41 replies to this topic

[ski3pin]

And an evaluation of a chinese diesel heater after 2000 hours of runtime -

 

 

 

[Old Crow]

Update on my portable diesel heater....

 

1. My suitcase-style portable heater sits outside and pushes the warmed air into my van through a 10-foot duct hose.  That means about six feet of the hot-air duct is exposed to cold outside air before it enters the van.  I recently bought Eberspacher MaxiTherm insulation blankets (off Ebay) to insulate that section.  I went with snap-on blankets rather than slide-on tubular blankets as I figured the snap-on style would be easier to dry out when they get wet.  They also fold down small enough to store in the heater case between uses.  On my test on a 40*F day, they made a 20-degree difference in the temperature of the air at the outlet (in the van).

 

2. I noticed the brochure for the heater now says it operates up to 13,700 feet elevation.  I called the distributor to ask if mine was good for that as the ad had said 8200 feet. The answer was that yes, all of them in the last five years are the auto-compensating HA (High Altitude) ones.  He did tell me to remember that performance degrades at higher elevations.  I took that to mean the elevation specs have to do with heater output.  In other words it will put out the full btu rating up to 8200 feet and will run at higher elevations but heat output will be reduced.  He also reminded me to always use kerosene at elevation.

 

3. I've not used the heater in the last year.  We took it along on our western Canada trip but never got into cold weather by our return in early October.  We had a few overnights into the 30s (F) but the warm days kept the van warm enough that we didn't need the heater by bedtime.  I do run the heater for a half-hour every two months for maintenance and it always starts easily.

Edited by Old Crow, 11 February 2024 - 07:59 PM.