Just HYPE or cold camping GAME-CHANGER? 1+ Year Diesel Heater Review
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- čas přidán 25. 01. 2023
- Are diesel heaters just a bunch of hype? Or, will they keep you toasty while camping in the frigid wilderness? Here's our detailed review after over a year of trials and tribulations... along with some tips to keep yours in tip-top shape!
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from article "22 diesel heater installation notes" - When diesel burns, a small amount of water vapor is produced, which may condense on the exhaust pipe walls, forming droplets. Although this is just a tiny amount, the water droplets will accumulate inside the exhaust pipe if the exhaust port faces upwards.
At low temperatures, the water will freeze, reducing the diameter of the exhaust pipe, and affecting the combustion performance of the diesel heaters.
Lastly, the entire exhaust pipe should be slightly tilted downward. That will allow the water droplets to flow out of the diesel heaters through the exhaust pipe.
might help the problems you are having
Very true, it should be exactly down the pipe. I extended it and the outlet remained at the upper point and what you said happened, the pipe was clogged with water and carbon....
I came here to see if anyone else commented on that! The instructions i got with my heater explicitly say to run the exhaust sideways or down, never up!
Definitely worth it… i have one i installed on my semi truck right now thats tied into my main tanks… when other truckers have their engines running, mine runs all day long and its a lot more quiet than running the truck… i only idle the truck when it gets below 20 and thats only to prevent the fuel lines to the motor to gel up…
Have the same unit and never had any problems whether at sea level or at altitude. Its permanently mounted on the roofrack. I did shore up anything I thought was suspect and made a sheet metal enclosure slightly bigger than the unit and put a sliding hatch to close off the heat exit during transport. I did wrap the exhaust pipe and monitor with temp gun. There is a company that makes a small radiator to make hot water with the diesel heater while still providing heat. As far as safety goes yes there is a risk but these units operate inside 1000s of RVs, van builds and garages all over the world every day without issue. Just stay diligent and always have a approved fire extinguisher within reach.
Happy to say that my Planar heater that I built up 3 years ago is doing very well. Starts up with little fanfare and runs well at most altitudes up to about 9500' of elevation.. Only a bit of fuel smell at start up and after that it runs odor free (air output line) with minimal exhaust fumes for the remainder of the operation. Packed it all in an old Pelican case that was collecting dust and its been a nice asset particularly when fire burn restrictions have been put into place.
I've just purchased one of these ,I wrapped the exhaust pipe as well. I also painted the exhaust wrap with VHT Flameproof paint which helps with the fibers the heat ,and protects from the elements.. looking forward to the following videos on this heater 👍
I have two ofthese heaters one on the boat I live on and one on my sail Boat. The one on my house boat is great for those evenings when it go cold or the early mornings. The one on my sail boat is for those nights at sea early in the season. But for full time heating I will have the wood fire every time.
Nailed it 🙌. I installed one of these in my shop and used another one for camping. I've made every mistake you listed here, lol. Diesel spilling out of the vented cap, thinking the plastic smell would go away eventually, running it out of fuel completely... all of them. Once I understood how the unit worked and what not to do, both units have been completely reliable. In the shop, they are amazing, but I'm still deciding if I want to keep using one camping 🤷♂️. It's just another piece of gear to deal with, you know?
I bit the bullet and bought a Propex 2211. Sure it was expensive but since it uses propane, there is no need for diesel. My Propex starts and restarts when the temp get three degrees below the therostst setting. Love it! Noissues!
I really want to build one of those as well 👍
Excellent insight Kevin. Looking forward to the breakdown video.
Yes. I froze in my motorhome until i got one fitted. Now I sweat on the lowest setting in WINTER!
Literally just got mine today and was playing with it. Agree with funky smell. I think it’ll be a game changer for the wife and kids thougb
Mine is built into my small trailer. 1 of the biggest failures is the heat sensor and glow plug. Replace them with Korean made Kyocera brand, and I agree on the exhaust, if it's vertical like that moisture will built up I the bottom of the exhaust pipe, remedy by drilling a small hole so moisture can escape. They definitely are a game changer for off season camping, nice hot dry air
Good call on getting some quality spares. As to moisture we haven't had any buildup at all. What climate are you in?
I've been running a propex in several builds now and my latest is a diesel truck. I had to make a hard decision as it would have made complete sense to just tap into my truck's tank. But after much thought I stuck with the propex due to my long established history with a (mostly) worry free system and that carrying a larger propane source I could use the items you mentioned - (fire pit, external cook stove, etc. Like anything you do get use to the cycles and the sounds to allow you to sleep peacefully. I've learned that putting the propex down in a corner and covering it with cabinetry or gear storage bins muffles it and now in my latest build it's barely audible. In fact, sometimes I wake up at night and wonder if it's still working and have to wait and listen for cycle to hear it. I just can't convince myself to deal with diesel, pumps, carbon build up and maintenance. I'm a install it and forget it type of guy!
Heck I had so many issues with our Espar, I junked it and have been running a Chinese one ever since. I’m not looking back either. Thanks for the video.❤
As usual, another great honest informative video. I opted to buy an expensive unit and put it in a harbor freight box. Had it a year now, and it has been boring , boring, boring. Turn it on and just works. No smell, no clogging up. Hopefully, it stays that way. It will be many years before I can say it was a good purchase versus the Chinese version. Thank you for your CZcams content. I watch every episode.
Glad you enjoyed it! And we appreciate you watching!
A Wolfpack is a perfect enclosure for one of these. Sturdy, easy to store unit parts and accessories. We have one as a backup for our Dickerson heater when we went to the arctic. Thankfully we never needed it. But peace of mind!!
Always love your videos. This is very helpful, but a couple of clarifications. 1) CO (carbon monoxide) detector, not CO2. 2) Your video shows the end of the exhaust pipe facing up. It should point downward for condensation to drain out. Muffler also has a small drain port for condensation to drain. Thank you Kevin for your awesome videos and helpful information!
As a truck driver who has had many webasto heaters without issues that's what I went with for my imported hiace van. Just tapped right into the vehicle tank and with the smart controller with thermostat I couldn't be happier. I know not everyone had a thousand bucks for one but if you do I think it's way worth the money for the piece of mind alone.
Probably will get one of the good ones eventually 👍
We have an Eberspacher fitted under the floor of our VW T5 yes it was expensive but is super quiet and sips diesel and doesn’t cane the leisure battery either, it’s been a game changer for year round camping for us.
Oh,absolutely. If I had the $ I 100% would've bought webasto, but instead I spent $100 on a vevor 2kw. Been using that in a 15ft camper for 3yrs. Using it right now in 21f weather...thankfully it still works well. I don't have the issues others do (step one, don't get the all in one, get the kit), i installed it properly, and read up on every single instance of a fire being caused by this...and there is one verifiable story and it was user error. I noticed the weep hole in the exhaust (and thus would never install the exhaust straight up). I ran my intake air and my exhaust two seperate directions and have no "weird smells" coming inside. And occassionaly run it on pure kerosene to burn the carbon out of it.
After seeing this video I agree. I’ll be saving up for a Webasto.
I love my diesel heater. Built my own aluminum box with false floor and connectors for power and corded remote as the unit is an old style. Only have a few hundred bucks in it. Mine is the original German design: Eberspacher. I have used down to 20 F. The biggest plus for me is that it dries out the tent as delivers dry heated air. No clammyness!
The dry tent effect is AWESOME! Plus it dries clothes in there too
Hey, great video. Check the base gasket that came with it. It's rubber, gets hot and stinks. Thats where your continuous odour is likely coming from. Its the rubber gasket the combustion air and exhaust exit from. Find yourself a good Webasto silicone gasket.
Had a VW with a heater like this. Of course, build in and petrol instead of diesel. Worked really well when it worked.
Great video!! This was very informative. Thanks from Australia 👍
I had a 1960 Corvair that had a heater that burned gas.
Thanks for always sharing the knowledge.
I purchase one and the tick sounds was very minimal. I have been running this on my rear tire step and it has been working great. I have ran mine for about 300 hours and not have any issues. There is a little carbine but clean it.
Honestly I was incredibly impressed by the one my brother bought for my shed, the only problem we had with it was caused by us (feeding it a blend of used engine oil and diesel)
I will say that mine has produced no funky smells and that's with me having replaced the gasket with some high temp silicone.
Are you filtering the used oil?
@@OofsmagerooWe hadn't been filtering the used oil, we very much knew this was a bad idea but rigging up a filtering system seemed like more effort than it was worth.
Especially after David McLuckie has a video on filtering it, which ultimately caused the same problem I had.
Thanks for this! I've been researching these heaters. I live in the south and like snow shovels, we don't use diesel heaters very much.
What a great informative video…. No gimmicky crap ! Thank you for this 👍🍻🇨🇦
Finally a channel explaining everything to know about the Chinese diesel heaters. Thanks
This video is a God sent! Thanks a lot, brother!
Thank you. I may do one of those box builds
Great video, best one yet... thank you so much.
Currently my solution for cold nights camping is a 12v electric blanket combined with a 625wh battery it will run for 8 hours solid. That 625wh battery is nice but I'm going to upgrade to a 1500wh so recharging every day is less critical. I really hate diesel fumes, they give me an instant headache so I stay as far away from diesel as I can get.
I don't blame ya at all. Though, it's nice having a warm tent to change in.
Heated blanket inside my 0° bag is the best sleep ever for me!
Would you mind sharing which one you use? I'm on the market and there's so much stuff said about those blankets it's hard to decide for a good one.
@@DunnickFayuro I can't seem to find it on Amazon, it has been a couple years since I bought it. It's a one person blanket measures 42x60 inch and has no controller just a plug in with about a 5 foot cord. I got this one because I don't like most controllers as they shut down after a timer runs out and I prefer it stay on until I unplug it and it draws 57 watts(just measured it).
@@stevej7139 Thanks. Maybe if you give me the name I could search it elsewhere.
I’ve been trying to find a good one to use without breaking the bank and you may just have me sold on this one!
So I did a vevor 5kw unit built into a weatherproof hard case. Ive done three, one for me and two for friends. Zero issues reported and one friend burns kerosene to keep it cleaner.
I will say one thing about the plastic/chemical smell is check your hose. It took three hoses and finally found a 4 layer hose that didnt smell. Completely remedied the smell and we now have probably 30 smell free hours on it
I've been suspecting that hose itself... Do you have a link to the one you use?
Glad I’m not the only one who’s getting the constant funk smell! It seemed to dissipate over the year but it’s still there for me. The rest of the fam doesn’t seem to be bothered by it.
Thanks for you Excellent overview.
Need that video on the controller! I am always tinkering with mine. I think I have it set pretty well. Besides low voltage codes on start up sometimes. Which is irritating when your battery’s are full charge.
Great info, Subscribed! I've been wheeling and camping most of my life and always avoided winter camping, because I hate the cold. Last fall I took delivery of a Pop up camper shell. This winter was my first time camping in the cold. Let me tell you, between the condensation and the ice, that aluminum and canvas topper gets cold!!! I've been using an electric blanket to stay nice and cozy, but that doesn't help me when I get out of bed. I will be insulating the camper, but want an actual heat source. One of my friends uses a diesel heat and another has a Propex. I really don't want to permanently mount it. Thank you for being honest with the review and sharing what you have learned. Have you considered using kerosene? It's a cleaner burning fuel, just less BTU's.
Cut that flex hose in half, add a collar to the fresh air intake, attach half that host to the supply and half to the return (fresh air) run both hoses to your the tent, treat it like a forced air furnace at home.
Nice little review.
Somehow I love watching videos on this chinese diesel heater. To me, this chinese diesel heater is a warm love!
Just found your channel. Good job. I will say, you've convinced me to spend a little more and get a better heater. Wow, those little things aren't good.
absolutely worth the caveats!
I bought one of these about a year ago and have come to the conclusion that if you intend to run like a diesel/waste oil blend thru it, get ready to clean the inside at least once a month.
However, the exchanger unit is fairly easy to take apart and clean, needs only 3 tools.
Pro Tip: use "cold use" oven cleaner, the kind that you spray on/wipe off. Takes all the carbon right out and ur back in business.
The 1965 corvair also had a heater in the trunk.
Nice!!! Thanks for awesome info!
Any time!
Mine emitted a funky smell after I put on the header wrap. The first wrap was a cheap Amazon wrap that smoked for a long time as some chemical burned off. I re-wrapped it with a more expensive header wrap from an auto parts store that still stunk for a while but not as bad, and eventually stopped.
Even the best exhaust wrap stinks the first time it sees heat.
I built my heater with an Espar d2 into a knockoff pelican case with an external fuel tank.
I highly recommend running another hose from the tent to the heater fresh air to recycle the pre-heated air. It'll help prevent dust build-up on the blower motor assembly and it won't have to work as hard.
I service both espar and webasto heaters a lot in my line of work.
I live in Southcentral Alaska… very cold and high humidity. Would recycling the air cause excess condensation?
@@jK-yj2tl it's very dry air it wouldn't produce any moisture.
Why not get some more of that dryer hose for the intake side? You could run it up to your tent as well to recirculate the air which means it would be not having to heat cold air, or you could run the open end way away from the unit and it’s exhaust.. then would just have to make a sealed connection where the current intake is at the units shell..
Just a thought.
Nice heater, compact, puts out good heat.
Ive ran a generator with an electric heater and my skykamp mini stays nice and toasty. Maybe not the most efficient but it works.
Keven, thank you for this video. I was pretty much sold on them but I am now after watching this one. :) One thing though, I could not find the other video that walks you through the maintenance of the unit that you had clis of towards the end. Am I missing something?
I live in the UK and drive and old school LR Defender which are world famous for having absolute rubbish heaters. I mounted one of the small units in a 20mm ammo can which is my center console/armrest. The hot air blasts directly onto and angled trans tunnel and bounces up to the windscreen keeping the inside fog off. It has completely changed driving an old Defender! My toes are now actually warm. But I only run it when I'm driving in cold or wet weather...oh, wait a sec, I forgot this is England and its that way most of the time ;-) Anyway, I think I'll pull it back out and give it a disassembly and thorough check. Cheers from over here!
I love listening to the fuel pump while I sleep!
For me I’ll stick with my Mr. Heater in my Alu-Cab Canopy. I don’t run it while sleeping and I make sure there’s plenty of ventilation.
Thanks for The Best Informative Review I have seen so far. Thanks for tips. Wondering if shorter dryer hose to tent would make for more efficiency; as in more BTU of heat per gallon of fuel reaching your tent? Likely not a huge factor, but wonder what a test might reveal.
I found that dryer sheet or a "filter fresh" in the hose cures the smell.
Good idea!
Thanks for your honest opinions and insight as always. I might have missed it but what's the highest elevation you've run that unit at?
I believe in the 10k range a few times. Mostly 6-9k
@@LifestyleOverland thanks for that info! Higher than I expected
you can run these on kerosene to clean them out, we learned this in a college class with these types of heaters for boats, love the video
The control on the front is the thermostat, if you use it often, cut and extend the wires so you can keep the screen inside the tent. It will regulate the heat and be way more efficient.
And the carbon build up is because it gets shut off and on so much, running it all night will keep that from happening. Just pulled ours apart after about 2k hours and absolutely no carbon build up inside.
Yep, I covered that here. It's been great without a thermostat too.
The carbon buildup is from incorrectly tuned combustion. Dial that altitude in and it'll run clean as a whistle 👍
I don’t know how old this is but I had to reseal the burn chamber to stop diesel smell. I had the funky plastic smell and realized the dryer hose has plastic coating you can’t tell it’s there . I got a flex line with no plastic seal and it went away
Great video. What do you do to protect the unit against the elements?
iv got one in my house and befor you use it take all covers off and snug up all the bolts screws inside push all pipes on all the way mine where on about 2 mm good job i looked rap the filler neck with paper towels when filling so you dont get drips running down and going in inside other than that thes are v good
I bought one for my shop. wish me luck!
Hahaha! Enjoy!
I put mine in a 40mm ammo can works great!
If someone can avoid a hard 90 degree bend on the exhaust i highly suggest it, have 2 of these heaters and a hard 90 restricts flow in the exhuast heating that bend bad causing risk of fires, burnt my wood stand because of its while out ice fishing. My other heater has a less bend still making a 90 degree angle but over a few inches and it gets hot but not near as hot as a hard 90 degree bend . 2nd year for ice fishing heater 3rd year on one i use to heat my porch in the winter unter months
I have the 8 amp one in my old sprinter and after 2 years the only problem is i had to replace the glow plug once , i had it set at 3 amps and that is why it died , since then no carbon and no problems
Do Not Cut the power to turn it off , YOU MUST LET IT POWER DOWN AND SHUT OFF ON ITS OWN, if you run it properly you will not have carbon build up
Hey Kevin, we are about to take our trip starting in May and have never been able to get the diesel heater to work right at altitude. We've made due, however we need it this trip. Are you close to posting the other video about how to make it work in altitude? If not, can you share some tips? Thank you in advance.
Great review. I have 2. A 2kw installed in my VW camper van and a 5kw mounted in an ammo box with dryer hose extensions to a rooftop tent on my RAV4 much like your setup. Totally agree!! game changer. No problems in 4+ years. Sips fuel and amps so very economical heat source. Cheers from E. Tennessee. R.
The exhaust should be pointed downward the silencer had a tiny hole in it to drain the water condensation and it will cause back pressure
I'm lucky I guess, several years on my Vevor and not one problem.
Thanks for sharing😎👍
You bet
Is there a video on the settings?
What do you think about fire blankets? They are inexpensive and easily stowed...
been using a webasto on my third winter im my trailer im living in. i have been toasty down to -15 F.
Great to read it heats well at those temps. We have -25 to -30 not uncommonly .
I wonder if the units with the automatic altitude controller will have less carbon buildup.
Seems like a lot of risks to save a few houndred bucks. Nice job weighing the risks and benefits.
I took my diesel heater to go over night ice fishing and it was -35/ windy the heater fail was not blowing hot enough to heat the popup ice house. I had to bring out the big buddy heater to back it up sad must’ve been just to cold and windy for the diesel heater to keep up with the heating? Idk
Do you carry a backup heat source just in case?
Did you ever make the video about the elevation and piming?
Is that particular model you have water proof enough as is? or does it need mounting in a water tight container ?
I just got one to run outside my van. What do you cover yours up with in the rain? I am just using a tarp for now. Very helpfull video, thanks.
Since my controller fell off I just put a ziplock over it since that's the only sensitive part.
@@LifestyleOverland Interesting. I have been covering mine with a trash bag when not in use at camp. I found a cheap plastic cooler on walmarts website mine should fit inside. I can cut ports for intake and exhaust and the heater hose. Later, when i get a cargo rack, i can mount the cooler there and secure it against theft. Thanks for your reply and the information.
if these are installed correctly there is no smell ever unless a gasket goes. you are getting the smell because your air intake is pulling in exhaust here and there with the wind. the unit is supposed to pull air from the cabin you are in, heat it and dump it back. you are heating outside air that is mixing with exhaust and putting it inside which also makes the fan work harder shortening its life and drawing more current unless you have a window open as you are creating positive pressure. when heating inside air you do not make any pressure. i have used these as a main heating source in my boat and they work great with proper installation and tuning along with cleaning here and there but only last around 2yrs before cleaning and rebuilding no longer work and you just need to buy a new unit for whatever reason i have yet to discover. also diesel is a very safe heat source, prob one of the safest, the hazard as you said comes from the exhaust line and if done properly you will have no issues. can even reclaim more heat from them if you get creative.
I heard someone say you shouldnt angle the exhaust upwards at all cause it can build up and catch condensation in there... no issues with that?
Diesel is actually not near as flammable as gas because its flash point is so much higher (if you throw a match in a bucket of diesel it will go out) I wouldn't be worried about these burning down anything. CO poisoning from improper routed exhaust seems more of a concern to me.
I hear ya on those points but I've also seen some review photos on Amazon of these cheap ones burning down. Rather be on gaurd 👍
Do you have the ikamper insulation for your skycamp? Have you tried camping on cold weather with only the insulation and no heating source? I was just wondering it the insulation is good enough.
Thanks
I bought a vevor and the fuel pump was bad right off the start. I cant find a replacement, vevor cant help????
Another pro is that you can buy OFF ROAD diesel anywhere it's sold for greater savings
Cherry flavor 🤣
I have no choice but to have the diesel heater inside my Van. I make 90k a year but I cannot afford a place within 1 hours commute of my Seattle job so I live in the Van during the workweek and come back to my country condo on the weekend. I guess I could afford a dumpy apartment near work if I spent every penny on rent but I really don't want to live paycheck to paycheck paying alot for a place thats not that good that I'm not getting any equity on. Because I'm camping in the city I must be stealthy and can't have anything outside of my Van. I'm going to put it in a fireproof case, make sure there is no flammable material nearby and I have a carbon monoxide detector and fire extinguisher but it still makes me alittle nervous.
Is it possible to run another heat hose from the intake side of the heater to your tent to "circulate" the warm air, rather than having to heat cold air, making it even more efficient and effective?
Yes, that would be ideal. The only concern would be recirculating carbon monoxide so make sure you use an alarm.
the only thing i think you did wrong is that you directed the exhaust upward, that thing will build up condensation and render it to function improperly. other than that your set up is awsome. we have the same unit
We hear this often but have never had any moisture build up.
If you buy a heater with the tuneable ecu and controller and tune it properly you will never have to clean it out.I've had mine 4 years and its clean as a whistle.
Install a fuel filter after the pump that will take away the cavitation
Awesome
I'm sure somebody's already posted you need the exhaust so that it drains the condensation out so it has to be lower then the unit there is a pin hole in the muffler to let it drain
We hear this all the time but haven't had any moisture issues.
I built mine in a harbor freight case and have an external exhaust with weep hole at lowest point. Never had a moisture drip. That exhaust is so hot I don't see how any water could survive in the exhaust. I have at least a hundred hours of running so far.
@@LifestyleOverland Ah ,you narrowbacks never believe us lineman lol.
😂 usually it's the linemen who don't care about instructions 👍
@@LifestyleOverland as long as we have a big hammer and a set of Klines! On a side note my Tremor is finally built and will be switching over my X1 too it. Can't wait to retire and go on some epic adventures. Thanks to your great content it really motivates me!
Had one in a Beetle in the 60's. It wood cook you out of the car in minutes.
My lfbros heater has been the polar opposite.
Doesn't Lithium batteies fail when it gets too cold? Not sure what the solution there would be when it's like -25C outside
A self heating lithium smart battery .
The HARDEST part to find on the internet is how the hell do you power it?!
Reddit says power banks dont work, and the ones they say do work nobody reccomends a specific model. The other half of the poeople have them in the garage so they just plug them in. I don't knwo what to do!
I've heard this too but our home built power box does an awesome job: lso.link/beastpower