In defence of the auxiliary water heater.....

[WILLH]

As someone who ordered my MP in the early days when there was some confusion as to what the different optional heaters were for,I ticked the option box for both the auxiliary water and air heaters,initially believing the water heater heated the sink/shower water.

After my order became non spec changeable it became clear that this was not going to be the case and as we now know the water heater heats the engine coolant and supplements the normal van heating.

Having initially thought that my money had been wasted on this,mostly on the basis that it does a similar job to the aux air heater,I must admit that it has come into its own during this current spell of freezing cold weather.

When setting off from home in the morning warm air is coming from my vents within a minute or two of leaving my garage at home,and whilst I have been out over the weekend in freezing conditions,it’s nice to turn the heating on via the Mercedes Me App 10 minutes before getting back to the van to find it toasty warm on my return.I have had to wait in the van for an hour or so on a few occasions and it maintains the heating in the van very well.Overall it’s very impressive and I am feeling glad I ordered it now-it wasn’t a waste of money after all.

 

[mptripsaway]

I use it quite a lot, not only for my comfort but also for the benefits of pre-warming the engine, being that I do a fair amount of short journeys. It's a great bit of kit imo.

 

[WILLH]

Yes it’s worth the outlay-I have just found out that I can also turn it on remotely through Mercedes Me using my Apple Watch.

 

[The.dunnster]

i'll bet it's been worth every penny these past few days. Great investment folks!!!!

Mrs the.dunnster has something similar in her car and it's put on at breakfast time heating up the car for the school run and avoiding or at worst minisiming de icing the car.

I look on with envy when scraping the windscreen of my work car.

 

[alltorque]

I can see that it could be useful on its own, but can the air heater not heat the air as well before you get in? I'm not sure why having both heaters is an advantage - could you expand?

 

[WILLH]

I can see that it could be useful on its own, but can the air heater not heat the air as well before you get in? I'm not sure why having both heaters is an advantage - could you expand?

It is possible to get the air heater to warm the van before you get in,however unless the remote is within range(ie you are quite close to the van),you would have to set the timer to do this.The beauty of the water heater is that it can be operated via the Mercedes Me app so can be switched on from anywhere.For instance on Sunday I could turn it on as I was walking back to the vehicle,and again after having my Sunday lunch visit to a local restaurant so all warm for the drive home.The output of the water heater is also higher than the air heater so warms quicker.

I thought the water heater would be totally useless so am pleasantly surprised that it can come in handy-makes me feel a bit better about what I have had to pay out for it.

 

[alltorque]

Great explanation - thanks for expanding. Now I wish I ordered it too - balls!!

 

[mptripsaway]

The air heater is designed as a parking heater and yes it will pre-warm the interior of your MP.
The water heater by heating the engine coolant means that the engine is warm at the start of your journey and the MP heater will blow warm air immediately, it's also good for the engine, particularly where short journeys are involved.