Mr. Buddy vs Espar/Webasto Safety Considerations
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- Опубліковано 12 лис 2022
- Mr. Buddy heaters and Webasto/Espar type heaters are the two most popular heaters used in camper vans, and this video compares the safety of each.
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The most practical , clear and concise transfer of information ever.
Thanks! Cheers!
*Things to say other than "OMG!!1 YOU'RE '2' IS IN THE WRONG SPOT?!?!":*
-Thanks for the video, Nate!
-Great points. I learned something new.
-I have a {variable} heater and this video gives me confidence in it's operation.
-{nothing}
Thanks Nate, your videos have been very helpful in our understanding of our rv systems. It has allowed us, with the purchase of you schematic, to build the solar system for our rv. Well thought out videos and easy to follow. One thing I’m starting to notice, on other channels, the comments are turned off and people are redirected to their website for comments. I can see several benefits. Just a thought and keep up the great work. It’s appreciated.
Thanks for ALL of your videos Nate and Team!!!!
Great video! It’s nice to see content focused on keeping people safe around heaters, as well as electricity. Thank you.
You bet!
Your videos are phenomenal! Kudos to you for simple, clear, accurate, easy-to-understand, and valuable information.
Hey @independentthinker9113, Thanks so much! Cheers!
I loved the video and the explanations of both heaters. I have used my Mr Buddy in my camper van (I have had it for about 3 weeks, and have wiring, insulation, sub-floor, framing, shore power connection, Maxxair fan, and swivel on the passengers seat done). On the way to Michigan from Tennessee, I used the Mr Buddy while camping in Kentucky (25 degrees that night), and it worked great, BUT I had a Vevor Chinese Diesel heater on order. Your video has convinced me to install the Chinese Diesel heater. Now, if I can find Chinese diesel to run it on... Thanks again, and I am planning on watching more of your videos before I really mess something up in my build!
Great explanation of the different types of heaters..
We lived in an RV with our family of six while our house was being built for over a year and we noticed that the built-in propane heater created a lot of moisture on the inside of the walls and windows and would have been a serious mold issue.
But I picked up one of those $100 Chinese diesel heaters and carefully mounted it under a island cabinet in the main quarters which seem to really cut down on the use of the propane heater and drop the moisture problem to zero
Absolutely! Great real-world examples of these concepts at work.
Great explanation of the differences & complications of heating a small space safely & effectively. Cheers
Hey Evil1, Thanks so much! Cheers!
Another great video. Keep them coming.
Hey, Jeff Roller! I appreciate that. Thanks for watching! 🙂😀
Absolutely Beautiful & Brilliant Presentation & Illustration! Thank You 🙏 so much.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I have been very interested in these heaters for a long time. They look very effective and the price has been coming down. Thank you> I use two Big Buddy systems in my shop. The Garage door gets opened plenty and these heaters work very well.
Thanks. Made my mind up. Invest in a properly installed diesel heater.
Just finished installing and testing my Propex heater last weekend, so feeling smug and prepared for the winter. I am running it off a refillable LPG bottle. If on a hookup, I also have a small oil filled electric radiator. No vents to block so safer from the accidental coat cover issue.
Prior to starting my van conversion, I used to run an old folding camper from small UK manufacturer Dandy. It had an early (it was 30 years old) variant of the Propex type heat exchanger, but mounted in the floor. Safe from an exhaust gas perspective, but you wouldn't want to accidentally step on the grate! Rumour had it that if you had forgotten your camp stove, you could put a frying pan on the grate and improvise bacon and eggs for breakfast. I never had occasion to test that!
Hi, just found your channel! Wow the videos are very detailed. I will be sharing this with my boys 12 & 16, it’s a great way to teach them how to use their hands and heads ! Looking to get a van and DYI with them.
Ah, that's great! That's very much how I learned.
Thanks that was very useful. You all have a great week. M
Thanks, you too!
Thanks for the breakdown Nate. Would love to try and find a way to collaborate with you guys!
You talk about the types of heaters, did you guys do a video on the heater that you guys went with and the installation of it , I may just be missing it, thank you for all that yall do
We actually skipped over the heater in the Transit install due to a lack of time 😂. Will be installing one before next winter. Espar or Webasto; either way. Won't be filming it since we've moved away from van project and back to electrical focus stuff. Lots of good tutorials out there already on heater installs.
Yo!!! Shoutout to Blinn College! had to double-take on that one.
Good info, thanks!
Hey Craig J, Thanks so much! Cheers!
Great information. Thanks Don
You are very welcome
Great video! I just installed a Bison heater. It uses gas from the van's gas tank and it's like the webesto, but it was just $650. And it's tog altitude control to 13,000 ft.
Nice! Yeah, same concept then. There are quite a few brands like that.
Nice! This makes me curious as I would prefer to not have an extra fuel type to buy.
How much fuel does it use...say over a weeks time?
@in GOD we trust I just installed it and so far so good. a friend has had it for a year and he's happy. It's made by general components, based in Canada. I don't think it is new. trucks apparently use it. but it's pretty new to the van world.
@in GOD we trust I bought mine on Amazon. I made an install video, if you want to see m ore about the parts. It's not the greatest video, not like the ones here. 😁
Do you need to run premium gasoline or will regular gasoline work from my gas tank? Heard somewhere regular may cause carbon build up? Thanks
My thought process about a Mr. Buddy is that it's like being around a giant animal. If there were a cow in my basement then it would put out a lot of heat and water vapor and use up all the oxygen, so I need some ventilation.
I had no idea there were small relatively affordable isolated heaters, like the Webasto. Thanks for the info!
There are fake wabasto style heaters on ebay for only $100 and they work awesome.. much better than trying to heat your space with a Cow ha ha
I recently bought and installed a Chinese diesel heater in my caravan. I installed it in the gas locker, no gas in there btw. I am delighted with it, the 5 kw Vevor heater is much more quiet than I was assuming, I can bearly hear the tick of the pump, as I installed that to the chassis underneath, and it sips red diesel very economically. I can’t think of any downsides to it. I of course already had a CO meter, which is a no brainier, and a fire extinguisher too.
Nice! Yep, same concepts there it sounds like. Lots of different brand names that operate in a similar fashion.
Chinese diesel heaters are prone to failure. That's why they're cheaper. It all depends on your budget.
Using kerosene will make it run better, cleaner and in essence longer.
@@DiabloOutdoors you can buy 9 Chinese diesel heaters for the price of one Webasto. Think about it!
@@richardsracingmad ...and will, need to since they fail all the time...
I have looked on your website and your videos and I have seen nothing about keeping your lithium batteries warm. Do you have thoughts or experiences? I see battle born has heating blankets, have you used them? My concern is when my camper is sitting between trips and should I keep the warm? They are inside the camper, so somewhat insulated from the cold. I just don’t want to lug them in and out between trips.
Thank you
I love my webasto but it was definitely not cheap. As many have mentioned, there’s many knock offs on the market. I’d be curious to see someone take a few different brands apart and see how they compare.
Yeah, there are definitely a lot of different knockoffs that operate under the same concepts.
Great video , I was wondering if we can use a oil circulation radiator heater in a van. Thanks for these videos. Zaida
Yes, but... they take a ton of power, so you'd need to be on shore power.
@@EXPLORISTlife thanks 🙏🏻
I had a Mr. Buddy heater my first winter of van life and it was awful and scared me. The moisture is too much and cracking a window/vent almost defeats the purpose because it allows cold air in/hot air out. I don't know how people can feel safe sleeping with a Mr. Buddy running - I couldn't do it. The first winter of vanlife was rough. The coldest I woke up to was -8F INSIDE the van. lol. And despite that, I still couldnt get myself to run the Mr. Buddy overnight. Getting a diesel heater before my second winter was the best upgrade I made!
Yeah, same thoughts here.
Also will have to start from the first videos!!!
😁👍
Hi Nate, although maybe a bit more complicated. How does a hydronic heater work as compared to these? Great video, very easy to understand!
Good question! It will be similar to the Espar heater except it's heating water instead of air.
You’re a fireman 👨🚒 ! My son is FDNY - same type hat
😁👍
WAY good information.
Glad it was helpful!
Good morning Nate! I have a question, is there a range top to burner out there that will run off of my gas tank in my RV? I’m thinking about using the Westbow gas heater to run the cabin heat, and would love to include a two burner cooktop that will run on my gas tank as well and eliminate the need for propane. Is there a product out there?
I've never really looked for something like that, so I'm not sure.
Ours was installed by passenger and sliding door and we always smell the diesel as soon as the sliding door is opened. Can the exhaust go all the way to the driver side? Or would the exhaust be too long and prevent from expelling?
I have a 1972 VW Bus Westafalia that uses gasoline. I’d like to install a heater and I am having difficulty finding one that suits my project.
what about the mini wood stove? can you pls comment back on that quickly.
Would you recommend one of the more expensive diesel heaters if you live in Colorado? Ive been reading that they dont handle the altitude well. Is it better to go w Chinese in this case? I can afford to toss one of these in the trash every once in a while if carbon buildup is a problem
I'm pretty much always going to recommend the name brand version of a component that is mixing fuel and fire in the same box.
Thanks for another nice Sunday video.
If you run out of ideas, how about one on how to get DIY insurance on what you are building. I am hearing some insurance companies will not even cover the DIY part of your van.
Great video however what if we do not want to use a fuel burning heater and would like to use an electric heater what options are there for DC electric heaters?
Any 120V space heater you can find at walmart or similar and run it through your inverter. Just know that is going to mean 1,000's of dollars in additional battery bank capacity to run an electric heater off grid or running a fuel burning generator.
@@EXPLORISTlife thank you 👍
The Espar Airtronic D2/D4 diesel fired heaters are found in most all semi-trucks and buses and are the best things since sliced bread. With semi-trucks, RV's, motorhomes, and campers having small quarters, it's important to stay warm in winter without the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. All of my trucks have had Espar diesel fired heaters and now that I'm living full time in a 5th wheel RV trailer, I bought another one which I'll install soon. While this trailer has an electric fireplace and propane furnace for heat, I will install the Espar heater for both supplemental and emergency heat should the propane furnace fail or if power should fail for the electric fireplace. Espar Airtronic heaters can run for a long time on just diesel fuel and one or two 12vdc car batteries for many days straight. As for Mr.Buddy, I'm sorry but that don't compute, not in my vocabulary. They might be okay for a large space for emergency heat but certainly not for a small space.
Yeah, agreed.
Can you use regular gasoline or do you need to run preimium gasoline in the heater? Thanks
Check the user manual for whatever heater you choose and it should say.
Great Video, You forgot to mention on those Chinese heaters to crawl under the vehicle and check those intake and exhaust pipes for anything that might have made a home in those pipes over the summer time
That's just part of general maintenance. Not really 'something I forgot'.
That's the problem. A lot of people don't do general maintenance and they will forget to check. But great video 👍
Went with the Propex propane heater myself since I already was set up for a propane range and on-demand water heater. Designed and works the same as the others. My Mr. Buddy heater I was first going with is still in the box unused. Just couldn't understand the reasoning of having to have a vent open to eliminate the exhaust which would also draw out the warm air, Just seems like it defeats its own purpose.
Agreed.
I've heard two ways...e-spar and es-par...so is e-spar the correct pronunciation? Thx!
No clue.
Do they make espar type heaters that are fueled by propane instead of diesel?
Yep! Propex heater is what you are after there.
Mr Buddy got us through last winter. It's a good heater when you put a fan on top of it. But far from ideal. Webasto makes things so so much better. It's dry, there's no big hot thing to keep clear of, it doesn't run out of fuel at four in the morning every day.
Buddy heater is for camping
Webasto makes it like home
Very much agree. We've used them in a pinch when our built-in was in need of repair, but far from ideal as a permanent solution.
No mention of how easy to move around or lack of move around, cost is also something to think about i love my buddy heater
Yeah, this video is about the safety considerations, so I was just staying on topic.
The Wave 3,6 or 8 is also a great option that falls in between these options. It, for all practical use cases, removes the Carbon monoxide issue. The H2O issue remains but mitigated with a dehumidifier. More education is needed on the less obvious dangers and benefits of radiant heat.
The wave 3, 6, and 8 functions in the same manner as the mr. buddy heater for the concepts discussed in this video.
So never said what heater you used for this van build
Thanks Like 53
Thank you! Cheers!
in work i found the metal electric heater go on fire,when the plastic would not
🤷👍
a lot of people use a diesel heater
Indeed! That's what the espar/webasto example is.
The Mr. Buddy is much more dangerous compared to the other fuel burner.
have carbon monoxide alarm
Indeed! That was mentioned in the video.
NO!
The webasto is not safer. As you pointed out, an exhaust leak would be incredibly dangerous AND the webasto has no built in failsafe.
Burning fuel in an enclosed space absolutely requires a carbon monoxide detector INCLUDING the webasto
A carbon monoxide detector is indeed always necessary as is a smoke detector.
But yes... an externally vented heater like a webasto is indeed safer than a heater that vents its combustion air to the inside of the van.
It's like this guy would rather stir chili in the firehouse than stir the ashes of your camper.
🤣😂
Wouldn't even consider a Mr Buddy for indoor heating anywhere. They are just too dangerous for the general public to use, period. I'm surprised they haven't been sued out of existence. They are meant for ice fishermen in unsealed tents or structures.
Been using a buddy heater indoors for over 10 years and never had a problem
It’s not Mr.Buddy
Whatever. You know what I'm talking about.