Diesel heater

[clairelou75]

Hi I am looking at where I could install my diesel heater , where have others put theirs

 

[Two on Tour]

I installed mine externally under our MH as there was no viable space in our MH.

 

[Wildbill]

Behind the trum heater in the wardrobe hole thrught the floor

 

[GMLS]

Have a look at Travel Trolls and John and Mandy on Youtube. Both have fitted or have had fitted heaters recently so you'll see where.

 

[Revolvor]

Ours is fitted externally under the floor at the back of the van.

 

[dunnah01]

Fitted ours behind a drawer under the fridge/freezer. Left a small bit of plinth under the draw off to allow air in to the heater area and ducted it out of the cabinet side panel. Inlet/exhaust go through floor to outside

 

[Swifter]

Have a look at Travel Trolls and John and Mandy on Youtube. Both have fitted or have had fitted heaters recently so you'll see where.

I would strongly advise avoiding any installation tips from either of these YouTube channels . Gadget John is bodger and you should only follow his so called “installation videos “ , if you want to know how NOT to do something !
No offence but the OP can obtain much better advice here , there is a wealth of knowledge, far more superior knowledge than the 2 YouTube clowns above could ever offer .

 

[DBK]

Ours is at the bottom of the wardrobe with a removable panel above it.

Factors to consider is how easy you can run trunking to direct the blown hot air to where it is needed and also the hot water pipes should be as short as possible - so as near to the kitchen and bathroom/shower as possible.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Itsmcb]

I'm considering fitting one in my Fiamma ultrabox. Sounds a bit mad but I would only need it during the winter months as I have a truma blown air heater which is fine for the milder months. I would only fit the box in the winter as I have bikes on the rear during the warmer months. The box has room for the heater and a small fuel tank at the bottom and I could keep ski boots on a shelf above. Great idea or not?

 

[GMLS]

I would strongly advise avoiding any installation tips from either of these YouTube channels . Gadget John is bodger and you should only follow his so called “installation videos “ , if you want to know how NOT to do something !
No offence but the OP can obtain much better advice here , there is a wealth of knowledge, far more superior knowledge than the 2 YouTube clowns above could ever offer .

Agree Dan is a clown which is why he got someone else to do it but I'd be interested to understand what you didn't like about the installation carried out by his mate or Jon's install.
The OP asked about locations and my post was a direct response to that question.

 

[Two on Tour]

Agree Dan is a clown which is why he got someone else to do it but I'd be interested to understand what you didn't like about the installation carried out by his mate or Jon's install.
The OP asked about locations and my post was a direct response to that question.

Good old Gadget John rears his ugly head again. There is no way I would trust anything that guy does.
I take it you have not seen his video on his lithium battery install which was discussed on a Funster thread a year or so ago, that proved that he can be clueless.

Anyway, I have previously watched his heater install video and I'll give you my views on some areas of his install.

Luckily his kit came with the correct fuel line and that fuel line has to be used all the way not just the last part as he suggested unless you use a fuel line of the same internal bore and is not rubber or flexible type like silicon tubing as these will kill the pulse of the fuel dosing pump due to the fuel line expanding and contacting and taking the energy out of the pump pulse. He does not seem to understand that the fuel dosing pump delivers .022ml of fuel per stroke and the pump rate ( 1 stoke @ 1 Hz = 1 stroke per second ) is controlling the amount of fuel delivered to burn so adjusting the heat delivered. He has also fitted the fuel filter the wrong way around for the flow of fuel.

The mounting plate supplied for the heater should be chucked away if you install through the floor of a MH as they are designed to be used on a thin metal skin of a van or lorry.
For a thicker insulated floor as in a MH you should use a metal turret as the photos below and the hole drilled through for it should allow for a 3mm air gap around the ring section that goes through the floor to stop heat transfer from the hot exhaust which is getting towards the wrong side of 500 C as it exits the heater, and does he not realise that aluminum foil is an excellent conductor of heat.

Moving on to his fuel tank. I do not see it as a good idea of hanging 15Kg on a plastic door skin which are usually about 2mm thick. I wonder how long that stays attached after a few bumpy roads and speed humps, and as for his leave the cap loose, did he miss the vent hole and non return valve in the cap. I have had 5 or these Chinese diesel heaters come through my hands and all have have a vented cap. Here's a cap cap from a tank that I did not use for an install.

To prime the fuel for the first firing of the heater, you put it into priming mode which stops automatically after a set period. If the fuel has not reached the heater then you prime again. You watch the fuel as it makes it's way along the fuel line and when it reaches the heater you stop the priming. If you over prime you can flood the heater which will then not start and you have a problem that need not happen.

The gauge and length of the power cable supplied with these Chinese heaters can cause problems with the voltage drop on startup and shut down when the glowplug pulls about 10 amps and was graphically illustrated when he showed the voltage dropping to 11 volt at the heater. If his hab battery was giving a health 12.5 - 12.8 volt, than a hab battery voltage any lower will cause a shutdown on startup as the glowplug does no reach a heat to ignite the fuel. This potential problem can be overcome by replacing the original power cable with 4mm2 on shorter runs or 6mm2 on longer runs.

I noted that he is utilising the existing Truma ducting. The Chinese heater ducting has an internal diameter of 75mm whereas the Truma ducting has an external diameter of 65mm meaning it's internal diameter is nearer 60mm. Using the Truma ducting greatly reduces the cross sectional area from that of the 75mm ducting which is likely to increase the backpressure of the airflow and slowing down the airspeed down the ducting. The heater relies on a certain volume of cool air being drawn across the combustion chamber fins to extract the heat you want from the heater at also to maintain the correct temperature of the combustion chamber casing and reducing the volume of airflow can and will cause overheating of the heater which is likely to cause the heater to shutdown if used at higher heater setting. Adding insulation as he has done only concentrates more heat in the area of the combustion chamber. I don't know the lengths of his Truma ducting in his van, but the recommended overall maximum length of the 75mm to be used is 3 metres, so this will be greatly reduced by going down to 60mm.

 

[Swifter]

Agree Dan is a clown which is why he got someone else to do it but I'd be interested to understand what you didn't like about the installation carried out by his mate or Jon's install.
The OP asked about locations and my post was a direct response to that question.

It would seem Two on Tour has cleared that up with regards to the specifics of the installation.
When it comes to trusting anything Garget John has to say then I always remember Raul comment about the lithium battery installation video . I think it perfectly describes the arrogance of Gadget John .

“If I buy a bike and I don’t know how to ride it , I don’t blame the bike . Moreover I don’t tell the world that the bike manufacturer is bad because I don’t have the skills to ride the bike “ !

I know you are trying to help the Op . I just worry about recommending Gadget John videos to newcomers on the forum as he really can offer some quite frankly dangerous advice .

 

[Northernraider]

Personally id fit it in a sealed waterproof box under the van and pipe in the heat ducts.

 

[GMLS]

I recently fitted one to my classic VW and found this site a useful reference point.

Tried and tested Chinese Diesel heaters

Buying a Chinese Diesel heater can be a bit of a minefield if you have never purchased one before, there are so many different manufacturers, suppliers and designs it can be hard to know where to start. UPDATE - WE HAVE POSTED A NEWER UPDATED VERSION OF THIS POST FOR 2022/2023 PLEASE CHECK IT...

www.vanlifeuksurvivorsguide.co.uk

There is also a good FB page, Chinese diesel heaters UK

 

[Two on Tour]

There is also a good FB page, Chinese diesel heaters UK

I was one of the first half a dozen to join this group when it was setup around this time last year after some of us had had enough of a couple of the other CDH groups that had descended into chaos and infighting, but after a few weeks the group was not keeping to UK members and it too started to go the way of the others, so I left the group.
I hope this FB Chinese diesel heaters UK group has become more informative than confrontational now. Are you a member?

 

[Raul]

Search for ‘John McK 47 ‘ on YouTube, he was my inspiration for my install, and the guy knows them inside out.
As for location, as far as possible of the sleeping area. Ours is at the back near the back doors, we sleep at the front on pull out sofa. The van gets the heat distributed better. We do have a gas propex as well in the middle of the van, under the sink. The heat is not distributed as good as the one blown along the van.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[MartynSuz]

Search for ‘John McK 47 ‘ on YouTube, he was my inspiration for my install, and the guy knows them inside out.
As for location, as far as possible of the sleeping area. Ours is at the back near the back doors, we sleep at the front on pull out sofa. The van gets the heat distributed better. We do have a gas propex as well in the middle of the van, under the sink. The heat is not distributed as good as the one blown along the van.

I 100% second the recommendation of John Mck 47 on YouTube. His 20 videos on these Diesel heaters is very comprehensive. The fuel line description and demonstration and also the depth he goes to to prove the best set up for the exhaust is perfect.

 

[oldiesontour]

I'm considering fitting one in my Fiamma ultrabox. Sounds a bit mad but I would only need it during the winter months as I have a truma blown air heater which is fine for the milder months. I would only fit the box in the winter as I have bikes on the rear during the warmer months. The box has room for the heater and a small fuel tank at the bottom and I could keep ski boots on a shelf above. Great idea or not?

You could buy one of the " self contained ones for ease of installation,look on AliExpress for a range shipped directly from Sunster UK .

 

[MartynSuz]

Disclaimer:This is not for the novice. I might come in for some flack here. I'm a multi disciplined NDT technician and have plumbed in many bathrooms, kitchens various other plumbing projects. (transferrable skills). I've always hated the way the fuel line had to exit the warm location to go under the motorhome and then enter the diesel heater in close proximity to the exhaust pipe so this was the answer for me. Please ask any questions before judging, I have done this to two heaters my running heater and back-up.

 

[Raul]

Why? Easier to sleeve the exhaust.

 

[Two on Tour]

Why? Easier to sleeve the exhaust.

Agree, I used ceramic exhaust wrap from the exit and of the heater.

 

[MartynSuz]

I've had the heater installed in that location for 3 years and had several fuel pipe issues, so always felt there was a better way to deliver the fuel. I'm happier now with seeing 100% of the clean fuel line after the pump. No issues anymore with freezing fuel, my fuel comes from the main tank through the MH and never goes outside. It feels like a better system and it was easy for me to do.

 

[oldiesontour]

Either wrap the exhaust or use a separate inlet but obviously no need for either hundreds of thousands if not millions must be running around the globe with neither, I've read numerous posts of problems with these heaters( usually installer error) but never read of this being a problem

 

[MartynSuz]

"Flack" of some sort duly arrived, as anticipated.

I wasn't looking for approval or advice on any alternative remedies. Just posting something that MAY be of use to somebody.

Next time I won't bother posting, and join the other hundreds of thousands, if not millions of funsters who don't post anything, due to potential negative replies from someone that would rather just knock somebody than look for something positive OR just read it and move on.

For anyone who does find this useful (god forbid) I'm happy to send info and extra photos.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[MartynSuz]

You could buy one of the " self contained ones for ease of installation,look on AliExpress for a range shipped directly from Sunster UK .

Great advice BTW, just 5 years after the original posted question.....

 

[MisterB]

"Flack" of some sort duly arrived, as anticipated.

I wasn't looking for approval or advice on any alternative remedies. Just posting something that MAY be of use to somebody.

Next time I won't bother posting, and join the other hundreds of thousands, if not millions of funsters who don't post anything, due to potential negative replies from someone that would rather just knock somebody than look for something positive OR just read it and move on.

For anyone who does find this useful (god forbid) I'm happy to send info and extra photos.

I don't see any of the comments you've publicly received as 'flack', they're alternatives to your suggestion/adaptation. Similar to the way your comments were made about not wanting to use the turret option.
One thing I found out very early on the forum was that whatever you do, someone will have done it differently, would do it differently or wouldn't do it at all and will quite happily tell you so. That doesn't mean that what you've done is bad/wrong/good/great it's just 'different'.
When someone makes comments on things I've done, I try to consider why they think I should do it (or have done it) differently, have I missed an important point or would it have been much simpler to do as they have suggested. It sort of acts as a checklist and I try not to be so consumed that my way is the only or best way. Other Funsters comments sometime lead to better solutions even on totally different unconnected projects.
What works for you might not work for others and vica versa but an important point is that having considered their comments, you still believe you've done it in a way that suits your circumstances and is perfectly safe.

Keep posting and keep doing things differently and safely!

 

[Raul]

Flack" of some sort duly arrived, as anticipated.

No need for that, I have put a Like on your response post 22, meaning I agree is a nice mod, but there's other ways. We are all different, and do things different, but, certainly learn from each other.
Keep on sharing.

 

[Two on Tour]

"Flack" of some sort duly arrived, as anticipated.

I wasn't looking for approval or advice on any alternative remedies. Just posting something that MAY be of use to somebody.

Next time I won't bother posting, and join the other hundreds of thousands, if not millions of funsters who don't post anything, due to potential negative replies from someone that would rather just knock somebody than look for something positive OR just read it and move on.

For anyone who does find this useful (god forbid) I'm happy to send info and extra photos.

You have a very odd idea of negative comments, when the Funsters that have replied with sensible options, which included my case works very well, having installed several Chinese diesel heaters over the year, in fact I find your wording rather offensive, especially to those of us Funsters that have put ourselves forward to help and advise Funsters with practical knowledge gained from experience.

 

[Two on Tour]

Great advice BTW, just 5 years after the original posted question.....

Hold on, who was it the resurrected the 5 year old thread?

 

[MartynSuz]

Ok, all my toys have been gathered up and placed back in the pram....