New Build - 6*12 Offroad Toy Hauler

[Gulfcoast]

I bought a new diesel heater and gave it away as I'm seeing too many guys online that's trying to get theirs working again. They seem to be great when new but as they get older the problems begin. I'm real cold natured, so I have four ways to get heat from propane.

[flboy]

Most of the issues with the diesel heaters are due to poor installation and/or improper shutdown. Additionally, there are some simple parts such as the diffuser screen and glow plug that should be cleaned periodically or replaced.

I am sure I will have issues with mine at some point, but I sure like it. Been keeping me warm all night for 2 weeks and only used about 4 gallons of diesel. Absolutely no Carbon Monoxide detected or concerns about Oxygen depletion and fan uses little power with none of the condensation issues associated with burning propane inside a sealed box. Really a nice device, and I think with simple proactive maintenance between seasons, it will keep working well. Time will tell.

I keep a Mr. Buddy for backup and have an electric ceramic heater I can run off the generator if needed. Just hard to beat this diesel heater as long as it working.

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

[flboy]

Camping in Moab tonight, but spent 3 nights camping at the Grand Canyon. Temps down in the teens. The CTC survived. Learnt a few things however.





My spot in Moab. Nobody else here at this spot tonight.



Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

[hankaye]

flboy, Howdy;

Nice teaser ya threw in there; " The CTC survived. Learnt a few things however. "
So, ... share the what ya lernt, . Curious minds an all that ... chuckle.

hank

[BigDave_185]

Looks like Ike you are in the camp ground by hells revenge and fins n things!
If you come further north let me know, I’ll get ya a washer n dryer to get cloths cleaned up and the pup can play out back



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[flboy]

flboy, Howdy;

Nice teaser ya threw in there; " The CTC survived. Learnt a few things however. "
So, ... share the what ya lernt, . Curious minds an all that ... chuckle.

hank

Hi Hank, been off grid for a bit.. yes, I am a FL boy and not use to temperatures in the teens. Issues I had were with my LiFePo4 batteries shutting down charging due to low temp (32F). I was aware of the parameters, but didn't think about it much and could not charge batteries for most of the day. I need to make sure some warmer cabin air from deisel heater is circulated into battery compartment when temperatures are in teens.

Also had hot water heater freeze up. All the plumbing is inside in same place as cold water pipes and cold water did not freeze up (it is colder under raised floor above gray tank due to lack of insulation in one place) Only when temperatures got into teens did I have a problem. I suspect the OD core freezes up due to exposure through exhaust stack. Need a way to close that off when not using. It did not cause damage, but water was blocked. Discovered issue when I tried to get a hot shower one cold morning.

Also, need to make sure to vent my 40 gallon tank in truck bed if I expect a hard freeze. I drained some water out expecting the hard freeze, but I did not account for air displacement by ice expansion. Tank bulged a lot due to air compression. Fortunately, it did not break. From then on when expecting a hard freeze, I just left the vent cap off that is removed when I am filling or pumping out of the tank.

Lastly, I know better, but I just didn't think about it and left some canned goods in the truck bed in a tote bin.. soda, canned food, etc.. it froze. Should have put it in the camper with me. Rookie mistake.

Overall, the CTC worked fine and the heat pad for the Gray Tank did its job. I really didn't expect to camp in weather in the teens, but with a few adjustments, I can do it. The heater certainly didn't struggle. I stayed plenty warm.

I am sure I'd have further issues if it went below zero, but quite frankly, I'd avoid those temperatures. I knew when I decided to go North to the Grand Canyon that the forecast was for teens at night. I don't get out West much and really wanted to go, so I decided to see what happened.

I will have some cold temperatures in the single digits at my son's place in Nebraska, but I am hooked up to shore power and will run electric heat 24/7 to keep cabin at least 65F. Will not use LiFePo4 and isolated from charge or discharge, Gray water is free running. I do need to figure out the hot water freeze issue. I probably will just run it a minute a couple times throughout the night given I do get up at least twice to pee ( its the aging man thing I'm told .. lol)

Live and learn! ;-).



Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

[flboy]

BidDave... I was only there for the night as I was navigating to I70 from the Grand Canyon and it took me through Moab right about time to quit driving for the day. I can tell you, I had the urge to get the KTM out and ride those rocks, but it was 25 degrees when I got up and I did really need to keep moving towards Nebraska

I am coming through MOAB and will pause to have some fun there this summer when I ride the TAT. The route goes through there.

Many thanks for the offer. If I planned to stay there longer, I would have liked to take you up on that.

I have been out for a month in the CTC traveling and Boondocking in Arizona and Nevada nomad style and now have a schedule to pick up wife at airport in Nebraska and spend some time with son and his family, then I need to make a beeline back to Florida for first week in March. I have things there I need to tend to. I miss home, but would probably stay out longer if my wife was with me. This has been fun however.

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

[hankaye]

flboy, Howdy;

Yea, making sure the air or any other expansion has a place to go is important. The reason for the dimple on milk jugs.
As for your HW heater, you've got one of those "Instant" ones don't ya? I'd install a drain valve to empty it when not in use.
Easy to get in the habit of opening when going to have a shower or HW in general and to dump the system when closing
up for the night. If you have a 6 gal. RV type leave the propane or electric on. Are your water lines next to the walls or
hidden behind walls/bulkheads an such? make some openings to allow the heat into those spaces. Some folks use computer
fans to circulate the heat. In my RV I keep the access panels and cabinet doors open so the heat gets in there. One just
needs to accept that these don't follow the rules of stick & brick Homes.

Best news is you are figuring it out. Oh, by-the-way, I'm I've completed 72&5/6 orbits of the Sun and don't get up to pee,
sleep right on through. chuckle.

hank

[BigDave_185]

Sounds like it’s been an excellent trip!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[flboy]

It has been good!

Tonight the temperature will be 6F or -14C. I am plugged into shore power running a 1500W ceramic heater. The LiFePo4 batteries are shut down from charging or discharge and my 12V system is running off the 45A converter. So far I am maintaining 64F inside. Floors feel cold. I did open the cabinets and floor panel over pipes in bathroom to make sure the pipes stay warmer.

I am going to check the diesel tomorrow AM to see of it gels, if not, will run the diesel furnace tomorrow to see how it performs. I
suspect it will do better than the ceramic heater which so far is maintaining a greater than 50 degree difference to outside which is 11F at the moment with 25mph winds. Can feel some drafts around RV door which I will remedy this week.

Temperatures tomorrow should be the same within a few degrees.

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

[Gulfcoast]

I used an electric heater one night in a small RV and about froze.... never again. That's why I have three propane heaters in my cargo trailer, I won't be cold again.

[flboy]

It is 5 degrees and windy outside and tje small ceramic heater is maintaining 59 inside. Not bad. Will throw on diesel heater later today to see how it does assuming diesel did not gel. It has more BTU output than the ceramic heater does.

But, both the hot and cold water pipes have froze up so no water now. Must be under and behind the shower where warmer cabin air is not being circulated. The other day I was mistaken about the OD heater element freezing. Now I think it was just a case where I was using the cold water more so it was just lagging in the freeze process. Hopefully not damaged when it thaws as that area is not accessible and repair is going to be hard.

When I get home, I'll make a way to drain pipes quickly at night and when not being used. I can see now this will be a problem in weather like this albeit I did not plan for this. Problems start when weather gets below 20F for long periods.

Like I said before, also need to get warmer air circulated to LiFePo4 batteries as needed. They are past charge limits and close to discharge limits now. If I was boondocking, this would be a big problem also.

Bottom line, this is a bit cold for this setup but I need to stay for another 2 weeks before I migrate south.



Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

[onehoser]

an old trick we use up here is to leave the water tap slightly open so that it drips, moving water doesn’t freeze

[hankaye]

onehoser, Howdy;

an old trick we use up here is to leave the water tap slightly open so that it drips, moving water doesn’t freeze

Good if there is an endless supply and somewhere to put it. Don't think Don has that ability and besides there would be a skating rink he'd
need to navigate when he went outside.

hank

[flboy]

Yes, I have to either drain it (not a significant amount of piping) or ensure airflow in the pipe chases. I think I am going to put in some drains up front under the sink where I can get to them from inside and put a Schrader valve for my little 12v tire inflator. I can then just turn off water cutoff ball valve after the pump, open the two drains , and blow it out for overnight. During the day I can open it back up as I am typically using it periodically and also, the temperature increases 20 degrees or so. In cases where it will not warm up enough, I can just use a jug of water for brushing teeth and etc. and leave it off until warm enough. Probably won't even need to blow it out as gravity may allow enough to drain to let water past when the pump is turned back on. I'll have to expirement with that as I will be doing more cold weather camping now that I know I can with a few adjustments. Best time to visit places is off season if you ask me. I practically had the Grand Canyon and other places to myself. One of 4 or 5 in entire Mathers GC campground that appears to have several loops and 100s of spots. Must be so crowded in summer or prime time! I'd rather brave the cold than crowds.

Desisel heater has no problems keeping it warm. The deisel was not gel at 5 degrees so I am assuming there are additives out here else folks would have issues with thier vehicles for sure. Probably good to well below zero?

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk