I installed a 2KW diesel heater 2 days ago. Here is my initial review.
I was heading towards the peak winter usage of gas at 1 bottle per week and these are currently costing £42.99 per swap.
In addition my gas heater just doesn't cut it in the winter even on full blast. So a Diesel heater has been long on the cards.
Now I have my industrial unit I could strip stuff down and had places to store all the crap while I did the work and it wasn't so much of a hassle to do.
Soo. The install. I wanted to install it under the bench seat opposite the one I use as a bed. But due to the water heater being in an awkward position this was not possible with the chassis rails.
Moving it is possible but is a future project and I didn't want to do it just now. So. I installed it under my bed as that is the easiest place to get to. Right at the head of the bed.
It wasn't until I started testing it I suddenly thought about having that fan/tick right next to my head whilst trying to sleep and got a bit concerned.
This fear turned out to be unfounded as once the cushions were back on it is actually quieter than the blower in my Truma gas/electric heater.
Noise levels are therefore not an issue at all with the 2Kw heaters at low. And at low it is heating my caravan beautifully. I have had to turn it off once due to it getting too hot in here once, the sun was out and heating the van up.
Then twice I have opened a roof vent with the fan on for 2 minutes each time to knock down the heat a bit at night. Turning it off cools the van too much and then it has to ramp up to get the temp back up again. So letting a little bit of the hot air out works out better.
It is not something you have to do often with the 2KW heater.
2KW vs 5KW heater. I chose the 2KW heater because I would rather have one that could go very low and use the least diesel rather than work most efficiently in the winter. I think this was the correct decision. The 5KW in my van cab pumps out a LOT more heat on the lowest setting and would have been too much for my caravan.
Usage: The diesel tank gauge hasn't moved off full in the 2 days I have been using it. So I just timed the ticks. It is running at 1 tick a second at night and during the day it drops lower than this. But I just did the maths based on 1 tick per second.
1 tick = a 0.02ml dose. So 0.02ml x 60 x 60 is 72ml an hour and 1.728L a day. I am buying my red diesel at 99p per litre. So the cost is £1.71 a day or £11.97 per week. Even if I have to go the more expensive supplier round here it is £1.15 per litre it would be £1.99 per day or £14 per week. When I can get onto the kerosene it will be £0.79 per litre or £1.36 per day or £9.55 per week. I was considering getting a Kerosene bunded tank but the cost of it and the savings means it is probably not worth the effort. The payback time would be too long.
Anyway I think that is off the beaten track
My calculations are that if you can get red diesel then the cost of running a 2KW diesel heater is a quarter of the price to a third of the price of gas bottles and probably half the cost of LPG.
Summary. Not as noisy as expected, much cheaper to run than expected. Dead easy to install and a good level of heat even on the lowest setting. For a caravan it is better because refillable LPG are not always practical. For a motorhome if you use the main diesel tank I think it still works out cheaper than LPG in a refillable but perhaps not as clear cut depending on the price of Diesel. However, if you are fulltiming during the winter. Having the diesel heater running from your main tank gives you a much long run time before needing to seek a refill. With a dual 13KG gaslow in the peak of winter you would be seeking a refill every 14-18 days. A 90 Litre tank in a fiat ducato would last 53 Days. So there is that advantage to consider also. In 2009 and 2010 winters I got snowed in and had a hellish job getting cyclinders delivered. I couldn't get out to get my Gaslow bottles topped up. It hasn't happened since, but...
Anyway, I will post follow ups if I have any further information.
I was heading towards the peak winter usage of gas at 1 bottle per week and these are currently costing £42.99 per swap.
In addition my gas heater just doesn't cut it in the winter even on full blast. So a Diesel heater has been long on the cards.
Now I have my industrial unit I could strip stuff down and had places to store all the crap while I did the work and it wasn't so much of a hassle to do.
Soo. The install. I wanted to install it under the bench seat opposite the one I use as a bed. But due to the water heater being in an awkward position this was not possible with the chassis rails.
Moving it is possible but is a future project and I didn't want to do it just now. So. I installed it under my bed as that is the easiest place to get to. Right at the head of the bed.
It wasn't until I started testing it I suddenly thought about having that fan/tick right next to my head whilst trying to sleep and got a bit concerned.
This fear turned out to be unfounded as once the cushions were back on it is actually quieter than the blower in my Truma gas/electric heater.
Noise levels are therefore not an issue at all with the 2Kw heaters at low. And at low it is heating my caravan beautifully. I have had to turn it off once due to it getting too hot in here once, the sun was out and heating the van up.
Then twice I have opened a roof vent with the fan on for 2 minutes each time to knock down the heat a bit at night. Turning it off cools the van too much and then it has to ramp up to get the temp back up again. So letting a little bit of the hot air out works out better.
It is not something you have to do often with the 2KW heater.
2KW vs 5KW heater. I chose the 2KW heater because I would rather have one that could go very low and use the least diesel rather than work most efficiently in the winter. I think this was the correct decision. The 5KW in my van cab pumps out a LOT more heat on the lowest setting and would have been too much for my caravan.
Usage: The diesel tank gauge hasn't moved off full in the 2 days I have been using it. So I just timed the ticks. It is running at 1 tick a second at night and during the day it drops lower than this. But I just did the maths based on 1 tick per second.
1 tick = a 0.02ml dose. So 0.02ml x 60 x 60 is 72ml an hour and 1.728L a day. I am buying my red diesel at 99p per litre. So the cost is £1.71 a day or £11.97 per week. Even if I have to go the more expensive supplier round here it is £1.15 per litre it would be £1.99 per day or £14 per week. When I can get onto the kerosene it will be £0.79 per litre or £1.36 per day or £9.55 per week. I was considering getting a Kerosene bunded tank but the cost of it and the savings means it is probably not worth the effort. The payback time would be too long.
Anyway I think that is off the beaten track
My calculations are that if you can get red diesel then the cost of running a 2KW diesel heater is a quarter of the price to a third of the price of gas bottles and probably half the cost of LPG.
Summary. Not as noisy as expected, much cheaper to run than expected. Dead easy to install and a good level of heat even on the lowest setting. For a caravan it is better because refillable LPG are not always practical. For a motorhome if you use the main diesel tank I think it still works out cheaper than LPG in a refillable but perhaps not as clear cut depending on the price of Diesel. However, if you are fulltiming during the winter. Having the diesel heater running from your main tank gives you a much long run time before needing to seek a refill. With a dual 13KG gaslow in the peak of winter you would be seeking a refill every 14-18 days. A 90 Litre tank in a fiat ducato would last 53 Days. So there is that advantage to consider also. In 2009 and 2010 winters I got snowed in and had a hellish job getting cyclinders delivered. I couldn't get out to get my Gaslow bottles topped up. It hasn't happened since, but...
Anyway, I will post follow ups if I have any further information.
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