not really, sensed it... but felt it is more misplaced as you might think; cause reality is the air AND coolant heaters are rare.. and helping reduce the chip on shoulder will make it easier to accept that the odds are you will likely going to end up with either one or the other and not a diesel heater that does both*.... |
Once the reality sets in that; what it seems you consider a Lemon design; is likely all your going to be able to get.... offered a solution on making the Lemon into lemonade. Which IMHO was likely the others points as well.
* Duel heat units IMHO are rare cause may well be that they dont work well.. or worse.... just work poorly...... That may be the case cause two ways to extract heat... may well extract TOO MUCH heat. As in the part of process for complete combustion of this type of unit needs to use some of its own heat to create combustion to keep it all going... if too much heat is being pulled out mid stream..... then combustion is inefficient. ... so its a never ended battle to keep good combustion going with out a complete re-design, re manufacturer tooling, all new computer controls etc. Making it expensive enough ... Corp. fear is it simply wont sell. Besides...... you can also just buy two..... one for coolant.. one for air... manufacture does not have to create a whole new product if folk do that as well.
My comment was merely pointing out that he said that heaters are still out there that do both, then linked to one that only did ONE as his cite/proof. We both know they're out there still, just pretty rare, as they were a relatively short-lived phenomenon in the CDH (Chinese Diesel Heater) community, and obviously didn't sell well if even the Chinese are like 'we ain't makin' these no mo'....
It'd be no different than saying I can still get strawberry-banana now and laters, then posting a link to just banana now and laters..... Not the same thing, and doesn't support the argument
I was following up on that facetiousness with an obviously sarcastic comment about heat exchangers being 'unobtanium'.. C'mon man!
But, back to the topic at hand...
The other issue, as mentioned, with neither liquid nor air getting heated sufficiently, is the intent for each. One is designed to heat fluid (usually coolant, as pointed out) and the other to heat a sleeping/sitting area.. So, it's very possible to have the interior too hot, shutting it down, and letting the coolant get too cold, or running it unnecessarily long to heat the inside, and cooking off the coolant.. Although, presumably, the aforementioned issue of shedding too much heat may negate that issue.
I'm on the fence with fuel fired coolant heaters, although I know some .mil vehicles are equipped with them. But, I see every joint, connection, attachment, etc as another potential point of failure....and while things like heated flooring (RV/camper scenario) and warm starts in sub freezing temps sound great, I also see it as above - a potential horror story with one of the few things that are NEEDED for a vehicle to operate, leaking all over the ground after something failed.
To be honest, I'd probably get one, and have shutoffs directly after the T to the stock system, so in the event of a failed/leaking heater, it can be removed from the circuit. Then a small heat exchanger. Nothing like pressing a button, an hour or so before you leave, and getting into a nice toasty cab with an engine that spins over like it's a spring afternoon...