Chinese diesel heaters

[isu22andy]

Ive seen alot of people using these on Chinatok to heat there garages, ice shantys and snowmobile trailers ect. Anyone try it in a wall tent ? Amazon Link Chinese diesel heater How well do they do in unisulated garages ? I have a propane style one in my unisulated garage when im tinkering out there that does well buts loud. Curious to hear real world results . Be nice to keep the wall tent a steady degrees with the thermostat.

 

[Robert N]

I have one in my home-build hunting trailer (7x14 v-nose high roof) - insulated roof but just plywood on the walls. The space is obviously very small.

I have been super impressed with the unit. Out here it will keep the trailer at a very cozy 65 degrees on its lowest setting (*about 18 degrees outside).

I’m not sure how it would work for heating a large space or a non-insulated wall tent. I wish I could help there.

 

[cowboy]

It’ll heat it but you need to be prepared that the diesel heaters will need a lot of battery to constantly run the fan. It chewed up a regular 12V battery so quick I switched to one of them expensive lithium batteries.

 

[Robert N]

It’ll heat it but you need to be prepared that the diesel heaters will need a lot of battery to constantly run the fan. It chewed up a regular 12V battery so quick I switched to one of them expensive lithium batteries.

That’s a good point - I forgot that part. I run two 6v 210 ah batteries with 2x 100watt solar panels - so far it hasn’t been a problem for me…but I can imagine it might be if it’s dark for 3+ days…

 

[Jamen]

I do not have one yet. Friend of mine uses it to heat his icehouse. he loves it!

 

[FairWeather]

It’ll heat it but you need to be prepared that the diesel heaters will need a lot of battery to constantly run the fan. It chewed up a regular 12V battery so quick I switched to one of them expensive lithium batteries.

Can they operate without the fan?

 

[Deleted member 48080]

What's the risk of carbon monoxide with a set up like that? It's hard for me to have much faith in a piece of equipment made that cheaply.

 

[MThuntr]

What's the risk of carbon monoxide with a set up like that? It's hard for me to have much faith in a piece of equipment made that cheaply.

I think there would be a slight risk if the machine was inside but there is an exhaust that would need to be routed out.

I think I've seen some youtubers having the device outside and then heater duct blows inside. That would be similar to having a force air furnace.

 

[isu22andy]

It’ll heat it but you need to be prepared that the diesel heaters will need a lot of battery to constantly run the fan. It chewed up a regular 12V battery so quick I switched to one of them expensive lithium batteries.

How longs a car battery generally last obviously different sizes here? Or whats your run time experience ?

 

[cowboy]

How longs a car battery generally last obviously different sizes here? Or whats your run time experience ?

This is a guess and very dependent on ambient outside temp. With battery below zero temps I wouldn’t count on more than 2 nights usage with regular type 12V battery. Keep in mind that there is 6 temp settings from low to high and the fan speed is adjusted automatically so if you run it on low (which ain’t much air flow) your battery will run a lot longer than pulling fan juice on high.

On a side note: Those Chinese diesel heaters come with the most Mickey Mouse installation/instructions that I’ve ever seen. I’ve got an engineering degree with 40 yrs work behind me and I couldn’t make heads or tails out of that booklet. The little fold up booklet that they send with unit is beyond useless. However- Utube is your friend and there is a realm of info by some pretty experienced users. In fact I would recommend that anyone contemplating buying one of these units that they spend some time on utube to get a good idea in what they are getting into.

Bottom line IMO is that they are well worth the time and effort when you finally get all the bugs worked out. 10 times more efficient than propane, very economical to run and extremely efficient. I run mine on #1 diesel which doesn’t have the btu output versus standard #2 diesel but #2 will gel up below freezing temps and also depending on your elevation.

You can get these heaters in what I call a suite case self contained unit or where heater and diesel tank are separate units.

If anyone is interested in these units and wants to know what not to do - just send me a PM - been there done that.

 

[Little Big Man MT Chris]

My friends back in Oregon did an install of one into a van used as a hunting camp , I haven’t seen it , but all ive herd is it work great , they suggested I get one for my Super Pacific camper , which I plan on looking into this summer

 

[406dn]

Bottom line IMO is that they are well worth the time and effort when you finally get all the bugs worked out. 10 times more efficient than propane, very economical to run and extremely efficient. I run mine on #1 diesel which doesn’t have the btu output versus standard #2 diesel but #2 will gel up below freezing temps and also depending on your elevation.

I do not know anything about the heaters, but I do know a bit about the fuels. I worked 28 years in an oil refinery testing laboratory testing...propane and diesel among other things.

Diesel has about half again more BTUs per gallon than propane. So, it will put out ~150% of the heat/gallon compared to propane.

#2 Diesel will not gel until the diesel is colder than ~-10F. The pour point is lower than that, but diesel starts to look like soft pudding before it won't flow. That -10F temperature is when I add #1 diesel to my diesel pick ups. I would be surprised if elevation has an appreciable effect.

I'd want to know about the venting of the exhaust. The increase in the BTU from diesel means there is a much higher percentage of C02 in the exhaust.

A big plus is diesel is far safer to transport and have around than propane is.

 

[buckbull]

Everything I've read says the first thing you need to do is replace the fuel lines with quality ones. My experience with any fuel powered product coming from China is very crappy fuel lines.

 

[geewhiz]

I have one installed in a 6x12 cargo trailer that I use to hunt out of on late season hunts. It works very well for my intended purpose.

I have not found the comment on battery usage to be true. If you set it on a setting (low, med, high etc.) it will use the battery to power the glow plug upon initial startup which draws a fair bit, but then all the battery is used for is for the small fan and the LCD control module, neither of which draw hardly any power. If you put it on the thermostat setting, meaning it will heat-shut off-heat-shut off- to maintain a temperature setting that way, the glow plug will cycle upon each start up and that will drain your battery much faster.

I have 2 deep cycle marine batteries hooked up to mine (that I pull out of my camper in the fall) and then I have a battery maintainer/trickle charger hooked up to them. When I get back to the trailer in the evening, I start the generator to use the lights/charge phones etc. and that will "top off" the batteries each night. However, I do believe those 2 batteries would run the heater constantly for at least a few days without a charge, maybe up to a week. Maybe I should do an experiment.

They are designed to be vented to the outside. The "inside air" stays inside and the "outside air" stays outside. "Inside air" is heater through a heat exchanger and if properly vented, the exhaust will never enter the living space.

 

[Robert N]

What's the risk of carbon monoxide with a set up like that? It's hard for me to have much faith in a piece of equipment made that cheaply.

Well, that’s kind of a two-part “Maybe, but not really” answer.

While the heating unit is in the trailer, the exhaust is outside the trailer. So, no, there are no fumes in the trailer…BUT there needs to be an exhaust. The Exhaust is going to be wind direction dependent: it’s possible that an unsealed trailer with the right wind could blow fumes back underneath the trailer and absorb in…

I spent 4 days in my trailer and never got a wiff of scent…but technically, it could happen depending on conditions.

 

[grizzly_]

Ive seen alot of people using these on Chinatok to heat there garages, ice shantys and snowmobile trailers ect. Anyone try it in a wall tent ? Amazon Link Chinese diesel heater How well do they do in unisulated garages ? I have a propane style one in my unisulated garage when im tinkering out there that does well buts loud. Curious to hear real world results . Be nice to keep the wall tent a steady degrees with the thermostat.

I've been looking at them for awhile for when I'm truck camping in my shell or a tent. It looks like you can spend a few hundred bucks for a cheap one, or about a grand for a nice one from Planar.

A bunch of the YouTube videos are guys trying to troubleshoot the cheap ones so they'll work properly.

I'm usually a "buy once, cry once" guy, but I tend to think I would be better to buy a few cheap ones than one Planar with how little I'd actually use it.

I would also be interested in people's thoughts and brand recommendations.

 

[mxracer317]

Here is some pics.

Note that I cut a large pull into the floor of the trailer because the unit is inside of a metal cabinet. It was becoming too hot inside the cabinet and throwing overheating error codes. Once I opened up and brought some fresh air in, like a forced air system, it hasn’t been an issue.

Sleep super comfy when it’s cold outside and keep the air nice and dry.

Can’t stress enough the importance of having a carbon monoxide and smoke detector inside.

The one thing that drives me crazy is listening to the ticking of the pump. I found a guy in Europe that manufactures enclosed pumps that are completely silent. That’s my next upgrade.

 

[geewhiz]

Here is some pics.

Note that I cut a large pull into the floor of the trailer because the unit is inside of a metal cabinet. It was becoming too hot inside the cabinet and throwing overheating error codes. Once I opened up and brought some fresh air in, like a forced air system, it hasn’t been an issue.

Sleep super comfy when it’s cold outside and keep the air nice and dry.

Can’t stress enough the importance of having a carbon monoxide and smoke detector inside.

The one thing that drives me crazy is listening to the ticking of the pump. I found a guy in Europe that manufactures enclosed pumps that are completely silent. That’s my next upgrade.

View attachment 317509

Got a link to the quiet fuel pumps?

 

[dan.kirkpatrick]

im trying my 2nd one now,,this time i got a vever 5 k with automatic altitude adjustment//my 1st 8 k unit i had alot of issues with,,so i wouldnt 100% trust them,,they can be a bit tempermental at times//good luck.i use mine in my 7x14 trailer as a secondary heat source.

 

[cgasner1]

Been looking at one for my cargo trailer it’ll be a primary heat but I’ll keep my propane for a back up