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jdfnnl
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# Posted: 27 Oct 2022 02:51
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I know there has been other discussion on this forum about the chinese diesel 'parking' heaters. I am preparing to install one in preparation of imminent lower temps. I decided to try one because of the separate combustion chamber that make it function like a furnace in that the exhaust can be entirely spared from the living space. My first season the year prior was passed with a Mr. Heater inside with very little ventilation, but I had the chance to install a slider window and this should be an improvement.
My question here is whether the heater should be installed under the floor outside or rather inside under the sleeping platform as shown in the sketch. It would seem the main advantage of having the unit inside would be greater efficiency without the hot air dissipating heat on it's way inside. The noise of the fan would be more audible, but the tank and pump could be mounted outside. The main disadvantage may be risk of the exhaust port leaking.
Any experience or tips on in this area would be great as I try and think this through.
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FishHog
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# Posted: 27 Oct 2022 07:50
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lots of people in the van community have these and they are installed inside, with the exhaust outside routed away from the intake. This avoids the possibility of combustion gases mixing in with the hot air.
I have a gas model in my van, works very well for a van sized unit, not sure how big your cabin is but not sure its going to keep up if its much larger.
Just make sure to seal the unit to your floor and that there is no chance of the exhaust gases being pulled back into the intake
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Nobadays
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# Posted: 27 Oct 2022 09:40
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I use one in my 10'x12' shop and it warms that insulated space quite well. Mine is an all-in-one unit that sits on the floor by the door with the exhaust extending through a hole in the floor. It is pretty loud when it cycles on. They never do actually turn off, just low to high. Diesel jell has been my only issue but an additive solved that.
If I was using one for heating a living space I'd likely mount it outside/under the floor in an insulated box for both heat retention and noise reduction.... making sure it could get sufficient combustion air. The heating air intake could possibly be routed into the building.
My two cents!
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toyota_mdt_tech
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# Posted: 27 Oct 2022 09:54
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I put one in a buddys enclosed trailer, works great. They do make a self contained unit, ie all in a case, set inside and install an exhaust port and then just plug in exhaust when you use it.
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paulz
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# Posted: 27 Oct 2022 09:57
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What's the BTUs on those?
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Nobadays
Member
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# Posted: 27 Oct 2022 14:50
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Quoting: toyota_mdt_tech What's the BTUs on those?
Most are 5kw... which somehow translates to BTUs. Many say 5kw-8kw, some even 10kw, and as little as2kw. From what I read on a Chinese diesel heater forum I'm on, they are pretty much all 5kw, depends how much fuel you push through it. Most say 8-10kw is unlikely.
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jdfnnl
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# Posted: 27 Oct 2022 16:13 - Edited by: jdfnnl
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This unit is 2kw (6,800 btu) heat output. My space is tall 10'x10' / uninsulated cabin, so rather than attempt to keep the space thoroughly heated, I am going for a warm jet of air aimed in my vicinity as I did with that propane heater last year. As a tenant, I may not get around to insulating the space.
Here is a video I found that clearly shows what I had in mind as for a cabin. Any opinions on this particular setup are welcome.
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paulz
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# Posted: 28 Oct 2022 09:32
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So if 2kw is 6,800 btu, 5kw would be around 17,000, equivalent to many propane wall heaters. I suppose the are more efficient than propane?
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MJH
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# Posted: 28 Oct 2022 11:05
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Quoting: jdfnnl My question here is whether the heater should be installed under the floor outside or rather inside under the sleeping platform as shown in the sketch.
I've used a couple of these in my 8x16 little shed. Depending on where you will be routing the air from outside will have a significant impact on how well it heats your space. I've used one into temps about as low as -15. In my shed they'd quickly bring the temps up about 20 degrees from ambient air but it was slow going to heat beyond that in any reasonable time.
The fan it noisy and it sounds like a little jet engine when it's firing up. Having said that, exhaust leaking is not really much of an issue if you mount one inside correctly.
I moved away from mine because battery life was the main limiter
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Nobadays
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# Posted: 28 Oct 2022 13:17
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Quoting: paulz 5kw would be around 17,000,
I've been puzzling over this as well. I found a conversion calculator and yep, a 5kw is ~17,000btu
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Nobadays
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# Posted: 28 Oct 2022 13:20
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Quoting: MJH battery life was the main limiter
Yep, I keep a 25w solar panel hooked up to the battery running the heater. If the charge drops below around 11.5v... and they suck mega juice when starting up because of the glow plug... mine will cycle off. Gotta have a topped up battery to start one.
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Nobadays
Member
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# Posted: 28 Oct 2022 13:22
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This is my all-in-one warming up the shop right now.
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KinAlberta
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# Posted: 20 Dec 2022 15:59 - Edited by: KinAlberta
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I just watched this guy’s video. He pulls apart a Vevor diesel heater box, does a critique of the design and construction and then installs it in his own workshop.
It’s an interesting introductory video to skim through:
https://youtu.be/KyiUpFjwtlU
I too have often wondered about the possibility of putting a low cost heater on the outside of the cabin and just blowing heat into the building. (Our old wood stove and heater always smoked up the cabin until the fired got going.)
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travellerw
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# Posted: 20 Dec 2022 20:25
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Quoting: KinAlberta I too have often wondered about the possibility of putting a low cost heater on the outside of the cabin and just blowing heat into the building.
These heaters are designed to be installed inside, but are totally sealed. You run a sealed intake and exhaust to the units from the outside. If you keep the fuel on the warm side, then you can run some "interesting" fuels. Many many Youtube videos of people running used motor oil (50/50 with diesel or kerosene). At a medium setting they consume about 300ml of fuel an hour. Medium is about 9000BTU.
There are tons of mods and upgrades for them. Including much better control units that make the fan quieter and offer a ton of extra features.
These types of heaters are really common in the marine industry. Of course, they are the branded Webasto units that cost about 10X the price of these Chinese ones. However, the Chinese ones look like damn good clones based on the teardowns I have seen.
I have been tossing around the idea of installing one in our bedroom at the cabin. That way I won't have to get up and feed the stove. Pros and cons though. We won't want to leave the bedroom in the morning as the rest of the cabin will be darn cold!
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