BEST DIESEL HEATERS AROUND? Autoterm Tear down and test!
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 ก.ค. 2024
- My channel has become popular for my vans, vanlife, campervans and motohomes reviews of Chinese-made diesel heaters , hydronic heaters, parking heaters, and European-made diesel heaters. I finally got myself the Autoterm 4D and Comfort Controller to borrow and review, which I think is one of the best around! Diesel heaters are an important part of my self-built campervan for my overland winter adventures to the snowy north of the Nordic Arctic in the extreme cold.
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Your missing log burner and rain capture off roof and underfloor heating pads 🏆🌍
@@alextop1850 whilst have made fires and used log burners for years in houses, camps, bunkhouses, bothies and more. I’d personally not want a log burner in my van.
Whilst mind under floor heating
@@MispronouncedAdventures rain capture be cool for filling tanks and I like the way you make improvements to your van. I've got a Luton thinking of going transit 4x4 if I can get 1
I've installed both a 5kw Chinese and the 2D Autoterm and the quality improvement of the 2D is very noticeable as you demonstrated so well. Really useful content, Alex. Keep it up, please.
I definitely agree whilst Chinese heaters and the autoterm ones are with the price differences, two different markets. The quality increases easy to see.
Interesting! Especially the 12V testing. I own a anker 521 powerstation, and it can start my 5kw chinese diesel heater on a low setting on it. It then registeres about 110 watts, slightly more on cooldown.
Thanks for a reassuring review. I have the 2KW Autoterm in my MWB Crafter and it's been great to date and money well spent.
Money, well spent I’d say!
That was a great vlog Especially as I've just had one fitted.
Definitely great heaters. For my next van I’ll be considering one
I love my 4kw Autoterm, had mine installed since Jan 2020, I live in my van so it's used all the time, it's quiet and maintenance free, great if you want something that's there when you need it. I swear by mine👍
I’m not surprised you are happy. They are great heaters
To quickly turn off and on the heater, hold down the button on the bottom right (the three .... )
I’ll give that a go! To be fair the make sense to make On/Off very simple
just looking at these so good timing! cheers min
sold :)
I’m glad the video was of help!
Love mine. Second one I've had. Never had a problem
They are great units
Thanks for your lovely review, I'm learning a lot.
Glad you enjoyed it. I think it’s a great piece of kit
Looking forward to the combi boil looks like something I need !!
Recorded most of the video at the moment
Nice intro video. I just saw from some overlanders that the Autoterm works very well in high altitude (Altiplano at 4200 m).
Thank you very much for collaborations and do my best to try and pitch the rest of the content of the channel, so people who find it might consider staying.
I haven’t looked into the high altitude capabilities of the autoterm yet . I don’t know if it’s a different board required or a manual / automatic adjustment. Or if it just still works
Have an autoterm 2d by myself. Cause at the chinese diesel heater the dieselpump died 3times in 6 months and didn’t work when I was in the alps at cold temperatures. So I bought the autoterm and I‘m happy with my choice.
Well, I am a big fan of the Chinese heaters, they can definitely have their issues. There are so many companies that they can be a minefield. and for some people probably easier to purchase a high-quality heater.
I travelled & had Autoterm fit the 4kw in my Ambo 2 weeks ago, service was great, I watched the fitter do the work on vehicle, never got asked to leave the area, any questions I had were answered by James. Worth the money & my travel time from south coast yes definately. 3 yr warranty instead of 2(self fitted) Fires up everyday at set times no issues. 5ton Mercedes sprinter Ex box Ambo. Expensive yes but you pay for what you get, choice is yours. Look forward to your video of water heater from Autoterm, was told about it while there Alex. Keep up the great work👍
Yeah, that is something I didn’t mention, is autoterm dealer network and installer, which is i said it definitely a great added value for the units not only supplied but professionally installed well
Hi where did you get this fitted please
Looking forward to the autoterm combiboil video looks interesting
Always finished filming it, excellent unit
Great can’t wait looks like it’s got some good features
Interesting and probably sensible to fuse the negative as imagine the case will be connected to the chassis when bolted and that to the negative - if you had a poor negative to leisure battery connection it could then route through the diesel heater wiring (assuming you connect it to the leisure battery negative) and the fuse would prevent an issue in that case. That’s my theory on it but could be wrong.
Have a lovely Christmas, all the best, David 👍
Also it prevents damage if an installer connects it incorrectly negative to positive etc. belt and braces.
Had an Autoterm 2D in a box on my scandi tour @-22C in my tent. Just changed to comfort controller big upgrade. Worth the money when things have to work
Was it a premade box or when you built yourself?
comfort controller definitely is a nice bit of kit
Bought from a company in Spain called UroCamper. At the time was almost the same price as buying components and DIY. Very nice alu box and cnc made internal plate over heater
@stevehomer3676 ah yes. I follow them on insta
Thanks
Thank you for watching!
Have a 2KW one tapped into fuel tank, 3 years old now still great, uses little power.
The 2kw units, which I’ve fitted in the past are excellent as well
Autoterm is russian company that is operating in Europe. After the sanctions, they changed their official address to Latvia (Autoterm SIA). The name of the company in russia is "Адверс". The owners of the company (both Autoterm and Адверс) are russian citizen (but also have Israel citizenship so that's why they can't get under sanctions).
And ?
@@anthonypert574and that means buyers should ask themselves if it would be morally justifiable to buy Russian products because of the Ukraine war. I personally would not under the present circumstances, but I am not blind to the fact that this company might not support the Russian government's invasion of the Ukraine. However their profits will be taxed and those taxes will be partially used to fund the Russian war effort.
@@lincolndave1966ablewhat brand of heater have you got?
@@deanlarkin3804 my van came with under mounted erberspacher diesel heater.
The owner of autoterm was born in Ukraine and is now living between latvia and Azerbaijan due to the war. Of course he did live in Russia previously but left due to the war as many young Russians did.
I have an autoterm. It was giving err code 15 so charged leisure battery. Now it will only turn on to ventilation mode. Any ideas?
great video! Just installed mine but it seemed strangely loud compared to old chinese diesel heaters I've had in the past which seems odd given the low noise selling point. Running on low level still kicking off 80db about 1ft from the unit. Is this normal to your knowledge?
Whilst I haven’t measured the exact sound output, I should be spec information for that on their own website.
Well, the unit was somewhat loud. I did have it installed on a bench for a video testing purposes which probably makes it sound a lot louder than it is. But I didn’t feel it was much louder than my other heaters
I have autoterm. Wouldn't change to any other
Can’t blame you, they are excellent units
I CAN start my chinese heater on a small jackery explorer 240 battery. Pulls about 125W.
Is the Jackery explorer a one of the older models? My older ecoflows can start one, but my new ones can’t
Hi
Thanks for the video. I have an autoterm 4d and it is indeed very sensitive to battery voltage. It stops when I use the induction hob for example. I have a 600Ah LiFePo4 battery though.
Otherwise it's a very good heater that consumes very little power.
On the comfort controller, I did notice there was an option in settings to turn off what appeared to be low-voltage shutdown. well that’s at least what it look like. I wasn’t able to test it though
yes you can alter the settings of the voltage cut off on the comfort controller so that may well allow you to run it fine on power banks if yoy set it low or switch it off. Its never fully off but i think factory standard setting is 11.5V and with it off the setting is 10.5V for 3 minutes.
@Heatersandfridges the issue in this video, wasn’t the heater cutting out due to a low-voltage, although it certainly did have a low voltage alarm on the river 2 but over run it without problem
The issue on two of the three power station was the 12V DC of the power station turning off due to overload.
Even when the heater was running on low combustion wise, during the shutdown period, it would ramp the fan up to full to speed up its cooling process with the glow plug on, which was what tripped it on the River 2 Pro
i can mention this to the software team in Latvia and see if they can change the way it shuts down. Of course the main thing during shut down is to be safe and make a correct shut down and with a battery in the circuit it definitely isn’t an issue. However maybe they can make them more power bank friendly. Will pass it on. Cheers.
@@Heatersandfridges cheers, i guess from my point of view im using it outside of your original intended uses. But i know so maybe people try and get CDH running or any running off power station now for camping set ups and small van set ups . So worth a play
usually they’re right on the edge of what the power station 12v ports can hardly for a startup or shut down. running is fine.
Definitely important to have a safe shutdown however that’s why you see me very quickly, grab my AC supply to plug it in!
Great tear down.
Definitely worth the cost.
When are you heading to Scandinavia?
Great cost for the quality of the unit. I am heading out for the Nordic winter round 3 in the first week of January
If you want a stop over shower water etc we will be at our house about 2 hours north of Gothenburg just off the 45.
I enjoy the channel be nice to give something back 👍
That autoterm pcb is properly protected with a conformal coating and silicone coating… the connectors should be fine in high humidity. The boards in a plastic housing are actually worse unless completed sealed (I have never come across one that is) as they hold the condensated moisture, thus destroy themselves.
Aye I’m aware of the purpose of the board coverings and I agree it’s protected. I still prefer properly sealed,housing I could come across in Webasto and Espar, let’s see what housing types are rare amongst the Chinese and the ones I have seen are exact duplicates of the Espar version. I think it’s more I prefer a plug indexed connection style. But yes, done poorly can lead to issues
Not directly heater related, but when do you start your next Arctic trip? We loved watching the last one x
Around the 7th of January! Can’t wait
Brilliant, neither can we x
Bluetti 200ac max has a 30amp 12v output.
Indeed, it does not many of the smaller 1 kW sub range. Have anything more though than the normal 12V 10A socket . It would be nice if some of them would start to use the Anderson connector or the XT60 for a 25 amp output
Hi, I just mounted the Autoterm 2D on my VW T6 van, it seems to work perfectly! One thing I've noticed is that I can hear when the drop of fuel goes in into the combustion chamber when I run it at low speed, with that I mean the noise of the combustion chamber is not linear anymore but it goes up (when it gest the drop) and down, I've been trying to listen to all videos the noise in background but I couldn't figure it out 😄, can you tell me?
The lowest setting it’s a pretty slow dose from the pump so I’m not surprised you could hear the combustion. I didn’t notice it on the 4D on low, but the 2D on low will might be even lower.
I have noticed the pump speed changing up and down one some of the settings
I had chin
Eese heater. It died
I am hoping AUTO therm mount same spot ??
Water heater does it also exhaust hot air ? Do you use water heat exchanger ?
I plan to have both radiant and hot air
I believe most of the heaters use the same mounting plate / holes layout out. So you should be able to swap.
This is air heater, autoterm also make water / hydronic heaters as well.
Do you think I can install it under my transporter t5 ?
Don’t see why not. The make some under vehicular mounts for these units
This vid couldn’t have come at a better time mate, but im still torn.
The quality of the Autoterm looks ace and has always been the plan to go for, I just don’t know whether to go for a 2kw and run it 3/4 to flat out all the time, or 4kw and run only about 1/2 power else get too hot and soot up quicker etc.. especially in the warmer months when it’s on lowest just to take the chill off.
I’ve had a 1.5kw fan heater running whilst I’m building and sometimes find with the door shut it gets a bit hot but then that’s at 2oC not minus-25/30!!
Mines a LWB sprinter, insulated well. 10mm closed cell foam(double layer full roof and cab bulkhead area, then pir board walls floor, and recycled fluff insulation in all the awkward areas..
We’re Looking to do -20 plus trips like yourself.
I feel from the ending you thought the Autoterm was good but still preferred your own setup with the afterburner??
Did you ever do a review/demo of that I can’t find it anywhere
I’m still tempted by a Chinese 5kw and afterburner! Plus carry a spare for less than the Autoterm
It’s not an easy decision!
What would you go for if you were building your van now mate?
Cheers
Ant
It’s definitely a difficult decision. I am very spoilt by having an afterburner which is for a software side and abilities/features is superior to everything else on the market.
But the Chinese diesel heater it controls is just a normal Chinese diesel heater whilst mine has been problem free. the Autoterm hardware wise is superior
Personally I would go for the larger, 4kW over the two. The vast majority of even my Chinese heater has been on low to less than half power and it’s generally clean inside.
The two features I love the most about the afterburner is the remote access and the ability to get all the data I want from sensors and RPM available and it’s thermostat, which I would say, performs better than the autoterm. However, it’s difficult for me to fully test the thermostat, without having the heater installed permanently
As always great video!
3 questions:
1. I heard these work at higher altitudes. Is this from stock or any upgrade in parts needed?
2. What mode do you recommended? Thermostat or temperature?
3. What is ventilation mode? Is that for summer?
Thanks.
1. From my understanding you need to swap the board to a high altitude Ecu version.
2. Temperature mode for me. I prefer the diesel heater have always been on but trying to Maintain the preset temperature by testing the heat output opposed to cycling on and off in thermostat mode
3. It seems normal ventilation mode can be for summer as a fan. There is also a heat plus ventilation, which, when the heater shuts down, it turns on ventilation still circulate air
@@MispronouncedAdventures perfect! Thanks. Mine 2kw is being installed atm so very timely video and help!
All the air heaters are altitude versions as standard now. There is a black square component on the board with a hole in it. Its the altitude sensor. It will compensate based on air pressure. No need to buy another board. It does slow down the cooldown sequence at altitude.
My 2d has a built in alto and worked at 2000m in alps no worries. Vent mode runs the heater and fan but fan doesn't stop after heat stops. It's good for condensation control. With simple controller fan always runs anyway.
Hi Alex I am a complete diesel heater novice so excuse me. For any diesel heater can they run off a leisure battery or do they need mains or an inverter
Diesel heaters normally run of 12V DC. So they run off your leisure battery
That pump is pretty quiet. Do you think it's interchangeable wit h the Chinese ones?
Yep, the earlier parts of the video, where when it wasn’t fully primed, when it was fully primed, it was pretty much silent.
Unfortunately it’s not compatible with Chinese ones it’s a completely different dose amount.
@@MispronouncedAdventures Thank you.
Is that the noise it actually makes? Jesus. How do you sleep through that? It's like a jet plane taking off 😂
I wouldn’t of said it was much louder than my other heaters on max. But I am recording in a conference space and also have the exhaust pipe semi inside and the air intake completely inside . Normally unit as enclosed in a vans garage area or cupboard not on a open table
Ah! Watching now :)
Edit: I think Autoterm classifies the metering pump over 100 clicks. So your pump delivers 6.8ml over 100 clicks/pulses. Whereas other manufacturers measure by how many clicks for 1 ml. There are 16ml pumps (16 pulses for 1 ml), 18ml, 22ml, etc. The heaters need to be setup for the pump to have the correct Hz for the heater. Many Chinese heaters come with a random pump and the boards are not correctly setup for them. Heaters that soot up quickly probably came with a pump that is simply too large or the board hasn't been setup correctly.
Lots of different pumps around for sure. My engine pre heater is .42, one of my US / china Heater .62
You are right about the wrong pumps on wrong ECU’s is pretty common
Interesting! Have you covered that in any videos? Easy way to identify and resolve an issue of incorrect pump/board setup?@@MispronouncedAdventures
No in videos as I’ve not had any incorrect issues with that personally, but I have fixed heaters before and see it referenced. Quite a few times online about wrong pump and ecu combos.
It’s a lot more common on the 2 kW Chinese heaters. But seen them using .16, .18.5 & .22.
With the simple controller the fan doesn't stop even at required temp in any mode. Good for air circulation but not ideal. Hence need to change to better controller
From my understanding on the simple controller that requires the external temperature sensor In addition?
Even with the external temp sensor (which I have) when at required temp the heater stops but fan continues at all times
Thanks for this teardown. Such a conformal coating is a disaster for me as electronics repair man but it protects the board better. I used a chinese 5kW (2kW real) in my boat, (where I work and live) after a month it stopped, completely stuffed with carbon/sooth. Opened it to clean. What a piece of crap. After my tears dried, I ordered an Autoterm. Seeing your video I'm glad I did. The much lower start current is a positive point. The voltdrop over the crappy to thin chinese copper coated aluminum wires gave a 3V voltdrop on my unit. (I have 450Ah batteries so that is no problem)
Yes, the conformal coating is nice to see in the context of protecting the PCB although I would still rather see a sealed type unit with waterproof plugs and then the terminal style and open PCB. I do appreciate that coating is going to make repairing the PCB if you have the knowledge a lot more.
With Chinese units, there’s such a variety of range quality that’s for sure
Really
Sounds like the heater had not been fitted properly , or the wrong fuel used in it , Thats the only reason it would have sooted up.. What alluminium wires are you talking about what heater was that on , Was it fitted to a fiashing boat , it does sound rather fishy.
@@daviddavis6231 I took out the China crap, replaced it with the Autoterm, used all the existing hoses and fuel line. Mounted at exact the same position. I used the exhaust parts from autoterm because they are made like it should be. No need for alu tape and gungum. Real RVS sturdy hose clamps. A welded exhaust instead of the leaking pressed together Chinese one. It worked all winter flawless on the same fuell (a 240L fuel tank). I live and work on that boat, 11M steel pilotboat . The Autoterm was used every day the whole season upto 2 weeks ago when the it became warmer outside.
Not a faulty install, hearing you, you are probably to cheap to buy a good one or payed by some Chinees con-shop that sells one of those crappy copies that are unsafe and not tested. Mine had several casting faults, one of them caused leakage from exhaust gasses to the heated air and probably also the sooting. This should never have left the factory. The casting form is clearly made from some trashed European brand heater, including some warped fins and the not flat gasket area.
There was not a single safety build in for things like overheating or burner temp. The quality from the controller (design and how it is build and mounted is really bad.
The Chinese use copper coated aluminium because that is much cheaper. Easy to check, cut it and watch under the microscope. A very common practice in China to save money while it still looks the real deal. Like they do with all electronics crap they sell direct via Ali/Temu/ebay etc
The only fishy thing is your reaction.
I installed my first heater last week and for some reason, I am getting a little smell in the heat outlet until the unit turns on and runs...
Mine was like that for a while, just needs running in 6-8 continuous hours at full blast.
I’ve heard similar before, well, I don’t know what the issue might be. There could be a number of things it could well be. a grease or oil leftover from the manufacturing process on the heat exchanger which is getting heated up and will eventually evaporate after a few uses
@@bogged9820 will go for it. Thanks
Hi I have trouble with my diesel heater and thought you would be the best person to ask 😊... Basically it turns on starts up blows out hot air then the screen /display turns off. It has a 15amp fuse on it with a extended 6mm 53amp cable direct to the battery. Any idea what the problem could be 😟
Just to check as you’re commenting on an autoterm video. It’s an auto term heater to are having an issues with?
@@MispronouncedAdventures no it's the maxpeedingrods sorry
@@MispronouncedAdventures oh and it goes to 100amp hour renogy lithium battery which on the app says 12.9v
Are these autotherm units not subject to sanctions?
This was a area I did a look into it, you can probably appreciate it’s not load of information seems whilst they were originally manufactured historic was in Russia, they have moved outside of Russia and have a European manufacturing as well as another. it seems also for a number of years autoterm has not been a Russian based company either and operates within the EU.
With that being said, current sanctions would also make it legally impossible for a European company to send profits to a Russian based company or parent one.
Although that’s definitely not an area of business I specialise in.
Like your videos. You might slow down your speach from time to time. Some of us dont have english as our first language 💕
I’m completely agree, it’s one of faults if I’m honest, I do my best. But I enjoy testing stuff and I get a bit excited and talk a bit fast. I’m sorry about that.
To be fair my mum says the same!!
@@MispronouncedAdventures Noproblem. Just a friendly hint. I just watch the video a second time. So your stats would be better 😂
@vanlifekvarnsweden thank you. I do try.
@@MispronouncedAdventures Since i also do winter/arctic travels i really enjoy your inputs bout heating and powersupply. Keep up the good work
I'll keep my cheap diesel heater.
You’re welcome too. I still use a £84 Chinese heater with 5000 hours for my Arctic trips.
Your camera movement is creating sim motion sickness.
Almost all of the video is on a tripod?
Interesting vid chap, cheers 👍
One small observation if I may ? editing was very choppy, are you using a new editor 🤔
Please don't take it in a bad way as it's not intended 👍
It might be the way I’ve edited it I’ve been a little inconsistent on this video.
Normally breakdown and tear down videos, I tend to fast forward / speed up sections between talking or action points. Mainly say the viewer can see the process. And when I’m normally doing just talking parts, I just cut the footage between two parts for a jump cut.
I think there’s a few talking parts I should probably used a jump cut and not spread it up.
It’s not always easy to see the full effect of the sped up sections until the final render, especially if it’s a short bit
@MispronouncedAdventures na that's cool chap I thought it might just be me , enjoyed it as allways 😎👍
Yer payes yer money and you take yer chance ! I have three Chinese diesel heaters and two of them have steel pressed casings and those run flatout with no issues the other I have had to replace due to seized motor. Great video thanks Richie.
@richiebainbridge2608 yeah in my van, I use a Chinese one which has got almost 4000 run hours and only ever needed new motor bearings.
Hands down Chinese diesel heater these don't have smart thermal
Could you rephrase that? I’m not totally sure what you meant.
I will be keeping my Chinese diesel heater , very reliable and economic to use . I dont believe the get what you pay for myth as the chinese heaters have proved .
My personal heater is Chinese heater with 5000 run hours over 3 arctic winters on which I brought for £84 ( which I run with a afterburner control with )
so I’m definitely not one for believing cheap Chinese heater = get what you pay for. As I use one for my main heater. But overall built quality is low, interfaces basic, accessories can be crap which back all get sorted. Some are crap, some are great. But I would say Autoterm for high quality heaters, good accessories parts, good controllers, warranty, customer support and legit marks is great value for money. ( which I don’t believe espar or webasto )
If i bought an autoterm and seen that nasty ecu and heard that noisey motor i wouldn't be happy.