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

Cathedral Cliffs & Christchurch

It was still raining when we left Parnassus two days ago but by the time we got to Cheviot the weather was clearing. We filled up with diesel in Cheviot at this cool garage located around the back of the main street. This is what a good old country garage used to be like; flowerbeds in old tyres, worn wooden floors that would have seen (& heard) thousands of  feet pass over them, the smell of stale oil & grease, old wooden chairs & counter, a few vital items for sale & most importantly personal friendly service.

From Cheviot we took a scenic route detour via Gore Bay, we’d both heard that it was a lovely place & while I’m sure it is during the summer we found it a bit bleak & windswept and the road was very narrow, twisting & quite steep as we pulled out of the bay. 

We stopped near the beach toilets & reserve where this little lonesome rock made us both smile; made us wonder what we were being thanked for.....perhaps using the toilets instead of the bush? A random gesture by someone passing by.

Gore Bay is known for it’s “cathedral” cliffs & at first we thought it must have been the ones that rose from the shingle beach, which while grand didn’t look too spectacular. But when we got to the top of the road out of the bay, there was a non-descript  lookout for the “Cathedral” and wow, what a surprise when I looked over the fence. These could easily be missed if you only had a little amount of information on the area; I was expecting a lookout over the bay we had just left. “The Cathedrals" are eroded siltstone pillars, which are a typical example of what has come to be known as badlands landscape, after the famous American example.

Back on the main road we made good time heading south to Christchurch passing over the long one way bridge spanning the swollen Hurunui River. I thought for a main state highway they would have replaced this one awhile ago. But I know this is just the beginning of many one way bridges in the South Island.

On through Woodend we went , me grabbing this quick shot especially for Dad who was born here many (many) years ago! I wonder how fast the horse & carts were allowed to go......

 

Began feeling right at home when a coal train passed us just like the hundreds that passed by the bottom of our garden back in Tauranga.

 

On and around the outskirts of Christchurch for what seemed like forever before arriving at the NZMCA Weedons Park where we have been parked up for the last two nights. This is a large site & there are plenty of vans coming & going, along with quite a few semi-permanent residents who are living in their RVs while their homes are repaired or replaced after the disastrous Christchurch Earthquake three years ago. There’s also a storage area which is of interest to us as we will be able to leave the fifth-wheeler here when we fly back to the North Island sometime next year to catch up with family & friends.

 

 

While here we have been doing a few more errands & shopping including doing the laundry at a local Laundromat. I guess this is going to become a familiar scene while we’re on the road. At this stage we have no room for a small washing machine so it’s either do the washing by hand, at a camp ground or a laundromat. I HATE sitting around waiting at the laundromat so I’m going to have to get more organised & have something to do next time!

 

While driving around Christchurch we have certainly noticed how much activity there is with the re-build of the city. There are road works everywhere; this city will have enough orange cones to supply the rest of the country for the next ten years when they’re finished with them. There are vacant sections everywhere you look with cranes, trucks & building supplies spilling out onto footpaths & roads. Around the edge of the city there are a number of large dump sites where there are mountains of rubble that is slowly being broken down and reused in the rebuild. We were a little sad to see that our favourite restaurant Saggio di vino has gone (bottom right photo), well gone from its old building. It’s now a brand new place next door. All the character of their old place has been lost. We used to visit the restaurant every time we were in Christchurch when we had our factory here.

This afternoon the infamous Canterbury nor’wester  has been buffeting the van and weather reports say that it will increase in strength overnight so we are battening down the hatches, pulling in the side & getting prepared to be rocked to sleep. Not. I guess it can’t be as bad as the two storms we lived through at The Mount. Can it?

Signs the Nor'wester Arch is forming

Tomorrow we will be back on the road, I’m not sure how far we’ll get or where in fact we’ll stay. All part of the fun.

NB- It is in fact today now; I couldn't get access to my blog last night. We survived the night after some pretty big gusts & a lot of rocking although I think the Mount storm was a lot worse.