Propex HS2000 heater.

chancer

I'm thinking of fitting a HS2000 Propex heater in my self build, the installation will not pose a problem I just wondered what people's thought's were on the heater itself, I left provision in the build to fit one at a later date so everything is there, power supply, location, outlet position. Any opinion's on it's performance, reliability, and noise being a major factor will be welcome.
 

FULL TIMER

I've fitted a good few of the various models over the years They seem pretty reliable as long as they are fitted correctly take note of the instruction re exhaust and combustion air inlet pipes and definitely start up and run at least once a month, Noise shouldn't be an issue they are no worse than any other blown air heater, customer service is also pretty good. one thing worth mentioning is that if you ever need to have any welding done on the vehicle you must totally disconnect the pos /neg wires of the heater to prevent any circuit board damage
 

hextal

Fitted one in mine and I like it. Can't say its particularly noisy.

One thing to be aware of is it can be fiddly getting a spot where the inlet and flue don't foul a longitudinal or transverse member under the van.
 

chancer

Thanks for the replies, it sounds like a worthwhile fit, think it'll be a job for later on in the year maybe when the sun shines!
 

Talbot

If it's the same motor as this (which I understand it is), be very careful. I had one and it couldn't achieve a temperature in our van better than 10.4c on gas during Spring and Autumn and we were unable to motorhome during the winter because of poor heating. Also because it never reached it's ambient temperature, the fan never cuts off and by the end of the night we had a nearly flat battery. Our's was also very noisy and we couldn't hear the TV. This was 3 years ago though so it may have improved. There is loads of reports on these on the internet. Diesel heaters are much more efficient if your budget can stretch. Do your research and it might save you money in the long run.
 

Deleted member 2572

They are only 2kw so really only suitable for a small or medium size van .
Ours is 6 kw and 1800 w on electric which will only take the chill off .
So far this winter burnt about 10 13kg bottles and probably over £500 in electricity .
And before the gas it gang start we have no lpg near us it is not worth it .
 

Caz

I used to have an old (1988) Autosleeper with a Propex fitted. I found it very good, warmed the van up well and didn't use a huge amount of gas or flatten the battery, left on all night. The noise inside was ok - but it did sound like Concorde taking off if you stood outside!
 

hextal

Obviously there are many factors in play on such things, primarily air volume and insulation. I'll say that I built our van ( a MWB, so relatively small volume ) to go up to the arctic, so fairly good insulation. It's only had a couple of shake down tests so far, but on a recent test we pulled up with an ambient temperature of 3 degrees in the hab area and it hit 18 degrees within maybe 8-10 mins. We turned it off at this point as we were still fairly well clothed, but over the weekend we would generally only have the heater on for maybe 10mins a pop if we'd been out.
 

Dee K

I ran up against a problem with a Truma system and fitted an HS2000 last year.
It wont keep us warm in winter but is fine until outside gets down to around 6 or 8C.
I have no problems with draining battery even though it often runs all night.
If we go out in cold weather the Propex will stop us freezing at night but I have a little 1500w electric blow heater that boosts the temp for getting up or sitting around.
The Propex with all its associated pipework which was the origonal pipework does keep the MH dryer than ust the Elec on its own.
If I were doing it again I'd opt for a little more output. I think the next one is around a 100 more and worth it.
Other than that I like the Propex. Its not the heaters fault I didnt buy the bigger one.
 

hextal

If a heater is running all night it would suggest that the heat may be dissipating too quickly, so there may be weaknesses with the overall insulation.

A more powerful heater might help but I think may be more of sticking plaster than a cure.
 

Dee K

Its in an A class MH and insulation is first class. The former origonal truma kept it toasty in any outside temp. What I couldnt figure out was what size heater was needed as the Truma had no info on it. What I now know was the truma was just shy of 5kw.
 

GRWXJR

I have a diesel webasto 2000w blown air heater in my LWB conversion and once Id serviced it its proved to be brilliant, warming the van up quickly, and doesnt seem to use too much battery or fuel (I have a small separate fuel tank and run the heater on Kerosene CH oil).

If the gas Propex works as well as my old Webasto has so far then I dont think you'll be disappointed.
 

Risky

We fitted a Propex 2800 to our LWB Sprinter. I was concerned about the noise being a very very light sleeper. Once installed we had it running a fair bit to get the feel of gas usage (we have LPG underslung) and more importantly noise levels.
Very impressed. Heats van up in about 10 minutes and cuts off if temp gauge set to halfway. At that setting the van was lovely and warm.
We then went for 5 days away in Dorset, Weston Super Mare. At night we'd run it just before bedding down and that was enough to keep the cold off most the night.
If it was particularly cold/icy then i'd leave it on but set at just under half. It will kick in and out a few times overnight and the sound was not a problem even to me and my "wake up at a sparrow fart" sleep pattern! If anything I turned the noise into a "friend" that was keeping us toasty.....if you get what I mean.
 

hextal

Fair enough, but 5kw seems pretty epic size heater for a motorhome.

There are some online calculators out there to give a 'very ball park' idea of what heater output you need based on volume and required temperature increase over ambient.

One attached here, don't know how truly accurate it is mind. Buyers Guide To Garage/Workshop Heating in association with Machine Mart

So, if im reading it right, it would suggest that an hs2000 is gonna be good for a hab area circa 6m(ish) long if you want to be 25 to 30c above ambient.

So if your van is much bigger than that you may want a slightly bigger heater.



Its a bit if a gripe of mine having seen the insulation in one class 3 van a while back that it appears that some (certainly not all) manufacturers are maybe chucking in bigger heaters rather than beefing up insulation.
 

GRWXJR

I moved my heater to the rear storage, then built a chamber round it to draw air from the living area and then blow it back in through the heater to make it as quiet as possible.

I also mounted the dosing pump on a 2nd anti vibration mount to make that a lot quieter.

Siting it does make a big difference to the experienced noise level.
 

chancer

Thanks for everyone's replies, lot's of info for me to take in, my van is a 6 metre long Movano which was insulated during build including the floor, the reason I picked the HS2000 was because of its output of 1.9kw's, when on electric hook up I use a 2kw fan heater and it more than keep's the van warm (a curtain separate's the cab area). I've just looked at the next size up (HS2800) but I am limited in the space I've got to fit it in. Did look at the diesel heater option's but the initial price put's me off, probably cheaper to run though.Thank's again.
 

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