Diesel heater

Kevin 1955 · Veteran Member

Diesel heater

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

Not appropriate for a motorhome and heat output is much too large.
Cheers,
Peter

vince56 · Senior Member

I agree with Peter, 5Kw way too much for a van

JackoFJR · Senior Member

Have a look at Sydney Diesel Heaters , I just bought a 2.5KW portable unit , from Marc a fair bit dearer than that one but he claims its a better quality , still made in China
I use it in our Tvan , I have only used it on one trip just a week ago , Happy with it so far .

KJB · Guru

2 Kw is more than ample for our 21" Fifth Wheeler. We also use it in our Slide on Camper and it is fed by an old motor mower fuel tank inside a front cupboard. The tank is on a loose length of fuel hose so that I can unhook the tank from the wall and take it outside the cupboard to refuel. Works well.

-- Edited by KJB on Wednesday 8th of July 2020 03:41:13 PM

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

Apart from the output, these "portable" diesel heaters still need an exhaust that goes outside and is sealed to prevent CO poisoning. That makes the heater position virtually fixed.
Having the fuel inside is something that I would wish to avoid.
Connecting a "normal" diesel heater to the vehicle fuel system is a 10 minute job to add a T to the fuel line. Alternatively, using a separate fuel tank (mounted outside) is not a difficult task.
The exhaust still needs to exit the van.
Cheers,
Peter

woofta and precious · Senior Member

I'm sorry, but a 10 minute job??
If you quoted that to an installer, they would probably laugh! To a handyman, it would be a "lot" longer...
Just saying.

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

Installing a T in a fuel line is a 10 minute job, as I said.
The rest of the installation is similar irrespective of where the fuel comes from. For many people it is a not very difficult DIY.
Cheers,
Peter

Mike Harding · Guru

Whilst a 5kW diesel heater is more than adequate to heat a caravan it is quite useable in one; indeed I am currently running mine at maximum power as it's 3C outside and was 7C inside when I arose 30m past - it's now 15C inside :)

Once the van is up to temperature I usually turn the heater to minimum or a little higher if the outside temperature is below 10C. If it becomes too hot inside I simply slightly open a window at each end of the van to obtain a little airflow.

Running the heater at minimum is fine because these heaters burn so efficiently they do not suffer significant soot build-up also running a little kerosene through them occasionally is helpful. A big advantage of running at minimum is that it reduces wear on the fan bearings and pump. Additionally it's difficult to source s 2kW Chinese heater and, it seems, even the ones sold as 2kW are often actually 5kW.

To the OP: you don't have to tap into the vehicle's fuel system you can simply operate the heater from its own tank.

Tony LEE · Guru

Do need to check a couple of things before tapping into a vehicle fuel system Some vehicles have a lift pump in or near the tank and you can't tap into a pressurised system so that needs to be checked. Need to check that you aren't tapping into the fuel return line because it may not go to the bottom of the tank. My old Hino has lots of windows and maybe not much insulation anywhere so a 5kW heater is good to have when the outside temperature is at or below freezing. And that is just for the front 2/3 of the length. Just installed a second 5kW unit to get the bedroom and bathroom comfortable for showering and dressing and getting up in the morning . Electric blankets take over from that heater while sleeping, but the other one runs at low power all night.

Moose2 · Senior Member

Instead of having that stand alone heater inside and needing to vent the exhaust out, would it be feasible to have the unit running outside and pumping hot air into the van, say through a window via a length of flexible tubing? Security shouldn't be too hard to work out to ensure it didn't go 'missing'.

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

Moose2 wrote:
Instead of having that stand alone heater inside and needing to vent the exhaust out, would it be feasible to have the unit running outside and pumping hot air into the van, say through a window via a length of flexible tubing? Security shouldn't be too hard to work out to ensure it didn't go 'missing'.

Yes, possible, but you still do not want to risk the exhaust fumes blowing into that same window, so some longer ducting would be a good idea.

Just as easy to fit a conventional diesel heater and be done with it.

Cheers,

Peter

Jaahn · Guru

Peter_n_Margaret wrote:
Installing a T in a fuel line is a 10 minute job, as I said.
The rest of the installation is similar irrespective of where the fuel comes from. For many people it is a not very difficult DIY.
Cheers,
Peter

Hi smile

My comment on the 10 minute job. True for the old non electronic diesels and not likely to cause a problem. But I could not recommend it on a modern common rail diesel unless you are certain you know what you are doing and know how the system works. My suggestion is leave it alone and use the tank supplied. aww

Jaahn

Kevin 1955 · Veteran Member

Thanks everyone for the help,

Kev

Kevin 1955 · Veteran Member

Thanks everyone for the help,

Kev

Moose2 · Senior Member

Peter_n_Margaret wrote:
Moose2 wrote:
Instead of having that stand alone heater inside and needing to vent the exhaust out, would it be feasible to have the unit running outside and pumping hot air into the van, say through a window via a length of flexible tubing? Security shouldn't be too hard to work out to ensure it didn't go 'missing'.
Yes, possible, but you still do not want to risk the exhaust fumes blowing into that same window, so some longer ducting would be a good idea.
Just as easy to fit a conventional diesel heater and be done with it.
Cheers,
Peter

Thanks Peter...reason I ask is that I can see other uses for the portable version, like providing heating in a work shed for example. So in my case I think a portable heater would be more versatile and better value. Also no installation mucking around and no holes to be drilled into caravan.
What sort of ducting would be good to use for the hot air outlet side?

Oka374 · Veteran Member

You do have to provide somewhere for both the burner intake and exhaust to exit the van or shed or whatever it is used in so there will have to be some holes somewhere.
Both combustion intake and exhaust must be external to the heated space so the occupants don't have a permanent sleep from carbon monoxide poisoning. You should also have a CO detector installed in any enclosed space that is heated by any combustion heater.

Possum3 · Guru

Moose2 wrote:
What sort of ducting would be good to use for the hot air outlet side?

It appears from advertisement ducting is provided for both heat outlet and exhaust.