Webasto vs frostheater

Jjakimiak

Member
Joined
Feb 11, 2017
Location
Montanyuh
TDI
03 GLS Sedan,
Opinions on webasto vs frostheater please.

I do have to park my car outside in the cold montana weather for 12 hr night shifts but may be able to find a power source.

It appears as though the webasto products do not have a stateside dealer. Is that correct?

Thanks
 

jettawreck

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 2, 2004
Location
Northern Minnesota-55744
TDI
2001 Jetta and 2003 Jetta
How cold of temperatures do you expect?
I would buy a gas car before spending the $$ on a Webasto. Great units by all reports, but very spendy.
 

Mituk

Member
Joined
Oct 24, 2018
Location
Southern Iowa
TDI
2014 Jetta Sportwagen
Not sure about the Webasto, but Espar is sold in the U.S. I haven't used the Espar coolant heater, but have used the D4 air heater, and it is a quality unit. A friend put one of their coolant heaters on his semi, and he really likes not having to have a plug.
If you can swing the $$, they definitely build quality stuff. But, if you have power available, its kind of silly to spend $1k more on the Espar.
cheers
Dave
 

[486]

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 1, 2014
Location
MN
TDI
02 golf ALH
it should start dead cold down to -20F or so without a bit of concern
larger injectors and battery will help, of course
you won't have heat for quite a while though
 

scooperhsd

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2003
Location
Kansas City KS
TDI
NB, 2000, RED(5 Speed conversion) 2015 Golf SE
Volkswagon did test these for cold weather starting/ As long as you meet the following, you shouldn't have a problem.


1. - Good battery
2. - Proper oil (the 5wx or 0wx oils)
3, - Good, winterized fuel. Generally, if you get local fuel, you should be OK. Do be mindful when you are on a long distance trip from south to north - some of us have 600 miles + range on a tank - that's the distance from Raleigh NC to Boston - winter fuel is hardley the same at those two locations. Using antigel additives can help here.


Heat - well - dress warm. Your TDI doesn't really make good heat unless you're DRIVING - the harder the better. My 2000 ALH NB needs at least 20 minutes at highway speed. The 2015 Golf is much better.


The coolant heaters would be wonderful for heat sooner. Are they required ? - maybe if you're well north of the Arctic Circle.
 

jettawreck

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 2, 2004
Location
Northern Minnesota-55744
TDI
2001 Jetta and 2003 Jetta
Volkswagon did test these for cold weather starting/ As long as you meet the following, you shouldn't have a problem.


1. - Good battery
2. - Proper oil (the 5wx or 0wx oils)
3, - Good, winterized fuel. Generally, if you get local fuel, you should be OK. Do be mindful when you are on a long distance trip from south to north - some of us have 600 miles + range on a tank - that's the distance from Raleigh NC to Boston - winter fuel is hardley the same at those two locations. Using antigel additives can help here.


Heat - well - dress warm. Your TDI doesn't really make good heat unless you're DRIVING - the harder the better. My 2000 ALH NB needs at least 20 minutes at highway speed. The 2015 Golf is much better.


The coolant heaters would be wonderful for heat sooner. Are they required ? - maybe if you're well north of the Arctic Circle.
Better add a few more items to that list. Unless everything is in near perfect condition in sub-20* F temps it isn't going to crank fast enough to fire up.
Add to list:
1) Pre-glow system
2) Starter (most of the aging fleet of ALH cars out there have very marginal starters if they haven't been replaced/refurbished)
3) Cables and ground connections
4) Injection timing in spec or advanced
5) Stuff I'm forgetting

A lot of people (not referring to anyone in the thread) that talk about extreme cold haven't really dealt or lived with it much, in my experience.
Don't often use the ZeroStart coolant heater, but when needed it's a great thing to have available.
 

SilverGhost

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2005
Location
Back in So Flo - St Lucie
TDI
'05 Golf - totaled :(, wife's '13 Beetle - buy back, TDIless
I lived in Missoula, MT a couple years with my BEW Golf. I would start right down to -45F. But it was most definitely not happy on the coldest starts. After installing the Frost Heater it started right up like a 45F day. Side benefit was the warm coolant thermo cycled and it would defrost a portion of the windshield before I even got into the car.

I second other posters - make sure the engine/car is in tip top shape or the heater will be just a band aid.

Jason
 

pdq import repair

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2016
Location
idaho
TDI
09 Jetta
My webasto is so nice on a cold morning. I turn it on 10 minutes or so before I drive away and the coolant temp is 140 F when I start the car.


Starting the car was never a problem for me, my comfort is the biggest issue, although I do like the idea of having the ability to warm the car if I need to for starting.


My neighbor plugs in his Dodge every night from September to March and my poor jetta sits 50 feet away with no way to even plug it in if I wanted to, yet it always starts.
 

TDI smile

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 11, 2012
Location
Edmonton, Alberta (b4 BC - LOWER MAINLAND = Chilli
TDI
2002 TDI (ALH) with 513,000 km. First Owner and very happy... No Problems, never left us stranded on the Highway. Average useage is about between under 4 ltr. and 5 ltr. Normal longdistance travel: 4.1/100
I live in good old Edmonton, Alberta and we get from time to time 30 below. No big DEAL. Car is STOCK. The WINTERFRONT is a cut-off waterpipe insulation, nothing else.
 

[486]

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 1, 2014
Location
MN
TDI
02 golf ALH
If it's so tired that it won't start, ether is a solid option.
 

[486]

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 1, 2014
Location
MN
TDI
02 golf ALH
No it's not - not with your glowplugs.
people make a big deal out of it but it's really not, it'll kick back against the starter a little if you let the GPs warm up a little, and it'll burn in the intake if you let the GPs get all the way hot. As an aside, it's how I used to tell when my 7.3's GPs were hot. Crank it 5 seconds foot to the floor, stop, then start running the GPs until you hear the gasoline in the fuel (you do run "garbage waste oil thinned with gasoline" fuel, right?) start making little "punks" in the cylinders, then start cranking again, let go of the GPs when it starts to catch a couple cylinders in a row 5-10 seconds of cranking later.

Just pull your boost gauge hose, little tiny pfft (you did swap the nozzle on the can with the brake cleaner one so you can use a straw, right?) blow it through the hose into the intake with your mouth, pop the hose back onto the gauge and crank it over. Hey presto, not walking home tonight.

it's when you're dumping half a can in there then cranking it that you run into cracked pistons, just come up on it little by little and listen for horrible noises. It'll let you know when you are using too much long before it'll hurt anything
 

coalminer16

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 11, 2008
Location
Central Wisconsin
TDI
Golf 2004
I just want to state to NEVER use starter fluid if you have working glow plugs or intake heaters.

Agree starting fluid can be used but only after the glow or preheat is deactivated. On my JD that means unplugging the harness.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
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