The Chinese Hot Air & Water Heater (Truma) has arrived.

[Barry Pudney]

JP Combi Diesel Hot Air and Water Heater (Truma Copy?): As a few on this forum are currently building camper-vans I thought I would post this as an alternative form of Heating and Hot Water.

The JP heater looks to be a Truma copy or very close. Whilst the Truma Unit retails at a price that some may not wish to pay this Chinese version may be a good alternative and perhaps worth considering.

I took the plunge and bought one, however, I waited for a few months before posting this article as I wanted to test it and see for myself if it is as good as the manufacturer claims.

I know some Chinese suppliers don’t get good reviews but I have to say this looks to be a very well made unit, JP have been making vehicle heaters for over 20 years. So far its working great, I have had it for around 4 months and I cant fault it. It provides excellent heating, bags of hot water and is surprisingly quiet. I’ve connected it directly to my diesel tank, I am diesel and electric throughout and don’t use any LPG.

Gas or Diesel: You have the choice as JP make both. What is interesting is that the Truma Diesel version is a lot more expensive than their LPG version, if I am, not mistaken its about double the price. However the JP versions are the same price.

I decided on Diesel: Unfortunately LPG at the UK filling station is in decline, the distributors Autogas which is formed by Shell and Calor have already withdrawn a lot of their LPG services. You may find the following links https://www.filllpg.co.uk/ MyLPG (app) and www.drivelpg.co.uk useful for alternative sites.

Price: The price of the Truma (Diesel) is around £2500 depending on where you buy it. The JP Version (Diesel or LPG) is $950 (USD) Plus shipping.

Compatibility: The parts appear to be compatible (maybe identical) with the Truma. No doubt you would invalidate the Truma warranty but if anyone has a Truma heater out of warranty that needs parts then it may be worth finding out more.

I have already had people ask me about the JP Heater, the first person to ask me ended up buying one recently. I try to avoid putting links to my website in this forum but sometimes its unavoidable. The site doesn't promote any products, it cannot be found in google, I make zero from it and I dont include any personal email or contact details, its purely there to help, no more, no less. If you need info on A) where to buy? B) how long it takes to ship? C) what it costs? D) how to fit? E) how to connect a direct feed from your vehicle fuel tank to the heater?.... etc etc then the following links will cover these topics which are far too large to put in this post.

Hope this is of some benefit to someone.

One final point: I ordered the heater on a Tuesday and transferred the bank payment the same day. Payment was confirmed Thursday, heater shipped Friday (FedEx) Heater was on my doorstep the following Monday (total one week).

JP Combi Heater Installation:
JP Combi Diesel Hot Water Heater – DIY Van (diyvan.co.uk)

Installing the Fuel Line to the Diesel Tank (useful for any diesel heater).
Diesel Fuel Tank Pipe – DIY Van (diyvan.co.uk)

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Good evening,Have recently made contact with JP in regards to whether they have developed there remote system yet?..On a separate note,was wondering how you did your curve...reason being mine isn't good and getting moaned at,so I thought I would ask you and that way I could achieve something.Shall await your kind reply.

 

[mrmoosehead]

@egg-fried-rice Looking at how you have yours installed, do you think you could have put it on a box built over the wheelarch to save space in the garage (assuming enough room over the top?
Only difficulty I can see is the stickyouty bit would have to go on the non-wall side - are there warm air outlets on both sides of the other end?

 

[egg-fried-rice]

Good evening,Have recently made contact with JP in regards to whether they have developed there remote system yet?..On a separate note,was wondering how you did your curve...reason being mine isn't good and getting moaned at,so I thought I would ask you and that way I could achieve something.Shall await your kind reply.

JP Remote: JP were working on the remote back in 2019. I held out for awhile as I thought of buying a unit with this feature. However, as time went by I didn’t feel it was that important. It’s nice to be able to turn on your heating from your phone from a remote location but as regards myself it isn’t that much of a necessity and I would guess there is an additional cost involved as well.

As of September 2020 JP hadn't launched the remote feature. My guess is that it’s imminent. I did check whether units without it could later add this feature and was told it wasn’t possible.

Curve: Not sure what you mean. Do you mean curves as in cutting the ply?

 

[egg-fried-rice]

@egg-fried-rice Looking at how you have yours installed, do you think you could have put it on a box built over the wheelarch to save space in the garage (assuming enough room over the top?
Only difficulty I can see is the stickyouty bit would have to go on the non-wall side - are there warm air outlets on both sides of the other end?

It’s possible but you need to check the height of the exhaust pipe. It must be a certain height above the unit (not level or below the unit and not too high), that may be ok if you don’t mind having the exhaust outlet higher up the outside of the van. Personally I could not have adopted this method because it would have made my bed too high (I have overhead cupboards in the back above the bed).

It doesn’t matter which way round it’s installed. I could have saved space had I turned it sideways but I planned on adding a service door under the bed to give me easy access to the pump and everything. Whichever way suits you is fine but do pay attention to the height of the exhaust, this is important.

These pictures should help you as they show the overall size against the Peugeot Boxer wheel arch.

 

[mrmoosehead]

It’s possible but you need to check the height of the exhaust pipe. It must be a certain height above the unit (not level or below the unit and not too high), that may be ok if you don’t mind having the exhaust outlet higher up the outside of the van.

Ah. That's interesting. Thanks. The other option I am considering is under a seat between shower/loo and driver seat. That way, all the noise is up that end. However, that means finding somewhere else for batteries.
I wonder if the over cab storage is big/strong enough for batteries...

 

[egg-fried-rice]

Under the seat may work providing the base isn’t a factory frame as it may not be high enough. If you are making your seat bases then that would work. Never seen batteries above the cab. The base isn’t strong enough without additional support. The large plastic tray only sits on the metal beam along the front (bulkhead side).

 

[mrmoosehead]

Under the seat may work providing the base isn’t a factory frame as it may not be high enough. If you are making your seat bases then that would work.

Nah, I mean a constructed box seat. If it's not a seat there, then it will be storage. So either way that works. I might need to run the batteries from the garage. Which isn't a problem, per se, just 2 long beefy cables. Although not that long, because it's only a MWB

 

[mrmoosehead]

I've just ordered mine. Selina very easy to deal with.
However, someone has just told me that I might get slapped with some hefty import charges because of Brexit.
I haven't seen/heard/read any news since before Xmas. I can't deal with knowing what is going on and it makes me angry/despair.
So I'm going to be cursing about Brexit if I get hit with a large bill from Customs.

 

[egg-fried-rice]

I've just ordered mine. Selina very easy to deal with.
However, someone has just told me that I might get slapped with some hefty import charges because of Brexit.
I haven't seen/heard/read any news since before Xmas. I can't deal with knowing what is going on and it makes me angry/despair.
So I'm going to be cursing about Brexit if I get hit with a large bill from Customs.

Normally small parcels from China arrive at their destination in the U.K. without any custom charges. But that’s not to say all parcels are like this especially larger parcels.

I paid Duty/Customs & VAT at 20% on arrival before Brexit so you would have had to pay it anyway. Duty is calculated in the U.K. on CIF ( cost insurance and also the freight - unlike the US which is only cost). Then add the VAT and maybe handling fees etc. In other words the price in China plus Shipping is not the final cost (which you probably already know - I mention it for others reading this). This applies Pre and Post Brexit.

You usually have two shipping options when using JP, one is with DHL and the other more expensive option is with Fed Ex. I opted for Fed Ex as I paid the costs including VAT upfront before shipping. My friend who also bought one (before Brexit) opted for DHL. He ended up with cheaper freight costs but some duty/VAT on arrival plus DHL handling fees. Overall he was more in pocket than I was but his delivery took well over a week, mine was here in 3 working days.

From experience I avoid DHL, I find they seem to have another set of rules when it comes to fees, duty and the use of their VAT deferment number (what they use on your behalf to pay your duty / vat it’s not a free DHL service).

If my memory services me correct the JP unit cost around $950 ish (USD) and my landed cost (to my front door) was around $1500 (USD). The Truma equivalent would have been £2800 for the diesel version (GBP). I think my friend’s landed costs were closer to $1400 (USD).

Selina is great to deal with, if she has your mobile number she will probably update you direct to your phone.

 

[mrmoosehead]

Normally small parcels from China arrive at their destination in the U.K. without any custom charges. But that’s not to say all parcels are like this especially larger parcels.

I paid Duty/Customs & VAT at 20% on arrival before Brexit so you would have had to pay it anyway. Duty is calculated in the U.K. on CIF ( cost insurance and also the freight - unlike the US which is only cost). Then add the VAT and maybe handling fees etc. In other words the price in China plus Shipping is not the final cost (which you probably already know - I mention it for others reading this). This applies Pre and Post Brexit.

...

Selina is great to deal with, if she has your mobile number she will probably update you direct to your phone.

Ah. Fair enough. As I say, I am keeping my head down so much I'm nearly in Australia.
Selina does seem on the ball.

 

[junkman]

Bump just to ask the OP - how is the instruction manual? Heaters like the Triclicks are apparently only useable with the help of the dedicated facebook group because the supplied manual is google translate word-salad. JP's website seems similar!

ETA:
Also how's the power draw during startup and then tickover, in heating and hot-water modes? How long does the water stay hot for? Sorry for the barrage of questions!

 

[egg-fried-rice]

Bump just to ask the OP - how is the instruction manual? Heaters like the Triclicks are apparently only useable with the help of the dedicated facebook group because the supplied manual is google translate word-salad. JP's website seems similar!

ETA:
Also how's the power draw during startup and then tickover, in heating and hot-water modes? How long does the water stay hot for? Sorry for the barrage of questions!

The instructions that come with the JP Heater are poor. However, it’s fairly simple to fit, the parts supplied can only go in one place, ie the plug fits the plug socket, the pipe fits the pipe socket etc etc theres not a lot to get wrong. Angle of the fuel pump and height of exhaust pipe are explained, these are two areas to pay attention to. There’s also online instructions but they are not brilliant.

As for current (amps), hot water temperature (there’s plenty of proper hot water) and as regards your other questions then I recently updated the website with a few videos (and text) that will show you and also answer each of the questions you ask. Click this link JP Combi Hot Water & Heater then look for “Diesel Combi Hot Water Heater” in the right hand column. You can see exactly the amps being used and note the exhaust on first time start up and after 20 mins, this confuses a few (see video).

 

[junkman]

Thanks for the reply! I had seen that video but wasn't sure how to interpret it.

So is that showing purely in heating mode? How much extra does it draw while heating the water? Is the water stored in an insulated tank or do you need to use it pretty soon after before it goes cold again?

Thanks again

 

[egg-fried-rice]

It fluctuates between 7 and 12 amps for a couple of minutes at start up ( it’s probably the glow plug) then after that it uses very low electrical power (2 or 3 amp).

No storage tank for hot water, it heats it as it passes through the Combi Boiler. In fact every time the Combi is on you have hot water available whether you want it or not. The hot water setting is only for summer when you want hot water but not heat (hot air). The high setting or boost is too hot for me to shower, I set it on medium as it’s hot enough.

 

[junkman]

Ahh gotcha, thanks!

 

[xfact]

It fluctuates between 7 and 12 amps for a couple of minutes at start up ( it’s probably the glow plug) then after that it uses very low electrical power (2 or 3 amp).

No storage tank for hot water, it heats it as it passes through the Combi Boiler. In fact every time the Combi is on you have hot water available whether you want it or not. The hot water setting is only for summer when you want hot water but not heat (hot air). The high setting or boost is too hot for me to shower, I set it on medium as it’s hot enough.

interesting. So in summer, when you need hot water, you have to wait with running water until the Heater powers up And heats the running water?

 

[egg-fried-rice]

interesting. So in summer, when you need hot water, you have to wait with running water until the Heater powers up And heats the running water?

In summer you simply switch it on and wait a few minutes for the system to heat up. I think it takes around 10 mins if that, which is faster than my central heating system in my home and probably faster than you can boil a kettle in your van using gas.

 

[xfact]

In summer you simply switch it on and wait a few minutes for the system to heat up. I think it takes around 10 mins if that, which is faster than my central heating system in my home and probably faster than you can boil a kettle in your van using gas.

So it must have some type of small storage like the Truma. 10l or something?

 

[egg-fried-rice]

So it must have some type of small storage like the Truma. 10l or something?

I think it goes through a heated jacket or coil inside the heater because it will heat water as fast as you can supply it once the coil or jacket gets hot. I doesn't use a hot water tank.

 

[xfact]

I think it goes through a heated jacket or coil inside the heater because it will heat water as fast as you can supply it once the coil or jacket gets hot. I doesn't use a hot water tank.

Ok, just had a look at the specs. There is a 10l tank.