Chinese diesel fired heaters on Amazon - experiences?

[JeffRaines]

As title states. Thinking about picking up one of those 12v packages for a tent heater.

I know a lot of Amazon reviews aren’t trustworthy. Surely some of you guys have experience with these. I’m mainly concerned about durability/longevity. While a lot of the ones I see on there are “only” $80-$120 I’d hate to throw away that money if there’s one that’s only a little more that would work well.

FWIW, this would only be used a couple trips a year.

Thanks.

 

[Titan]

I have 4. So far the best unit has been the Hcalory in the toolbox. It comes with a 12 to 120 inverter if needed. I use the little tank inside, but on the others I dip fuel straight from a 5 gallon jerry can. You can run all week on low.

I use a jupitek power station for power. It will run one heater for 2-3 days without recharging.

 

[Catchfish]

Couple guys I know have bought the Vevor ones off of Walmart.com they seem to be happy with them.

 

[svivian]

I have the vevor model and used it this winter during ice fishing and was pleasantly impressed. Very efficient and kept the hut t-shirt warm even when it was blowing 25mph out on Blue Mesa. Big plus, was little to no condensation like I would get with a propane heater.

 

[Laelkhunter]

I would suggest the use of a CO (carbon monoxide) detector while using a heater that burns any type of fuel. Inexpensive but worth the cost. Kidde makes one that sells for around $30 that detects carbon monoxide and carbon Dioxide. Runs on batteries or plug it in if you have an outlet.

 

[Geewhiz]

I have had one installed in a cargo trailer for a few years now and it works well. I only use it a few times a year but it hasn't let me down yet. They are stupid simple to install, so if you are having issues with carbon monoxide inside your tent/trailer, you screwed up the install.

 

[prairieboy]

I have 4. So far the best unit has been the Hcalory in the toolbox. It comes with a 12 to 120 inverter if needed. I use the little tank inside, but on the others I dip fuel straight from a 5 gallon jerry can. You can run all week on low.

I use a jupitek power station for power. It will run one heater for 2-3 days without recharging.

is the tank inside the toolbox as well?

 

[Cameron.25]

I use a vevor i got off amazon in my tugboat and have been please with it so far

 

[Titan]

is the tank inside the toolbox as well?

The “all in one” units will have an internal tank. The hcalory one I referred to has one tucked away inside the lid. It also has a remote and Bluetooth.

I have 2 vevor. One needed a little work from the start. The other has run fine for 2 years.

 

[ElkArcher918]

As title states. Thinking about picking up one of those 12v packages for a tent heater.

I know a lot of Amazon reviews aren’t trustworthy. Surely some of you guys have experience with these. I’m mainly concerned about durability/longevity. While a lot of the ones I see on there are “only” $80-$120 I’d hate to throw away that money if there’s one that’s only a little more that would work well.

FWIW, this would only be used a couple trips a year.

Thanks.

I'm seriously considering picking up this system for mid to late season elk. Definite upgrade and safer than a Mr. Buddy Heater in my Kodiak tent. Jason from Randy Newberg's show has a good YouTube presentation on how to set one up in enclosed truck topper.

 

[prairieboy]

The “all in one” units will have an internal tank. The hcalory one I referred to has one tucked away inside the lid. It also has a remote and Bluetooth.

I have 2 vevor. One needed a little work from the start. The other has run fine for 2 years.

the only hcalory i can find on amazon.ca has the tank on the outside of the box.

 

[JeffRaines]

I would suggest the use of a CO (carbon monoxide) detector while using a heater that burns any type of fuel. Inexpensive but worth the cost. Kidde makes one that sells for around $30 that detects carbon monoxide and carbon Dioxide. Runs on batteries or plug it in if you have an outlet.

Here’s the deal with me and heaters -

A wood stove I’ll damp down and run all night. I’m not overly concerned because if CO is leaking in the tent so is smoke.

Anything propane or diesel I run them to warm up the tent before bed and in the morning. I don’t run them all night. That’s what my sleeping bag is for.

 

[KurtR]

Buddy has one in his permanent ice shack. It heats that thing up so we are wearing shorts while we fish. Doesn’t use much for fuel.

 

[JGRaider]

I have 4. So far the best unit has been the Hcalory in the toolbox. It comes with a 12 to 120 inverter if needed. I use the little tank inside, but on the others I dip fuel straight from a 5 gallon jerry can. You can run all week on low.

I use a jupitek power station for power. It will run one heater for 2-3 days without recharging.

Would you happen to have a link please?

 

[OkayestHNTR]

Watched this while back and have slowly acquired the parts minus the heater. Seems pretty simple/functional.

 

[MuleyFever]

Here’s the deal with me and heaters -

A wood stove I’ll damp down and run all night. I’m not overly concerned because if CO is leaking in the tent so is smoke.

So, this is not totally true. Just a couple of weeks ago we got a call of CO alarms at a residence. We got there and there were elevated CO levels on the monitor. We checked the upstairs with no obvious source and went downstairs. There was a wood stove so I put the monitor by it and it spiked. The guy had burned it earlier and it had gone out but it was still smoldering just enough and not pulling a draft. There was zero smoke in the house. Just something to think about.

 

[Titan]

Would you happen to have a link please?

Sure. Here you go.

https://www.amazon.com/HCALORY-Support-Altitude-Portable-Bluetooth/dp/B0CBBMNCJQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?adgrpid=122534572447&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.TncNXvbTPcPN4RHFXMXrXnRj0WIAy_xYSlFL8aRAG8H82OFC6uoxTvTMIYjMINy99ubDNURButO4qLV6uq58OLtMsy6ulFTUCsJnIcbmU10vaZ_AGBWNnAc8aVWF0elUKwpmKYIJs7-4uOcJZcKgnkHUNzQYRyoub4W2MvgJECPrMsem8syX3fTsNKqsJBDBjQniOox820svEuktVMycHw.NPT6bNJX2UFFnaCYeiYrPDRt_lVEHxLoIDfutPFS3s0&dib_tag=se&hvadid=631537973674&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=9028543&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=b&hvrand=917180555269147719&hvtargid=kwd-851261448386&hydadcr=25143_13572023&keywords=diesel+heater+8kw+12v&qid=1716153613&sr=8-7

It usually goes on sale every once in a while for $120-140.

The conversion from 12v to 110v then back to 12v on a power station is a little inefficient, but most power stations can’t handle the amp draw on startup from the 12v port.

 

[JGRaider]

Thanks!

 

[Hoosker Doo]

I used a vevor my brother bought off of Amazon a couple weeks ago camping with my wife and 1 year old. My wife ran it on high for about 9 hours and there was still 1/4 tank of diesel left in the morning. Her and the baby were toasty in the tent all night long and it got down to 28 that night. She liked it so much she asked for one for mothers day.
It is comforting to know that the exhaust is running out the other side of the heater 5 or 6 feet away from the tent too. The little buddy units make me nervous.