Berlingo heaters

[chatwindows]

Hello folks.
It appears that I am not alone in my frustration at the rather erratic performance of my Blingo heater. Works perfectly every time I switch it on throughout the summer period, then when it turns cold & I really need it, it gets itself in a twist & starts working sporadically. I started monitoring the failures. On the smooth road between the two towns that I frequently travel, it would always fail about halfway, sometimes more often. Merely switching it off & on seemed to restore the heat. Every time it failed I noticed that I could not hear the shuttle valve/pump, in the rear ticking. However, on my daily trip down to the woods to walk the dog, (I am retired these days) over slightly less than perfect roads, the heater performed faultlessly. I got to wondering if it was just the shuttle sticking & that the rougher roads were giving it the occasional rattle which was enough to keep it ticking. Could it be that the lack of lubrication in petrol was the cause. Next time I filled up with my £6. 25p worth of petrol I came home & put four squirts from my oilcan into the tank. To date some three weeks since, I have had no problems with the heater going cold on me. I filled up again the other day & did the same. It may well be a coincidence, but I share it with you all in case it helps. I hope so.

[Grumpy-b]

The pumps do have problems, they can also become worse with freezing conditions , I guess this could be ice in the fuel. There have been a few threads on this subject in the past. I have been running mine on a partial Diesel Petrol mix and no problems, today since my wife filled it up with petrol, it wasnt so keen to run.
There is also a problem with dirt in the fuel, they really need to be fed with clean fuel, it may be worth putting a cartridge filter in the line to the tank and changing it regularly.

Grumpy-b

[ChrisB]

Interesting theory, I'll give it a go, but I have a feeling its water/condensate in the tank (in my case) and when driving along theres enough sloshing going on to keep the pickup screen/filter (if there is one) free, as mine seems to run pretty well when driving but park up or stop at traffic lights for a min or so and the dam thing goes out

ChrisB