2KW diesel heater installed. Review, performance, sound, cost.

[Gromett]

On the spares side Gromett , when I installed mine . I happened to recheck all the connectiontions after we had been out in the van and found that the filter housing had cracked and just started leaking diesel. No reason , it hadn't been knocked or overtightened . I had to disconnect the filter and join up the pipe without it in place to stop leaks etc and order a replacement ( well 2 actually as they were really cheap) when I got them they wouldnt unscrew to enable the filter to be cleaned . So maybe its not a filter that can be cleaned?

Checked the filter when the problem first happened. No air bubbles in it

However I do not like the cheap filters. As soon as funds allow I will be ordering one of these for each of my Diesel heaters.

Pardon our interruption...

 

[Steve and Denise]

The problem is not the fuel, it is my operating practice and lack of high temp burns. I have learned a valuable lesson. My other diesel heaters all work fine on red. It was just this one in my caravan running on the lowest setting none stop with no high burn or restarts.

£1.20 is more than I pay for my Red. I will stick with my red thank you
If it is the Whaplode near Spalding then it would be a 60 mile round trip to fill up each time and that would add additional cost in the form of black diesel.

Thanks for the suggestion though.

Not if you use an EV to go and fetch it

 

[Gromett]

Not if you use an EV to go and fetch it

My electric at the moment mainly comes from a diesel generator

 

[jockaneezer]

Jimbohorlicks, if your filter looks like this one, they don't come apart, you just throw them away once they get grubby. This one is on my diesel heater, but I fit them on all my small ic engined stuff too.

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

Jimbohorlicks, if your filter looks like this one, they don't come apart, you just throw them away once they get grubby. This one is on my diesel heater, but I fit them on all my small ic engined stuff too.View attachment 849254

Yes that's the one. Thanks for the info . When I bought the spares the seller advised they unscrewed to clean the filter but they seemed to be fixed when I recieved them but they were cheap enough and did the job.

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[Gromett]

Jimbohorlicks, if your filter looks like this one, they don't come apart, you just throw them away once they get grubby. This one is on my diesel heater, but I fit them on all my small ic engined stuff too.View attachment 849254

No mine does not look exactly like that and it does unscrew. But either way it is not the cause of the problem and is only 5 weeks or so old

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

Not saying they are a problem but to add to your spares list
Without it if you use the heater any rubbish could damage the pump.

 

[DABurleigh]

I quite fancy a compact, portable, squat integrated 2kW diesel heater, tank & controller that I could quickly shove into the motorhome garage or under a seat, and connect to prepared 12V, inlet, outlet and exhaust/silencer. Or leave at home, or use in the reasonably insulated home garage, etc.

I don't mind installing 12v and pipes, servicing and maintenance, but can't be bothered to design the package. Are there such 2kW units available? A quick search suggests I might end up with a 5kW one, which I don't want.

Dave

 

[Gromett]

I quite fancy a compact, portable, squat integrated 2kW diesel heater, tank & controller that I could quickly shove into the motorhome garage or under a seat, and connect to prepared 12V, inlet, outlet and exhaust/silencer. Or leave at home, or use in the reasonably insulated home garage, etc.

I don't mind installing 12v and pipes, servicing and maintenance, but can't be bothered to design the package. Are there such 2kW units available? A quick search suggests I might end up with a 5kW one, which I don't want.

Dave

At the price they are you are probably better off doing a proper install at both locations. I paid £82 for my last one.

 

[Charlieman]

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.

Hi, I am looking to install one in the new year. I'm thinking maxpeedingrods is the one for me. We are in a motorhome and it's not the biggest but not the smallest either. What make did you go for?
Regards Charlie B.

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[Gromett]

Hi, I am looking to install one in the new year. I'm thinking maxpeedingrods is the one for me. We are in a motorhome and it's not the biggest but not the smallest either. What make did you go for?
Regards Charlie B.

View attachment 849323

I just went with the cheapest ones on ebay. I now have 4 of them

Currently £82... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/38616036...d=link&campid=5339023013&toolid=20001&mkevt=1

The MaxSpeedingrods have a good reputation. I believe that is the make that Wissel buys and installs?

 

[Steve and Denise]

Hi, I am looking to install one in the new year. I'm thinking maxpeedingrods is the one for me. We are in a motorhome and it's not the biggest but not the smallest either. What make did you go for?
Regards Charlie B.

View attachment 849323

After doing a fair bit of research I bought Lavaner from Ali express nice quality £225

 

[Charlieman]

After doing a fair bit of research I bought Lavaner from Ali express nice quality £225

That's very useful thank you the Lavaner was actually my first choice. But the maxpeedingrods has good reviews. I am doing my research and will be going to buy the Lavanar one.
Thanks for info much appreciated

 

[Charlieman]

After doing a fair bit of research I bought Lavaner from Ali express nice quality £225

Hi, did you get the max or the pro? I am just reviewing the difference between them. Regards C.

 

[Steve and Denise]

Hi, did you get the max or the pro? I am just reviewing the difference between them. Regards C.

Just the basic as I have no intention of being up a mountain

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[Gromett]

Well it is swapped out and new one fired up immediately. took 15 minutes to swap with 5 minutes of that time searching for good quality jubilee clips I had already bought.

Took the exhaust pipe off the old one and it confirmed what I thought. It is well sooted up and this is before I get into. The camera doesn't really capture how little the hole that is left is.

SO.. My strong advice is. If you are going to run it none stop for weeks on end without putting it to full power occasionally expect to get 5 weeks of service out of it.

I would recommend every 24 or 48 hours of running to ramp it up to 100% for 15-20 minutes. This is probably way more often than is needed, but I am erring on the side of caution.


Next task. Stripping this one down and cleaning it out. If the burn chamber is full carbonised I may have to wait for my replacement burn chamber to arrive.

PLEASE NOTE: This has not knocked my confidence in them. My use case is pretty out of the norm and I didn't do the full heat burn until it was way too late..

 

[Gromett]

My concern was the internal temperature of the burner casing that the air flows over to provide the hot air heating . I don't like to see it over 163C , but that's my choice. ( its just a figure i'm happy with).
I dont know how high a temp the internal casing / heat exchanger gets at it max setting. But very happy with mine (which is plumbed into my main fuel tank.)

Just put mine on the highest setting. Burning it in for 45 minutes as per Wissel recommendation. Temp is showing 185°C Casing is still only warm to the touch but the outlet air vent is rather warm and just realised my battery leads are touching it so moved them.

 

[Gromett]

The only downside to putting a new unit in again is I have to go through that horrible burning smell stage again

 

[RogerIvy]

Do these heaters not simply run at full heat for short periods of the day?
….rather than running at a lower heat for longer periods?

 

[Raul]

Do these heaters not simply run at full heat for short periods of the day?
….rather than running at a lower heat for longer periods?

They do at start up, and at shut down it runs a short plug heated . But, if you run it for few days non stop, you have to crank it up manually before shut down.

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[Gromett]

Do these heaters not simply run at full heat for short periods of the day?
….rather than running at a lower heat for longer periods?

No, they do not startup and shutdown like a gas one can. Takes a while and a full process to get them started and stopped. you don't want that happening multiple times a day.
Better to have them on a setting that keeps the same temperature throughout the day.

 

[Gromett]

They do at start up, and at shut down it runs a short plug heated . But, if you run it for few days non stop, you have to crank it up manually before shut down.

Beat me to it. I had typed it in then my food buzzer went and I forgot to click post reply.

 

[Raul]

No, they do not startup and shutdown like a gas one can. Takes a while and a full process to get them started and stopped. you don't want that happening multiple times a day.
Better to have them on a setting that keeps the same temperature throughout the day.

Mine does Gromett, at start up runs till reaches full heat, then throttles down to the hertz set. Then on shut down, pump stops, fun ramps up and glowplug heats up.

Sorry just read your reply again.

 

[Gromett]

Mine does Gromett, at start up runs till reaches full heat, then throttles down to the hertz set. Then on shut down, pump stops, fun ramps up and glowplug heats up.

I think possibly we are speaking at crossed purposes? My little 2KW does wind up to full power to heat up and then drops down to normal operating hz setting.
My problem arose because I ran it for weeks at this very low setting without turning it off. It had no chance for that big startup heat surge, nor did I run it at full temp until it was too late.

 

[Raul]

I think possibly we are speaking at crossed purposes? My little 2KW does wind up to full power to heat up and then drops down to normal operating hz setting.
My problem arose because I ran it for weeks at this very low setting without turning it off. It had no chance for that big startup heat surge, nor did I run it at full temp until it was too late.

Sorry got co fused a little, I edited my post above.

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[RogerIvy]

Does the diesel Truma Combi work in the same way?
….not heard of such problems with them

 

[Gromett]

Does the diesel Truma Combi work in the same way?
….not heard of such problems with them

There is no problem. It was me not using it in a way that is suitable.

 

[Pausim]

Does the diesel Truma Combi work in the same way?
….not heard of such problems with them

I did a fair bit of research before ordering a diesel Combi in my next van and Truma claim the diesel burner is maintenance free. Same as the gas burner.

 

[Gromett]

Wow, my 5kw heater can go down to 1.5hz the lowest; I know I can mess with the settings to go further down, but I'm thinking of to cold and soot build up.

Been thinking about this and it makes sense. The dosing pump is identical but the internal volume and mass of the body in the 4/5KW heaters is quite a lot more. So it will need more diesel for the lowest setting.
I am thinking this is also a little part of the reason my heater has sooted up so fast. The low dose rate means a low motor rpm which means it won't burn as hot?

So a 5KW should be pretty much maintenance free for normal usage. Explains why a 2KW appears to need a high temp burn to prevent maintenance issues. Really looking forward to stripping the old one down in the new year. Getting curious.

 

[Two on Tour]

There is no problem. It was me not using it in a way that is suitable.

Usually the sooting up of diesel heaters is caused by the incorrect fuel to air ratio resulting in an incomplete burn of the fuel leading to the sooting up.
This is normally due to over fuelling and causes high levels of carbon monoxide as well.
You used to be able to tune the Chinese diesel heaters by adjusting the fan speed via the controller menu to get lower CO levels, but the ECU's in the newer heaters have been evolving so I do not know if this is still possible.
Because I'm running an Afterburner heater controller I have the ability to adjust the fan speed at the lowest and highest fuel pump Hz and by adjusting these fan speeds along with a CO meter at the end of the exhaust pipe I can tune my heaters to very low CO levels which in turn is a clean burn of the fuel.

This is the CO meter that I use, it cheaper than most but does the job well.
Amazon product ASIN B083Y37JTJ

David McLuckie did this video on adjusting the fuel/air ratio for a cleaner burn.

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