Webasto and Bushtracker

Roger,

After 4 years of trouble-free operation through most of the desert roads in Australia,
why would you want to change.

BT complains about priming problems, but ion my experience when we've run out of diesel, it took only two or three start cycles to have the unit up & running again.
Who needs 10% more output when we only need to run the Webasto at 25% most of the time. (except on startup when we run it for several minutes on 100% so that we don't coke-up the burner.

If the Webasto is good enough to be used in "Britannia", the Queens new Coach (designed & built in Australia) Its good enough for me!

(I have photos of this installation)

Neil

If the client wants it give it to him he the client has got the money, must be other reason's will BT put in any other makes we have a Dometic and have found it great as i understand it when the Webasto reaches its set temp it then blows cold air the Domectic does not it shuts off and then sarts up again on its own when room temp has dropped to set level just maybe BT have found this out.

The statement by Adams 44 previously Para 10 I believe, oops, requires correction.
I have had experience with both the Eberspacher (sold here as Dometic) and Webasto heaters.
With Eberspacher the experience goes back around 8 years.

Both heaters have a thermostat at the air intake and it is the signal from this thermostat that controls the heater.
Air must pass over this thermostat at all times that the heater is on or the heater can not sense the ambient temperature inside the van.
Both heaters go into a “controlled idle” state once the selected air temperature has been reached to enable the thermostat to detect the ambient temperature..
Neither heater blows cold air, both heaters will pass air into the van at the ambient temperature inside the van.
When the thermostat senses that the ambient air temp has fallen below the selected parameter the heater will re-ignite.

There is a very significant operational difference that made me decide to step away from the Eberspacher/Dometic product.

Both heaters will go into fault lockout mode if a problem occurs, a problem such as overheating due to accidental blockage of the air intake, not uncommon when items are stuffed into a storage area near the heater or intake.
The other more common cause for fault lockout is fuel starvation, the tank has run out of fuel.
Fault lockout will occur when the heater has attempted to re-start itself 3 times.

If a Webasto runs out of fuel and goes to fault lockout the owner can override this function to enable fuel priming. (Or to restart after an airway blockage has been cleared.)
Just switch the heater off for 30 seconds.
It may be necessary to repeat this process several times if there is a long fuel line from the tank to the heater.

With the Eberspacher/Dometic product the fault lockout can not be overridden by the owner, it requires a service technician with a laptop computer and the factory software to do this.
So if you are in a remote area and your Dometic heater goes to fault lockout you are up the proverbial creek.

Not the best choice for a van that has been designed to tour in remote areas.

Regards
Bob

Member Bushtucker Man replied to the question

Roger,

WE LOOOOVE OUR WEBASTO, wouldn't go anywhere without it.

Didn't have one in our 1st BT, built 2001. When doing the extras for the new one the Webasto was a high priority. Had a problem the first time we tried to fire it up in Toowoomba, did a slow freeze for 3 nights then decided to revisit BT, 600 k's extra in our trip, and it was rectified by Peter the electrician without hesitation.

Another thing Trish reminded me of was we ran out of diesel one night near Warwick, just refilled the tank and it fired up when switched on and guess what no priming.

I'm sure it will get some use on the way to Quilpie.

Cheers,
Stan & Trish
"Doing it on the dirt & loving it."

As one of the early adopters of a Webasto heater (mid 2003), I can only speak very highly of the product, the after sales service and the support that the Bushtracker Owners Group has received from Webasto and in particular, Roger Phair.

It is a disappointing situation if the overall quality of a product, in this case a Bushtracker Van, is being compromised for the sake of a few dollars. i have not seen a bad comment about the Webasto product on this forum. Sure, I and others, have experienced the odd problem with a wasps nest in the exhaust or some such, but when is close to zero and you're out in the scrub, it's has been very comforting to hear that Webasto fire up and deliver the goods!

If I was going down the new van path again, and it's very possible, I would specify to Bushtracker that Webasto is my heater of choice

Roger we support all the above comments.Our first BT did not have a Webasto.
The one we are in now has one and we just love being able to have showers on cold nights in a very warm bathroom.

Your propuct is one of the few appliances in our BT that has not given any trouble.
We have small problems with our stove ,fridge and air conditioner.

The webasto just keeps on keeping on.

We would highly recommend your product and service to all people interested in a heating unit for their Caravan.

Many thanks for your support of our club over the past years.
Lets hope the would of mouth advertising our members can give to your company and product will continue to see Webastos fitted to BTs and other caravan makes.

Kind Regards Keith & Susan.

Bato Keith & Susan

WHAT THEY SAID......and more......like Neil Boystoy, we travel the outback at every opportunity and this is always done in the Winter months when the nights are freezing.

So when a lot of other travellers are lumbering around inside their vans with 3 or 4 layers of clothing on....looking like the Michelin Man....we're relaxing in Shorts and T-Shirt...with the Webasto just "Ticking" over.

Great Product...
We're always singing the virtues of Webasto Ownership to the masses...and when they ask why we're not rugged up we invite them inside for a minute or two...the look on their faces is priceless.

Roger...many thanks for a great product and for your patronage of our group.
Cheers
Rick & Julie

Roger...
Like a number of fellow BOGGERS add ours to the testimonials...... we absolutly L O V E our Webasto.

It is such a great unit and reliable... like Brian said if anyone reads this forum for information they could not go past the positive response to your Webasto diesel heater.

We have been caught in blizzards... twice!! travelling to & home from Mallacoota and sheltered at Dinner Plains which is the heart of High Country Victoria... our Webasto just purred away.... very, very grateful for it on those occasions. Also spent many nights beside cold and freezy trout streams up the Mitta & along the Murray River.. with a warm van to come back too - made it all the more enjoyable(hmmm make that bearable...er..should that read sensible - just know I wouldn't be happy without it! :-)
We are mindful to always have it filled with Alpine diesel in our region... which is readily available.

We hope that you continue to benefit with your association with B.O.G and that client demand will change BTi's mind - but as you say if new van owners want the best they can retro fit the tried and true Webasto from you directly.

All the best,
Helen & John