Diesel heaters

[JohnJohnJohn]

Hello!

 

I was watching a guy kit out a ford transit and I'm thinking of installing a small c.5kW diesel heater similar to this one below.

 

I wondered if anyone has done this with this style of heater and had any tips relating to electricity usage, pump/fan noise, linking to main diesel tank vs. Adding a smaller tank etc.

 

Maybe barking up wrong tree, but this seems better than loading up the fire before bed!

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/295906383076?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=hntfutu6rvy&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=se8lt2pesp2&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[MtB]

1 minute ago, JohnJohnJohn said:

Hello!

 

I was watching a guy kit out a ford transit and I'm thinking of installing a small c.5kW diesel heater similar to this one below.

 

I wondered if anyone has done this with this style of heater and had any tips relating to electricity usage, pump/fan noise, linking to main diesel tank vs. Adding a smaller tank etc.

 

Maybe barking up wrong tree, but this seems better than loading up the fire before bed!

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/295906383076?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=hntfutu6rvy&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=se8lt2pesp2&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

There are quite a few threads on here already covering these heaters in a lot of detail. Have a search.

 

I'd take issue that they are better than a stove though. For a start they draw 2 or 3 Amps when running and over long periods, you have to generate and put that back into your batteries. Unlike with a solid fuel stove.

 

Their Achilles heel is the exhaust system. It's leaky and designed for outside use under a van. 

 

 

[LadyG]

Welcome to the site, there are lots of answers, and yes diesel heaters on a boat are a thi g.

There will be lots of info if you use the search function, top right.

I have a solid fuel stove and a Webasto with radiators which provides a boost, it is noisy and uses electricity as well as diesel.

My stove has a back boiler to bathroom radiator and to calorfier

Edited September 6, 2023 by LadyG

[JohnJohnJohn]

Thank you guys, I'll try searching!

[jonathanA]

worth reading the BSS guidance on these heaters too.  

bss-interim-position-on-diesel-appliance-fuel-supply-arrangements-dec-2021-final-v10-modified-on-211208 (1).pdf

[cheesegas]

They are really good. I have a slightly more expensive LF Bros 5kw diesel air heater, installed into the engine bay under the cruiser stern deck, sucking in fresh air from outside and blowing it into the back of the boat.

 

I typically use it in autumn and spring to take the chill off the mornings and evenings - mornings when if you lit the stove, you'd be nice and warm by 9am but sweating by midday! It's also useful if you've been away from the boat for a couple of days, it's freezing in the boat and you want heat instantly while you light the stove. Or if you'll only be on the boat for a few hours and don't want to waste coal and time with the stove.

 

I also use it if I'm cooking with the stove not lit on a cool evening, to get rid of the damp and condensation. 

 

On the lowest setting (1.4kw output) it draws 800mA/0.8a and uses 90ml of diesel per hour. This is enough to keep the cold off overnight if it's above about 5 degrees C outside, and despite the vent being at the end of the bed it's quiet enough to sleep with. On the highest 5kw setting it's a lot louder and draws 6 amps, but it'll get a freezing 0C boat to 15C in about an hour.

 

On startup and shutdown, it draws 10 amps for around 2 minutes for the glowplug.

 

The kits from Amazon/Ebay etc do need a lot of modification to be safe and BSS compliant though. Bin the fuel filter, all the fuel line apart from the thin nylon stuff from pump to heater, fuel tank, exhaust hose and exhaust silencer. 

 

You'll need to buy a metal fuel filter, ISO7840 rubber or copper fuel lines to your main tank, stainless Webasto exhaust hose, a sealed marine silencer with condensate trap and a mounting bracket. All of that cost me around £150. Depending on the boat it's either straightforward or not very straightforward to fit yourself...

[JohnJohnJohn]

Thank you very much, I really appreciate the amps detail.

 

I was already going to upgrade the fuel line and tank but I'm v happy to upgrade more pieces too. I didn't know about the silencer at all.

 

I was also thinking it needs to go exactly where you've described for the in/out pipes. I like it being the other end of where my stove is too.

[Quattrodave]

The heaters work well but you MUST ditch all the garbage components, clips, fuel lines, filters, exhaust, wiring (basically everything apart from the heater) and replace with the marine equivalent.  if the heater cost £100 the extra parts will.often be £150 to £200. Make sure you 'tune' it once running and for God's sake make sure your CO alarm works!

[Bee]

They are OK for short spells and quick warmth but for extended periods I would not use one, and never for overnight. Stoves can be bothersome things and produce dust and ash but they stay in overnight (well mine used to) and they are silent as well as being reliable and they don't use that electricity stuff that can be so hard to replace. 

[MtB]

1 hour ago, Quattrodave said:

The heaters work well but you MUST ditch all the garbage components, clips, fuel lines, filters, exhaust, wiring (basically everything apart from the heater) and replace with the marine equivalent.  if the heater cost £100 the extra parts will.often be £150 to £200. Make sure you 'tune' it once running and for God's sake make sure your CO alarm works!

 

Point of Order M'Lud...

 

You can't 'tune' the combustion on any of the current models AFAIK. They are factory-locked. They did this to stop idiots fiddling with the combustion and making them worse, around the time they got banned from being imported. I've an idea this was one of the conditions for lifting the ban, unless you have later info than me! 

 

I bought two around that time and unlike my first one, I can't get into the settings to change any of the combustion settings.

 

Or maybe you know the new password?! 

 

 

 

 

[Quattrodave]

13 minutes ago, MtB said:

Or maybe you know the new password?!

 

The only 2 passcodes i know of are 1688 & 9009.  Of course there may well be newer heaters i haven't used yet...

[blackrose]

Certainly fit a diesel heater (properly) but as others say, for overnight use you're better off using the stove. 

[magnetman]

Out of interest with these things how do you ensure that it is not possible for the fresh air intake to end up pulling in exhaust gases and pumping them into the cabin? 

 

Do you route the inlet through the opposite side of the boat to the exhaust? I suppose like that there would be adequate separation. Fresh air from a vent in the cabin top?

 

It seems to me that this is a rather critical detail as unlike a vehicle you can't route the exhaust downwards.

 

 

 

 

 

[Quattrodave]

14 minutes ago, magnetman said:

Do you route the inlet through the opposite side of the boat to the exhaust?

 

Yup, exactly what I've done, or as far as is reasonably possible.  It's much easier to extend the inlet tubing than the exhaust.

[cheesegas]

4 hours ago, magnetman said:

Do you route the inlet through the opposite side of the boat to the exhaust? I suppose like that there would be adequate separation. Fresh air from a vent in the cabin top?

It seems to me that this is a rather critical detail as unlike a vehicle you can't route the exhaust downwards.

Yep, the exhaust exits via a skin fitting about 10" below the gunnels on the outside of the hull, and then the fresh air is drawn in from the overhang on the inside of the cruiser stern, just above the deck boards.

[Mad Harold]

4 hours ago, magnetman said:

Out of interest with these things how do you ensure that it is not possible for the fresh air intake to end up pulling in exhaust gases and pumping them into the cabin? 

 

Do you route the inlet through the opposite side of the boat to the exhaust? I suppose like that there would be adequate separation. Fresh air from a vent in the cabin top?

 

It seems to me that this is a rather critical detail as unlike a vehicle you can't route the exhaust downwards.

 

 

 

 

 

There is an inlet for the combustion air, which if it draws exhaust gases in they will be burned in the combustion chamber so will do no harm.

The other air inlet is for the heater air which passes over the heat exchanger.

This air inlet must not of course draw exhaust fumes.

The inlet for this can be outside of the boat away from the exhaust, or it can be inside the cabin where the heated air will be re-circulated improving the heat output.

[cheesegas]

14 minutes ago, Mad Harold said:

There is an inlet for the combustion air, which if it draws exhaust gases in they will be burned in the combustion chamber so will do no harm.

The other air inlet is for the heater air which passes over the heat exchanger.

This air inlet must not of course draw exhaust fumes.

The inlet for this can be outside of the boat away from the exhaust, or it can be inside the cabin where the heated air will be re-circulated improving the heat output.

The downside to the air inlet coming from inside the boat is that it doesn't introduce any fresh air and it ends up being damp in winter. Mine comes from outside, find it really handy on a cold-ish damp autumn evening when cooking, to get rid of condensation on the windows.

 

I had a valve in mine (removed to make space for a different bed!) which mixed in inside and outside air to get the best of both worlds. However, unless it was really cold outside I always ran it on fresh air only as it didn't make much difference.