I thought the soft line was bad because it kinked so easily, and because the pulses were so small that in large runs it would mess up the amount of fuel. Glad this video cleared all of this up!
Thanks again for a great diesel video. I just installed my diesel heater with the Bobil hot water system in my camper van build. Haven't ran it yet but super excited. Your videos have been invaluable! 👍
I've used the soft pipe for several installations now, admittedly, I run it in flexi conduit for mechanical/outdoor protection, but its so much easier to handle and works well with the outboard boat engine fuel primer bulbs that make bleeding a breeze. Biggest problem seen using original equipment is the short rubber joining pieces crumble. Another great video.
Hellooooow from America another great video and I agree to use the hard nylon fuel line and not the soft pvc line even if it came with your heater because pvc is not designed for use with fuel. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and ideas with us keep up the good work and stay safe
Mine came with soft tubing and it developed a leak within a year. On removal I found hairline cracks in the line just after the fuel pump so fuel was just being pumped out onto the floor. Replaced with hard line and so far so good.
@@andrewradford6267 Thanks for a quick answer! I’ve used the green soft one for 6 months but just found out there was a leak.. Should have listened to the recommendations I guess. Will go for the braided diesel fuel hose instead! Cheers
First off, thank you David for all the info you have shared about these heaters. I have learned a ton from you! Here is a bit that you might might find helpful. I have searched far and wide for a soft fuel hose that is actually top quality. It turns out that Tygon fuel line is in common use in small engines, but unfortunately the 4mm size required for these heaters is not a common small engine size. The only manufacturer of this hose in 4mm that I could find is Du-Bro. Du-Bro makes hose for the hobby small engine world. Du-Bro "extra large Tygon fuel line" is 4mm! Top quality stuff, easy to route, thicker wall, semi-clear, yellow color. Great product! FYI I'm in the USA.
When it comes to these fuel lines, what are we measuring for? Inside diameter...or outside diameter? I picked up my diesel heater last year and I heard that the factory fuel line is terrible. Thank you if you're able to get back to me. USA here as well
@@dannywilliams6643 It is the inside that matters with the soft line. I don't think the factory line is terrible, but it is certainly not great. I've been very careful to heat shield it, etc. The Du-Bro line can withstand higher heat
yes from most of the youtubers that said the bigger diameter hose(green tube lets more air bubbles in.) I dont think there was any question if there as a temp deferrization.
Oops I Double Wrapped My Exhaust Pipe & I Still Wish There Was M I re Space But It Seams To Be Ok/ just fine but if There is A better Way I'll Change it But it Is A LITTLE Heater So There You Are
I just replaced the soft green fuel line with the smaller rigid line because I would get Error 8 constantly and no heat. When inspected , the Green soft line had - easiest way to describe it would be- Crystalised and became brittle with holes where it had deteriorated the most. Found this in 3 or 4 places along the line.
I'm going to use regular fuel line from the auto parts store. It's time tested, weathers for decades and I think cheap is why we have the two options currently provided.
The soft is PVC. It will cloud over time and breakdown quicker. The hard is nylon and diesel has no effect long term. 5:30... To take the spring out ..soak in hot water and place whiles soft
wonder if one of those pumps would work for a torpedo heater, possibly with the dampener.... would be nice opt out of using the graphite pump that comes on most; best alternative I've seen so far was needle valve and a compressor:P
Would it be possible for you to do a video about checking the fuel pump when it's not attached to a heater. I've got a planar that I'm trying to get going ......
Brilliant videos, thank you. Can I ask where you got your exhaust wrap from please and would that surfice for use in a car going through a existing hole in the floor pan. Also, would you recommend mounting the 'all in one heater' on a metal plate, then into the car (Landrover Discovery\0, many thanks, Greg
Hi,im a bit confused as im using a hcalory hc ao1 and would like to change the cheap green soft fuel line shown in video but it measures 4mm inner dimensions and 6mm outer dimension and the upgrade kit hard nylon is only 2mm inner dimension does this matter..?thanks
Hey man. I was thinking about doing the same thing. Still working good? It is impossible to find the plastic line in town, but I know my way around a parts store. Tell me about it :)
I know the soft will break once the temps start to get colder, around 0 and below. What about copper pipe from fuel tank to heater. Rubber hose to connect them. Can the pipe be little bigger? Thoughts?
i just bought some hard nylon fuel line ,as my soft nylon fuel started springing pin hole leaks . which is strange lol never had an issue before ,the soft nylon line is about 9 months old . i,ve never seen soft nylon fuel pipe do this ,tiny pin holes . awwh well i,ll fit the harder stuff ,which seems to be exactly the same as the pipe coming out of my hobby mig welder for the gas .
Excellent question. The inside burn chamber is made from steel, sometimes even stainless steel and it can experience and withstand temperatures in the 1000ºC to 1500ºC range. By the time the flame has reached the surface of the aluminium body it is much cooler. Add to that the fact you are actively cooling the aluminium the whole time the heater is running, it just can't get hot enough to melt. Now if the fan were to stop cooling there is a chance you could soften the aluminium body. But the ECU is most likely to have melted long before that became an issue.
I would be interested to see a tough test for the pump - I never doubted the output would be the same. Instead of this setup: Mount the pump with negative head below the diesel heater. Connect 4.4 meters rigid tube & flexible tube. Check how much harder the pump has to work for the flexible tube; my prediction is that the pump has to work much, much less for the rigid tube, and as a result can handle much higher negative heads.
Hi Dave. I have been using the hard nylon fuel line on my diesel heater, but I'm finding a problem with the black 'rubber' bits that go between the hard nylon and other fittings. They seem to deteriorate and crack over time (within a little bit more then a year). When this happens the pumps negative pressure tends to suck in air at the joints. Did you have the same problem? And do you have a solution or better option for it? I think that ideally a fatter hard nylon fuel line that slides on to the heater fittings directly would be better, but i can't find any.
The hardness of the fuel line isn't an issue. The mouse resistance is. I'd recommend stainless steel braid jacketed line or steel. Brake line is pretty cheap and reasonably flexible. At least in the smaller diameters. :)
A friend of mine used brake line for his pick-up tube out of his fuel tank, he went through two pumps because the diesel reacted with the copper in the brake line and gummed them up with some green goop. Diesel can react with copper and gel, blocking lines and pumps.
@@1990notch I just used Tygon tubing on mine, expensive but I've not had any problems with it, single length from pump to heater the full length of my van (VW Transporter)
@@1990notchto easy to pop these this open an check it out. One length of tubing could have many years of supply. Check it out pre season or at the end of the current season. Stick some new pieces in. Not sure why everyone is looking to change these things
Both are tubing and are made to a standard. They are measured outside diameter first. Hose is measured Inside Diameter first, both have the same i.d. but the nylon has a thinner wall making it look smaller.
Hello I keep getting e08 error pumps working pumping deisel can you tell me please what else to look for was working fine it's relatively new heater I've used rubber deisel fuel line from tank to the heater
Interesting as always, not unexpected result (for me anyway), but where on earth do you buy 4.4 metres (14’ 5”) of hose - or do you buy 5M and use a bit on a previous project?
I'm glad someone noticed. I bought 4 meters, assuming they sent me 4 meters. I had pulled out the hard line and soft side by side and cut the hard to match, then I wondered what length I actually had. Measured 4.4m, thought fuck it, and went with it. :)
Hi, great video. I have seen everywhere that the hard line is recommended. One questions that I have. Could the volume of fuel that needs to be moved in the "big line" vs the "thin hard line" have an impact on the longevity of the fuel pump? The fuel dose is the same, but the volume that needs to be force is much bigger in the "thicker line". Thanks!
The hard line is the best choice. It's more temperature resistant, UV resistant, impact resistant, etc. If anything the hard line has a smaller bore which means the pump has to push slightly harder. But we are using relatively short lengths, if it was 100s of meters I'd be more concerned.
Having trouble with fuel line (soft green). Could you please give me the diameter of the hard fuel line also the fittings which I would need I need to replace the green line 12:41
Hey David, sorry for posting on a old video but just seen this and my all in one heater has the soft fuel pipe from the pump to the heater, had it for 3 months without any fuel related problems but after seeing this I wondering if I should change it? am I right in thinking the pipe from the pump to the tank is fine with the soft pipe? thanks David 🙏👍 John.
Tank to pump should be fine as it's away from the heat, but I'd be tempted to change the pump to heater with the hard line just for the temperature resistance being so close to the exhaust.
Ok thanks for the reply David, I got an inline filter kit that came with 2m of the hard line and black rubber joiners and clips so I'll change it asap, hope this helps @Spyker Aileron as well 👍
I’m using the supplied cheaper floppy dtuff on my heater(s). As you state, it makes not a jot of difference to operation of the heater. People try to make up reasons for their preferences, that is all. Just like some keep insisting that these heaters can be any power up to 8kW which, while not true, still abounds as a conspiracy theory - believed by those that don’t have a clue. My heater is supplied with fuel from the pump along in excess of 3m of brake pipe, terminating in a short length of the floppy tubing which basically attaches the metal line to the heater. The single advantage, as I see it, is that the floppy pipe is only connecting the pump to the metal fuel line and the metal fuel line to the heater directly, not needing any other pipe to connect - like the smaller diameter hard nylon. If I were not using the metal line it would mean just two hose clips, not four, as in your first demonstration. The floppy will actually slide over the the metal and hardly need any further fixings (but they are used, of course). I have melted the fuel pipe, while testing, before now - but it would have done the same with the hard nylon as the pipes came into contact with the exhaust.🙁 So, I’m in total agreement - only need to use the hard nylon where mechanical strength is required, not for any other operational reason while running the heater. The extra connection pipes, required with the hard nylon tube, negate any advantages over the floppy stuff if the lines are sensibly secured clear of the exhaust.
Yes, so much very yes. I think the only other disadvantage the soft pipe is resistance to UV. Not a huge problem under a camper but perhaps now with more people using them to heat sheds etc, exposure might happen more often. Good use of the brake pipe. Ultimate heat resistance and very high mechanical strength compared to the plastic.
@@DavidMcLuckie Oops, forgot the in-line fuel filter, which required two more hose clips. 🙂 But that would be another two pieces of thicker pipe and four clips, with the hard nylon pipe. The extra pieces of pipe would take up yet more space. For shed use, the fuel tank would always be arranged below the filter, pump and heater, with a dip tube fitted in the top of the tank (not a risky connection at the bottom) - so less risk of losing 10 litres of fuel in the event of leakage. Unsurprisingly, I had to make my own dip-tube because (although clearly shown in the advert) it was missing from the kit. They are cheap for a very good reason.🙂
I'm changing mine to automotive fuel line. I'm feed up with sorting fuel lines the soft stuff starts cracking and the rigid line always seems to also make the rubber line to join it seems to crack just won't it connected up and not have to worry about it for a few years
My diesel heater which I use everyday for about six hour has started to just shut down. No error code. I restarted it and it shut down. Before that happened the blue controller started to malfunction after I set time it would change by itself. I don’t know if it’s the blue controller or board
Hello David, I’m just waiting on delivery of my diesel heater. Planning to use with my roof top tent. Would you have any experience/advice on ducting - I think I’m looking at about 3m in total Thanks Perry
My heater came with the hard nylon hose. However, it is very small inner diameter and is impossible to fit onto the tank, pump and filter fittings. Am I missing something?
Hi Could I ask you about the power set up please - is that a standard battery charger - powering the battery - powering the heater ?/ if so what is the amp rating of the battery charger ?? I am looking to do the same set up - incase of a power cut - so the heater can shut down off of the battery - thank you for making the videos
I was led to believe the soft line broke down with age and deteriorated from the inside passing particles into the heater as well as the pump. You need an age test.
David, are you running the 12v battery with a charger attached at the same time? If that is possible i would love to run mine like that to ensure if i have a power outage i won't freeze...
Yes. Sometimes the 'smart' chargers don't like it as they see the current draw from the heater as a fault and stop charging. But the 'dumb' chargers don't care.
@@DavidMcLuckie brilliant David, any issues running straight kerosene through your units? A few snippets out there saying it doesnt lubricate the pump? Was thinking of doing a 50/50 mix
I've had replies from people who have only ever run kerosene and have pumps last 10 years. I've also had new pumps fail in the first few hours on diesel. So most likely the quality of the pump determines how long it lives, that and filtering any tiny solids out.
@@DavidMcLuckie i am thinking 50/50 to be safe. I am very remote in a chilly town on the edge of dartmoor and we get a lot of power outages so need some reliability to the system! Thanks for your time David 👍👍👍
@@DavidMcLuckie Correctamundo ! I run my home heater using a 40 Ah battery and a 5 Amp dumb charger. When the glow plug comes on the charger provides 5 Amps and the battery provides the rest. During normal running the charger keeps the battery sweet. A note about lead-acid batteries. Amp hour ratings are a cheat. At 100% discharge the voltage is 10.5 which shortens the battery life. I always rate batteries at half the Ah printed on them. I have had batteries last 5 to 10 years by never letting the voltage drop below 12 Volts in resting state.
As one of those that inquired about your use of flexible line (but not the one who said you should only use the hard line), I thank you, David, for busting that particular myth about pulses. However, could you clarify a couple of points from your video; 1 Is the flexible line you use actually fuel rated. You state that the hard line is, but don't mention whether the soft one is or not. 2 Is the hard line that, which is supplied with these heaters, in particular the CDHs. I can't say that I have ever seen a hard line supplied with a CDH that have had any specifications printed on the line. I don't believe that the flexible green line supplied with some CDH is fuel rated, however, I also know that the hard line supplied with others is not fuel rated.
@@DavidMcLuckie Thank you, again, for your clarification. A true gentleman, who's videos are always worth watching. For future reference for those who may actually read these comments, fuel lines, that are rated as such, must also meet certain other criteria for that rating, such as a level of abrasive resistance, deformation from pressure or vacuum, deformation from bending, and heat, to name a few. If your flexible fuel line deforms, and/or is easy to pull off the inlet nipple at the heater, due to the heat, than it would probably pay to use a fuel line of a higher heat rating (something in 400F range, maybe). Anyways, again, a great vid that I hope you don't mind me sharing the link to.
Soft yellow it's expensive well worth it. Hard pipe cracks and got ice crystals on rubber section causing other connections to pull in air bubbles shutting down randomly.
I’ve got my fuel line all connected from tank to heater with filter before the pump. The filter doesn’t totally fill with fuel is this normal and after the pump it just seems to pump air with small drops of fuel getting through, any idea why that would be.
Does your heater work though? Some people like to prefill the filter so it's more full and less likely to draw in air bubble. If the outlet pipe from the fuel pump runs downhill towards the heater it won't fill with diesel. My heater on the test bench has the fuel pipe doing that and it runs just fine.
It fired up on Sunday then went into error which I think was due to drawing air above the pump. I think from the pump the line goes up then dips back down before a slight incline into the heater. I’ll try and reposition the pump so the fuel line is more straight up into the heater
@@DavidMcLuckie thanks. I’ve ordered new piping and will try with out the filter. When I tried it last night the fan kicked in on the heater but the fuel pump didn’t and not sure if it was because the shirt length from the pump to the heater was full of air but no matter how much you prime it that but never fills with fuel
I think the reason why we don't use the softline type is because after one or two years of hydrocarbon in contact with it, it will harden and eventually after a few more years it can crackle and break.
@@offshoretomorrow3346that’s all ya need. Replace before each cold season. People are spending so much up grading these cheap things entire new ones can be had for what there putting in them
I haven't watched the video yet, but people are silly and make all sorts of assumptions based on what they think they know, and then share those thoughts with the world, as fact... People assume that because these are diesel heaters they have some sort of diesel injector or they require a pressurized system. The fascinating thing is that they continue to have this belief even after taking the heaters apart and seeing that they clearly do NOT have injectors and the only reason why they have a pump is to meter fuel ... it has nothing to do with atomizing or mist or whatever nonsense they believe. I tend to go down the CZcams rabbit hole when I get interested in a new thing, lathes, milling machines, welders, plasma cutters, fibreglass repair etc, and with everything, you get a whole bunch of people who just make videos following the latest trends... they talk like they know stuff, but most of them have just watched another YT video OR read the info on the packaging ... This info then gets repeated but more and more youtubers like them, and becomes the YT truth... All of that to say that, I think out of all of the rabbit holes that I have gone down, this one is filled with the most BS, haha. PS. Love the videos, David. On point, factual and well done 👍
How can I give this more likes. I've got a viewer who runs his heater on a gravity drip feed. That is about the least amount of pressure you can use, still runs. So all this hard line for the pulse is absolute nonsense.
@@DavidMcLuckie you know someone using these chinese heaters, and they dont use the fuel pump..and only use gravity to feed the combustion chamber, and it works properly ?
I always doubted a small run of the softer tubing would really make any difference between it and the hard more expensive stuff in relation to the pressure question alone. I think some Diesel Heater purists just like to sound off with their supposed "knowlege" 🙂 If I was using in a van or a boat I might put the stronger tubing in because it probably lasts a bit longer especially with the heat near the exhaust but for home or shed use it is six of one and half a dozen of the other and the softer stuff is easier to work with.
Fuel line should be crushproof. My heater is plumbed into the fuel tank on my boat. The journey to the heater is circuitous and difficult to inspect without major time and effort. Ten years and going strong.
Would the soft tube work ,as well as the more rigid one, to pull fuel for a longer distance than you had it set up? I’m thinking of an example when the diesel tank is say 4m away from the pump, so the pump would be pulling the fuel rather than pushing it. Great video, cheers!!
Depends on fuel quality and how much suction there is from the pump. The soft tube would get sucked flat if you for example use palm oil as fuel in your diesel engine.
I remember seeing another video with someone testing these outside with the soft stuff. As you'd imagine, the UV stability was pretty bad too. It costs next to nothing for some conduit for the line when used on vehicles, think it's worth using that and the hard stuff where applicable.
Soft versus hard then is absolute bollocks.. apart from heat sensitivity. Rubber hose it is then Just bought one and changed the rubber to plastic hose all to 100% rubber. Good heaters that have cheapness built in
Hard line all the time, has to be copper pipe on boats apart from the last bit which uses short bit f rubber hose, that soft pipe supplied with the heaters is just crap.
soft line screws with pressure- especially in variable temperatures- dont thinks so? hook 15 feet on a lp tank --- it wont be long before it messes with your flame volume
The probe is long and goes all the way into the core of the burn chamber. The burn chamber is steel and is glowing red/orange hot when running so 1000ºC isn't a problem for steel.
A gas stove can be over 1000 C, people use aluminium pans on those. The reason aluminium does not melt is because the aluminium dissipates the heat quickly.
@@DavidMcLuckie Sorry ! but I mean the BS about the puls ect ..and that the green one is fine.. I always advise people on or FBpage 'Chinese Diesel vehicle air heaters......' to get the small id ridgit one.
I was sold a 2kw shit heater and have gathered the strength to adjust the settings again after a false start with this 5-8 heater, the 2kw came with a tiny dial box with a push button in the dial. So one settingxD my luck aye. Today I realized my fuel pump started going out aswell as an air leak cracked rubber hose. So the two issues solved each others problems with a mess but it heated me. When I realized this I spent the entire day fighting E-05 overheat. The pump was filthy with debris and over aerating the fuel. My final settings for a small jeep cabin with solar and fridge and big dick energy hehe all my seats lay down to form a kingmattress in my car. I say all I ripped out the back seats and laid out plywood bed. Pop up sunroof Shenz eBay fan with a pwm controller and jeep bar knobs sandwhiching a 340w black panel. Im invisible basically I live where I want. My settings are 0.9 1500 (with air leaky fuel pump) high of 3.8/4000 again the missing .2 is made up by the leak in pump. Waiting for pump to clear itself of fuck off to hell haha just joking I love you ebaspacher dometic and jeep!
I thought the soft line was bad because it kinked so easily, and because the pulses were so small that in large runs it would mess up the amount of fuel. Glad this video cleared all of this up!
Thanks again for a great diesel video. I just installed my diesel heater with the Bobil hot water system in my camper van build. Haven't ran it yet but super excited. Your videos have been invaluable! 👍
David humour is bang on and a well put video. I thought it was grrrrreat. Keep goin.
I've used the soft pipe for several installations now, admittedly, I run it in flexi conduit for mechanical/outdoor protection, but its so much easier to handle and works well with the outboard boat engine fuel primer bulbs that make bleeding a breeze. Biggest problem seen using original equipment is the short rubber joining pieces crumble. Another great video.
Hellooooow from America another great video and I agree to use the hard nylon fuel line and not the soft pvc line even if it came with your heater because pvc is not designed for use with fuel. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and ideas with us keep up the good work and stay safe
Oooo was waiting for this one! Watching now :)
Mine came with soft tubing and it developed a leak within a year. On removal I found hairline cracks in the line just after the fuel pump so fuel was just being pumped out onto the floor. Replaced with hard line and so far so good.
Great helpful videos
Well this answers my question about bubbles in a line that offers a place for bubbles.
I use braided diesel fuel hose. Thanks very much for testing it. :) Was a good idea for a video.
What inner size do you use?
5mm inner diameter but if you wanted a tighter fit I'm sure 4mm would do that. I added a small fuel filter before the pump also.
@@andrewradford6267 Thanks for a quick answer! I’ve used the green soft one for 6 months but just found out there was a leak.. Should have listened to the recommendations I guess.
Will go for the braided diesel fuel hose instead! Cheers
First off, thank you David for all the info you have shared about these heaters. I have learned a ton from you! Here is a bit that you might might find helpful. I have searched far and wide for a soft fuel hose that is actually top quality. It turns out that Tygon fuel line is in common use in small engines, but unfortunately the 4mm size required for these heaters is not a common small engine size. The only manufacturer of this hose in 4mm that I could find is Du-Bro. Du-Bro makes hose for the hobby small engine world. Du-Bro "extra large Tygon fuel line" is 4mm! Top quality stuff, easy to route, thicker wall, semi-clear, yellow color. Great product! FYI I'm in the USA.
When it comes to these fuel lines, what are we measuring for? Inside diameter...or outside diameter? I picked up my diesel heater last year and I heard that the factory fuel line is terrible. Thank you if you're able to get back to me. USA here as well
@@dannywilliams6643 It is the inside that matters with the soft line. I don't think the factory line is terrible, but it is certainly not great. I've been very careful to heat shield it, etc. The Du-Bro line can withstand higher heat
Jessie would like you to say "rigid" more often. It does something to her whizzbanger I think.
I had problems with the air bubbles and soft tubing that the pump wasn't able to overcome, never had a problem with the hard tubing
yes from most of the youtubers that said the bigger diameter hose(green tube lets more air bubbles in.) I dont think there was any question if there as a temp deferrization.
This is the reason why LAVANER Pro keep providing the solid fuel line. 😃
I Use the Hard Line Myself but Thanks For Showing That & ya I Double Wrapped My Ixzost
Oops I Double Wrapped My Exhaust Pipe & I Still Wish There Was M I re Space But It Seams To Be Ok/ just fine but if There is A better Way I'll Change it But it Is A LITTLE Heater So There You Are
It worked out nice using the hard first. Higher temps in the day made the soft tubing look like a winner.
Keep doing the "HELLOOO"😜
I just replaced the soft green fuel line with the smaller rigid line because I would get Error 8 constantly and no heat. When inspected , the Green soft line had - easiest way to describe it would be- Crystalised and became brittle with holes where it had deteriorated the most. Found this in 3 or 4 places along the line.
The stuff is outrageously unsuitable for the job. USELESS.
I'm going to use regular fuel line from the auto parts store. It's time tested, weathers for decades and I think cheap is why we have the two options currently provided.
What diameter did you use?
The soft is PVC. It will cloud over time and breakdown quicker. The hard is nylon and diesel has no effect long term. 5:30... To take the spring out ..soak in hot water and place whiles soft
wonder if one of those pumps would work for a torpedo heater, possibly with the dampener.... would be nice opt out of using the graphite pump that comes on most; best alternative I've seen so far was needle valve and a compressor:P
Great vids man 👍
Can u show us how to unpin the wires on connector on the controller?
Would it be possible for you to do a video about checking the fuel pump when it's not attached to a heater. I've got a planar that I'm trying to get going ......
Brilliant videos, thank you. Can I ask where you got your exhaust wrap from please and would that surfice for use in a car going through a existing hole in the floor pan. Also, would you recommend mounting the 'all in one heater' on a metal plate, then into the car (Landrover Discovery\0, many thanks, Greg
Ild like to find some to. I’m sure eBay has it. An I’ve seen it in some industry settings. Just not sure what it’s called
Hi,im a bit confused as im using a hcalory hc ao1 and would like to change the cheap green soft fuel line shown in video but it measures 4mm inner dimensions and 6mm outer dimension and the upgrade kit hard nylon is only 2mm inner dimension does this matter..?thanks
I have always used 5mm auto fuel hose which is rubber composite and never had any problems even though it has a wider bore.
Hey man. I was thinking about doing the same thing. Still working good? It is impossible to find the plastic line in town, but I know my way around a parts store. Tell me about it :)
Yeah I've used the soft line with no problem for two years
What about split conduit covering of lines ?
What size fuel line should i buy? I get the option of 1/4 and 5/15 diameter when I look on Amazon.
I know the soft will break once the temps start to get colder, around 0 and below. What about copper pipe from fuel tank to heater. Rubber hose to connect them. Can the pipe be little bigger? Thoughts?
i just bought some hard nylon fuel line ,as my soft nylon fuel started springing pin hole leaks . which is strange lol never had an issue before ,the soft nylon line is about 9 months old . i,ve never seen soft nylon fuel pipe do this ,tiny pin holes . awwh well i,ll fit the harder stuff ,which seems to be exactly the same as the pipe coming out of my hobby mig welder for the gas .
What is the inside and outside diameter of the tubing?
Hi love the videos, I'd like to ask why does a diesel heater combustion chamber not melt at over 660 degrees C as it's made from aluminium?
Excellent question. The inside burn chamber is made from steel, sometimes even stainless steel and it can experience and withstand temperatures in the 1000ºC to 1500ºC range. By the time the flame has reached the surface of the aluminium body it is much cooler. Add to that the fact you are actively cooling the aluminium the whole time the heater is running, it just can't get hot enough to melt. Now if the fan were to stop cooling there is a chance you could soften the aluminium body. But the ECU is most likely to have melted long before that became an issue.
I would be interested to see a tough test for the pump - I never doubted the output would be the same.
Instead of this setup:
Mount the pump with negative head below the diesel heater.
Connect 4.4 meters rigid tube & flexible tube.
Check how much harder the pump has to work for the flexible tube; my prediction is that the pump has to work much, much less for the rigid tube, and as a result can handle much higher negative heads.
Good point!
Hi Dave. I have been using the hard nylon fuel line on my diesel heater, but I'm finding a problem with the black 'rubber' bits that go between the hard nylon and other fittings. They seem to deteriorate and crack over time (within a little bit more then a year). When this happens the pumps negative pressure tends to suck in air at the joints. Did you have the same problem? And do you have a solution or better option for it? I think that ideally a fatter hard nylon fuel line that slides on to the heater fittings directly would be better, but i can't find any.
The hardness of the fuel line isn't an issue. The mouse resistance is. I'd recommend stainless steel braid jacketed line or steel. Brake line is pretty cheap and reasonably flexible. At least in the smaller diameters. :)
A friend of mine used brake line for his pick-up tube out of his fuel tank, he went through two pumps because the diesel reacted with the copper in the brake line and gummed them up with some green goop. Diesel can react with copper and gel, blocking lines and pumps.
@@thegrimreaper7777 Stainless tubing would probably be better if you can find it and bend/flare it.
@@1990notch I just used Tygon tubing on mine, expensive but I've not had any problems with it, single length from pump to heater the full length of my van (VW Transporter)
This a issue will line is full of gas?
@@1990notchto easy to pop these this open an check it out. One length of tubing could have many years of supply. Check it out pre season or at the end of the current season. Stick some new pieces in. Not sure why everyone is looking to change these things
Great video as always David. Have you ever thought about the inner diameter of the pipe making a difference?
Both are tubing and are made to a standard. They are measured outside diameter first. Hose is measured Inside Diameter first, both have the same i.d. but the nylon has a thinner wall making it look smaller.
It can definitely tolerate a bigger inner diameter.
Hello I keep getting e08 error pumps working pumping deisel can you tell me please what else to look for was working fine it's relatively new heater I've used rubber deisel fuel line from tank to the heater
what diameter is the white hard fuel hose. to fit my cheap Chinese heater...thanks
At least I find subtitles handy...😂
Interesting as always, not unexpected result (for me anyway), but where on earth do you buy 4.4 metres (14’ 5”) of hose - or do you buy 5M and use a bit on a previous project?
I'm glad someone noticed. I bought 4 meters, assuming they sent me 4 meters. I had pulled out the hard line and soft side by side and cut the hard to match, then I wondered what length I actually had. Measured 4.4m, thought fuck it, and went with it. :)
Hi, great video. I have seen everywhere that the hard line is recommended. One questions that I have. Could the volume of fuel that needs to be moved in the "big line" vs the "thin hard line" have an impact on the longevity of the fuel pump? The fuel dose is the same, but the volume that needs to be force is much bigger in the "thicker line".
Thanks!
The hard line is the best choice. It's more temperature resistant, UV resistant, impact resistant, etc. If anything the hard line has a smaller bore which means the pump has to push slightly harder. But we are using relatively short lengths, if it was 100s of meters I'd be more concerned.
Having trouble with fuel line (soft green). Could you please give me the diameter of the hard fuel line also the fittings which I would need
I need to replace the green line
12:41
Can you run these heaters on regular household heating oil? Keep up the good work I have learned a lot from your videos
Yes you can. I run mine on heating oil only.
Heating oil is usually cheaper, has anti sludge admixture
Hey David, sorry for posting on a old video but just seen this and my all in one heater has the soft fuel pipe from the pump to the heater, had it for 3 months without any fuel related problems but after seeing this I wondering if I should change it? am I right in thinking the pipe from the pump to the tank is fine with the soft pipe? thanks David 🙏👍 John.
Tank to pump should be fine as it's away from the heat, but I'd be tempted to change the pump to heater with the hard line just for the temperature resistance being so close to the exhaust.
Ok thanks for the reply David, I got an inline filter kit that came with 2m of the hard line and black rubber joiners and clips so I'll change it asap, hope this helps @Spyker Aileron as well 👍
I’m using the supplied cheaper floppy dtuff on my heater(s). As you state, it makes not a jot of difference to operation of the heater. People try to make up reasons for their preferences, that is all. Just like some keep insisting that these heaters can be any power up to 8kW which, while not true, still abounds as a conspiracy theory - believed by those that don’t have a clue.
My heater is supplied with fuel from the pump along in excess of 3m of brake pipe, terminating in a short length of the floppy tubing which basically attaches the metal line to the heater.
The single advantage, as I see it, is that the floppy pipe is only connecting the pump to the metal fuel line and the metal fuel line to the heater directly, not needing any other pipe to connect - like the smaller diameter hard nylon. If I were not using the metal line it would mean just two hose clips, not four, as in your first demonstration. The floppy will actually slide over the the metal and hardly need any further fixings (but they are used, of course).
I have melted the fuel pipe, while testing, before now - but it would have done the same with the hard nylon as the pipes came into contact with the exhaust.🙁
So, I’m in total agreement - only need to use the hard nylon where mechanical strength is required, not for any other operational reason while running the heater. The extra connection pipes, required with the hard nylon tube, negate any advantages over the floppy stuff if the lines are sensibly secured clear of the exhaust.
Yes, so much very yes. I think the only other disadvantage the soft pipe is resistance to UV. Not a huge problem under a camper but perhaps now with more people using them to heat sheds etc, exposure might happen more often.
Good use of the brake pipe. Ultimate heat resistance and very high mechanical strength compared to the plastic.
@@DavidMcLuckie Oops, forgot the in-line fuel filter, which required two more hose clips. 🙂 But that would be another two pieces of thicker pipe and four clips, with the hard nylon pipe. The extra pieces of pipe would take up yet more space. For shed use, the fuel tank would always be arranged below the filter, pump and heater, with a dip tube fitted in the top of the tank (not a risky connection at the bottom) - so less risk of losing 10 litres of fuel in the event of leakage. Unsurprisingly, I had to make my own dip-tube because (although clearly shown in the advert) it was missing from the kit. They are cheap for a very good reason.🙂
Best is neoprene 1/4 fuel line. Rigid enuf, fuel resistant
I'm changing mine to automotive fuel line. I'm feed up with sorting fuel lines the soft stuff starts cracking and the rigid line always seems to also make the rubber line to join it seems to crack just won't it connected up and not have to worry about it for a few years
If the id is to big you may get cavitation air bubbles building up to air pockets.causing E08
What id is best to connect directly to heater
The soft line is probably vinyl instead of nylon, and will shrink and harden with age from exposure to fuel
Just like my strimmer. And it was a real pain in the ass to change the pipe on. :)
Soft squishy stuff. Aye, very technical. Now describe the technicalities of Haggis, please. ;)
My diesel heater which I use everyday for about six hour has started to just shut down. No error code. I restarted it and it shut down. Before that happened the blue controller started to malfunction after I set time it would change by itself. I don’t know if it’s the blue
controller or board
Hello David, I’m just waiting on delivery of my diesel heater. Planning to use with my roof top tent. Would you have any experience/advice on ducting - I think I’m looking at about 3m in total
Thanks Perry
I know in theory there will be a maximum length. But it depends on bends, joins, height changes, etc.
My heater came with the hard nylon hose. However, it is very small inner diameter and is impossible to fit onto the tank, pump and filter fittings. Am I missing something?
There should be black rubber pipe that the hard nylon line fits inside, then you slide the rubber fuel line over the pump nipple etc.
Hi Could I ask you about the power set up please - is that a standard battery charger - powering the battery - powering the heater ?/ if so what is the amp rating of the battery charger ?? I am looking to do the same set up - incase of a power cut - so the heater can shut down off of the battery - thank you for making the videos
Yes. I'd for for at least a 5A charger.
@@DavidMcLuckie Thank you for the reply that is great - just getting started with my first heater - so still finding my feet - thank you
Does the fuel tank need to be above the pump or can the pump draw fuel from a lower mounted tank?
The pump will suck fuel from a lower tank.
yay soft = air line :)
My soft line has a massive kink in it where it enters into the burner. I’m sure that can’t be helping matters
I was just wondering if the pump noise was less with the softer hose. Or is that a stupid question.👍
Not really no.
I was led to believe the soft line broke down with age and deteriorated from the inside passing particles into the heater as well as the pump. You need an age test.
I will say I did have to replace the green line on my gas weed trimmer for this reason, It was 17 years old though...
i still like hard over soft. ??
David, are you running the 12v battery with a charger attached at the same time? If that is possible i would love to run mine like that to ensure if i have a power outage i won't freeze...
Yes. Sometimes the 'smart' chargers don't like it as they see the current draw from the heater as a fault and stop charging. But the 'dumb' chargers don't care.
@@DavidMcLuckie brilliant David, any issues running straight kerosene through your units? A few snippets out there saying it doesnt lubricate the pump? Was thinking of doing a 50/50 mix
I've had replies from people who have only ever run kerosene and have pumps last 10 years. I've also had new pumps fail in the first few hours on diesel. So most likely the quality of the pump determines how long it lives, that and filtering any tiny solids out.
@@DavidMcLuckie i am thinking 50/50 to be safe. I am very remote in a chilly town on the edge of dartmoor and we get a lot of power outages so need some reliability to the system! Thanks for your time David 👍👍👍
@@DavidMcLuckie Correctamundo ! I run my home heater using a 40 Ah battery and a 5 Amp dumb charger. When the glow plug comes on the charger provides 5 Amps and the battery provides the rest. During normal running the charger keeps the battery sweet.
A note about lead-acid batteries. Amp hour ratings are a cheat. At 100% discharge the voltage is 10.5 which shortens the battery life. I always rate batteries at half the Ah printed on them. I have had batteries last 5 to 10 years by never letting the voltage drop below 12 Volts in resting state.
As one of those that inquired about your use of flexible line (but not the one who said you should only use the hard line), I thank you, David, for busting that particular myth about pulses. However, could you clarify a couple of points from your video;
1 Is the flexible line you use actually fuel rated. You state that the hard line is, but don't mention whether the soft one is or not.
2 Is the hard line that, which is supplied with these heaters, in particular the CDHs. I can't say that I have ever seen a hard line supplied with a CDH that have had any specifications printed on the line.
I don't believe that the flexible green line supplied with some CDH is fuel rated, however, I also know that the hard line supplied with others is not fuel rated.
The flexible line I bought was sold as fuel line. That's about as much as I know to its suitability. Same for the hard line. It came with a heater.
@@DavidMcLuckie Thank you, again, for your clarification. A true gentleman, who's videos are always worth watching. For future reference for those who may actually read these comments, fuel lines, that are rated as such, must also meet certain other criteria for that rating, such as a level of abrasive resistance, deformation from pressure or vacuum, deformation from bending, and heat, to name a few.
If your flexible fuel line deforms, and/or is easy to pull off the inlet nipple at the heater, due to the heat, than it would probably pay to use a fuel line of a higher heat rating (something in 400F range, maybe).
Anyways, again, a great vid that I hope you don't mind me sharing the link to.
Soft yellow it's expensive well worth it. Hard pipe cracks and got ice crystals on rubber section causing other connections to pull in air bubbles shutting down randomly.
I’ve got my fuel line all connected from tank to heater with filter before the pump. The filter doesn’t totally fill with fuel is this normal and after the pump it just seems to pump air with small drops of fuel getting through, any idea why that would be.
Does your heater work though?
Some people like to prefill the filter so it's more full and less likely to draw in air bubble. If the outlet pipe from the fuel pump runs downhill towards the heater it won't fill with diesel. My heater on the test bench has the fuel pipe doing that and it runs just fine.
It fired up on Sunday then went into error which I think was due to drawing air above the pump. I think from the pump the line goes up then dips back down before a slight incline into the heater. I’ll try and reposition the pump so the fuel line is more straight up into the heater
I tend not to bother fitting the filter. I've found they give more problems than they prevent.
@@DavidMcLuckie thanks. I’ve ordered new piping and will try with out the filter. When I tried it last night the fan kicked in on the heater but the fuel pump didn’t and not sure if it was because the shirt length from the pump to the heater was full of air but no matter how much you prime it that but never fills with fuel
Does the green line have problems
From age and UV exposure yes.
I think the reason why we don't use the softline type is because after one or two years of hydrocarbon in contact with it, it will harden and eventually after a few more years it can crackle and break.
It will die after a few months.
@@offshoretomorrow3346that’s all ya need. Replace before each cold season. People are spending so much up grading these cheap things entire new ones can be had for what there putting in them
I haven't watched the video yet, but people are silly and make all sorts of assumptions based on what they think they know, and then share those thoughts with the world, as fact... People assume that because these are diesel heaters they have some sort of diesel injector or they require a pressurized system. The fascinating thing is that they continue to have this belief even after taking the heaters apart and seeing that they clearly do NOT have injectors and the only reason why they have a pump is to meter fuel ... it has nothing to do with atomizing or mist or whatever nonsense they believe.
I tend to go down the CZcams rabbit hole when I get interested in a new thing, lathes, milling machines, welders, plasma cutters, fibreglass repair etc, and with everything, you get a whole bunch of people who just make videos following the latest trends... they talk like they know stuff, but most of them have just watched another YT video OR read the info on the packaging ... This info then gets repeated but more and more youtubers like them, and becomes the YT truth... All of that to say that, I think out of all of the rabbit holes that I have gone down, this one is filled with the most BS, haha.
PS. Love the videos, David. On point, factual and well done 👍
How can I give this more likes. I've got a viewer who runs his heater on a gravity drip feed. That is about the least amount of pressure you can use, still runs. So all this hard line for the pulse is absolute nonsense.
@@DavidMcLuckie you know someone using these chinese heaters, and they dont use the fuel pump..and only use gravity to feed the combustion chamber, and it works properly ?
I always doubted a small run of the softer tubing would really make any difference between it and the hard more expensive stuff in relation to the pressure question alone. I think some Diesel Heater purists just like to sound off with their supposed "knowlege" 🙂 If I was using in a van or a boat I might put the stronger tubing in because it probably lasts a bit longer especially with the heat near the exhaust but for home or shed use it is six of one and half a dozen of the other and the softer stuff is easier to work with.
Fuel line should be crushproof. My heater is plumbed into the fuel tank on my boat. The journey to the heater is circuitous and difficult to inspect without major time and effort. Ten years and going strong.
Are you sure your k type is working properly??
Which one?
Would the soft tube work
Would the soft tube work ,as well as the more rigid one, to pull fuel for a longer distance than you had it set up? I’m thinking of an example when the diesel tank is say 4m away from the pump, so the pump would be pulling the fuel rather than pushing it. Great video, cheers!!
On the suction side of the pump I'd try and use as big a fuel pipe as you can so the pump doesn't have to work as hard.
Depends on fuel quality and how much suction there is from the pump. The soft tube would get sucked flat if you for example use palm oil as fuel in your diesel engine.
I remember seeing another video with someone testing these outside with the soft stuff. As you'd imagine, the UV stability was pretty bad too.
It costs next to nothing for some conduit for the line when used on vehicles, think it's worth using that and the hard stuff where applicable.
UV stability, another excellent reason to use the hard line.
Soft Nylon?
Vinyl, PVC? It's one of the plastics.
Soft versus hard then is absolute bollocks.. apart from heat sensitivity.
Rubber hose it is then
Just bought one and changed the rubber to plastic hose all to 100% rubber.
Good heaters that have cheapness built in
Gotta love the BS ideas the internet comes up with, I use copper fuel pipe and rubber connectors, more expensive but just works.
; )
Hard line all the time, has to be copper pipe on boats apart from the last bit which uses short bit f rubber hose, that soft pipe supplied with the heaters is just crap.
soft line screws with pressure- especially in variable temperatures- dont thinks so? hook 15 feet on a lp tank --- it wont be long before it messes with your flame volume
your temp meter is off. How can that be ? alu would melt.
The probe is long and goes all the way into the core of the burn chamber. The burn chamber is steel and is glowing red/orange hot when running so 1000ºC isn't a problem for steel.
I guess people just don't like kinky stuff... :P
I like what you did there.
cannot be 1000 C aluminium melts less than 1000.
Aluminuum mets at 660C
A gas stove can be over 1000 C, people use aluminium pans on those. The reason aluminium does not melt is because the aluminium dissipates the heat quickly.
copper fuel line
rubber fuel line for joins
is king.
The real reason to use the ridgid small id hose is to avoid airpockets . the rest is BS.
So the rigid line doesn't have a greater temperature range, abrasion resistance, pest resistance? That's all bull shit is it?
@@DavidMcLuckie Sorry ! but I mean the BS about the puls ect ..and that the green one is fine.. I always advise people on or FBpage 'Chinese Diesel vehicle air heaters......' to get the small id ridgit one.
Wrong tests for the wrong reasons IMO.
So what would be the right test for the right reasons?
I was sold a 2kw shit heater and have gathered the strength to adjust the settings again after a false start with this 5-8 heater, the 2kw came with a tiny dial box with a push button in the dial. So one settingxD my luck aye.
Today I realized my fuel pump started going out aswell as an air leak cracked rubber hose. So the two issues solved each others problems with a mess but it heated me. When I realized this I spent the entire day fighting E-05 overheat. The pump was filthy with debris and over aerating the fuel. My final settings for a small jeep cabin with solar and fridge and big dick energy hehe all my seats lay down to form a kingmattress in my car. I say all I ripped out the back seats and laid out plywood bed. Pop up sunroof Shenz eBay fan with a pwm controller and jeep bar knobs sandwhiching a 340w black panel. Im invisible basically I live where I want. My settings are 0.9 1500 (with air leaky fuel pump) high of 3.8/4000 again the missing .2 is made up by the leak in pump. Waiting for pump to clear itself of fuck off to hell haha just joking I love you ebaspacher dometic and jeep!