Installing A Chinese Diesel Heater In Our Van

Hello & welcome to our latest valifeuk video.
In this vanlife video Robert & his dad install a chinese diesel heater into the van to help provide warmth throughout the coming winter months.
These budget van life heaters are a godsend for keeping the van warm. They're extremely efficient on both diesel use & for the power that they draw from the leisure batteries we have.
Watch as Robert goes through the various steps to get the heater installed & allows us to keep the van warm, no matter what the weather is outside.
If you have any comments, please leave them in the comments section & we'll get back to you as quickly as possible
Thanks for watching

[@davidjones1997]

Its great to see you guys back. Hopefully things will start looking up for you both soon. I’m excited to see the van once it’s all complete

[@ourvan.ourway]

Us too! It’s taken a lot longer than we thought for a number of reasons. But once it’s complete, it’ll be amazing

[@abelincoln3261]

You drilled one to many holes.. The exhaust does need to go outside, yes... slant it downward .. angled with the muffler weep hole facing down, so the exhaust pipe and muffler can drain any moisture correctly.. Next you inlet air intake should be run inside your van.. this will not only allow it to not.. draw fumes from your exhaust pipe back into your system ... and into your van... it will also use your inside air.. which will help you keep your inside air dry and free on any unwanted moisture, dirt... smoke.. etc... also... make sure you place a tray of some sort under your fill tank .. fuel tank.. just in case you spill diesel... I have boot trays under mine.. they are hard plastic.. with lips to contain any liquid..

[@ourvan.ourway]

Hi Abe. Where was the extra hole drilled? As far as I’m aware, all holes drilled in the van were used - but I’m worried I might’ve missed something now The air intake & exhaust for the combustion part both need to be outside, otherwise the van would end up with negative pressure & also end up exhausting the warmer air, while pulling fresh cold air inside to equalise the negative pressure. The air intake & outlet for the warming part should both be inside, this eliminates the chance of negative pressure & makes the heater work more efficiently. I wish I’d seen your tip about a tray under the fuel tank incase of any spills. I hadn’t tightened the cap before I went for a drive & a little bit did slosh out & spill onto the wooden floor. Thanks for watching & taking the time to comment 👍

[@capodad2u]

You want the combustion chamber intake pipe outside the vehicle not only for safety reasons, it's just as likely to leak as the exhaust so it needs to be securely sealed to the outside easy from the exhaust. In addition the heater will run better on the cooler air. It will not affect the air blowing out from the heat exchanger. These units are designed the way they are for a reason. Although they can be used inside a closed vehicle safely (that's why they're also called parking heaters) it is much safer and quieter to install them outside and just run the heat inside. Either way you should have a carbon monoxide detector installed if your sleeping in your vehicle.

[@ourvan.ourway]

@@capodad2u hi there. The combustion air intake & the exhaust are both located outside of the van. The air intake to the front of the van & the exhaust is an extra long one, pointing to the rear & also towards the other side of the van too

[@capodad2u]

Correct, I was referring to abelincoln advise to only ruin the exhaust outside 😢

[@ourvan.ourway]

@@capodad2u my apologies. I was a bit confused

[@darrylpaterick3108]

Why do we need to call these "Chinese" diesel heaters. I get that that's where they are manufactured, but so are 3/4 of the consumer products out there. "Inexpensive" diesel heater is more appropriate lacking a specific brand name.

[@ourvan.ourway]

It’s just what they’re commonly known as. They’re a Chinese reverse-engineered version of a more common brand.