Espar heater install

[Adoepner]

Hi all,

Just in time for winter to be over, I have got my Espar diesel heater install to a functional point. I took a different approach than others and tried to install the heater in the most elegant manner from an engineering / thermodynamics perspective. I wouldn't necessarily recommend that others follow in my footsteps - it was a lot of work to save a few feet of coolant line length and I'm not sure it was necessarily worth it. This is how I think the Mitsubishi engineers would have installed a diesel heater if they had done it from the factory.

Highlights:

1) OEM PTC heater is maintained
2) Espar diesel heater installed inside the LH wheel well.
3) OEM water pump in heating circuit removed.
4) Water pump in the Espar unit does double-duty, running when electric heat is selected or when diesel heat is selected (required modifying the Espar wiring internal to the unit).
5) Coolant tank and all coolant lines insulated with spray foam / Rubatex and foil tape.
6) 4.5L fuel tank installed in front of 12V battery
7) Since 12V battery is blocked, fused lead brought forward for jumping/charging
8) Exhaust running to the rear of the vehicle
9) Filtered air intake beside coolant bottle.

Wiring inside the car is still to be completed. I plan on having a latching pushbutton in the car for ON / OFF (with an interconnect to the fan, so the heater cannot run unless the fan is running) as well as a low fuel light for the diesel tank (using the brass port). I'll maintain a connection for the Espar 7-day timer to be able to read diagnostic codes from the Espar unit, but don't intend to use the 7-day timer in everyday operations.

I have been running the heater using the Espar 7-day timer. What a game changer! Real heat! Warm windshield! Decent winter range! This should have been a factory option for northern climates.

Andrew

 

[tewharaunz]

For some reason, I can't see the photos....just blue squares with question marks in the middle.

Cheers.

 

[JoeS]

Here are the links to the photos until someone can suggest a way of accessing these dropbox photos directly:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8usdkwd60i71cs8/IMG_0247.jpg?dl=1
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6t2cln43liav1gn/IMG_0248.jpg?dl=1
https://www.dropbox.com/s/18x9822zm6hdm2o/IMG_0249.jpg?dl=1
https://www.dropbox.com/s/c2pdcniuxnvyzmt/IMG_0250.jpg?dl=1
https://www.dropbox.com/s/u1i2k7qwiqf6mi8/IMG_0251.jpg?dl=1
https://www.dropbox.com/s/rd4o2wtl45ntk8m/IMG_0252.jpg?dl=1
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8175vtfpiqigtap/IMG_0253.jpg?dl=1

Adoepner, thank you very much for the description and photos.

 

[Tiborx8]

Great install.

Was it difficult to remove the OEM water pump? I thought that it is one unit with the OEM heater. Is it correct, or it is a separate pump somewhere in the coolant circuit?

 

[ed5000]

Nice install! Maybe with some all season tires you could have the best cold weather vehicle in your area.

 

[Adoepner]

The OEM water pump is easily removed. It is a separate component that is bolted to the cross-car beam that in under the hood behind the rad (the beam on which the 12V battery sits).

I’ll work on the photos. I was able to get Dropbox photos to show up in another thread, but I can’t remember how I did it.

Edit: switched to an image hosting service, https://imgbb.com/ - very easy.

Andrew

 

[Adoepner]

This is the water pump in the heater circuit.




Andrew

 

[dracekvo]

Hello,

nice work.
Here is some photo of my install 4kw heater.

http://elektroforum.cz/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=52&start=60#p4838


Where you buy fuel tank? I still (2 years) use 1L bottle from engine oil

EDIT: This is your tank? https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001875305980.html

 

[Adoepner]

Yes, that is the tank. I had to carefully crush in one side with a heat gun to have clearance to open the windshield washer fluid bottle. I used aircraft fuel tank sealant to reinforce it (the grey gunk). I also removed and discarded a fan shroud piece behind the rad.

Andrew

 

[Adoepner]

Also, Dracekvo - your install inspired mine. I copied you a little. Thanks for the idea!

Andrew

 

[dracekvo]

This is not my idea. I use for inspire eberspacher instalation manual for i-miev

 

[gczero]

Great install.

Was it difficult to remove the OEM water pump? I thought that it is one unit with the OEM heater. Is it correct, or it is a separate pump somewhere in the coolant circuit?


Hi all, I installed a Webasto Thermotop 5 (see link https://pbautoelectrics.co.uk/product-category/parts/heaters/webasto/webasto-water-heater-kits/webasto-thermo-top-evo-5-marine-water-heater-kits/ )

back in 2017 so have used the diesel heater every day from then until December 2020.

This installation was based on the Webasto circulation pump being in series with the Mistsubishi PTC circulation pump.

The Webasto control system controls the Webasto circulation pump including the post combustion cooldown. The Mitsubishi OEM control system controls the PTC circulation pump. It has worked perfectly for 3 years.

THERE IS NO NEED TO REMOVE THE MITSUBISHI CIRCULATION PUMP

 

[Adoepner]

I agree, from the perspective of circulating fluid, there is no need to remove the OEM pump. Both pumps in series will work just fine. I removed the OEM pump because my Espar unit (and mounting plate) occupies the physical space where the OEM pump used to be. In fact, my Espar mount uses the holes in the frame that the OEM pump used to bolt up to the car. It was one or the other competing for physical space, and two pumps are redundant. My system is wired so the Espar pump will turn on when commanded by the Espar controller or when commanded by the Miev for the PTC heater. There is no loss of functionality of either system.

Like I said in the beginning, this was not the simplest, nor the easiest way to retrofit a diesel heater ... but it is the way I think the engineers at Mitsubishi would have done it if they were fitting aux heaters at the factory.