Espar Underseat Installation

bhenrich

New member
Group,

I recall seeing a write-up on here of an Espar under passenger seat installation. Does anybody know what I'm talking about? I would appreciate any help or information from anybody that has mounted one there before.

thanks,

Blake
 

GeorgeRa

2013 Sprinter DIY 144WB, Portland OR
There are other folks who installed them as well, search for - passenger espar d2

https://sprinter-source.com/forums/showpost.php?p=304294&postcount=536
https://sprinter-source.com/forums/showpost.php?p=304295&postcount=537

Good luck.

George.

Edit: On the page 5 from the "Factory Espar installation" there is a picture of the perforated cover on the right side of the passenger seat to improve air circulation. I checked with Eberspacher, MB and VW about availability of this item and got nowhere. MB and VW said to go to Eberspacher and vice versa. Bought the original solid door and will experiment drilling holes after returning home.
 

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Diamondsea

New member
Use the search function at the top right of the screen. Search for ESPAR INSTALLATION and also ESPAR UNDERSEAT INSTALLATION.
 

bhenrich

New member
Thanks George, yours is the exact post & installation I wanted to copy! Your thread doesn't have any of the search terms I was using, like under seat, passenger, etc. Thank you!

There are other folks who installed them as well, search for - passenger espar d2

https://sprinter-source.com/forums/showpost.php?p=304294&postcount=536
https://sprinter-source.com/forums/showpost.php?p=304295&postcount=537

Good luck.

George.

Edit: On the page 5 from the "Factory Espar installation" there is a picture of the perforated cover on the right side of the passenger seat to improve air circulation. I checked with Eberspacher, MB and VW about availability of this item and got nowhere. MB and VW said to go to Eberspacher and vice versa. Bought the original solid door and will experiment drilling holes after returning home.
 

PaulDavis

Member

CuStOm

Member
Great work guys.

These look pretty small. Do they really pump out enough heat to keep a sprinter at 68-72f in the winter if camping?
 

PaulDavis

Member
I haven't tried mine yet but (a) other posters have claimed "0F outside, 70F inside my 170" (b) the thing does blast out some very warm air :)
 

Diamondsea

New member
In my former DIY my D2 could just keep up 68 degrees when it was 20 outside. I had reasonable insulation. It becomes more difficult to heat past a temperature rise of 40 degrees. Interestingly for refrigeration it seems to be increasingly difficult to cool more than 40 degrees below ambient!
 

Rensho

Member
Do you guys feel that the underseat install adds to the noise of the heater? Is it an issue at all?

I'm about to install mine.
 

PaulDavis

Member
when the fan is on high, the noise of the furnace itself is hardly an issue. when it is on low, it seems to me that the fan is still the loudest component (which isn't saying much - the thing just isn't very loud).

it is easy for me to understand what other D2/D4 users have said about the noise of the pump tick though ... at night, i can imagine this being disconcerting because it is not a continuous sound.
 

GeorgeRa

2013 Sprinter DIY 144WB, Portland OR
Espar D2 is the quietest RV furnace I have ever head because it has variable air flow. At high power the noise is OK but at low level it is extremely quiet.

George.
 

meyerx

New member
Just picked up a D2 to install on my new Sprinter. After reading the heater instructions and posts on this site, was hoping to get a little more info on the fuel line routing.

I'll be using the MB fuel tap already installed on the Sprinter tank. That puts me on the driver side of the fuel tank. Now i just need to route over to the front passenger seat somehow....
The Espar kit came with a fairly short piece of hose for the tank side of the fuel pump, but i should be able to mount the pump on one of the cross-members (as people have done here)
just fine i think. The confusion comes from the Espar directions... they say the line from the pump to the actual heater needs to be at a "continuous rise".
That's not possible from the right side of the fuel tank. The line will go up and down several times (going over the drivetrain, exhaust, running down and back up cross-members, etc)
before it reaches the front passenger seat.

I'm assuming the "rise" requirement is not actually an issue? Any fuel line routing insights from those that used the stock tank tap and placed the heater under the front passenger seat?

Thanks!
 

PaulDavis

Member
I ran my fuel line and control harness line up and over the exhaust using the existing heat shield and one of the cross-members of the body (attachments only to the body, not the shield) I don't have any good pictures because the camera I was using during the first stages of my build has died, and my wife's smartphone takes useless shots. But I found a fairly good path that isn't "continuous rise" but does rise overall. There is a dip from the KL-1 auxiliary tap down to the pump inlet, and then it is up-or-flat from there. I don't think you need worry too much about this (I did, and I think it was silly to do so).

I find the noise from the D2 on full blast a bit excessive, but once it settles into its low power maintainance mode, it is very quiet.
 

Diamondsea

New member
The requirement for "continuous rise" is to reduce the chance of an air bubble in the line blocking the flow. The pulse pump is designed for pushing more than sucking. If it is near the tank and clamps are tight it will not suck air into the system. Install the pump angled up 30 to 60 degrees near the fuel tank tap. install the short coupling tube on the top of the pump. Do not yet connect the capillary fuel tube at the pump but install it over hill and dale above the drive train, exhaust, etc. keeping it above the exhaust heat shield. Yes this is mostly horizontal. Get this tube connected to the burner assembly and all wiring, controls, ducting ready to go.

Now here is the deal. Using a turkey baster at the upper end of the coupling atop the pump suck diesel from the tank through the pump into the baster. This eliminates any air to that point. Then insert the capillary tube into the coupling at the pump. Insert all the way until it touches the metal output part of the pump. This avoids a space within the coupling where future air might form a bubble. Tighten the hose clamp.

Now start the heater and the pump will start fuel through the capillary pushing the air out ahead. Bubbles will not form in the capillary due to its small diameter and its rigid structure in that it will not expand. The hearer will probably not start instantly as it will time out before fuel gets there. The air will be pushed through the capillary. Do not panic, simply wait and the heater will automatically try again. If it does not fire up on the second or third try, shut off the controls and wait five minutes. Then restart to try again and it should fire. When it does fire with perhaps initial belching of smoke let it run for 5 minutes and you should be good to go. This approach has worked for me for decades on boats and vans.
 
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Tuck5000

2008 2500 170
My fuel line was ran from the passenger seat base over to the driver seat base, then down and out the floor board. There is a little pathway in the floor you can run the fuel line, over to the driver side. Makes for a clean and straight shot to the fuel tank...
 

meyerx

New member
Awesome, thanks for all the info! Very helpful. About to dive in...

If anyone has any pointers or lessons learned on the wiring, that would be great as well. Haven't studied too closely yet, but it looks a little intimidating. I'll be trying to figure how the high altitude kit integrates into the standard wiring as well

Thx!
 

GeorgeRa

2013 Sprinter DIY 144WB, Portland OR
Awesome, thanks for all the info! Very helpful. About to dive in...

If anyone has any pointers or lessons learned on the wiring, that would be great as well. Haven't studied too closely yet, but it looks a little intimidating. I'll be trying to figure how the high altitude kit integrates into the standard wiring as well

Thx!
Use provided or as specified in the installation manual cables. There is >8A (100W) current heating the glow plug during the start. http://www.letonkinoisvarnish.uk/Eberspacher_Wiring_1.html

A Weatherpack crimp tools is good if not a must to have. You can get them for about $30. http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro....TRC0.H0&_nkw=Weatherpack+Crimp+Tool&_sacat=0
Using regular crimping tool will not provide reliably crimped terminals.

Good luck,

George.
 

PaulDavis

Member
What George said about the crimping tool. I did mine without it, but I would much rather not have.

The wiring is actually generally very very easy. A single 2 wire power cable that runs back to your 12V distribution in one direction and forwad to the pump in the other. A multiwire cable that runs to the thermostat/control which is slightly more work to wire up but very easy once you figure out the right physical orientation of the metal blades inside the plastic bodies.
 

Camping

Member
I mounted mine under the passenger seat after reading some helpful tutorials from this site. For what's it's worth I ended up running the thermostat control wires up the seatbelt pillar and mounted the unit in the headliner. I love it there as i can turn it on a few mins from a camp spot. Only 2 down sides are you can't reach it from the bed, and if you use a curtain separating the cab the unit won't read an accurate temp (but you could disable that function if you wanted)
 

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