Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

I have a webasto (interior space heater, diesel) installed in my deli-camper. It's a beautiful thing, heats up the whole interior space to toasty in about 5 minutes and sips barely any fuel to stay warm all night with the thermostat. On a -25 winter night, it's easy to stay warm with a good sleeping bag.

It looks like this on the inside.
Heater, fusebox and air lines:


Thermostat control:


Jen, if you want to check it out (if you're in Edmonton) as to how it's plumbed in to the diesel tank and wired electrically I will be glad to show you, or I can send pics.

It would be SO COOL to somehow warm the engine in winter with the webasto space heater... any ideas anyone?

love the interior heater!
does anyone know if there is a model that does both the engine and the interior? or do you have to shell out approx $2K twice??

AAAAARRRRGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

No more talking about winter!!! I'm already having a tough time coming to grips with the dwindling daylight in the evenings of the summer that never really started. Here's to a gorgeous and warm autumn though!

Green1 wrote:love the interior heater!
does anyone know if there is a model that does both the engine and the interior? or do you have to shell out approx $2K twice??

Tell me what you think of this idea:
Run the main coolant line into a copper coil inside the interior webasto heater's 2" hose, in the pic above.
When the webasto heater blows hot air into the interior, it heats the coolant coil at the same time. So the interior and engine heat at the same time. (And my WVO tank on the coolant lines once it's installed)

With that much heater hose, 4' or so, full of copper coil, it should rob much or all of the heat before it gets to the interior, don't you think? The regular water pump might not do it though, might need an auxiliary, and it would be a good idea to switch the water pump on before the engine is on, switched by the webasto firing up. Silly idea?

Tell me what you think of this idea:
Run the main coolant line into a copper coil inside the interior webasto heater's 2" hose, in the pic above.
When the webasto heater blows hot air into the interior, it heats the coolant coil at the same time. So the interior and engine heat at the same time. (And my WVO tank on the coolant lines once it's installed)

I was thinking a little more the opposite actually....
get the engine heater model, it heats the coolant directly, run the pump to circulate the coolant (which I gather it already does) and the heater fan to get heat from the normal vents, I just don't know how effective it would be (at heating the vehicle, and at draining the battery)

dpd wrote:Tell me what you think of this idea:
Run the main coolant line into a copper coil inside the interior webasto heater's 2" hose, in the pic above.
When the webasto heater blows hot air into the interior, it heats the coolant coil at the same time. So the interior and engine heat at the same time. (And my WVO tank on the coolant lines once it's installed)

With that much heater hose, 4' or so, full of copper coil, it should rob much or all of the heat before it gets to the interior, don't you think? The regular water pump might not do it though, might need an auxiliary, and it would be a good idea to switch the water pump on before the engine is on, switched by the webasto firing up. Silly idea?

Heat transfer just doesn't work well that way; air to water. Plus you'd need a separate recirculating pump to the engine block. Plus WVO has a higher thermal mass then water, doing what you suggested just would provide any significant heat; to both a engine block and a WVO tank.

But, like Green1 said, it's common to have the recirculating heated coolant directed to a heater core also, with an additional fan installed to heat the interior. And WVO tank heating would help in the colder climates if tied into a coolant heater.

Of course, in my case it would probably make the most sense to just re-use the existing fuel lines and wiring for the space heater, and put in a second webasto for coolant heating somewhere nearby under the chassis. Most of the expense/effort of webastos must be installing them, I know I'd get nervous drilling into a fuel tank.

$750 for a used engine heater, when I could just splice on the existing fuel and power lines, hmmm... :)

One of the nice things about air heaters is that they dry the air while water heaters don't.I was thinking of installing a air-diesel or propane- heater so the exhaust would heat the block.They are noisy! The pump ticks and the fan sounds like a jet.I think i saw a alberta dealer selling the smattest webasto for under 1000.00--the marine kit is at cost 17000, and i just maybe a couple of ducting pieces and a stainless exhaust and drip loop.

Dunc wrote:I think i saw a alberta dealer selling the smattest webasto for under 1000.00--the marine kit is at cost 17000

Is that really 17,000, or 1,700?

I know someone with a Mercedes G500 who had a Wabasto installed, I think it was in Calgary. I can ask him if anyone is interested.