Mel B Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Did anyone read the item on page 214 of the March 2011 issues of MMM about the Webasto Dualtop heater? I couldn't believe how long it took to heat up the water! 8-) I'm so glad we have a separate diesel blown air heater and a gas water heater!!! :-S It might be something that others need to think about if the van they are considering purchasing has this Webasto Dualtop heater in it and they like to have lots of hot water .... :-| Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 I have not read that but will as the Karmann Davis PVC we where considering has this system :-S Mrs M prefers th Hymer Car 322 anyway as do I (now with truma combi 4 gas heating) so not really a problem...... EXCEPT good PX price for our van for karmann, but no PX with Hymer dealer, as that is all they stock *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobalobs Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Having had Eberspacher diesel heating for 25 years in various vans and worked out the best way to operate we were puzzled and disappointed with the webasto dualtop in that the van heated quicker than the eberspacher but the water took forever. We were put in contact with Paul Gofton at Webasto technical support who was excellent explaining in laymans language how it works and differs from the Eberspacher. Briefly it has cab heating as a priorityand until it is near the cab heat asked for on the thermostat will it turn the majority of its heatin g capability to the water. Ours has a clever if initially daunting timer/control so for example we set the timer to heatthe water with the van cab temperature set low when we are in bed . Then just before we get up it goes to cab heating priority and reaches that temperature in ten minutes or so. She who must be obeyed knows far more than I as to its working but if any owner wants to know more PM me and she will help if she can. Or contact Webasto as they are always interested in feedback particularly from those who use their showers!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Dwight Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 We have a dualtop, it is a bit slow heating water if you have the blown air heating on at the same time. But nothing to really complain about. The heating side is brilliant. At this time of the year water will take a while to heat up as it is so cold, the last few nights here in Spain it has been freezing and below. David. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin9591 Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 As bobalobs said, use it in accordance with its operating parameters and it's a fine piece of kit with a tremendous 6kw of heat available as a quick boost for space heating. But if you want quick hot water then RTFM and plan accordingly. BTW; support from Paul Gofton and his team is excellent, perhaps the MMM team should RTFM and seek owners views before finalising their own review. March MMM, where is it? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 so if you want hot water best to turn space heating off? is that the way to do it? as it would probably take two tanks for two showers would you think?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 Any leisure-vehicle 'combination' heating appliance that heats its water via an air-to-water heat exchange method will exhibit similar characteristics to Webasto's Dual Top. Truma C-Series models (and, presumably, the current "Combi" range too) are no different - if the heater is operating in blown-air mode, it will take far longer to heat the water as a by-product than when the appliance is operating in water-heating-only mode. This is a relevant earlier forum thread: http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=6527&posts=11 My early-morning cold-weather strategy is to get up early, switch the heater (in my case a Truma C-6002EH) into gas-fuelled water-heating-only mode, then rapidly return to bed. When the water-temperature thermostat causes the heater to shut down (I can hear the gas-valve close), then it's OK to switch the heater to blown-air mode. Experience indicates that, although water-heating speed is poor while the heater is operating in blown-air mode, once the water is hot, operating the heater in blown-air mode doesn't result in any significant heat-loss from the water. Basically, with this type of heater, while cold water won't get hot quickly, neither will hot water get cold quickly. I was talking to an exhibitor of heating equipment at the NEC and we both believed that these combination heaters are the Devil's Spawn. Their primary benefits are for the leisure-vehicle manufacturer who then 'sells' the concept to buyers. Operation of the heaters is sufficiently complex that many people don't properly understand it. If water-heating fails then air-heating usually fails too (and vice versa). We agreed that the Thinking Motorcaravanner's heating system of choice would be the traditional 'caravan' arrangement of a gas convector fire (preferably with piezo-ignition and a blown-air option), plus a separate gas/230V water-boiler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petra Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 We have this system on our Autotrail and unfortunately have had quite a lot of problems with it. The dealer was not allowed to touch it and it had to go back to the Webasto dealer. It seems to be working Ok now but unless you have it on all the time then hot water is non existent. It heats the interior really quickly but the water takes a long time. The best thing is have it on 24/7 and turn the thermostat down and then you get lots of hot water but at the cost of diesel now wish we had the gas system back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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