General Knowledge: Espar Airtronic Heater
Article Objective:
The purpose of this article is to provide you with general knowledge on the Eberspaecher Espar B4 Airtronic Heater: Important details about how it is installed and how to operate it. Please see this article on how to conduct regular maintenance on your Espar heater. Most Vandoit vans have the B4 model installed; diesel vans have the D4 model installed.
Affected Units:
Vandoit vans with the Eberspaecher Espar Airtronic B4 heater installed
Espar Installation Information:
1. At Vandoit, the Espar heater itself is installed inside of a black box on the interior of the van to protect the heater from potential damage. Without the box, the heater is vulnerable to damage from items impacting or crushing it.
2. The Espar exhaust pipe runs under the van and exits on the driver's side of the van. Because of the exhaust pipe's position underneath the vehicle, it can move if the van is driven over rough terrain. It is helpful to periodically check the exhaust pipe's position and reposition it so that it is perpendicular to the van and pointing out from underneath the passenger side of the van.
3. The Espar air intake pipe runs along the length of the van, facing the front of the van. The air intake is installed this way for three reasons: 1) The intake pipe runs next to existing conduits underneath the van, providing strength and stability to the intake pipe. 2) By facing forward, an air pocket forms at the mouth of the air intake, which prevents most debris from entering the pipe. 3) For safety, the mouth of the intake pipe is mounted far away from both the Espar exhaust pipe and the van's exhaust pipe, to prevent exhaust from being drawn into the system.
Note: If you are considering modifying the installation of the Espar components, please contact Vandoit Customer Support first for guidance: support@vandoit.com.
Operating the Espar Heater:
2. The Espar has a simple thermostat that operates with one button to turn the thermostat on and off, and two buttons to adjust temperature.
3. Once the Espar is powered on, you should hear the unit firing up, but it can take a few minutes to begin blowing hot air.
4. Much like a home furnace system, once the temperature in the van reaches the temperature set on the Espar thermostat, the Espar unit will stop running. It will resume running periodically to maintain the set temperature until it reaches the time limit (see #5).
5. The thermostat is set with a 10-hour run time limit when it leaves the Vandoit facility. As long as it has a 1/4 tank of gas or more, it will run for the full 10 hours.
Additional Information:
If your Espar heater is malfunctioning, click the appropriate Knowledge Base article(s) below for troubleshooting steps:
- Espar Heater "Motor Speed" Error Code
- Smell of Gasoline while Espar Is Running
This video provides a helpful guide to performing a visual inspection of your Espar heater. (Please note that the video shows a different Espar model than the one you have in your van, but the information still applies.)Interested in having your Espar serviced? Reach out to the Vandoit Customer Support team by emailing support@vandoit.com to schedule a service appointment at the Vandoit facility.
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