Espar/Webasto install location options - opinions needed

[HoleshotHolset]

Anyone ever put one...

• Under the passenger seat... seemingly the easiest spot to mount it 'in the cab'
  
• Under the 'dashboard' - this would be hard to do and hard to fix the sucker if it fails... but would keep it out of the way of darn near everything.
  

Any options other than mounting it on the framerail would be sweet...



Thanks in advance,



Matt

 

[TBrennan]

You should never mount these things inside the cab. Possible exhaust leaks could be life threatening. I mounted my Espar under the stock air box using a bracket I made myself. It uses the a stock hole for mounting and required no drilling whatsoever. It exahusts right underneath behind the front bumper and draws air in from next to the stock air box. You could even easily drill a hole in your air box and let it breathe filtered air from there.



On Edit: Just realized your talking 2nd gen Dodges. See my response in the other thread.

 

[HoleshotHolset]

Bah! Life threatening... I thought about that one... but figured I'd smell the exhaust if it was leaking into the cab. A little bit of high temp RTV and some hose clamps ought to seal the exhaust pipe to the combustion blower, right?



I'm trying to avoid ruining a nice unit by not putting it where it can get all messed up from road salt...



Matt

 

[Slow Six]

I had mine professionally installed by the distributor up here a year ago. They had installed several units and they put them under the air box. I think this seems to be a good location. As for the brackets, Espar no longer supplies them. The units for the 2nd. gens. did come as a complete kit. The new units come in a box with some of the parts, but others pieces have to be gotten separatly.

 

[Moose Truck]

Matt, PM Weaties; he has an Espar in his truck. It's somewere down low on the driverside under the steering gear. Sorry I did not get a chance to talk to you at the Seefood Challange in Derby. Regards Moose.

 

[Moose Truck]

Espar

Matt, PM Weaties; he has an Espar in his truck. It's somewere down low on the driver's side under the steering gear. Sorry I did not get a chance to talk to you at the Seefood Challange in Derby. Regards Moose.

 

[TBrennan]

Espar does make a kit with a bracket for the 2nd gens but not the 3rd gens. Your on your own for a 3rd gen. I'm pretty sure they still sell the kits for the 2nd gens, give Greg at www.lubespecialist.com a call. He's got good prices on these things and has great customer service.

 

[Headshot zod]

which Espar model are you guys using? How loud is it? Do you feel the muffler is necessary?

 

[Cooker]

Does the heater itself generate heat while running, other than the exhaust of course? I would think it might get a little warm to put inside the cab.



Here is an idea? Why not put a battery under the truck and mount the Espar in place of the one battery? Just a thought.

 

[HoleshotHolset]

The model I am going to install is a D5W... Espar does not make any sort of kit to slap this badboy in a pickup truck. 17,000 BTU/hr of pure diesel badness!



The Espar units traditionally installed in pickup trucks are the "Hydronic 4" or "Hydronic 5" - these are the ones that folks install on the framerail down by the lift pump with the nifty install kit for those smaller models. That's an abyssmal location to install anything - it makes it an ordeal to access a couple of things: starter, lift pump, fuel heater, pre screen... oh, and the heater itself.



Wheaties' Espar is the first one I ever got to see in person - from that point on... I had to have one. Back when Shadetree Mechanic was on TNN - the show where they featured an install on Sam's 12-valve also sold me on a diesel-fired hydronic heater for my truck. I finally got one after all these years!



I don't plan on using the muffler on my Espar - and I even plan on BOMBing the 'intake silencer' :-laf



I like that idea, Ryan. I'd rather have a battery under the truck than an Espar...



That little spot under the passenger seat is aweful tempting. I flipped through all the Espar literature that came with my D5W and it doesn't mention having to worry about excessive heat from the unit itself - the exhaust heat was the only thing the manual warned about. They did give out some max/min mounting angles... but those are pretty easy to adhere to.



The manual did specifically state (in several locations... ) that the heater should not be installed in the passenger compartment. Bah! That's just because of the carbon monoxide danger...



Thanks for the input,



Matt

 

[vssman]

I thought Diesel didn't put out too much CO at least no as much as a gasser - It's mostly particulate and hydrocarbons. Anyway, drinking diesel probably gave you some immunity to any harmfull effects... . :-laf

 

[Bellon]

My Webasto is installed under the air box. There is a great location infront of the front passenger side tire, but behind the bumper.



Also, my Webasto cam with all the hardware (brackets, etc), required for a complete installation. All I'm getting at, is go with the company that gives you the complete product. It proves that they've thought through everything, and are serious about the buisness.



My Webasto Rocks!

 

[TBrennan]

Bellon,



So the Webasto has bracketry specifically for mounting in a 3rd gen Dodge under the air box? Nice if so, but I think your just talking about generic bracketry right? The Espar also has a generic bracket but in order to mount it something you generally need to fab up some form of bracketry yourself.



The exhaust on my Espar gets very hot, you wouldn't want it to contact or come near anything effected by heat.



Matt, I thought about trying to mount two optima red tops together at one battery location (rotated 90 deg. ) and free up the other location for the Espar. Doing some quick measurements though proved it would be very difficult at best if not impossible.

 

[johnrv4]

Here's a couple of ideas

On my '97, I mounted the Webasto to the inside of the passenger battery. The replacement battery wasn't as wide as the stock battery,and there was enough room between the battery and the inner hold-down bolt for a piece of 1/2" plywood that I mounted it on. The exhaust comes straight down and exits in front of the passenger tire. Everything fits and has clearance, but it's tight. It sure is great on these 20* mornings. My buddy bought an Optima for his truck and mounted the passenger battery(Optima) under the cab, and put his Webasto where the passenger battery box was located. That worked out great with a clean installation. I'm working on a '04. 5 right now that we mounted the Webasto off the rear of the passenger side battery box. That also looks like it will work out great. The main thing to remember is to try and keep the coolant pump low enough that it won't cavitate. The Webasto in my '97 came out of a '95 Ram. It was mounted in a stainless steel box under the cab... . BAD IDEA!!! There were numerous problems with it that were all associated with the mounting location. Everything electrical was turning green from the constant salt bath it got in the winter. After I installed it up higher in the engine compartment, there hasn't been any major problems.

I'm picking up my Espar tomorrow Matt Oo. Oo.

 

[TBrennan]

It was mounted in a stainless steel box under the cab... . BAD IDEA!!! There were numerous problems with it that were all associated with the mounting location. Everything electrical was turning green from the constant salt bath it got in the winter.

Dialectric grease is your friend. Using it on all underhood connections should be a SOP (Standard Operating Procedure). Other than the connections, all electronics on the Espar are sealed inside the unit.

 

[KWentling]

I originally had mine on the frame rail per the Espar kit. After having to dig it out a few times for repairs I relocated it to behind the bumper on the passenger side. Only bad part of having it there is the heater hoses are pretty long. I'm suprised how clean it stays there. Easy to get at too. I made a mounting plate to fit the cradle and welded it right to the bumper brace. Espar does make a plastic enclosure to protect them from the elements. Not sure of the price. Most Espar stuff is higher than a kite. This is all on my 98. I'm looking at putting one on the 04 now so I'm all ears.

Kim

 

[Wheaties]

Hey Matt,



Whatever you do, I definitely would not mount it inside the cab. While you might be able to smell diesel fumes, the unit doesn't smell much at all once it's warmed up and burning cleanly. CO is colorless and odorless. Plus you won't notice anything if you leave it running while you're snug in bed in the morning or shopping at the mall. The cab could be filled with fumes by the time you get to the truck. Anyway, all you'd notice is that you had a spltting headache before you keeled over. Don't put it in the cab!



Even if you do install it safely in the cab, if you go and kill yourself by some other means, the investigating attorneys will discover the heater, blame your death on it's being in the cab, and the rest of us won't ever be able to afford one again due to the manufacturer's liability. DON'T INSTALL IT IN THE CAB!!! Oo. Oo.



About the only reason that I can think of for the kit install to be putting the Heater down under the steering column (above the starter and beside the lift pump), is to keep hoses and wiring away from the exhaust manifold. If this can be worked out, and it can, I think just about anywhere else would be easier to get to!



I agree about mounting it too high causing cavitation. The water pump gave out on mine after three years and set me back $150. Don't even think about finding a motor/pump elsewhere, it's custom! You don't want that puppy cavitating!



One of the best installs I heard about was a TDR member out in the great Northwest made a custom bracket to hang it off the passenger battery mount. If I recall correctly it was lower than the battery but still mounted to it somehow.



How hot does it get? The metal side that contains the flame is completely jacketed by coolant, so I'd say it never get's hotter than the coolant itself. It is supposed to shut down if it has an 'overtemp' condition.



All in all, I'm really happy with mine. Someone showed me their brand new Volvo yesterday and I commented on what a nice car they have. Then I walked over to my truck warming itself up.



MTE

 

[HoleshotHolset]

Wow - EXCELLENT comments, dudes. Thank you!



I'm due for a new set of batt-trees (weird pronunciation I still use every now and then... ) - perhaps I could get some sort of smaller units in there to make more room. A buddy of mine had a little TINY battery in his Typhoon... it looked like a gel cell - I may have to investigate a similar setup. But, I hate to digress from what works - good old fashioned lead-acid.



John - I knew you had a heater in your '97... BUT, I didn't know you had it mounted under the hood. By the time I get to check it out... it may be too late. (I might have mine installed... )



Matt (the elder, aka: MTE) - You brought up some excellent points - but I hope you can see where I'm coming from. That spot under the seat is begging to be occupied...



Again - excellent comments... THANK YOU!



Matt (MTY)

 

[Alaskaskiff]

I kept my Espar that I had installed in my 96 truck and moved it to my 04. I welded up brackets to mount the D4W model on the passenger side above the fender directly in front of the firewall and as far outboard as possible. It is real easy to get to, the coolant line runs are real short, but the electrical lines had to be extended.



The brackets are mounted to existing brackets that are on the truck, and already had convenient holes, so it was a no-drill install.



It has been there for 11 months and seems extremely well protected. It is also extremely easy to remove in this location, which I had to do twice in the old truck, and it was a real pain.

 

[TBrennan]

Andy,



I originally planned to install mine in that general area as well. I was using the factory mounting holes for the AC canister there. I had the bracket all made but ultimately I was concerned on having it so close to the turbo housing and the heat it would be subject to. Did you have it very close to the turbo? Didn't seem to be much room otherwise.