Refillable Gas v Diesel

[Ernesto]

Hi
Been doing lots of research and reading .... clearly and understandably, refillable gas has a lot of support vs exchanging cylinders. But I'm surprised using diesel for heating, hot water etc doesn't feature more? Knaus are just one of several manufacturers making a song and dance about their new PVC's this year being fitted with diesel heating as standard and it does appear to have number of benefits ...

- no large cylinders at all (just a small disposable one for cooking)
- only one pump needed at filling station, no LPG squirting over your arms, no searching on app for LPG filling stations
- more space in the back
- more payload available

Are there downsides to diesel? Is retrofitting it a nightmare ?

 

[Boringfrog]

Never had a diesel heater, but when parked next to one with it running it's sounded noisy.

 

[Wildbill]

we have diesel heater fitted and it certainly has made a big difference to our gas use
bill

 

[Reallyretired]

My motorhome has an auxiliary diesel heater fkr the engine and its noisy, sounds like a jet engine. Similarly on my Land rover.

 

[StanandShirley]

Just took delivery of our new Chausson 640 it’s got a Diesel heater having tried it out it works brilliantly and not noisy, had my gas it system fitted so have got the best of both worlds

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[Trixie]

I’ve not got diesel heating, but from what I’ve read it takes a lot out of your batteries on each start up which could cause a problem if not on electric hook up.

 

[canopus]

Diesel, as we now have been informed, is the pariah of all pollutants. So for us it wouldn’t be the heating option of choice. Sat in a van on a cold evening with your diesel heater pushing out toxic fumes under/around your van is not conducive to prolonging your lifespan imo.

 

[Ernesto]

I have read of older models of diesel heaters requiring a big current draw just to get started ...from what I've heard newer models avoid this battery drain. I suspect manufacturers have worked on the noise and fumes as well if they are now fitting them as standard - but its a good point to check never assume anything

 

[jezport]

Had both. The diesel heating is loud and smelly and more likely to require maintenance/repair, prefer the gas

 

[Ivory55]

Diesel, as we now have been informed, is the pariah of all pollutants. So for us it wouldn’t be the heating option of choice. Sat in a van on a cold evening with your diesel heater pushing out toxic fumes under/around your van is not conducive to prolonging your lifespan imo.

Give it a couple of years and gas will have cancer causing problems. Only way to be sure is use nothing at all.

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[Guigsy]

The argument for gas was that you need it to run a fridge... The least convenient part of a gas system is storing the fuel. If you have to do that for the fridge, you may as well use it for cooking and heating.

Now compressor fridges are smaller and more efficient and solar is about, it's possible to run the fridge from electric (although you still need quite a lot of panel). Diesel heating has got better.

But you've still got to cook. You'll go through camping cylinders of gas pretty quickly. And filling with LPG isn't that hard.

 

[Lenny HB]

The thing that would bother me is running out of fuel on a cold evening. With gas we always have a spare cylinder to swap too. With diesel once the level in the tank gets below the heater pick up point you have no heating.
It would make more sense if they fitted a separate tank for the heating with a secondary take off on the main tank.

 

[Minxy]

We've had diesel heating and gas, much prefer gas as it's quieter and requires no servicing etc which diesel ones do.

As for using disposable canisters for cooking ... that's totally nuts ... I can't think of a more expensive type of gas supply to use!

Fridges - well yes the all-electric ones are better than when they first came out but they are by no means perfect and need a lot of power to keep them going especially in winter when not on sites (even in southern Spain!). We have one and if I could go back to a gas one I would in a heart beat.

As diesel is now shunned in favour of petrol or electric we may see a resurgence of petrol vehicles being converted to LPG so the availability of gas refilling points may increase. Also LPG is cheaper than petrol so those doing long distances could easily recoup the initial outlay of the conversion.

Knaus are obviously pushing the supposed 'benefits' for owners however the real beneficiaries are Knaus as they don't have to do so much work to install stuff!

 

[DMartin]

Not quite gas vs diesel but, diesel ONLY ....

Our fairly new T6 has diesel heater and diesel hob (Webasto & Wallas). Perfect. Other advantages: no gas bottle required - risks removed and storage space recovered. No problems with foreign bottles or filling mechanisms. Is great for us - YMMV.

 

[CazPaul]

I would have an Eberspacher diesel heater, ours(2005) cycled constantly on and off and also took loads of power to start it, had to fir 3 leisure batteries but still not enough.
That why Murvi changed from Eberspacher to Webasto around 2009, as Webasto use much less power.

I prefer gas heating in a motorhome, the Alde is great but don't forget all new houses being built from 2025 will not be on the gas grid either as gas boilers are responsible for a lot of pollution too.

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[Peppadog]

I have re-fillable lpg in the mh but diesel on the boat. pump Lpg is loads cheaper than diesel, but takes up space unless in underfloor tanks. Wallas make possibly the best and quietest heaters and their diesel hobs and ovens are brilliant and completely room sealed. But I found the hob takes a while to get up to a usable heat and are not as adjustable as gas hobs. This is all great on a boat where any residual gas, being heavier than air, falls to floor level and can never get out, with the associated risk of explosion.
Fitted boat fridges are nearly always 12/24v compressor models, often chest type. I had a compressor fridge in my last mh, a vw camper van, for 15 years without fault. The 3 way unit in my mh works fine but smells of exhaust when the wind is in the wrong direction!
I might add either a Webasto or Wallas diesel heater to the mh as a back up, or just save the money and keep the 850w electric radiator I have now.
The emmisions element is minor. Most of the polution an mh emits is driving along the road.