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

Gromett said:
Kerosene is usually around 70-80p in the UK. But they are not legally allowed to sell it in volumes less than 500L unless it is in pre-measured containers.
When in a container they charge £1.90 - £2.00 making it more expensive than LPG and even Flogas propane bottles.
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Rye Oils have a garage type pump I've been there and just filled a 5 Lt container with kerosene.
 
I do not have or want a diesel heater (who knows in the future) yet I have strangely really enjoyed following this thread, and just wish all accessories could be reviewed in such a detailed and particularly honest fashion, thank you.
 
Lenny HB said:
Rye Oils have a garage type pump I've been there and just filled a 5 Lt container with kerosene.
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They are in Essex I am in Lincs.

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Filled up with 77 litres of Kerosene from Rye oil pump @0.90/litre, that'll see me through the winter 🤞

Into my 4th winter with my 2kw CDH run solely on kero, ticks over at 1.2Hz rarely any higher and has never ran at full chat.

Carry a spare unit to swap out in case of failure.

Brilliant piece of kit
 
Lenny HB said:
Even further East Sussex :xrofl:

Only posted it because of what you said that it was on avaliable for bulk delivery.
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Ah I see your point. I wasn't thinking about availability at the pump as there are no kerosene pumps round here so my only option is delivery. That is where I was coming from.
 
gromet does your air intake on the non combustion side draw air from in the van or just under the caravan?
 
mitzimad said:
gromet does your air intake on the non combustion side draw air from in the van or just under the caravan?
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Im sure it will be from the inside of the van (combustion side will be from outside) on the basis that it keeps hearing the already warmed air as opposed to heating cold air from outside.
I originally had mine at home with the air intake (non combustion) feeding from outside , it used a lot more diesel when it was set up that way.

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mitzimad said:
gromet does your air intake on the non combustion side draw air from in the van or just under the caravan?
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Inside. It is much more efficient. It can cause combustion problems in really cold weather if the intake is outside as it can cool the casing too much.
 
Well David McLuckie just released a few videos showing the inside of the burn chamber. I suspect mine may be fully clogged.
If this is the case there are two options.

I will be investing in MAP torch and bottle and attempt to burn it clean. If this fails then a new one is only £15.

This is why I love the chinese heaters. Every single part is dirt cheap. Unlike Truma and Dometic etc. I wouldn't mind paying a high price for their goods if they didn't rip you on the service parts after.


Here is the video. Inside my glow plug hole it appears to be bunged up with solid carbon. so I suspect the burn chamber may be clogged like this one.

 
Two on Tour said:
My combustion air is taken from the outside of the van, house air from inside.
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I think that is what he was asking. We know the combustion one has to come from outside for safety. But the inlet for air to heat the house/van should come from inside the vehicle/house/garage.
 
If you've got the time, try soaking the burn chamber in some caustic soda drain cleaner or Mr Muscle oven cleaner, it dissolved the blocked up carbon in my car's egr cooler, just keep it away from the aluminium body parts ?

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Gromett said:
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.
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Hi Grommet, this is really interesting as I have a Truma 6002 in my Hymer Tec which is a 4 season camper but the heater seems abit less than efficient and is of course obsolete. So I am thinking a diesel heater could be the answer, tee’d into the ducting.
What I can’t see is the make of the heater you used and where to buy it from?
 
WanderingWibble’s said:
What I can’t see is the make of the heater you used and where to buy it from?
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It is a chinese diesel heater. Link to all the products I used is on the first page posts #16 and #17 please forgive me for not typing them all in again.

T'ing into the existing ducting is probably not practical. The Truma has two outputs so you would end up blowing warm air back into the truma and probably not making it back out to the other branch.
The diesel heater is also best operated with only 1Mtr output or at least limiting it. Pumping it all round the van in the truma ducts is probably not going to give good results :(
 
Gromett said:
Well David McLuckie just released a few videos showing the inside of the burn chamber. I suspect mine may be fully clogged.
If this is the case there are two options.

I will be investing in MAP torch and bottle and attempt to burn it clean. If this fails then a new one is only £15.

This is why I love the chinese heaters. Every single part is dirt cheap. Unlike Truma and Dometic etc. I wouldn't mind paying a high price for their goods if they didn't rip you on the service parts after.


Here is the video. Inside my glow plug hole it appears to be bunged up with solid carbon. so I suspect the burn chamber may be clogged like this one.

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I think, thats the aftermath of his test with waste oil, then modified the burn chamber and did another test, then he did a 50:50 mix filtered oil with diesel. All that crud is from waste oil. I followed all the episodes and the conclusion is: waste oil will clog it up, its just a matter of time, depending on the mix.
 
Raul said:
I think, thats the aftermath of his test with waste oil, then modified the burn chamber and did another test, then he did a 50:50 mix filtered oil with diesel. All that crud is from waste oil. I followed all the episodes and the conclusion is: waste oil will clog it up, its just a matter of time, depending on the mix.
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I understand that (y) I watched them also. The reason I think my burn chamber is clogged is
a) The glowplug threads were crunchy when I unscrewed it.
b) The mesh was welded in by carbon.
c) My screwdriver can barely get past the hole at the bottom of the mesh.

After replacing the mesh and clearing the flame front hole it still doesn't light so I think the burn chamber is going to be well clogged. Time will tell.
 
WanderingWibble’s said:
Hi Grommet, this is really interesting as I have a Truma 6002 in my Hymer Tec which is a 4 season camper but the heater seems abit less than efficient and is of course obsolete. So I am thinking a diesel heater could be the answer, tee’d into the ducting.
What I can’t see is the make of the heater you used and where to buy it from?
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I tee’d my Chinese diesel heater into the Truma duct , at the boiler I removed the pipes from boiler and linked them together, so heat not going into boiler.
I have heater under van and heat duct entering under settee and tee’d into duct but the bathroom is on the other side of van and not a lot of heat gets to bathroom.

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Manic said:
I tee’d my Chinese diesel heater into the Truma duct , at the boiler I removed the pipes from boiler and linked them together, so heat not going into boiler.
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That only works if you are replacing the Truma boiler rather than augmenting it. I kept my truma installed as a backup and I am glad I did.
As a full timer I need 2 sources of heat in case one fails. Believe me I have had that happen christmas eve a number of years ago and that could have been a miserable few days if it were not for B & Q opening on boxing day.
As it happens I had 24 hours of having to light the oven for 15 minutes each hour or hour and a half.

So these days I make sure I have at least 2 sources of heat in my van.
 
Gromett said:
That only works if you are replacing the Truma boiler rather than augmenting it. I kept my truma installed as a backup and I am glad I did.
As a full timer I need 2 sources of heat in case one fails. Believe me I have had that happen christmas eve a number of years ago and that could have been a miserable few days if it were not for B & Q opening on boxing day.
As it happens I had 24 hours of having to light the oven for 15 minutes each hour or hour and a half.

So these days I make sure I have at least 2 sources of heat in my van.
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I can easily reconnect the pipes and use the Truma blown air , so that wouldn’t be an issue if needed to use it.
 
Manic said:
I can easily reconnect the pipes and use the Truma blown air , so that wouldn’t be an issue if needed to use it.
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Out of interest how close to your Truma heater did you connect your diesel heater 😊
 
MisterB said:
I originally had mine at home with the air intake (non combustion) feeding from outside , it used a lot more diesel when it was set up that way.
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Reminds me of my brother buying a house in Hadleigh,essex. Couldn't figure out why the central heating wasn't that hot & fuel usage was colossal .Until we found it heated fresh water continually & the return went down the drain?:xeek::xdoh:
 
It
Silver-Fox said:
Out of interest how close to your Truma heater did you connect your diesel heater
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It’s probably around 3 metres and another metre to the bathroom

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Gromett said:
3 more things.
Battery usage. I fitted a Lithium battery just to power the diesel heater (for now) as the caravan battery and charger crapped it's pants and didn't like running the diesel heater. Please note this is specific to my caravan and should not put you off.
BUT it means I have an accurate reading of how much power the heater is using. In the 2 days Since I installed it the battery has gone from 100% to 95% So at this rate if I didn't want to go below 20% I could do 32 days without any solar to charge it or switching the mains charger on. I was impressed by this.

Spares.
I have ordered 1 of everything as a spare just in case. This has cost me less than £50. A spare pump, gaskets, glowplug, controller and ECU. When/If it goes wrong I won't be panicking for spares and won't have to pay extortionate Truma prices.

Cost
The total cost of the 2KW heater and spares was just under £150. I also bought a turret to make the install easier and safer this cost me £15.50.
View attachment 834590


I also bought this excellent SeaFlo diesel tank. To allow me to use Red diesel. This was £50.00
View attachment 834591

This needed a different connector so I got one of these very nice ones for £8.00
View attachment 834592

I also bought an upgraded exhaust silencer, but haven't fitted this yet. Might save this for my van 5KW heater which is a lot noisier. Cost £10.
View attachment 834595


So all told £235 but you don't need to buy all of this and can do it on a budget for £120.


On the installation front. if you are fitting it to your van and don't want a separate tank. There is no need to drill into your fuel tank, nor do you need to cut the fuel line. In my Vivaro I used one of these .
View attachment 834596

All I had to do was unplug the return pipe underneath and plug this in then connect my fuel line off the T. It was dead easy. Wissel did this bit for me on my van. I think he liked it.
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Great write up and fully discriptive , something to consider when i do a refurb... thanks
 
Another 2KW diesel heater arrived today. Will be swapping my out of service one tomorrow then doing the tear down.
A combination of laziness, work and beer has prevented me doing it sooner. With having the gas heater it wasn't critical just expensive :)

Not sure when I will be doing the tear down but will take pictures to share on here.
 
Gromett said:
Another 2KW diesel heater arrived today. Will be swapping my out of service one tomorrow then doing the tear down.
A combination of laziness, work and beer has prevented me doing it sooner. With having the gas heater it wasn't critical just expensive :)

Not sure when I will be doing the tear down but will take pictures to share on here.
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There is a garage with a kerosene pump in Whaplode about £1.20 buy as much as you want if your passing, I run ours on Kerosene and even the exhaust is still clean inside if you stick your finger in, when not running of corse.🙂
 
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?
 
Steve and Denise said:
There is a garage with a kerosene pump in Whaplode about £1.20 buy as much as you want if your passing, I run ours on Kerosene and even the exhaust is still clean inside if you stick your finger in, when not running of corse.🙂
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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.

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