Cheapest diesel night heater on eBay test / review

[@p24hrsmith]

This is best review of one of these heaters I have seen. It has all the info you need to know especially the electrical power consumption if your going to use it off grid

[@patreed4337]

We over the road truckers have been using these heaters for years , bought mine in 05 and put it in my new 379 Pete .idling at nite was about a gallon of fuel an hour but these little heaters was a gallon for about 8hrs so it saved about 30 dollars a day to run instead of idling the truck.lot of money over a 15 year period.

[@martinbenton742]

Pat, do you use this same brand and size? Where did you mount it, under the sleeper? I was thinking to put one in the truck also.

[@patreed4337]

@@martinbenton742 I have a esspar ,mounted in the passengers side sleeper tool box and ducted in under the bed and out into the sleeper.it's on a thermostat set at 70 it will burn you out if set at 75 I like it a little cool when I sleep .I also have a thermo king tri Pac a.p.u. that Knicks on if my batteries get to low and runs a.c . In the smmer.

[@martinbenton742]

@@patreed4337 Great! Thank you for the information Pat.

[@patreed4337]

@@martinbenton742 location makes it easy to run fuel line into passenger side tank and fuel pump out on the frame so you don't hear it.also exhaust runs out underneath the sleeper and out the back so no fumes.this Chinese one looks exactly like mine only difference is mine has a black case not red.

[@byebye9785]

I used to work as a truck driver, my journey was a 30min drive and I'd usually take 3 or 4 trailer loads a day on the same trailer. On Mondays and Fridays it might only be 1 or 2. I used to take my wife with me, we'd stop at a burger van and get a bacon and egg roll, plus a coffee every time we passed, I'd place the coffee in front of the night heater duct -beside the drivers seat in a Scania (think it was a Webasto heater), eat the bacon and egg roll and usually fall asleep in front of the TV (we had to supply that, an inverter and aerial ourselves). When I would wake up, sometimes by the knocking of factory workers after they'd filled the trailer, there was a nice warm coffee waiting for me.

[@zuone3573]

David, you have a God gifted quality to answer all the question that can arise in oir minds about this stuff. I never hv seen a review taken that serious. You are a next level reviewer. Plz keep doing. You are not doing a good job, rather a remarkable job.

[@MyAvaGrace]

We fitted a 5kw version of this heater in our Boat. It replaced an Erberspacher of similar design which was prooving to be problematical, repair costs alone were more than the cost of the 5kw heater (around £160). Must say the heat out put is good, heats 3 cabins. For us one thing I am considering is insulating the heat transfer tubes. Installation wise no problem at all we used the erber exhaust as that was the same size, and already had the correct through hull exhaust outlet. I did try using the erber fuel pump, which looked the same, but isn't. So first light up failed, just filled the marina with smoke. Using the correct pump solved the issue immediately.

[@ashyslashy5818]

your saying this heater runs off a 1 gallon per 24 hours amazing.

[@izzzzzz6]

Diesel engines smoke like crazy when you are trying to prime the fuel for the 1st time, not sure why but once all of the air is gone they stop smoking. I'm thinking either this is why you had smoke initially or perhaps your old pump was the issue all along and it might have had an air leak or blockage somewhere. If the repair bill was around £200 that sounds about the right price for someone to come and diagnose the problem and swap a pump. Perhaps all you needed was to swap the pump or it's plumbing in the 1st place. I would keep your old heater incase the cheap one breaks down. Whatever was wrong with it, it might turn out better in the long run to repair the good quality one.

[@MyAvaGrace]

We havnt seen the issues you talk about. The fan runs whilst the unit is running on heat, but then slows in the cooling phase, and once the unit has reached a certain level the fan shuts down. With our Eber we had tons of issues, it was a couple of years old, and out of warrenty, spent £500 in repairs and still didn't function correctly, so was looking at a ton of cash to fix. So was more economic to try one of these. If it last 2 years I will just buy another and swap it over. So far i'm 50% there. @Robert Hersey

[@Merlinen82]

Link to the one you bought?

[@MyAvaGrace]

No wasn't the pump. The electronics pack failed on the heater, plus the ceramic glow plug. @@izzzzzz6

[@svenburns9069]

I bought the enclosed heater with everything built in to a metal housing and put it in my electric Tuk tuk I imported from China too. It works great so I can drive it even in the winter

[@mjgthakid]

After bingeing on AVE videos, a gentleman with a Scottish accent has made this minnesotans day.

[@vPerformance]

Holy crap you probably just made David's day by comparing him to AVE

[@farsalvage]

I’ve found fitting an air filter to both air intakes helps with the noise, I got a cone type one off a car and it fitted perfectly.

[@SayWhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat]

Yeah because your filter blocks air intake

[@usmcn]

@@SayWhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat if it blocked the airintake a car would stall ;) Its because it dampens the sound not the air ;)

[@yves3560]

Good idea !

[@bialyabnormal]

I haven't seen a better test, you thought about everything plus the video description for ppl who can't watch it all. Keep the great work

[@johnhealy9231]

They also do an 8 kilowatt, you could heat your house with in an emergency Good bit of testing 👍

[@DavidMcLuckie]

8kw! That's plenty of heat for an emergency as you say.

[@ne1273]

Now that’s a bloody good idea,,,,

[@MiltonTucker]

@Waylander the Slayer He posted it in description, click on "show more".

[@westvandude]

@Waylander the Slayer online they are listed as 0.5-0.6L/hour.

[@PISQUEFrancis]

aside from what packaging says ... they all(2kw, 4kw, 5kw 8kw) look to all be the same. in fact sometimes I look at a 2kw and see 5kw indicated and sometimes see 5kw where 2kw was indicated ... then when I "think", I might have an inkling of what's going on, I see an 8kw unit. Does anyone "really", what what one is to the other?

[@navigator_071]

Very detailed revue without unnecessary talks ! Well done !

[@jimmurphy4703]

I put one of these in my small pop top caravan and it is the best thing since sliced bread !

[@jeroenb1155]

You got a link where i can order one ?

[@forensicpsyguy]

@@jeroenb1155, did you just try to Google "diesel heater" or search those terms on Ebay? Seriously, you don't need a "link."

[@jeroenb1155]

I'm looking for the best deal

[@Dustclear]

David, thanks for putting this together, I tried reading the manual for this and went looking for more info. this really helps.great and complete testing. I'm ready now

[@donkirk9355]

They are great job as our ambulances are fitted with those :) Advice if you have it fitted , say a Van and your heading home etc turn it off as your heading home and let the excess fuel burn off before parking your Vehicle. Further as they take a round 10 amps to ignite run your engine for a few mins before turn your heater on in the vehicle, yes one going well it will only take a few amps to run the heater as a rule. We from time to time would add a fuel cleaner to the Diesel fuel and we have tested most fuel cleaners in our ambulances and I would recommended ( Diesel Ecomax ) as we have found the glow plug in the heater last a lot longer and no miss fires and of course will also keep your vehicle glow plus running well. Avoid if you can Super Market Diesel Fuels as they are as a rule low grade fuel. Please note I am in no way attached to any fuel company which would include and fuel cleaners but I am involved with our ambulances with over 35 years experience in that field and on a foot note Ecomax will NOT damage your heater or the glow plug.

[@mikebtrfld1705]

KZbin teaches me something new again. Never heard of it. Excellent job of examining.

[@Christerart1]

Growing up in Sweden my dd had a - I'm pretty sure it was a Webasto - heater installed in his 1966 Plymouth. It had a timer so you could set it to kick in half an hour before you wanted to get going in the cold Swedish winters. Worked a treat. Later, living in Minnesota, I had them just like the trucker below in all my semi trucks - only way to get a truck going after sitting over a weekend - and of course, like he says, a great way to stay warm and save diesel overnight.

[@ashyslashy5818]

your saying this heater runs off a 1 gallon per 24 hours amazing.

[@Christerart1]

@@@ashyslashy5818 *I* didn't say that but that sounds about right. These heaters are fairly common on upscale cars in Europe and Scandinavia but not in the US or Canada where plug-in inline heaters are much more common (and a LOT cheaper).

[@Christerart1]

No, it was a Webasto

[@bicanoo_magic3452]

I've seen these recently and have wondered how they work and whether you get CO etc in the cabin. Thank you so much for doing this and showing how these work how efficient they are and how self maintaining they are.

[@TheKinlock]

Absolutely brilliant review i feel confident to get one now 👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽

[@vPerformance]

Another good service provided by DavidMcluckieDIY

[@davidholgate5472]

Iv been using the 5kw version with no issues what so ever for about a year I’m now camping into winter in well below freezing 🥶

[@ashyslashy5818]

@@davidholgate5472 your saying this heater runs off a 1 gallon per 24 hours amazing.

[@buildthings79]

I had no idea these existed. Very good job reviewing it.

[@fab-ster]

thanks for this awesome review! that's how reviews should be done.

[@jkl12ism36]

fab-ster y

[@SheaDesign]

So this is where it all started! Look how clean your jumpsuit is,.. we need a campaign to get you a new one now (2 years latter). Thanks for doing every conceivable test on these heaters, I really feel like I have come up the learning curve with your works. -S

[@DavidMcLuckie]

Yeah, they've been washed a few times. Doesn't really get them much cleaner, just makes them less orange.

[@alfredwilliam1184]

The a380 airbus burns 81,890 gallons a day of kerosene, Heathrow airport consumes 25 million litres of kerosene a day it makes this little heater sound quiet economical.

[@spencerwilton5831]

alfred william Good luck flying to New York on it though.

[@hippopotamus86]

A380 gets better milage than a Prius. Also 81,890 "a day" isn't accurate. That's just the capacity. From full capacity, it's enough to travel 25,000KM which it won't do in a single day.

[@NowAndyPlays]

@@hippopotamus86 The a380 uses 9 gallons per mile or 21L per KM

[@Ulfurond]

Andy [Xvixx] did you take into account the number of passengers in an A380 compared to a Prius

[@bytesysed]

Burning nitrogen

[@dncook1955]

This is probably the best video I have seen put together with excellent filming and information, Great job. A person can see what is going on with videos like this. Thank You.

[@jesse7055]

Really good review mate, love how your testing everything , especially current draw and that there is no carbon coming from the heating outlet 👌

[@johnobiro5202]

This blog was very helpful. I have just bought one of these, and can’t wait to fit it into my boat. Thanx.

[@TempleGuitars]

I just watched this whole video because your accent is so cool.

[@gmc3019]

Watching u with closed caption on is more entertaining than alot of other ppls videos

[@gotsteem]

Love seeing the readings. Great test and analytics.

[@brentbarr498]

I was gonna say it's a combination of John Cleese and Montgomery Scott. Both of whom I love.. could listen then chatter on about nothing all day! Keep up the good work my friend!!

[@BigDaddy-yb7wq]

bought a 5kw version of these to heat an 18x24ft garage,it works a treat have extended the 4 pipes supplied to spread the heat around (2 in the ceiling 2 in corners). it gets to about 18 degrees after about an hour which is perfect for working on a cold day . uses 2.5 litres over a 10 hour period , i am running it on a deisel /kerosene mix , but i reckon this will run happily on heating oil ...bargain !

[@MountainParameters]

I have a right hand drive Delica van from Japan. I didn't have much luck with 2 of the Chinese versions of the diesel heater. I tried everything for a couple of years, but I think the root of my problem lay in my need to mount the exhaust and intake ports on the horizontal plane, which they claim you can do as long as your do not have the glow plug on the bottom swimming in fuel. We also camp at altitude about 7,200'. I know people who have had good luck with the Chinese models, so I persevered in the belief I must be able to make it work. In the third year, and after hundreds of hours or tweaks and tinkering, sometimes the heater would work, other times it would die in the middle of the night. I finally gave up and ordered a Russian Webasto. Fortunately it was now an easy install in my van because they are the same form factor. So far it has been working well at altitude and mounted on the horizontal, and a bonus for me is, the fan and pump are quieter. I think it is a function of the pump silencer, better bearings, better shaft tolerances, and better balance of the fan head. Because I had the Chinese ones disassembled on numerous occasions, I can also say there is a noticeable difference in most of the components in terms of quality.

[@rewfisher1]

Very good testing. Very noisy unit but for the price very good.

[@TheREALBenLyddon]

Not any louder than my Webasto. Install it enclosed with something like Dynamat to insulate and noise is negligible.

[@Leofred2000]

Yea, the noise level was a bit high

[@rahowherox1177]

Lol. Usually you route the noise (exhaust) through the wall.. will be much quieter than this test... like inside a car compered to next to muffler.

[@alansynnott2913]

Only noisey because of his set up. Most of the noise is from the burner air intake and exhaust which are on the outside so do not hear it in the vehicle. At med to low speed you don't hear it at all.

[@jeffbanks9955]

Yea most of them are kinda noisy but with it installed under the vehicle and using ducting to bring the heat inside you wouldn't hear it much

[@ww07ff]

Great thermal camera shooting! To improve the fuel efficiency, the heater owner can install a corrugated pipe for the burner bottom inlet air (catching air outside the building) around the exhaust pipe that goes outside too, absorbing the "wasted" exhaust heat.

[@TheQade]

I was thinking of adding a coolant loop under a blanket around exhaust pipe, and a second radiator at the other end of said loop to extract wasted heat from exhaust.

[@ww07ff]

@@TheQade The blanket is not necessary because the main objective is to heat up the indoors. Exhausting the burned gases to the outdoors is mandatory, so, cold fresh air from the outdoors will always comes in. The higher the temperature difference between fluids, the better the heat exchange, so less paraphernalia (investment/space) is needed. That's the reason behind "ducting" the fresh outdoor air. But you can simply use a very long exhaust pipe instead and don't mind about where the fresh air is entering from.

[@solosailor222]

You have a good point: at this price, just carry a SPARE! I rebuilt an Espar (Airtronic) 5DL 4800 Watts of heat from 80W of 12v and a bit of diesel. (KZbin search that title) The pre-ignition chamber used a special catalytic screen (a weird copper alloy) around the glow plug. That reduced the current and time needed to get the "flame" on. So there IS a difference in efficiencies, i believe. Longevity and vibration resistance count too.

[@fergy1ful]

Brilliant video and one of the most comprehensive tests I've seen on KZbin. As mentioned below, the fear with these units is always spare part availability but to be fair, the expensive brands also sell expensive parts and as other rightly say, they all need maintenance to prevent failures. At this price it's hardly worth buying spare parts anyway so you might as well buy the cheaper unit and give it a little TLC. I'm going to fit one to my VW T5 and spend the change on something useful (maybe a fire extinguisher and CO detector?).

[@aaretaler]

That‘s what i call a complete review! Thanks a lot.

[@louis0531oogle]

Thank you for all that information. Most of us would not have the instruments you used to do all this testing, and it is excellent information and very helpful for making a decision about whether or not to purchase one of these cheaper units. I would love to see a comparison with a more expensive unit, but this was great! Thanks again!

[@anthonybaiocchi3028]

Sounds a bit like Billy Connolly opening Xmas presents!🤣🤣

[@prepcommsuk]

Anthony Baiocchi I was thinking Ken Bruce :-)

[@maxrobertson5061]

An' whoots wrang wi' rat? Is youse ha'en a go at wur accents? Gie's a break. Hiv ye's heard yersels? Awa an' bile yer heads, ya big Jessies.

[@joeprimal2044]

LOL. He does sound like Billy Connolly.

[@davidjames666]

PrepComms UK i was thinking of "groundskeeper Willie" on the Simpsons

[@DamienRUs666]

You mean scottish.

[@kevwalton272]

this is how a review should be done! excellent

[@16vastraturbo]

I've got one of these Chinese ones brought from ebay and had it for a few months now and it's been working great. First thing I would do before you start it is to check the fan spins as mine was push on to far so had to pull it a little. They are really efficient. I've got the 5kw version and have it on full blast for 4-5 hours and use less then 2 litres of fuel. Also they run fine on 50/50 diesel/used cooking oil 😉. Might even get one for the house 😂😂

[@ladyB59]

Thank you for that. It is the noise that is putting me off.

[@16vastraturbo]

@beckys2222 I said less than 2 litres and at 25p litre for me it is😉😉

[@paulaven9457]

You don't have to used "white" road use diesel. You can use red diesel in the UK or green diesel in Ireland. Worse case you can use heating oil (kerosene) at 60 odd pence per litre.

[@16vastraturbo]

@beckys2222 well if you do your research on diesel and you will realise that you don't have to use diesel in these heaters I use old cooking oil😉... but if your lazy like most people in this country you will just keep going to the petrol station and pay the high amounts of tax on fuel but then complain about it but then still use it... sorry rant over. So yes they are efficient and I am not misleading people👍

[@paulsengupta971]

Another source of untaxed kerosene is jet fuel, available from your local general aviation airfield perhaps. Not sure of the price at the moment but I think it's around 75p-90p a litre. I would expect central heating kerosene to be a bit cheaper but you normally have to buy that in large quantities to have it delivered I guess.

[@812archer4life]

The nice thing about this unit is that it is serviceable. It takes about 30 minutes to change the glow plug and carbon screen.

[@erwin643]

"They might take our lives, but they'll never take our diesel!!!!"

[@darkbyte2005]

i live and learn everyday.. I never seen or heard of this equipment until today.. Great video and thanks for the readings and demo!

[@JJKHaywood]

Good review, I don’t know off hand the decibel level of a Wabasto but this unit sounded a bit rattling and noisy Compared to the Wabasto units I seen in Semi Trucks out of North America. If I was using a heater every day While parked and staying in a Van, RV Or Truck. I would have a proven product with superior quality parts. -30 degrees F. Is no time to put trust in Cheaper knock offs. Especially if they have a dual function of keeping the Truck engine warm too! In Conclusion: The Chinese brand will probably serve the weekend warriors ok.

[@tonypet1518]

Excellent presentation. I'm a sailor and have experience of the two very expensive German heating machines. Overpriced. And they require servicing and repairing. Your machine looks just the same as a Wabasto or the Eberspacher. Cheers.

[@DavidMcLuckie]

Webastos patent expired (50 years I think) so other manufacturers can now use the design.

[@dangalf84]

hmm, Google does watch what you're searching. I was just looking at these heaters an hour ago. And it just came up in my recommendations.

[@3Mudbone1]

Unless of course you are looking at firearms or things the totalitarian wanna be rulers disapprove of.

[@jpwdowiak]

Of course they do, it’s tracking for advertisers. How else are you supposed to place products and services in front of people that could potentially purchase them?

[@StephenButlerOne]

@@jpwdowiak I'd rather get adds that may interest me, than random ads for shite that doesn't. That model means so much lost revenue for the person buying the ads, as I'm not buying say tampons, but I may buy a heater etc... Also Google (In this case) can charge more per add, the customer pay less overall, as less adds needed, and we the end user see relevant adds. It's a win, win, win set up.

[@snorrehjoelquist7443]

@@3Mudbone1 I looked up 'Republican politics' and got 2 recommendations : toys for toddlers, and how to land on the moon.

[@snorrehjoelquist7443]

They have a huge plant in Siberia with 1000's of staff who follow traffic and make recom'ns using a switchboard. They also have lightning-fast-thinking staff who predict your search while you type it. Google has videos about it, look it up.

[@marksomerville1275]

Got exactly the same one for my caravan.. didn't use the piddling plastic 3/16 od fuel hose, upgraded it to 3/16 id fuel hose... just run it on low all night, sometimes even still too hot.. lovely to jump up in the morning.. uses bugger fuel per night, & as you showed 1 to 1.5 amps.

[@HimmelbergerBus]

This is really nice. I might have to buy two of these for my bus. I plumbed in a propane forced air furnace, but refilling propane tanks is a pain. I can only get 1 night or two in the 30s with a 10lb tank. Using 1 gal of diesel, even at $4/gal is much cheaper and convenient.

[@ashyslashy5818]

your saying this heater runs off a 1 gallon per 24 hours amazing.

[@HimmelbergerBus]

No, another comment from a trucker said he used 1 gal a night. It's probably 1 gal per 8 hours or so.

[@ashyslashy5818]

IS THIS THING THE WORLDS SMALLEST DIESEL ENGINE OR A RAMJET.@@HimmelbergerBus

[@RedneckRickem]

I got one ordered and on the way, propane is just too costly per btu. A 5KW diesel heater is about 18000btu.

[@delzprojects2573]

You can buy an 8kw heater with 4 port/ outlets for about $28 more. 8kw is enough for the average house size in the UK. 8KW equals 27292 BTU

[@averysmallcampervan]

Thanks for the video. Very instructive to see how these heaters work. I am planning some heating for my van and this has been a great help. I,m off to have a look at your other videos for more Ideas and will subscribe,

[@savedby_gracethrough_faith]

I just watched a video where the soot built up on low setting and you should turn it up at least once a day to burn off the soot. :)

[@martin4518]

I run an all electric Peugeot Partner & the winter has NOT been fun!. There is a heater, but it destroys the already meagre range (75 miles). Looking to install one of these....to aid comfort & keep the screen clear. Thanks for this review.

[@MyDailyUpload]

I've never had much doubt that Chinese-made products work at first. It often seems to be the longevity of the equipment that is the issue. Like many people, I would tend to just take my chances and hope for the best.

[@alanbrown397]

Whilst there's a fair share of "cheap junk" out there, a lot of chinese stuff is as good as (if not better than) the originals. Chinese engineers are just as smart as anyone else and the quality of a lot of "british" or "european" designs leaves a hell of a lot to be desired (as one example, look at the shockingly poor reliability of Range Rovers, BMWs, Volkswagens and their component parts along with just about any european luxury or "supercar" - the latter two categories will break if you look sideways at them.) Who remembers the days when everyone thought "japanese == junk" ?

[@jamey48]

Great video, I have one in the 18 wheeler I drive. I've always wondered how they work. Mine sound like a jet when it first starts up. But gets very quiet after about a minute. It will run for 10 hours then automatically shuts off. To keep batteries from dieing.

[@perjohanhansen9026]

Thanks for sharing. Great video.

[@natesoilfieldobservations6755]

That model like VERY similar to the Eberspacher / Espar heaters! I have rebuilt and repaired many many of those units. Parts are unreasonably expensive (blower motor - $350 USD). Nice to have an alternative!

[@jimmurphy4703]

The most annoying thing about these units is the ticking of the pump . I have mine mounted underneath the caravan and you can hear it even though it is rubber mounted . One thing that does make it quieter is to make sure there is no air bubble in the fuel line and also if you can procure some formed rubber 90 deg elbows one on the input side and one on the delivery side , note they must be the “ formed” elbows . The thinking is that the impulse noise is negated somewhat by the tight curve in the elbow.

[@DavidMcLuckie]

What about suspending the pump from rubber bands? Like a shock mount for a microphone.

[@jimmurphy4703]

David McLuckie the shock is transported by the fuel line as well . Hhhmmm rubber bands , I’m thinking not 😂😂

[@simonmoore8414]

Would these run on biofuel? I have a chippy nearby me who can give me free used oil (filtered).

[@stephenandloriyoung5716]

@@simonmoore8414 I wondered that, too.

[@stanpatterson5033]

I would be cautious of using used fryer oil, unless you had a way to filter it quite well prior to introducing it to the fuel tank. On big highway trucks, these heaters are plumbed to the big saddle tanks, so whatever you feed your big engine, the heater will run on. I remember the documentation for some of the Espars and Webastos that I have had, they could use anything from #1 diesel, #2 diesel, stove oil, furnace oil, kerosene, probably jet A, but that would be a mighty expensive choice. The older generations from years ago would use gasoline or diesel, not sure about the latest versions using gasoline anymore. I would get a nice clean batch of used fryer oil, add it to your vehicle's diesel tank, and see what happens. Diluted down, shouldn't be a problem, but not sure if it would be happy with pure fryer oil. Most times you need the heater to ward off cold, so imagine how your equipment would do, trying to suck up congealed used French fry oil when it's below freezing outside.

[@slowlane5032]

Your fan is rubbing on the housing. That is an issue they have fixed in newer models. Just open the housing and file it down a bit. Then you'll barley hear it. Good video good test.

[@danieljordan4320]

It’s fun to watch your videos with the sound off and closed captions on - and try and figure out what you are doing.

[@paulnielsen7292]

I also have to try and figure out what he is saying even with the sound on.

[@LordTimelord]

New Sub here. I found your video while troubleshooting my Freightliner's Sleeper Heater. Only 2 Liters of fuel consumption for eight hours of sleeping is very efficient! Make sure you place the Heat Vent near the floor (with plenty of open space in front of it) if you want to have warm boots when you wake up! 😉 Also very thorough testing method! I appreciate your attention to detail, as those meters are very expensive!

[@mraidymaddful]

Having read and answered one or two comments on here, it occurs to me that if we all combined our ideas into one product it would be bloody amazing. Might even be a world saver!! Finding an alternative (non carbon) fuel source would be a really good start. Bear in mind also, diesel engines were originally designed for burning peanut oil and other natural vegetable products. Please discuss......

[@ProlificInvention]

Glycol (glycerine) is a biodiesel manufacturing waste material. Very inexpensive, I would be curious to see if this heater would run on it as it's extremely cheap and renewable also. Formula E electric race cars are using it to power their charging diesel generators, look it up on Google. The only caveats being they have to warm the engines up on diesel first, and also that glycerin (glycol) has only 70% of the energy potential.

[@villagelightsmith4375]

Other than smelling like a thousand burning skillets, it works fine.

[@ProlificInvention]

@@villagelightsmith4375 Were you referring to vegetable oil? Because yes, but not glycerine... www.motorship.com/news101/fuels-and-oils/nobodys-fuel...-yet

[@demil3618]

Haven’t tried it but wondering what the chances are to run these I used (well filtered) cooking oil. My engines run on it very well. But you might have to tweak it to kat the glow plug stay on a lot longer to start a continuous combustion. That however uses battery power...

[@alanbrown397]

@@ProlificInvention If you use waste vege oil/tallow directly then you don't generate any glycerine to have to get rid of. Tallow: Yes really. Diesel engines will run on this happily as long as it's kept flowing (ie, hot)

[@jonh4029]

Ah the lovely hum of a bunk heater. I so miss that sound from when I was OTR. This, my Tri-Pak and the reefer unit would lull me to sleep. I hated when I had a load that didnt require the reefer to run 24/7, always woke me up when it kicked off then I would roll and roll till it kicked back on.

[@agentmarky5493]

LoL I want one of these just for the sake of having it.

[@ctuan13]

Just discovered these Chinese knockoff heaters and how cheap they actually are. I dont have a van. But I think im gonna buy one.

[@HomesteadingAlaskatoMaine]

I bought that Chinese knock off because of a review I saw on-line from this man. I have had it hooked up in my shop all winter. My shop is a poorly insulated building in the interior of Alaska. The heater works like a champ. Heats my shop for about 3-4 gallons a week. Not bad for $189. It was wither that or $1,800 for a Toyo stove

[@4dirt2racer0]

id run the exhaust thru the biggest old radiator i had theres ALOT of cash flyin our that exhaust pipe i wonder what the efficiency is

[@delzprojects2573]

Love the idea!!!

[@Hendogg28]

By doing that you could add an electric fan to the radiator and put out even more heat.. And everything would still be running on 12volts..

[@wallacegrommet9343]

The exhaust pipe requirements are very rigid and specific. The engine sounds like a small jet engine but its tiny and extremely efficient.

[@rahowherox1177]

@@wallacegrommet9343 that'll be due to pressures and cross flows and the like, a pump or 2 could mitigate surely.

[@RealButcher]

Wow... what a nice deal. Incredible handy dandy thing! Good to know, never knew they could be so small.

[@rschreck876]

When the dude is wearing a safety suit, you know it’s going to be a good video. 🤣

[@khadijagwen]

I was only just involved in the installation of a unit that is made in the UK, and runs on Propane. It is about the same size and output. The air flow switch was quite cranky and I was pleased to be shed of the project. I don't like propane on the inside of a caravan and said so.

[@JaymeVanAuken]

Very good video my friend and I love that stunning Orange pair of coveralls. Sweet technology, these little heaters have been keeping me warm for many years in my 18-wheeler jail cell sized sleeper.

[@nomadequipment2177]

Hello Mauntie Peithaun🤣

[@noc8076]

It is better with a 2kW unit and run it full speed then a 5 or 8kW running on low as they will soot up when the burn chamber is not at optimal temperature.

[@16vastraturbo]

2kw 5kw 9kw there all the same unit they just slow the pump speeds down on them.

[@westvandude]

@@16vastraturbo Really? Yikes. 9kw would need a lot more fan air volume than 2kw so it doesn't melt down.

[@stevencampbell1603]

I have 2 of these units, 1 I plumbed Into an exterior compartment on my vehicle, piped the exhaust out the bottom of the compartment, plumbed the air inlet and outlet into the back of the vehicle. Have gone through about 3 gallons of fuel running mostly on low. So far so good, works great.

[@stevencampbell1603]

I bought separately the electronic controller with fob so I could turn the heater on and off while driving as the fob hangs from my visor. This heater will be tested fully when I go for winter camping in a couple weeks. I have six 12v 9ah batteries on a fuse block supplying power to the heater with a temporary link to a battery bank of over 160ah till I wire in a permanent link with charging block. A charger for home parking to the battery bank is an genius 3500 3.5a smart charger. My van is an old decommissioned ambulance with full box body, full of drafts but even with the heater on low, it can maintain 70-75 degrees inside with the heater.

[@Re3Ns]

@@stevencampbell1603 Lol i read the last paragraph as "my van is an old decommissioned ambulance full of dead bodies"

[@easy08154711]

I bought this for my electric vehicle.

[@ColinWoodpeckerUK]

Hahahaha.... That's funny. 😂😂😂

[@tx2sturgis]

Ran them for years, the Espar, Webasto, and Eberspacher brands. Once the desired cab or sleeper temperature is achieved, the blower slows down a lot and they don't make much noise all night long.

[@DavidMcLuckie]

Can confirm after testing, this unit also does the same.

[@offbeatwarble]

Interesting video thanks for sharing. What thermal camera do you have there?

[@DavidMcLuckie]

It's a Flir One gen 2. I'd like a gen 3 Pro but can't really justify the cost.

[@PaulAlford75]

@@DavidMcLuckie If I watch your adverts will you buy one :D

[@petethompson1282]

p.s. great video, great to see some proper values that are useful ,we can all buy one based on this. The exhaust i will pay special care to thanks to the thermo readings

[@newdogatplay]

I think if u incorporated the exaust heat from pipes an muffler so the heat coulld be exchanged into the camperit would work much bettter in cold weather climates simply build heat exchanger that allows the heat to enter the camper ,,useing fire proof material of course ,wouldnt even need to catch the actual exaust i dont think unless u used to force the heat off the pipes and tru tubing wrapped around the exaust as part of the heat exchanger

[@alextreeman7964]

Thank you very much for making a clear and easy to understand video.

[@ladyB59]

Sound proof box help with the noise ? As long as still exhausted outside.?

[@cardboardboxification]

Heidi Bennett to make things quiet , make a box from air conditioning fiberglass duct board...foil side out...

[@norwegianminiranch]

Thank you for making this wonderful video. And that you work so scientifically. This helped me a lot.

[@pjwlk]

I'd be worried about doing an over-nighter with a unit that's not CE/ULc/CSA approved. There are too many unknowns. I'm hoping that this unit is confirmed to be approved by a non-Chinese authority. Your life may depend on it.

[@iggnasio]

Its Webasto knockoff. You really think that the Chinese themselves invented this.

[@G-ra-ha-m]

Even an Eber shouldn't be run without a Smoke alarm + CO alarm. Fires can be started by a number of things, only decent alarms will keep you safe. Trusting to an official label requires more faith than I have.

[@izifaddag8221]

A friend of mine burned his truck to the ground with an Espar, burned his foot too. That IS approved. So I would take a chance. The installation is the key to safety.

[@TheScoundrel70]

Depending on what you are risking by installing this in, I would agree. In fact, you may find yourself with no insurance coverage if you install this in a vehicle and have a catastrophic misfortune if it isn't tested and certified (at least in Canada). Cheap copies of things are cheap because the manufacturers skip the cost of having the product certified (and the possible copyright infringements that may result) as well as cutting corners with grade of component and the quality of the materials the components are made from. Not always a deal breaker, but definitely something to give serious consideration before buying. Conversely, there are MANY products made in China that are simply excellent, but don't sell well because most consumers connect cheap/low quality with China, and are unwilling to pay the same price for a Chinese product as one from a North American, European, Australian, etc. company, even if the product itself is still made in China.

[@alanbrown397]

I've seen plenty of fires on genuine webastos/ebers, etc - even factory installed ones (They were the primary cause of engine bay fires in Rover75 and Range/Land Rovers for example) NONE of these kinds of units should ever be operated without supervisory equipment (CO/smoke alarms) a fire extinguisher handy and regular inspection/maintenance - not even the genuine ones.

[@alexjohn4662]

I got one because of seeing this video . Mouths later still going with no problems

[@accelwell7018]

I can't stand buying shit from China. But I have to hand it to you to pick one of these up for $125 is pretty amazing that's hard to argue with

[@Mikey721000]

I ordered one and it arrived in about a week (uk) It took longer to fit it to the boat! Wheelhouse is sweltering in under 10 minutes now

[@BoiledOctopus]

Sounds like Billy Connolly doing a review on diesel heaters. Brilliant!

[@kevinbyrne4538]

4:46 -- Instructions ? I don't need no stinkin' instructions.

[@Fv-il9cc]

Well done. I am a sparky and understand what you're talking about. Spot on.

[@MrArcher0]

Nice prison jumper

[@bobwilbur6]

I bought a chinese heater from HAPPYBUY it worked great for two and months then began overheating i tried to get the problem corrected but they do not have parts to help me .They told me that they would give me a discount of 60% so i am stuck with a heater that does not work andi am out about 70.00.

[@Bodgemiester]

Bin looking for this review. Now I’m getting one. Thanks!

[@pussinboots1145]

Bin looking.Is he Bin Ladens brother?

[@robertbizzarro4957]

LOl........... shop is like mine. Every time I change my mind something falls and hits the floor.

[@Rewind_Start_Over]

LMAO! It's called talent Robert. Multi tasking is a skill that takes years to perfect.

[@freetasman2342]

Thank you for the comprehensive report. I would put one in my camper.

[@vPerformance]

Do you reckon we need to mount that outside the van underneath? It's noisy AF.

[@johnphillip1711]

r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Evwt4forum%2Eco%2Euk%2Fshowthread%2Ephp%3Ft%3D594737&share_tid=594737&share_fid=157455&share_type=t. Seems a silencer on the air intake pipe helps a lot

[@DavidMcLuckie]

Outside in a box with vibration isolation can only help.

[@miccheck1516]

Its running flat out mostly in the vid, and the fan sounds awful compared to mine which looks the same. get an lcd controller and you can set the max and min fan speeds, my fuel pump clicking is the loudest part of my set up when its warmed up and only Maintaining the temp.. I suspect his fan is rubbing against the casing or is otherwise slightly damaged.

[@DavidMcLuckie]

@@miccheck1516 I'd just like to say that it was running in the workshop, which is just a big metal box. I've also got really good mics, so the sound in the video may not truly represent the actual sound your ears would hear if it was installed properly. It's not like I had to shout over it, or was going deaf next to it.

[@vPerformance]

@@DavidMcLuckie Yer mics are baws mate

[@seanhancock7691]

My old(er) VW Van came with a gas heater of this type, I believe straight from the factory. It kept the inside of that big boxcar of a vehicle rather warm through northern Minnesota winters. Also, these vans had a gear reduction at the ends of the rear axles, this geared the van for more power at any speed as well as provided greater ground clearance for the underside of the van floor. The only type heater that works for the described circumstances.

[@chatteyj]

webasto, wallas etc area all rip offs the wallas hob/ heater for campervans is £1500! Its a nice bit of kit but totally not worth the asking price. Now all they need is for a Chinese company to make a cheaper alternative diesel hob for campervans and you'll have a one fuel low cost solution for campervans.

[@vPerformance]

I'm not sure I'd want to cook my dinner on diesel though

[@chatteyj]

@@vPerformance People in boats do it all the time.

[@byebye9785]

My RV runs on petrol, which presumably means I could fill my diesel tank for the generator up with road duty free gasoil (for diesel fridge trailers) up at truck stops without HMRC having a spaz attack... Just saying there are advantages to fuel choices. The LPG at the filling stations is road duty free too I think which is great for cooking, although not every petrol station sells it, making it difficult for heating. This diesel heater would be great for that!

[@chatteyj]

@@byebye9785 I'm currently building my own campervan and if I could cook and heat with diesel I would as it really would be a one fuel solution to my van and I'm nervous about lpg as I'm afraid I might blow up my van and kill everyone inside, I guess I'll just have to take all safety precautions necessary.

[@cambridgemart2075]

@@byebye9785 LPG at filling stations is road duty paid, but it's still cheaper than buying it in refilled Calor gas cylinders.

[@dezertraider]

Thank you Mate,David in the late 70s I had a similar heater in the 113 Personnel carrier.A diesel fulled,Hot air heater.It was nice to get hot water also for out LRP Dehydrated meals.73s

[@user-zt4ry9hm9u]

Can it run well on kerosene, biodiesel or vegetable oil? Since diesel is taxed heavily for road use and tax free red diesel (off road use) is not readily available to the public.

[@DavidMcLuckie]

I'm going to test it on various fuels in part two.

[@raymondpomfret4214]

I've got a boat and I buy red deisel off the boat yard but a few years ago the money grabbing government uped the tax on it !!

[@rkan2]

It should work with those as diesel engines do too.. The vegetable oil might clog it up.

[@user-zt4ry9hm9u]

Yes vegetable oil will more then likely cause fouling, but it's worth exploring to what extent. Kerosene/heating oil as it's tax free, similar to diesel and biodiesel as it's a polar solvent and may cause leak's.

[@stanpatterson5033]

I had them run on dyed or clear diesel. I remember the documentation of several of the Espars and Webastos of my past stating that they would run kero, diesel #1, #2, stove oil, furnace oil. They would probably burn jet A, but that would be very expensive, and probably hard to get in small quantities. The vegetable oil might have a higher gel point, and tend to congeal in cold weather. You could try adding used fryer oil to a vehicle's diesel tank to mix with the diesel though.

[@j.m.1535]

Thank you very for this fascinating,instructive,beautiful,educational,inspiring video!

[@MrFIZZYMann]

The Diesel Pump should be mounted at a 45° Angle.

[@DavidMcLuckie]

Which way? Is that to let air bubble out?

[@tundramanq]

Watching in January 2023 and live at 5200 Ft above sea level.The CO levels indicate that it is running rich. 4 years later almost all of these have an Alpine mode that reduces fuel flow for high altitudes. Probably because these early models were shooting flames from the exhaust. I was referred over here by another youtuber because you are knowledgeable with good safety advice and aren't as prone to doing dumb and dangerous things to these heaters.

[@DavidMcLuckie]

I have been known to do the occasional dumb/dangerous thing. But usually in the pursuit of knowledge.

[@jdubayou9498]

I live in Arizona what is this thing?

[@vitoldsali9071]

This is AC unit for Arizona. Greetings from Chicago.

[@cburkett4311]

@@vitoldsali9071 yea i got family in Az and my cus said he used that to keep his balls cool on a hot day lmfao.... Btw greetings from Rockford

[@MyAvaGrace]

It's a way those that live in colder climates are burning more fossil fuel to create more greenhouse gas to try to get our temps to be the same as Arizona.

[@accelwell7018]

No shit I live in Tucson n I'm thinking about getting one... Like I'd Know what to do with it.

[@nature4p3ace]

You guys lucky in Chicago...don’t need air conditioning...😅

[@peterclancy3653]

In Australia I bought two D2 Airtronic for about $4000 I bought two 8Kw Chinese units delivered for $430. All the units work well with regular service. I get about 2500 hours operation before servicing. The German heater has really good instructions and fault solutions but the Chinese heater instruction manual is written in Chinese English and fairly hard to decipher.

[@georgeton4991]

Yes the dreaded Chinglish.

[@gasperajdnik5627]

I'm a machanic and a construksen worker and a machanic engener and I drive construksen vilecals and bild up old cars buses trucks evri Day in my machanic garage and I bild cars and I like to test evriting like one Up The Sleeve Customs and I have a garage wer I have my construksen vilecals and a garage wer I have my 2020 ford ranger wildtrak and I have a workshop 😎. Greetings from Slovenia

[@gillypoof]

i have a webasto in my toyota hiace camper,its great but if I ever need another,I will get one of these .Thanx for making this video

[@Neontrifle]

I wonder if you could silence it somehow, also scavenge some heat of the exhaust pipe.

[@petermcarthur7450]

I wouldn't extract too much heat from the exhaust, for fear of causing condensation in the pipe.

[@Neontrifle]

good point

[@COLOURSCAPEARTS]

@@petermcarthur7450 condensation would occur but wouldn't that evaporate? and couldn't you scavenge some exhaust heat with a long exhaust hose under flooring tile or the like?

[@petermcarthur7450]

@@COLOURSCAPEARTS You're not going to get evaporation and condensation happening under the same conditions. Do you mean the condensation will trickle back to where the gas is hotter and evaporate there? That just means you have cooler, more humid gas coming through the pipe, which makes the condensation problem worse. It is possible to build a highly efficient underfloor heating system that uses flu gas. They're quite specialised things, but when they work, they work well. But for one of these diesel heaters, just stick to the manufacturer's recommendations. If you can extract some waste heat from the flu pipe while still following those recommendations, I guess that's fine.