Diesel Heaters

[2bits]

I just discovered these little heaters. Very informative video, I might put this in my van which I am building for boondocking

https://youtu.be/l0-aq7PhUNQ

[2bits]

Here is the link to his install video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3j5qW9kKBLM

[NevadaBlue]

They look VERY tempting for the price. Good reviews in places.

[saltydawg]

okay before you buy do a lot of research, first they dont shut off, they just slow down and turn down, they dont cycle. So what this means is you will be opening a window. Also they do draw a lot when they fire up due to the glow plug, but that winds up shutting off so its just the fan. The exhaust pipe gets very hot, like glowing red hot.And a lot of people say they can always smell the diesel burning.

There is a facebook group, but its closed you have to apply and answer questions to get in.

If your well insulated you may want to go with the 2k unit, but whats funny is people over there buy the 5k and just open a window when it gets hot becuase it uses less power running on low.

They are not webesto heaters that work perfectly.

join the facebook group and read up on em.

At the risk of getting in trouble here is a screen shot of a recent post on there about exhaust temps. I dont see how I could do one with my trailer being all foam, might be different if cut in to a vehicle floor

[rjgimp]

Atomic77 put one in the Astroliner. Last I heard he liked it well enough.

The price on the Chinese knockoffs is tempting but I am SOOOOOOOO done buying cheap garbage from them.

[saltydawg]

Yeah I bought a 5k one, and returned it un opened after reading the face book group, if anything I would need the 2k. I decided I would be better off with a small ceramic heater and a 2k inverter generator sense I am very well insulated. If I was doing enough super cold weather camping I could justify a propex, Other wise I will just run a genny and warm the trailer before I go to bed, but I could run a small 500 watt heater for close to 3 hours non stop on my batteries. I bet with if I prewarm the inside using the gen, then with 2 warm bodies the heater would make it thru the night on my batteries unless its close or below freezing.

[rbtrary]

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I've had good experience with my all in one diesel heater.
unlike propane which can produce 4 cubic feet of water vapor for every cubic foot burned this is dry heat.
economical, as little as 0.1 litres diesel per hour at maybe 1 amp battery load steady over nite heat.
yes, glow plug can draw up to 10 amps but that's initial start, maybe once a day.
mine is wired to use trailer plug so I can run the vehicle for 10 min for the extra juice.
cabin temp is thermostat controlled
exhaust is clean, no diesel smells with this setup

[saltydawg]

Yeah I thought about going to an all in one as I think its the only way I could use one. Some people put an adjustable diverter in the line so they can adjust it to not send all the heat inside. That makes sense, but now its something else to carry around, I would prefer an installed system.

[rbtrary]

no need for heat duct diverters
mine came with this programmable lcd controller
when programmed correctly its simple and reliable off the grid heat

https://www.amazon.com/Heater-Monitor-C ... 158&sr=8-3

I read that FB group mentioned and its primarily for troubleshooting so most posts about poor installations/setup issues/user errs

for a comprehensive understanding of these Eberspacher clones
seek out youtube videos by
John McK 47

[lfhoward]

Any way to just shut them off after they warm your camper up???..slow

You can turn them off but every time you do, or turn it back on, the glow plug takes several minutes at 10 amps to burn off any residual fuel or heat up to temperature. The machine will automatically run at a low level rather than cycling on and off because most people’s batteries can’t keep up with such frequent glow plug use.

This is one advantage to the Propex. One little spark and it’s on. And it can cycle on and off throughout the night without killing your battery or roasting you out.

[saltydawg]

Any way to just shut them off after they warm your camper up???..slow

Yes you can shut them off, they have an off button. The issue is they dont cycle they just slow down, and if you shut if off it needs to cycle the glow plug again to fire up. They also have issues with sooting up when run on low, but you can turn them to high before shutting them off to burn off the soot.

The issue with just slowing them down is even on low they put out 5000 btu or so, which is a standard 1500 watt electric heater on high. The 5kw is 17000 btu on full blast, which is enough to heat a small house ( 800 sq ft ) if decently insulated. I have an electric heater in my camper right now on low it draws 750 watts, it cycles off after 2 mins when the out side temp is in the low 40's and I dont have my windows actually screwed in just a piece of duct tape. So 2500 btu or so is keeping it warm, but I am above average for insulation and not below freezing

They would make sense to me if you spend a lot of time camping below freezing and have a fairly uninsulated trailer.

I dont want to make it seem like they dont work, or anyone should not buy them. They do work, but they do have issues that I think wont work for me. Ie too much heat, issues with hot exhaust pipes and my walls being foam panels. I do think the standalone units would work for, as they take in out side air then heat that. You can install them that the cold air is drawn from out side and not recycling the inside air, I think that would solve some of the too much heat issues.

[Shadow Catcher]

I set up an Espar heater so that it can be used externally and it works.

[booyah]

So I love the idea of these, but the fuel mix is what bothers me... Living in Michigan and camping up north mostly in the winter diesel can be problematic especially if you buy it one month and burn it 2 or three later...

My current solution is lots of insulation, shore power or a quiet 2kw inverter generator and 1-2 of the little 450w handy heaters with thermostat.
One of them can make my camper uncomfortably warm at an outside temp of 25f, and two can still cook you out below zero.

Plan B is lots of blankets I guess

[rbtrary]

fuel is not usually a problem in winter anymore
diesel is essentially home heating oil and is commonly sold with winter thinners already added in most every northern region Maine and Quebec Michigan, anywhere risks freezing

[NevadaBlue]

Yeah, but if you buy diesel in August and use it in December...

I think the best idea is to always camp with someone who has one of the heaters. Build a heat exchanger for the exhaust pipe and run that heat to your rig.

For me, it looks like the little buddy or the wood stove to warm up evenings and mornings and plenty of blankets in between.