channel. love watching ur videos. both of u explain things nicely and easy to follow. thinking of using the same hydronic heater. cant wait to see ur van finished.
Diesel gets less viscous when it gets colder, if you want to keep it flowing in very low temps you can add 10 - 20% petrol, I have an old sprinter these heaters were fitted as standard so it's an interesting video for me, thanks for the upload, good stuff
We have not had an issue with water entering the air intake from the front wheels. The only time we had water enter was when we drove through a series of deep puddles in Spain (in which case the problem was submersing the pipe and not splashback). 🙂
Looks really good, keep up the good work I’ve bought the same kit and been following your videos closely., so helpful Thank you. The pipes into the heater seem to be 20mm did the 19mm bulkhead connectors work ok? I bought some and seem like they will tighten up ok. Did you have any leaks ? Did you shorten the fuel pump wires ? they are a massive length
Hope your install goes well! The 19mm bulkhead connectors worked just fine, we did tighten them up good and nothing has leaked. As for the fuel pump wires, we didn't shorten them - instead we just tucked them out the way in a cover - we show it at the very end of this video here: ua-cam.com/video/x1doJ4hrmiU/v-deo.html
Try this one: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/194445438289?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=pqlSIvvaQiK&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY It's eBay so "19mm bulkhead connector" is the search term :)
FYI If you refer to the VW training guide for the D5WS install the air intake is inserted into the chassis rail through one of the many convenient holes via a grommet. This does two things, the box section provides a very effective silencing effect and it keeps the water out except if driving through a deep Ford obviously. It would have been worth leaving some slack in your cabling and mounting it with longer water pipes to allow for easier removal of the heater, over time it will need the occasional service,decoke etc, the old Webasto thermo tops were notorious for getting too hot and cooking their electronics I have a couple of spare hydronics heaters one of which I may install in my crafter to act as a block heater and heat dhw via a calorifier but first I am going to connect the coil directly to the heater matrix from the engine and see how well that performs. I do like the idea of the underfloor heating but when planning my build I was reluctant to use the hydronics heater for vehicle heating because they, combined with the pump and any matrix fans can collectively get annoyingly noisy especially when running all evening when compared to a well modulated air heater another draw back is the entire setup, well the ones I have anyway, draw a fair amount of current. I used to retrofit the webasto thermo top heaters to bmw and rovers etc and the rovers had brilliant little flush fitting air bleed valves built into the top of hoses I have never seen them for sale but they would be really handy in these sort of application’s I like the team work approach you two have adopted 😀
Good to know about the air intake that you can installed inside the chassis parts and it won't effect the heater. We are concerned about how exposed the wires still are but we are working on it - on our minds 👍 We don't find the power draw is any higher than expected. We don't run the heater all night we just have it on a timer to come on every 3 hours for an hour or so and that keeps the van at an ambient temperature (we will see how it does it 0C weather...) Truthfully the pump and air matrix are a bit noisy, the matrix more than the pump, but once we are asleep it doesn't bother us too much and the fridge turning on is more noticeable than them 🤣
No, no issues with the bulkhead fittings. It was tricky to tighten them as we left very little space but after a few cracked fingers they have been solid
@@FreedomStrider Excellent, thank you! I found those same basic fittings online and ordered two. Looking forward to getting my hydronic setup installed.
Whoops, well the new link is this: ebay.us/NDVFmr As for the US link, maybe this one might work: ebay.us/WQ9TsB More difficult to find for the US but hopefully these helps :)
Good afternoon. I came across your build as i am installing the same hydronic heater both for water and air heater. You mentioned a wind storm and Cold out and was wondering if you are located near Vancouver BC.
Does this system work well for hot water for the tap, and also for the shower? I really like it because of your video's and want to buy it. But i'm affraid it does not have enough power to give a constant stream of hot water. Hope to hear your experience :)
Hey Dylan, yes we are very happy with our hydronic heating system. We have ran all elements of it: air matrix, underfloor, shower and tap and the 5kw has managed to keep up (mostly). Since both hot water lines come off the same heat exchanger showering and doing the dishes at the same time, is possible, but you have to balance the pressure to even the heat out. This doesn't happen often so we haven't felt the need to upgrade. But if you did want more stable heat if running both taps together then getting another water heat exchanger will be the first step. Or you can just shut the air matrix and underfloor off, to concentrate the heat at the heat exchanger. The single heat exchanger can produce constant heat for a shower, especially if that's the only heat being used at that moment in time. It's good to note that how effective a single heater is depends on where and how far you distribute it. People with boats usually go for 2 heaters as boats are often bigger and the pipe goes further. With vans (of our size) one is usually enough. If you are looking for extra resources on our hydronic setup here is a link to our website: freedom-strider.com/project/hydronic-heating-schematic/
Hi Guys, love the videos and details. In ur hydronic heater wiring video u mentioned you would make a separete wiring video for the air matrix (where im having a few issues), did u end up making it?
We included some of the air matrix wiring in this video: ua-cam.com/video/E2FyBXHES2Q/v-deo.html The wiring in the video, powers the furnace and the matrix separately, which wasn't ideal when asleep as the matrix wouldn't turn on automatically. We did make a few changes to it a few months later (without filming it) to power the matrix automatically as the furnace turns on. If you need more help, best reach out via email as then we can share pictures 🙂 (email in the description)
Hope this gets to you before you connect the fuel line. Instead of dropping your fuel tank to make a hatch above where you need to connect your fuel connection this also makes it easier if say you need to change your fuel pump or fuel level float. Look at this guys video as to how he did it. ua-cam.com/video/rLDYJnis4ms/v-deo.html
omg- I have seen sooooo many videos poorly executing the instillation of this heating system, however, none have showed how and approx where to install the wiring holes. Life savers!!
Very impressive guys!!
Cheers 🙂
Really great stuff. As always, loking forward to your next video.
Awesome, thank you, more is to come :)
have to be honest im not a fan of this heater the more I see it , we fitted the trauma combe 4e and it took us about 2 hrs from out of the box to working , with no faf as well 1 gas pipe 1 water pipe in and 1 out, this set up would have driven me nuts, hats off to you guys for doing this install.thank god you had the pig
Each to their own, I am not comfortable with LPG but that is just us, the pig was indeed a lifesaver. Might have to bring him out for the fuel line 😂👍
@@FreedomStrider yer we all need a pig . There is something about lie in under a vehicle that just dose your neck in . And honestly LPG is a dream to work with . We have a 55ltr under tank and it lasts forever and was not even half as complicated to fit as we thought . The fuel line will be an easy one just drop tank and go in from the top and use a weighted filter on the end of your pipe . It’s 1 hole and done
@@UrbanVanlife very true, just the boiler system of the truma wouldn't work with our recirculating shower design and such is the main reason we didn't go with it 👍
Yep, get that, but the Truma is a big old thing and takes a lot space in the van. After much pondering, have decided to go for a similar set up as these guys, and induction hob, so no gas at all. Each to their own, as the man said!
Looking good! Seeing it happen is so exciting and informative. Very happy for you both. You've convinced me to do something similar in my future build. Good find with the bulkhead item.
Thanks, all the best with your installation - seeing someone do it we found much more helpful than the instructions that came in the box. 👍
Well done, that work doesn’t look way
Think I might have used a sealant to bed in the brass connectors and spring washers on any bolts......
but that’s just me wearing my belt and braces. Another great job well done. Looking forward to your next instalment.
Yes we were thinking to add sealant around that, and around the conduit line as well. Lucky we have easy access 🙂
100% a big washer
Hi, you have a great video I was wondering if you could tell me how much or the length of your pecs that you used in your van and the diameter of the pecs.Thanks a lot
We used around 20m of 12mm PEX pipe in the floor 👍
Is it alright being installed outside with the elemements exposed to water etc thanks
The heater is designed to be installed like this yep, you could put it in a homemade box for more protection, bit the heater is designed to just be mounted like so. 👍
6:54 My screw threaded just fine doing it the way the instructions say. Haven't had a problem.
Glad to hear it 👍
The fuel filler cap is always on the left of the vehicle or as right hand drive it would be next to the drivers do on yours
Interesting, then it must just be for symmetry and bracing purposes then. Good to know, thanks 👍
There's a Scottish guy I found on UA-cam that seems to be having relatively good luck scavenging heat from the exhaust pipe from his heater to heat water, he just wrapped a copper pipe around the stainless steel exhaust a small pump and a tank, I thought it was a clever hack, well done doing all that fiddly stuff under the van,
That's pretty neat, we know you can do something silimar with the coolant of the van as well. We might look into something similar in the future, just want ot keep it simple right now.
@@FreedomStrider If I had more time to experiment I might try wrappinga copper coil around the exhaust pipe from the engine? That would get the kettle boiling all right!!!!
Good afternoon , i have this system but it does not fire up , there is voltage to the pump, even the small diesel pulse is not working, any help would be really helpful. many thanks
Do you get anything on the screen? If you get no power to the unit, check the electrical plugs in the heater and to your fuse box. Also check there are fuses in the inline fuse holder as well, hope this does it!
most heaters i see in utube are in the inside. does that heater works outside during winter time? say below -30C? it would be nice if its in the outside but i worry about the cold winter time and also salt they put on the road to melt the ice. i am in Canada.
According to the manual, the heater and pump can all operate down the -40C, at which point I believe diesel starts becoming more viscous anyway. As for inside vs outside mounting, this heater is specifically designed for external mounting, we are thinking about putting a plate to protect it more anyway (mainly to protect the wires/pipes) but it should be okay as is.
Another UA-camr "Dares Drives" has installed one of these, he lives in Canada and is planning to make his camper 4 season, might be worth checking out his installation for such cold temperatures. Although we do want our camper to be able to stand -30C, we wont be staying in that sort of temperature for long if it does get that cold.
The manual is here: www.melloronline.co.uk/product_uploads/15645835911.pdf (page 13)
thx. i will check out his channel. love watching ur videos. both of u explain things nicely and easy to follow. thinking of using the same hydronic heater. cant wait to see ur van finished.
Diesel gets less viscous when it gets colder, if you want to keep it flowing in very low temps you can add 10 - 20% petrol, I have an old sprinter these heaters were fitted as standard so it's an interesting video for me, thanks for the upload, good stuff
With the air intake pointing up and just behind the front wheels (ish), how did you make sure that you don't get water filling up the air intake pipe?
We have not had an issue with water entering the air intake from the front wheels. The only time we had water enter was when we drove through a series of deep puddles in Spain (in which case the problem was submersing the pipe and not splashback). 🙂
@@FreedomStrider Thank you.
Hi, another great video 👍. With hindsight do you think fitting the glycol pipes first would have been easier?
Hmmm, maybe, I think it still would have been a struggle because the space is very tight, but it might have been a tad easier. 😂
Looks really good, keep up the good work I’ve bought the same kit and been following your videos closely., so helpful Thank you. The pipes into the heater seem to be 20mm did the 19mm bulkhead connectors work ok? I bought some and seem like they will tighten up ok. Did you have any leaks ? Did you shorten the fuel pump wires ? they are a massive length
Hope your install goes well! The 19mm bulkhead connectors worked just fine, we did tighten them up good and nothing has leaked. As for the fuel pump wires, we didn't shorten them - instead we just tucked them out the way in a cover - we show it at the very end of this video here: ua-cam.com/video/x1doJ4hrmiU/v-deo.html
@@FreedomStrider Thankyou
The link isn't working for the bulkhead connector. Is there an alternative you recommend?
Try this one: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/194445438289?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=pqlSIvvaQiK&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
It's eBay so "19mm bulkhead connector" is the search term :)
FYI
If you refer to the VW training guide for the D5WS install the air intake is inserted into the chassis rail through one of the many convenient holes via a grommet.
This does two things, the box section provides a very effective silencing effect and it keeps the water out except if driving through a deep Ford obviously.
It would have been worth leaving some slack in your cabling and mounting it with longer water pipes to allow for easier removal of the heater, over time it will need the occasional service,decoke etc, the old Webasto thermo tops were notorious for getting too hot and cooking their electronics
I have a couple of spare hydronics heaters one of which I may install in my crafter to act as a block heater and heat dhw via a calorifier but first I am going to connect the coil directly to the heater matrix from the engine and see how well that performs. I do like the idea of the underfloor heating but when planning my build I was reluctant to use the hydronics heater for vehicle heating because they, combined with the pump and any matrix fans can collectively get annoyingly noisy especially when running all evening when compared to a well modulated air heater another draw back is the entire setup, well the ones I have anyway, draw a fair amount of current.
I used to retrofit the webasto thermo top heaters to bmw and rovers etc and the rovers had brilliant little flush fitting air bleed valves built into the top of hoses I have never seen them for sale but they would be really handy in these sort of application’s
I like the team work approach you two have adopted 😀
Good to know about the air intake that you can installed inside the chassis parts and it won't effect the heater.
We are concerned about how exposed the wires still are but we are working on it - on our minds 👍 We don't find the power draw is any higher than expected. We don't run the heater all night we just have it on a timer to come on every 3 hours for an hour or so and that keeps the van at an ambient temperature (we will see how it does it 0C weather...)
Truthfully the pump and air matrix are a bit noisy, the matrix more than the pump, but once we are asleep it doesn't bother us too much and the fridge turning on is more noticeable than them 🤣
Curious - in the 2.5 years since this was shot - have you had any issues with those bulkhead fittings?
No, no issues with the bulkhead fittings. It was tricky to tighten them as we left very little space but after a few cracked fingers they have been solid
@@FreedomStrider Excellent, thank you! I found those same basic fittings online and ordered two. Looking forward to getting my hydronic setup installed.
"I have no idea which way is straight."-The guy, as his wife thinks to herself, um,hmmm😂
The link for the bulkhead piece is broken! Looking for a part to order in the US
Whoops, well the new link is this: ebay.us/NDVFmr
As for the US link, maybe this one might work: ebay.us/WQ9TsB
More difficult to find for the US but hopefully these helps :)
That's an absolute life saver! Thank you!!
Good afternoon. I came across your build as i am installing the same hydronic heater both for water and air heater. You mentioned a wind storm and Cold out and was wondering if you are located near Vancouver BC.
No we are in the UK, we had an arctic storm blow in which gave us strong cold winds for here 🤣
Does this system work well for hot water for the tap, and also for the shower? I really like it because of your video's and want to buy it. But i'm affraid it does not have enough power to give a constant stream of hot water. Hope to hear your experience :)
Hey Dylan, yes we are very happy with our hydronic heating system. We have ran all elements of it: air matrix, underfloor, shower and tap and the 5kw has managed to keep up (mostly). Since both hot water lines come off the same heat exchanger showering and doing the dishes at the same time, is possible, but you have to balance the pressure to even the heat out. This doesn't happen often so we haven't felt the need to upgrade.
But if you did want more stable heat if running both taps together then getting another water heat exchanger will be the first step.
Or you can just shut the air matrix and underfloor off, to concentrate the heat at the heat exchanger.
The single heat exchanger can produce constant heat for a shower, especially if that's the only heat being used at that moment in time.
It's good to note that how effective a single heater is depends on where and how far you distribute it. People with boats usually go for 2 heaters as boats are often bigger and the pipe goes further. With vans (of our size) one is usually enough.
If you are looking for extra resources on our hydronic setup here is a link to our website: freedom-strider.com/project/hydronic-heating-schematic/
Hi Guys, love the videos and details. In ur hydronic heater wiring video u mentioned you would make a separete wiring video for the air matrix (where im having a few issues), did u end up making it?
We included some of the air matrix wiring in this video: ua-cam.com/video/E2FyBXHES2Q/v-deo.html
The wiring in the video, powers the furnace and the matrix separately, which wasn't ideal when asleep as the matrix wouldn't turn on automatically.
We did make a few changes to it a few months later (without filming it) to power the matrix automatically as the furnace turns on.
If you need more help, best reach out via email as then we can share pictures 🙂
(email in the description)
Sounds like steam going off
It worked in the end and is still going strong 💪
Hope this gets to you before you connect the fuel line. Instead of dropping your fuel tank to make a hatch above where you need to connect your fuel connection this also makes it easier if say you need to change your fuel pump or fuel level float. Look at this guys video as to how he did it. ua-cam.com/video/rLDYJnis4ms/v-deo.html
Hmm interesting, we haven't done the fuel line so we'll have a look at it 😎