Diesel heaters ?

[Faffer and Co]

Hi all, my first question for you all.
I have done a forum search but for some reason, as i am sure this has been asked a similar question on these units. .

I have a spare diesel heater, the cheapo chinese type and was wondering if there frowned upon to be used on caravan site. Its a all in one until but will be in its own box sat outside the caravan. Those of you that use/used then will know they can be loud`ish. I have fitted them to many boats and used them myself so i can understand how they could be annoying.

I dont want to go upsetting anybody so was wondering if there welcomed to be used on sites. Or does it depend on the site really.
If need be ill start to look for a new internal heater for the aravan.
Faffer

 

[Mr Plodd]

To my mind it's dependant on both the site, and how tolerant your "neigbours" are.
Personally I wouldn't be too happy if it kept firing up in the middle of the night alongside me as, on start up, they are a bit like a Typhoon jet on a re-heat take off

 

[Faffer and Co]

To my mind it's dependant on both the site, and how tolerant your "neigbours" are.
Personally I wouldn't be too happy if it kept firing up in the middle of the night alongside me as, on start up, they are a bit like a Typhoon jet on a re-heat take off

Yes thats my concern. there loud for a small heater. Although they dont switch off once on. i ggt what you mean on start up though.

 

[RogerL]

We find a small, cheap mains fan heater works well - supplements the Alde wet heating which takes a long time to warm up.

 

[borderbilly]

if your on site you have already payed for the leccy, why pay for diesel?

 

[Faffer and Co]

if your on site you have already payed for the leccy, why pay for diesel?

Not all sites i have been on have leccy.

 

[Jcloughie]

My son has a diesel heater fitted to his VW camper. It is a premium one professionally fitted. He says it works very well.

I don’t know if it is incorporated with the engine.

John

 

[Guzzilazz]

Beware with off grid diesel, the glow plugs draw significant current from the battery. I had a diesel cooker using the same tech on a boat, and maintaining a short cabling run to the was VITAL! My boat had 3x120 AH domestic batteries, and I had to rewire it with hefty cable direct to the battery to ensure reliable ignition.

 

[Mr Plodd]

I don’t know if it is incorporated with the engine.

John

No, they are a totally and independent unit, often located under the floor.

 

[Beardy]

Beware with off grid diesel, the glow plugs draw significant current from the battery. I had a diesel cooker using the same tech on a boat, and maintaining a short cabling run to the was VITAL! My boat had 3x120 AH domestic batteries, and I had to rewire it with hefty cable direct to the battery to ensure reliable ignition.

Are they like conventional diesel engine glow plugs in that they are only powered to start the heater, or do they require constant power?

 

[RogerL]

No, they are a totally and independent unit, often located under the floor.

I've got one on my VW Touareg, it heats the cabin by linking into the HVAC plumbing and can be set remotely - it's very effective but quite noisy - mine's made by Eberspacher but many VWs use a Webasto unit.

 

[ProfJohnL]

The problem is really the noise, on a quite site at night the noise can be quite intrusive even though its not especially loud. The glow plug should only draw current to get the heater going, but the internal fan which creates the forced combustion is essential to their operation and the fuel pump will draw a near constant current ( but I don't know how much) when the heater is operating.

 

[Mr Plodd]

I've got one on my VW Touareg, it heats the cabin by linking into the HVAC plumbing and can be set remotely - it's very effective but quite noisy - mine's made by Eberspacher but many VWs use a Webasto unit.

But it doesn't require the engine to actually be running though does it? So it is not "linked" other than by a bit of plumbing.

 

[Faffer and Co]

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That is the ones i have at the minute. i bought them for the garage but hardly use one of them. As sone have said they take a bit of power to fire them up but then there fairly good on power consumption.
Some units are serperate parts/unit etc and can be fitted any where.
These are a little big for a small caravan/van and needs to be run at a full power setting every now and then to keep the chambers clear .Although i have one fitted to warm the house and its been great for near 3 years with a full heat setting blast blast once a week.

Anyway, i have seen a few cheap electric heaters which i will get instead of fitting this. saves messing about fitting it aswell.

My son has a diesel heater fitted to his VW camper. It is a premium one professionally fitted. He says it works very well.

I don’t know if it is incorporated with the engine.

John

Once i would not even touch these cheapo chinese things. i waited a good amount of years before i even fitted them to customers boats, never mind my own.. Now though there a little better, I used to swear by Webasto and Erber. Maybe me being a tight git these days though lol.

 

[RogerL]

But it doesn't require the engine to actually be running though does it? So it is not "linked" other than by a bit of plumbing.

No, it doesn't need the engine running - the Eberspacher hoses link to the cabin heating hoses with an electric pump to circulate the coolant and valves to exclude the engine hoses - it means the car can be defrosted and the cabin warmed up before switching the engine on - my experience is that this actually improves the overall fuel consumption in winter as the engine then warms up quicker.

 

[Jcloughie]

Once i would not even touch these cheapo chinese things. i waited a good amount of years before i even fitted them to customers boats, never mind my own.. Now though there a little better, I used to swear by Webasto and Erber. Maybe me being a tight git these days though lol.

I have a theory that a lot of cheap Chinese goods are identical to known brands except for the name and documentation. I have made some good purchases.

However. I would be nervous if purchasing somthing with safety implications.

John

 

[RogerL]

I have a theory that a lot of cheap Chinese goods are identical to known brands except for the name and documentation. I have made some good purchases.

However. I would be nervous if purchasing somthing with safety implications.

John

That's noticeable when searching Ebay or Amazon as the identical product, with identical pictures and words are sold under a myriad of unpronouncable brands.

 

[Faffer and Co]

I have a theory that a lot of cheap Chinese goods are identical to known brands except for the name and documentation. I have made some good purchases.

However. I would be nervous if purchasing somthing with safety implications.

John

oh 100% they are just copies, with a slight difference in a lot of things. so no copy write is happening. It doe smy head in this country with alos sending our work to china to make more money. just more greed from the UK companies.

 

[otherclive]

oh 100% they are just copies, with a slight difference in a lot of things. so no copy write is happening. It doe smy head in this country with alos sending our work to china to make more money. just more greed from the UK companies.

It’s not just British companies it’s also global procurement from China on account of low manufacturing costs, benefits of scale too. My Alko German mower was made in China, and at first I was a bit wary that it didn’t have a Briggs and Stratton engine. But 8-9 years on it’s still going strong and the only maintenance is a spring and autumn oil change, plug change every two years and wash the intake filter three times in the season. Can’t ask better than that. Oh and it was cheaper than most comparable mowers. China is what Britain was in the late 1800s to the late 1920s. The manufacturer to the world with some unsavoury practices too.

 

[Guzzilazz]

Are they like conventional diesel engine glow plugs in that they are only powered to start the heater, or do they require constant power?

It depends... sometimes they are required when you whack up the temperature... some not

 

[IanB1485]

A lot of campervan/motorhomes have diesel heaters and I've never heard them when on an adjacent pitch , but mind you that was always in summer! From a service point of view, being fitted underneath the vehicle(did see one in the rear garage of a motorhome) they get covered in muck and although the wiring connectors are sealed they do tend to fail, Also the tubing supplied with the kits (clear plastic) tends to be attacked by the diesel

 

[RogerL]

If you're fitting a diesel heater to a campervan/motorhome you'll be burning fuel that you've paid fuel duty on if you take the supply from the vehicle's fuel line - but if you fit a separate tank you can use red diesel which has no fuel duty in the price.

 

[IanB1485]

If you're fitting a diesel heater to a campervan/motorhome you'll be burning fuel that you've paid fuel duty on if you take the supply from the vehicle's fuel line - but if you fit a separate tank you can use red diesel which has no fuel duty in the price.

Is that legal ? and you would need to know where to buy red diesel from . Interesting point though and food for thought.

 

[ProfJohnL]

I believe the enforceable patents on the Webasto and Eberspacher expired which opened the doors for essentially carbon copies to be made, which saw the advent of these much cheaper Chinese models. There is little within the heaters that could be called cutting edge technology these days, so it was comparatively easy to copy well established designs, Where I share concerns about these heaters is not so much th e burning technology, but the safety devices which you have no way of knowing if they will work properly until it might be too late.

From a slightly different perspective, and this applied to the original western designs also, Forced combustion diesel heaters frequently burn very dirty when they first start up. This can cause soot build up inside the heater, which works against the heater efficiency. Some of the soot and other unburnt by product do burn off as the heater get close to it maximum working temperature, however if a heater is prematurely shut down by a thermostat before it has reached optimum working temperature this can lead up to a build up of adverse residues in th e burner chamber which should be periodically cleaned in accordance with manufacturers instructions. Failure to clean, will impair the heaters efficiency, It can become noisier in operation, and its exhaust will become smellier and smokier.

For example using a 5kW heater where you only need a 2kW one could be come problematical.

Is that legal ? and you would need to know where to buy red diesel from . Interesting point though and food for thought.

It is perfectly legal if you can find a red diesel seller, I must be kept in a separate tank that cannot be used for motive power. THe red dye used in the dutyfree fuel is very pervasive, and traces can be detected at very low contamination rates so never used any red diesel or old containers of red diesel to top up you traction tank There are severe penalties if the you are found to have used red diesel on a road going vehicle.

 

[otherclive]

A marina or farmers outlet generally sell red diesel but as said above it must be in a separate non propulsion tank.