Planar Heater, anyone know how to make it work?

pvb said:
The instructions for the CP27 panel are impenetrably complex, so I wouldn't blame yourself. Regrettably, this is what you get when you buy a cheap product; poorly developed user interface and dreadful documentation.
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That's a little harsh and not entirely fair.

Yes, the Planar is cheap, less than half the price of an Eberspacher, is that a bad thing ?

Poorly developed user interface, not so sure about that, seemed to work ok for me.

Dreadful documentation ? Hard to argue with that in some cases. The documentation that P F Jones supply is pathetic. The fitting instructions were reasonable, but the instructions for the controller were a complete waste of paper. I found a very good set of instructions online though.
 
PaulRainbow said:
That's a little harsh and not entirely fair.

Yes, the Planar is cheap, less than half the price of an Eberspacher, is that a bad thing ?

Poorly developed user interface, not so sure about that, seemed to work ok for me.

Dreadful documentation ? Hard to argue with that in some cases. The documentation that P F Jones supply is pathetic. The fitting instructions were reasonable, but the instructions for the controller were a complete waste of paper. I found a very good set of instructions online though.
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Not harsh, simple truth; the fact that otherwise sensible people can't understand the instructions means that the user interface hasn't been properly developed. The best CP27 instructions I've found online are still impenetrably complex! Perhaps you should post a link to the good set of instructions.
 
pvb said:
Not harsh, simple truth;
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Still not made my mind up on them. I have one sat here still in the box which I purchased from PFJ as a sample unit to show people an alternative. Controller is w**k to say the least. Heater looks ok and of comparable quality but that's as far as I've bothered with it.

Spare parts is what concerns me in 10 years time for example.
 
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pvb said:
Not harsh, simple truth; the fact that otherwise sensible people can't understand the instructions means that the user interface hasn't been properly developed. The best CP27 instructions I've found online are still impenetrably complex! Perhaps you should post a link to the good set of instructions.
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Already did.

There is also an excellent manual for the PU-16 here : https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...ttachment=73&usg=AOvVaw0XHbER_dUFKMzJl8bEio5z

It's just a shame that some of the suppliers are sending heaters out with rubbish instructions. P F Jones instructions are a waste of time, not sure what Owen supplies.
 
It just feels like the quality of a child's toy car remote control. The sort of thing that you can dig the buttons out of with little effort and swallow or give to your sister, telling her they're sweets.

In all seriousness, the human interface has to be nice for it to "feel" right in my opinion.

Think of Fusion sound systems, the interface and buttons, knobs, etc just feel brilliant so automatically you end up literally feeling that the product is a nice bit of kit.

pvb said:
I think you're agreeing with me.:D
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PaulRainbow said:
Already did.
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The instructions in your link are the best ones I found on the internet, but they're still dreadful. You'd have thought that if these people are determined to do knock-off copies of Eberbasto heaters, they'd copy the sensible controllers and instructions too!
 
matthewriches said:
Think of Fusion sound systems, the interface and buttons, knobs, etc just feel brilliant so automatically you end up literally feeling that the product is a nice bit of kit.
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Aaaggghhhh! Thread drift, but my Fusion MS-AV600 has just gone mad - it keeps randomly turning the cockpit speakers on and blasting the marina with Hed Kandi!
 
pvb said:
The instructions in your link are the best ones I found on the internet, but they're still dreadful. You'd have thought that if these people are determined to do knock-off copies of Eberbasto heaters, they'd copy the sensible controllers and instructions too!
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I couldn't, with a straight face, argue that the PU-16 controller doesn't look a bit cheap, i've not seen the PU-27 in the flesh. But at £515 (2kw) for a marine kit, which includes everything you need, minus the output pipe and vent, i think it represents good value. I fitted one last week and it was very straight forward, everything looked to be of decent quality apart from the heat insulation for the exhaust pipe, which i replaced with Eberspacher insulation. I turned it on, it pumped for a while and then stopped due to lack of fuel (it hadn't quite reached the heater), turned back on and after a few seconds the fuel made it to the heater and it burst into life. Impressively quiet and a good heat output.

My Eber is acting up and parts are no longer available, i would not hesitate to fit a Planar. I can buy a 4kw kit for £565, against the cheapest 4kw Eber that PF Jones sell at £1852
 
PaulRainbow said:
I couldn't, with a straight face, argue that the PU-16 controller doesn't look a bit cheap, i've not seen the PU-27 in the flesh. But at £515 (2kw) for a marine kit, which includes everything you need, minus the output pipe and vent, i think it represents good value. I fitted one last week and it was very straight forward, everything looked to be of decent quality apart from the heat insulation for the exhaust pipe, which i replaced with Eberspacher insulation. I turned it on, it pumped for a while and then stopped due to lack of fuel (it hadn't quite reached the heater), turned back on and after a few seconds the fuel made it to the heater and it burst into life. Impressively quiet and a good heat output.

My Eber is acting up and parts are no longer available, i would not hesitate to fit a Planar. I can buy a 4kw kit for £565, against the cheapest 4kw Eber that PF Jones sell at £1852
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Yes, but you've ignored my question - if they're going to do cheap knock-offs, why don't they go the whole hog and do knock-off control panels which people can understand? And maybe pay a few roubles to get instructions written by someone who has English as a first language?
 
pvb said:
Yes, but you've ignored my question - if they're going to do cheap knock-offs, why don't they go the whole hog and do knock-off control panels which people can understand? And maybe pay a few roubles to get instructions written by someone who has English as a first language?
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You said
You'd have thought that if these people are determined to do knock-off copies of Eberbasto heaters, they'd copy the sensible controllers and instructions too!
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Which is a statement, not a questions :)

If it was a question, there are reasonable instructions available, i posted links to manuals for both controllers, it's unfortunate that at least some suppliers don't include them. I've seen much poorer instructions with some big name products. As for the controllers, it certainly would be nice if they did a "posher" looking option, at a reasonable extra cost.
 
Been down to have another go, hopes dashed, this is a CP27 control panel
when I switch on the power the panel (CP-27) lights up BEHIND the bottom left arrow button and the right arrow button lights. The screen shows the program version and a series of bars light up across it, these bars march across twice then the screen goes black, nothing else happens.
It might be a bad connection, they are very fiddly, but if so why when I first tried to start it a couple of days ago, did it show the 'heating' display though this rapidly changed to the 'ventilation' display with the fan activated and air coming out of the ducts. There must be some way to reset the controller but I can not find it.
When I get time I will try to check the connections but I still think it is the controller, because
1 I do not understand it or the instructions for it.
2 it started and produced heat once just after installation.
3 it lights up as soon as the power is switched on and last time got the fan going.
It would be wonderful if these things were available with a simple on off control that gave you ventilation or heat, or even just heat?
 
Quandary said:
Been down to have another go, hopes dashed, this is a CP27 control panel
when I switch on the power the panel (CP-27) lights up BEHIND the bottom left arrow button and the right arrow button lights. The screen shows the program version and a series of bars light up across it, these bars march across twice then the screen goes black, nothing else happens.
It might be a bad connection, they are very fiddly, but if so why when I first tried to start it a couple of days ago, did it show the 'heating' display though this rapidly changed to the 'ventilation' display with the fan activated and air coming out of the ducts. There must be some way to reset the controller but I can not find it.
When I get time I will try to check the connections but I still think it is the controller, because
1 I do not understand it or the instructions for it.
2 it started and produced heat once just after installation.
3 it lights up as soon as the power is switched on and last time got the fan going.
It would be wonderful if these things were available with a simple on off control that gave you ventilation or heat, or even just heat?
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I fitted a Planar 4Kw heater recently, with no issues at all. I deliberately chose the very simplest on/off , fan on /off rheostat control unit (PU-5 basic control). I had read that the more sophisticated ones were far to clever for their own good.....
 
I believe we spoke yesterday via email and hopefully you will be sorted out now. I sent a link on how to set up the control and commission the heater for the first time. The PU-27 control has a ventilation only mode that is activated by pressing the square button for longer than 2 seconds. It is easy to do this when starting instead of a short press. From the Email I received it would seem that the control is now working correctly But for power saving thee screen goes into sleep mode after a short time. This can be set to stay on permanently while the heater is running or attempting to start in the settings.

Feel free to PM me here if any problems and if you are in the solent area at all I am down here this week and would be happy to drop by and help out. I also have a spare PU-27 and PU-5 if it turned out to be faulty and would also be happy to exchange it for ghe simpler PU-5 if required. The problem with the PU-5 control is that ot is not a thermostat as it comes as standard and so it would need an external temperature probe if you require this function.
Regards
Owen.
 
pvb said:
I think you're agreeing with me.:D



Yes, it would concern me too.
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I am not sure why this would worry you. Teplostar who manufacture these heaters make 250,000 per year and have been building up successfully since 1996 when the started. They still supply oarts for the original heaters now 22 years later. They have improved oarts and models but the priginals are still supported which is something a lot of companies dont. The company is growing all the time as Is my company and my support network. I how have 15 sub agents in variois ares of the country and we are building this up rapidly. It just takes time to establish a sevice network and become a household name as are the other brands. They will do so however and wont be disappearing any time soon.
 
owen-cox said:
I am not sure why this would worry you. Teplostar who manufacture these heaters make 250,000 per year and have been building up successfully since 1996 when the started. They still supply oarts for the original heaters now 22 years later. They have improved oarts and models but the priginals are still supported which is something a lot of companies dont. The company is growing all the time as Is my company and my support network. I how have 15 sub agents in variois ares of the country and we are building this up rapidly. It just takes time to establish a sevice network and become a household name as are the other brands. They will do so however and wont be disappearing any time soon.
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Owen
dont even bother answering him. It is quite obvious from his postings what he is.
Stu
 
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