Diesel heater/power source

[HairyScandinavian]

Thts good to know, i was looking at getting the model thats similar if not the same as yours. I might have have to look more, id rather have it stay on low the whole night than shut off and startup. I guess im not sure how it would be in a tent when its cold out.

That's how I use it, you can choose to use thermostat mode or not. Some of their models don't have that feature, guess it depends on the controller they include.

 

[92xj]

If anything a catalytic heater, by nature of being a lot more efficient that combustion, produces more water than combustion does. But make no mistake, the reaction is still C3H8 + 5O2 -> 3CO2 + 4H2O. Just with the Platinum catalyst in there. But it's still 4H2O coming out.
If you're not ending up with an overly humid environment, then you either have a very leaky tent/camper/whatever or some sort of exhaust setup like camper vans do. Would also help if you live in an area of low relative humidity to start with.

Which is why the exhaust is not running inside the tent. The heated air does not have a product of H20 in it from the combustion, that is vented out the exhaust pipe.

OP, I use a anker solix c1000 to power mine. It’s a sweet combo that will run for days if I don’t power anything else. I also plug in 3 different strands of patio lights and can run all at once for 12+ hours. My heater heats a treehouse and it’ll be 60 degrees in there when it’s 25 out and zero condensation, since the heater and exhaust are outside and only the heated air is duct inside.

 

[dieselchessy]

I just grabbed the AGM group 24 battery out of my popup camper and threw a 50 watt solar panel on it. I've no idea how long it would run (indefinitely?) but it never dropped but a few volts by morning. The biggest draw on my diesel heater is the glow plug when it's starting up, after that it's only the fan no matter how how or what setting it's on it's still just the fan. I set it on low with a constant on, it has a thermostat setting but I don't want it going on and off because each time it has to run the glow plug and that's not ideal.

Does your diesel heater not have a fuel pump?
Maybe I missed where you said what brand/model heater you have.
Mine have fuel pumps the speed up/slow down with output setting.

 

[HairyScandinavian]

Does your diesel heater not have a fuel pump?
Maybe I missed where you said what brand/model heater you have.
Mine have fuel pumps the speed up/slow down with output setting.

It's an LF Bros and now that you mention it I would think so, though it may be gravity fed but still would have to do something to meter it. I'll see if I can find out because I'm curious but I'm thinking it probably does now that you mention it.

 

[NDHUNTER24]

Does your diesel heater not have a fuel pump?
Maybe I missed where you said what brand/model heater you have.
Mine have fuel pumps the speed up/slow down with output setting.

Which diesel heaters do you have?

 

[207North]

I also use a 12v lithium battery from the boat to power the heater. It would be sitting there doing nothing for the winter anyway. Works great so far. I make sure the battery is fully up to temperature before charging.

 

[z987k]

Which is why the exhaust is not running inside the tent. The heated air does not have a product of H20 in it from the combustion, that is vented out the exhaust pipe.

OP, I use a anker solix c1000 to power mine. It’s a sweet combo that will run for days if I don’t power anything else. I also plug in 3 different strands of patio lights and can run all at once for 12+ hours. My heater heats a treehouse and it’ll be 60 degrees in there when it’s 25 out and zero condensation, since the heater and exhaust are outside and only the heated air is duct inside.

That's a diesel heater. The guy I was quoting is talking about a catalytic heater(usually propane, which is why I wrote C3H8), which does exhaust all the byproducts into the tent.

 

[dieselchessy]

Which diesel heaters do you have?

One is a Vevor 8k and the other is some other Chinese 8k.
They both have electric fuel pumps that make a Tic, Tic, Tic noise. The rate of the tic sound corresponds to the heat setting. The pumps have to be mounted at a 45 deg. angle. I assume they are some type of electro-magnet pulse pump that the control board changes the pulse rate on to vary the amount of fuel delivered. Just guessing.
They are $20 or $30 on Amazon.

 

[Thejet]

You can get as expensive and complicated as you want. I’m simple, Deep cycle RV battery will get you 5+ nights before it runs out of juice. If staying longer add a little solar charger.

 

[NDHUNTER24]

You can get as expensive and complicated as you want. I’m simple, Deep cycle RV battery will get you 5+ nights before it runs out of juice. If staying longer add a little solar charger.

I'm leaning towards a battery. It seems like a simple way to go. What kind of solar charger do you have?

 

[Thejet]

Cheap one i found at north40, nothing fancy needed.

 

[madgrad02]

I went with the Vevor 8kW one for an ice shanty or tent heater for overnighting - so much nicer not having that wet propane frosting up everything. I made my own powerbox with a Amazon 12V 100aH battery, cheap battery box from Fleet Farm and then some assorted charging (USB and cigarette-style for the kids DVD player) port and voltage meter, and then put big battery terminals on top to attach the heater to. I also upgraded the fuel pump - still not silent, but way quieter than the stock fuel-pump ticking) - lots of vids online.

 

[HairyScandinavian]

It's an LF Bros and now that you mention it I would think so, though it may be gravity fed but still would have to do something to meter it. I'll see if I can find out because I'm curious but I'm thinking it probably does now that you mention it.

Confirmed it does have a pump, silly me. It's dead quiet though I don't hear any ticking whatsoever. This is the one I bought when they cleared out the old models for half the price. https://www.amazon.com/LF-Bros-Parking-Controller-Suitable/dp/B0D66FZQ94

I'm leaning towards a battery. It seems like a simple way to go. What kind of solar charger do you have?

I used a 50 watt hard Renogy panel and a $28 MPPT charge controller: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D95VB49B
You can get nice flexible and more packable solar panels but I already had the panel so no need to buy something new, it's pretty small so not an issue packing really.

If you do a solar panel I'd recommend getting some MC4 extension cables so you can put it away from camp or move it around to maximize sun exposure.

 

[Epfd217]

Main thing to consider is the startup draw on a diesel heater. Its typically 140-150 watts, or 10-12 amps. Not terribly high, but most 12v (cigarette-style) outlets are fused at 10amps. So, a lot of people find setups and plan to use a cigarette style 12v outlet and then its fails due to over-draw. Worst yet is it may pop the fuse and now you need to replace the fuse.

All that to say, make sure your source can handle the draw. I am using a 12v battery setup and I crimped standard ring connectors on the wires and the rings go right on the battery posts of the RV battery. My RV battery is also a home-built lithium, so the voltage stays higher for longer and I get all 100% of the battery power.

Some people have good luck with the Jackery type power centers, just remember the startup draw.

 

[HairyScandinavian]

Main thing to consider is the startup draw on a diesel heater. Its typically 140-150 watts, or 10-12 amps. Not terribly high, but most 12v (cigarette-style) outlets are fused at 10amps. So, a lot of people find setups and plan to use a cigarette style 12v outlet and then its fails due to over-draw. Worst yet is it may pop the fuse and now you need to replace the fuse.

All that to say, make sure your source can handle the draw. I am using a 12v battery setup and I crimped standard ring connectors on the wires and the rings go right on the battery posts of the RV battery. My RV battery is also a home-built lithium, so the voltage stays higher for longer and I get all 100% of the battery power.

Some people have good luck with the Jackery type power centers, just remember the startup draw.

I ran mine on the Jackery 1000 cigarette lighter plug at home testing and it worked fine, then at 8500' in the mountains the unit was throwing errors warming up, thought I was screwed until I looked in the manual and it said low voltage can cause it. Sure enough I switched it to my camper battery and it worked flawlessly.

 

[Esetter77]

I use a LFP (LiFePO4) 100AH battery for mine. I have the "mini" size, which is a fair bit smaller than a standard group 24 battery. The prices of LFP batteries have really come down and are really not much more than conventional deep cycle batteries now. The "power stations" are more convenient as they have built in invertors, 12V cigarette outlets, and solar charge controllers, but if you are looking for the most energy per dollar just using a battery is cheaper.

 

[Esetter77]

I will also say having the bluetooth app for an LFP battery is really handy. It lets you see the state of charge and how much current is going out (or in via solar etc). More accurate than just checking the voltage and hoping your battery isn't about to die.

 

[Esetter77]

On the Diesel heaters I have a Vevor 8kw "toolbox" style heater and overall I like it and it works well but it does not have altitude compensation. I've used it at around 7,000' with no issues but have some higher trips planned and so bought a Hcalory 8kw "toolbox" style that has built in auto adjusting altitude adjustment. I haven't tested it high elevation yet, but hopefully that aspect works.

One thing about HCalory that is really nice compared to the Vevor is that the Hcalory has almost no "ticking" from the pump! The vevor isn't horrible and is supposedly quieter than the prior versions, but the HCalory I have is way better in that regard.

The only advantage I see of the Vevor over the HCalory is the blower on the Vevor seems to be just a tad bit stronger, which generally is not an issue, but if you are trying to duct the hot air a long distance, you might get a little better heating with the Vevor, but the difference is small.

 

[NDHUNTER24]

On the Diesel heaters I have a Vevor 8kw "toolbox" style heater and overall I like it and it works well but it does not have altitude compensation. I've used it at around 7,000' with no issues but have some higher trips planned and so bought a Hcalory 8kw "toolbox" style that has built in auto adjusting altitude adjustment. I haven't tested it high elevation yet, but hopefully that aspect works.

One thing about HCalory that is really nice compared to the Vevor is that the Hcalory has almost no "ticking" from the pump! The vevor isn't horrible and is supposedly quieter than the prior versions, but the HCalory I have is way better in that regard.

The only advantage I see of the Vevor over the HCalory is the blower on the Vevor seems to be just a tad bit stronger, which generally is not an issue, but if you are trying to duct the hot air a long distance, you might get a little better heating with the Vevor, but the difference is small.

Does your HCalory have different modes to run on, or it only a thermostat. I just dont want the diesel heater to kick on and off if I keep it on low. I haven't been able to do much research since I started this thread. But I was planning on it this weekend. Hcalory was the diesel heater i was looking at the most.

 

[Esetter77]

Does your HCalory have different modes to run on, or it only a thermostat. I just dont want the diesel heater to kick on and off if I keep it on low. I haven't been able to do much research since I started this thread. But I was planning on it this weekend. Hcalory was the diesel heater i was looking at the most.

Yes you can run the HCalory (and the Vevor as well) in three modes.
1) You set the power level and it stays there regardless of temp
2) It will regulate the power level depending on the temp but it never shuts down, if the temp gets above the setpoint it throttles back the power to level 1 but it never completely shuts down.
3) Full thermostat mode where the unit shuts itself all the way down and kicks back on depending on temperature


Here is the Amazon description of the Hcalory I bought:

8KW Diesel Heater, 5L Toolbox Compact 2S Portable Diesel Air Heater 110V/12/24V All in One Fast Heating with App Control, Altitude Mode and no tick for RV Garage Camper 2025 Upgraded​