Diesel Heater Servicing Review- HEATPORT

It's been a few years since David wrote his one & only blog post for me (a Takacat dinghy review) but he has now written another review for my blog.

We have been living full time on the road in our fifth-wheeler for over 10 years now and after spending the last five out of six winters in the South Island we have never regretted our original decision to run with diesel heating. Here’s our blog on the original diesel heater installation.

Lake Ruataniwha, Mackenzie Country

As many of you will know, my wife Shellie is a very passionate photographer and adores the Mackenzie District especially during winter with the incredible hoar frosts and snow falls amongst other things. Also, with us now having an interest in Twizel (Night Sky Cottages) it has meant spending more time there and our heaters were very often working overtime during the many days & nights of sub-zero temperatures. 

The heaters (we have two 2.2kw heaters) were starting to show signs of excessive smoking at start up and servicing was well overdue. Although I consider I am reasonably handy and certainly quite capable of removing the heaters from their locations, I was reluctant to strip them down for servicing even after watching several very informative You Tube clips. 

Another surprise I found out after doing quite a bit of research on the internet was that some parts were indicated to be in short supply for our model heaters mainly due to shipping delays and the current low stock levels held in New Zealand. 

During this research I came across a company called HEATPORT who specialised in diesel heaters. They are located in Cheviot, North Canterbury and as we had a trip to Christchurch planned I decided to extend our travel and visit their operation. And I was very glad I did.

Although located off the beaten track, I was immediately impressed the moment I entered HEATPORT’s factory and the photos included in this blog post should clearly endorse my first impressions. 

Also, after talking to the owner, Pango, and his serviceman Tomas, it was obvious that their knowledge for diesel heaters was extensive and that they were very enthusiastic for what they were doing. Consequently I had no hesitation in booking my two heater units in for a thorough service.

Tomas & Pango with friendly dog Sarah

We based ourselves just up the road at the NZMCA Park at Parnassus and it was arranged to take one heater at a time to them over the next couple of days which at least left us with one heater to deal with the cooler nights. 

NZMCA Park, Parnassus, North Canterbury

Part of their recommended service plan is to firstly do a full heater diagnosis to analyse the heater’s overall condition followed by a visual inspection and also to test the pump for the correct flow. The results showed most things were working fine but both the heat chambers were quite badly contaminated. By far the cheapest option was to replace the parts. One heater was also found to have a damaged glow plug assembly which was probably caused by some poor servicing in the past. This also needed replacement.

After servicing I reinstalled both units back into our van and they are back to working just fine. 

Letitia testing heaters

Finally there is certainly a lot of varying views expressed on social media forums regarding diesel heaters and spare parts that are manufactured in China. I for one, was very sceptical to begin with, but I was very well satisfied that HEATPORT are being diligent and very selective in only using the best products from the top manufacturers out of China.

Tomas at work

All in all I am very happy, also impressed with the lower costs involved and certainly have no hesitation in recommending this company.  

HEATPORT show room

Marble Hill & A Long Walk- Lewis Pass

Catch-up

Typical! The weather came right the day we left Hanmer Springs. There are Stop/Go lights and a tight single lane road along the edge of the cliff before we reach the historic Waiau Ferry Bridge on the way back to the main road (remember I took a photo of the bridge from the river bed the other day?). 

They've been doing rock blasting above the road after a major fire a year or so ago. We didn't quite make the green light and because I knew the traffic ahead of us had to get over the bridge before the other queue headed our way, I knew I had heaps of time to sprint across the road to the lookout and take some photos looking up and down the river.

It's not long after we're back on SH7 and heading west on the 'Alternative Route' through Lewis Pass that we come across the scorched landscape from another large fire. This one covered over 30 hectares and closed the road for a couple of days last March. Twelve helicopters, 14 ground crews, two bulldozers and a digger were involved in battling the fire. 

Since the Kaikoura earthquake last November, the Alternative Route from Picton to Christchurch- which is made up of several state highways- has had a huge increase in traffic and much of it is plagued by roadworks, stop/go traffic control, hundreds of trucks and plenty of nasty crashes. The most recent NZTA traffic figures showed the average daily heavy traffic through St Arnaud jumped from 41 heavy vehicles (before the 'quake) to 542 afterwards, an increase of 1216 percent. 

Luckily we were travelling on a Saturday afternoon and we had a pleasant run through Lewis Pass with just a few speed restriction sections and some light snow falling off the trees overhead at the top of the Pass.

We stopped for lunch at St James Walkway picnic area, a very popular rest stop on the Pass and where a very pretty mountain tarn and nature walk are hidden in the tussock just over the rise from the carpark. 

And just like all the other frozen ponds and lakes we've found on our travels, people just can't resist the urge to throw rocks at the ice.

Our next stop is at the Marble Hill DOC Camp for a night or two, it's just down the road from the Walkway. With a narrow entrance and a few sites in under the beech forest the camp then opens up into a very large site with plenty of areas to park.

Not long after we arrived, Gayle & Paul, who we'd met at Hanmer, also pulled in in their fifth-wheeler and set up camp. I went exploring and when I got back David was having a of cup of tea and a chinwag with them. The residents of the caravan kept toasty warm with their potbelly fire chuffing away- they needed it overnight, it was very cold and frosty.

The Maruia River passes along the back of the camp before being funneled into a very narrow channel through the rocks; it then flows out again into a wide gravel river bed. The channel is aptly named the Sluice Box.

And I timed it just right, checking it out just as the sun was heading for the horizon and shining brightly in through the small gap in the bush where the river exited the Sluice Box.

There's another interesting feature near the camp too; a concrete wall that monitors any movement in the alpine fault line. Great! We're parked on top of it! Just as well no movement has been detected since it was installed in 1964.

With a brilliant day forecast (and a heavy -6c frost overnight) we decided we'd stay another night and do the walk to Lake Daniells, 8.5kms up the valley. I like having visual rewards at the end of a walk and on this one there were three; the lake, a hut and a jetty. 

The only negative was it was a there and back walk; we like loops so you don't have to cover the same ground again. Actually....that wasn't the only negative, 17kms is a long way! Would we make it, we've been a bit sloth like over winter and haven't done too many long walks. Oh well, the joints needed a workout, might as well throw us in the deep end.

There's a little story with the photo above- see those tyre tracks? They're leaving the spot where a rental motorhome pulled up to park for the night. Right beside us, not two meters away from our front door. All the space in the world and they wanted to park beside us! I sent them over to the bush, where they'd be nice and sheltered and their water pipes would also be less likely to freeze. Talk about insecure.

With a 17km walk ahead of us, the sun shining through the trees, we set off at a brisk pace...

...brisk being the operative word! Spot the icicles?

It was bloody freezing, made the more so because the sun quickly disappeared and it looked like it hadn't shone on the track side of the valley since last summer!

At the halfway mark ....well half of one way (don't you love the name of the bridge!), we had a serious discussion about whether to go on or turn around and head back, we'd have still done a 8km round trip. 

I told David if we went any further there was no turning around until we got to the lake, I wasn't going that far without the reward! So we pressed on...

Until finally we arrived beside the hut located in a tiny clearing...

...overlooking Lake Daniells

The 24 bunk Manson-Nicholls Memorial Hut is a very popular place to visit for families or people new to tramping. The hut is named after a tragic event that happened nearby during Easter 1974; four young trampers took shelter from a wild storm in the fishing club hut across the lake. Part of the hillside behind the hut slid down and onto them. Despite injuries one of the women managed to launch a rowboat and seek help from another hut across the lake. Sadly the other 3 trampers, including a husband & wife were trapped under the slip and died.

 A NZ Robin/Toutouwai kept us company while we had lunch at the picnic table...

...while a flock of Brown Creeper/Pipipi flitted about and chattered away in the nearby bush. Brown Creeper are only found in the South Island and although you'll hear them often, they're very hard to spot (and take a photo of) as they move very fast through the canopy foraging and calling for their mates to follow. 

Before too long, it was time to head for home, the joints were starting to cease up...not helped by the fact that I tripped over in a tussock covered hole (Calamity Jane strikes again). At least the landing was soft! 

David pressed on ahead of me, he focuses on covering the distance, watching one foot move in front of the other. Me? I'm always on the lookout for things to photograph like this beautiful crystal clear stream surrounded by moss-laden trees...

...which led me to look a little further on and spot two big fat rainbow trout trapped in a small shallow pool.

They'll have to wait for the next heavy rain before they can escape back to the lake. They went berserk when they spotted me, round and round trying to find an exit. I backed off before they did some damage.

And then there were more icicles (I told you it was cold) and various fungi of differing colours.

Eventually, with my legs and toes starting to complain loudly, I packed the camera away, caught David up and we pushed on, arriving back at the van with half an hour to spare. Gayle & Paul were sending out the search party if we hadn't arrived back by 4:30pm. Wasn't that nice of them. I can tell you we slept well that night but oh the aches and pains the next morning. It took a few days to recover.

We left Marble Hill the next morning and continued on along the Alternative Route. Being a Monday, there was now a fair bit of traffic and plenty of trucks. We had no problems though, pulling over regularly to let traffic past and not one of the truckies failed to toot their appreciation. 

We had a quick stop at Maruia Falls- how's that for a flotsam whirlpool off to the side.

The Maruia Falls were created by the 1929 Murchison Earthquake, the 'quake triggered a landslide which diverted the course of the river forcing it to cut a new channel over an old river bank. The river eroded the gravel below the bank which now forms the impressive Maruia Falls.

'Tickets please!' A very friendly robin checking out visitors to the Falls...checking to see if they might have any treats more likely.

Our next stop for a couple of nights was at the very familiar Murchison NZMCA Park, which is also now very busy park. We parked in our favourite spot just inside the gate....hmmm....not such a great move considering all the trucks that now overnight in Murchison. And head off at fve in the morning! To give them their dues they were pretty considerate, roaring into life and idling for a just a minute before pulling out. To be honest we were still recovering from our walk we hardly noticed them! 

Kaikoura Loop

Catch-up (July 28th, 2017)

While in Hanmer Springs we decided to do a day trip through to Kaikoura. Originally we were going to take the 5th-wheeler through and stay a few days after we left Christchurch but decided against it after checking the long range weather forecast- wet and miserable! 

Stop/Go on the Hundalees

Also both SH1, the coast road south (more slips), and the Inland Kaikoura Road (snow & flooding) had been closed several times during the two weeks before we left. And while we'd heard reports that the road was not too bad to tow over, we decided after driving it that it was a good decision not to take the van through there, as much as we wanted to support the local community for a few days.

Parititahi Tunnels

The decision to which way round we were going to drive to Kaikoura was made for us by the time we got to Waiau; the Inland Road was closed due to snow so we headed over Leader Road to the coast and exited onto the main highway just north of Parnassus.

Buckled road on the Hundalees

It had been raining on and off most of the way but it bucketed down over the Hundalees- a winding climb through the hills, with many road works and an undulating road surface, due to sections of it slumping away into a empty void or buckling, under the forces of the earthquake (above). I wonder who that wings (NZMCA) member is below?

The majority of the earthquake damage and consequently, the road and rail repairs south of Kaikoura are right on the coastline- there were over 25 large slips on the coast road between Oaro and Peketa. There's activity happening from all directions and angles with many Stop/Go sections.

We timed it just right, the weather cleared as we made our way through the busiest section of the coast road repairs. Excuse the quality of the photos; they were all taken through a dirty windscreen- I'd have loved to have stopped and got out to take photos- so many interesting shots!

We did pull into one of the rest areas near Goose Bay to check out the rocky coastline. It's very hard to get an idea of how much the seabed has been pushed up here due to the tide being on it's way out, but the bleached rocks and seaweed indicate where the new low tide zone is- this would have always been under water before (click photo to enlarge). The seabed rose up to two meters along the coast during the violent 7.8 earthquake.

A new species of Kaikoura crayfish? Or 'Orange is the new black'? High-vis orange was everywhere.

Many of the rock slides still had a fair bit of repairs to be done to stabilize them...

Steel poles, wire fences and rock cages didn't stand a chance against the forces of nature. 

Traffic lights controlled this section around a rocky point. I was wondering whether the portaloo was for passing people caught short or the construction crew....either way, imagine stepping out of there while everyone's lined up waiting for the lights to change- "Morning" he'd say as he stepped out re-arranging his hi-vis gear.

I wonder where this container came from (maybe caught in the earthquake while it was on a truck or train perhaps?) and it looks like that first blue container in the row of containers protecting the traffic from rock fall around the point did it's job.

It's not everyday you can drive the wrong way through a road tunnel on State Highway One.

These guys certainly earn their pay; hanging off rock walls and swinging about on the end of cranes high above the road. All in freezing temperatures with a negative wind chill factor blowing through too.

Our last Stop/Go, this one with her very own kiosk, tied down for good measure. The Stop/Go Operators were all very friendly, waving and smiling to every vehicle and having a chat if you were the first car in line. What a cold job though.

We drove through the township and around to the Esplanade to have lunch; the weather was closing in fast and it was very cold, not pleasant at all.

I'm sure there are now many more rocks sticking out of the water in the bay, although it's still hard to tell which ones are new because the tide was on it's way out.

After a quick lunch we drove out to Point Kean where you can definitely see the change even with the tide out; dried green seaweed stuck to parched rocks- the new exposed low tide zone would have once been always under water. 

High tide used to come just about to the edge of the carpark, where the brown seaweed line is above; the seals (spot the seal?) resting on the rocks between there and the tarseal. There are nowhere near the numbers of seals here today, they obviously have a lot more rocks to navigate to get to this area now.

The huge papa rock platform at Point Kean was always exposed at low tide but now the tide looks to be miles away from where it used to stop. The photo set below was from one of my previous blogs- you can see the raised papa rock above, lower right is the same one in the first photo below. And the bottom left photo below was taken at the same spot as the single photo above with the seal in it. 

We headed back through town, the weather had cleared off the mountains across the bay...

...but by the time we got around to South Bay- as you can see by the spots on my camera lens- the rain was torrential again. I took a quick photo of the construction work at Kaikoura Harbour- the seabed lifted so much here that the Whale Watch and other tourist boats have only been able to exit and enter at the top of the tide.

And further round at the Kaikoura Boating Club ramps the change is even more noticeable.

With the wet weather looking like it was in for the duration we headed off home, this time taking the Inland Kaikoura Road which was now open.

With quite a distance to travel we only stopped a couple of times; here on the edge of a steep cliff with no barrier (don't do that with kids in tow) overlooking the Conway River.

Much of this road has now been repaired following the 'quake, with just a few short sections with road work or speed restriction signs. 

We passed the grit spreading and grader truck exiting the area near Mt Lyford just as we drove into another snow covered landscape.     

We've yet to visit Mt Lyford (let alone see it- it's always cloudy when we drive past), we seem to always be driving past the end of the road after a long day exploring when all you want to do is get home; to eat, to warm up or to just have a lie down.

There was one last stop to take a photo of this very muddy waterway making it's way through the bare willows.

Total distance travelled- 275km
Hanmer Springs to Kaikoura via SH1 coast road - 145km
Kaikoura to Hanmer Springs via the Inland Kaikoura Road- 130km
And you'll notice on the map that the road is not marked between Oaro and Kaikoura- Google maps won't allow it as the road is currently closed for critical repair work, it should reopen again for weekend periods from September 14th onwards. Check the NZTA Road Status maps for updates.