Espar Gas Air heaters

[Deadsetmonkey]

Hello.
This is my 1st Expedition Portal post.

Anyhow.

I have a 1990 VW Syncro Westfalia.
I want to set it up for winter camping at altitude.
As I have read, looks like the Espar gasoline fired air heaters are the way to go.
They seem to have the best high altitude reliability?
The Propex LP heaters are popular in the VW community, but I like the idea of having a single fuel source that is easy to find.

Anyway. I am looking to see if anyone has any insights for me about the Espar Gas powered units?

Cheers

 

[Haf-E]

I have had a couple of them - they work well. Parts can be tricky if you pick up a used one. There are several different versions with the same model number and don't have interchangeable parts. Best to buy a newer one if you can. They are a but on the noisy side if they are not mounted in a remote place - sort of like a hair dryer on medium... a bit noisy to have cycling on and off all night for me.

There are a couple of people in CO who sell / install them - but it is pretty straight forward. Let me know if you need contacts.

 

[tacollie]

A buddy's company Luftkraft Fabrication has installed them in an Econoline, Promaster, and 67' VW bug. They are awesome! I know his customer with the Econoline leaves it on in the winter even when he isn't sleeping it so the windows are defrosted and the van is always warm inside. He just sets his thermostat to 65 and locks the doors. I would go for it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Shocker]

Webasto also has a nice unit.

These look like a great thing to install and easy to do. Most models come in both diesel and gasoline versions.

 

[Haf-E]

You could also use a diesel heater by installing an additional fuel tank - this was done frequently with Pinzgauers as theRe is less hazard (potentially) with diesel fuel and fires etc. The additional fuel tank can be a 5 gallon fuel tank with some plumbing added to it. Diesel has about 20% more BTU content then gasoline and about 40% more than lpg on a per gallon basis. Don't put any biodiesel through the heater though...

 

[stevo-mt]

If you have a gas rig buy the gas heater. I've put 3 espar heaters in different vehicles, gas and diesel. If you put gas into the fuel tank put a gas heater in it. If you put diesel in the fuel tank buy a diesel heater. One mess up can cost you more than the difference in heater cost between diesel and gas. The gas heater works great, my friends 4runner in Alaska has this and it will roast him out in winter. Lubrication specialist has about the best deals I've found and you get your stuff quick!

From my personal experience the espars will keep you quite a bit warmer with less battery usage than a force air propane setup. (Lived in my truck with the espar and lived in my camper with the propane). Plus you just put gas in the tank and life is good.