Diesel Heater To Replace OEM Furnaces

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Diesel Heater To Replace OEM Furnaces

October 01, 2018, 06:28:13 pm

I just came upon an Ebay site with Chinese 12V diesel air heaters. They come in several styles and have LCD control panels along with a wireless remote control. The control panel is programmable for heat and time. According to several YouTube tests on motorhomes, they only use about one amp after startup. Stainless mufflers are an option. They are very small, cheap and look like they could be mounted anywhere. Easiest would be to use the main fuel tank for the diesel supply. One could replace the very noisy bedroom heater and to heat the area and compartments too. The exhaust could be routed into the engine compartment to act as an engine heater in cold weather. Looks like in low setting the 5Kw model would use 0.1 gph and in the high setting, about half a gallon an hour. $150 to $200 delivered means you could buy a spare to take along and since it's very small, easy to store. Looks fast to R&R once installed.

boat diesel heater | eBay

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyB70MplFo0

LCD controller set up:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkdF4F-k3VI

Re: Diesel Heater To Replace OEM Furnaces

Reply #1 – October 01, 2018, 09:03:32 pm

I have one in my semi Not the Chinese one but just like it. I have a Airtronics. They work great and are quiet ,the fan has a variable speed so it will ramp up and down as needed depending on the temp is senses Thry are about the size of a shoe box. They vent through the bottom.I have a roughly a 4'hole in the floor of my sleeper and it is mounted under my bunk. There is a 1 inch I think,flexible stainless exhaust tube about 3' long that is routed out behind the sleeper on mine,and a 1 inch approx air intake tube for combustion air.I cannot run the one in my semi but on very low temp settings because it is too hot in the sleeper for me if I do.I personally think maybe using 2 of them in the front of the coach on an a 2 staged thermostat if that is possible would be a great alternative to the propane furnace. They do not use much fuel compared to running the Big Engine in my application 1 gal an hr vs a pint and 1/2 in 10 hrs.. No brainer to use one in the winter. I don't know how you could tie 2 units together to run in stages But if that was possible they would be a viable alternative to the propane gas furnace.
With that said my propane furnaces are paid for,work great and with a 250 lb propane tank run all year almost on a fill up!

Re: Diesel Heater To Replace OEM Furnaces

Reply #2 – October 01, 2018, 10:38:04 pm

Going to do the bedroom first as the heater fan is really noisy and keeps me awake. Will try to route the exhaust so it heats the engine too. Lots of room up front behind the sofa where the OEM heater is.

Yes, the propane tank lasts forever.

Pierce

Re: Diesel Heater To Replace OEM Furnaces

Reply #3 – October 01, 2018, 11:05:56 pm

Sounds good for the bedroom, a lot of bedroom propane furnaces are 16000 btu's and the 5000 watt diesel units appear to put out 17000 btu's. But most fwd furnaces are 35000 btu's, so might be pushing it there to keep warm in real cold weather.

Re: Diesel Heater To Replace OEM Furnaces

Reply #4 – October 01, 2018, 11:12:37 pm

Espar is excellent

Re: Diesel Heater To Replace OEM Furnaces

Reply #5 – October 01, 2018, 11:38:41 pm

Careful of the fumes rising into into bedroom .

Re: Diesel Heater To Replace OEM Furnaces

Reply #6 – October 01, 2018, 11:51:27 pm

Quote from: Pierce & Gaylie Stewart – October 01, 2018, 10:38:04 pm

snip' Will try to route the exhaust so it heats the engine too. snip'

DONT DO THIS !!!!!

THIS WILL KILL YOU!!!!

Get the exhaust out past the body or you will die. CO is dangerous You dont smell it or ever see it coming.

Re: Diesel Heater To Replace OEM Furnaces

Reply #7 – October 02, 2018, 12:17:29 am

Maybe split heater exhaust into two 1 inch flex exhaust pipes, and run on each side of oil pan and out under back bumper.

Re: Diesel Heater To Replace OEM Furnaces

Reply #8 – October 02, 2018, 12:22:12 am

My first thought when it was suggested to put the exhaust in the engine compartment was the fact that the engine compartment gets sooty enough by itself without adding another supplier.

Re: Diesel Heater To Replace OEM Furnaces

Reply #9 – October 02, 2018, 12:35:17 am

Yes, but I was thinking about wrapping a heat exchanger around the stainless exhaust pipe and trying to take some of the heat off of it but still dumping the actual exhaust overboard. Perhaps having a collar around one of the coolant pipes with the exhaust having to flow around the pipe and then overboard from there.

P.

Re: Diesel Heater To Replace OEM Furnaces

Reply #10 – October 02, 2018, 02:09:33 am

Espar's are available to heat air or coolant. The espar coolant unit could maybe feed a fan forced blower radiator remotely located to replace the bedroom propane heater. Like an aqua hot? Another bigger air unit up front? Or coolant?

Fuel lines and power are in the areas.

Re: Diesel Heater To Replace OEM Furnaces

Reply #11 – October 02, 2018, 09:17:44 am

Make sure you have a good carbon monoxide detector

Re: Diesel Heater To Replace OEM Furnaces

Reply #12 – October 02, 2018, 10:51:09 am

Espars are major bucks and look identical to the Chinese models. Betting they are also Chinese. Espars in OZ seem to be priced the same as the generic Chinese models. They all seem to have less CO risk in the design compared to the OEM propane furnaces. I noticed the replacement electric Espar fuel pump cost almost as much as the complete Chinese heater. Since almost everything is made in China today, it's just a matter of finding the manufacturer is before the brand name sticker is affixed and then locating the distributer in the country of origin. Going to order one of these at $186 delivered: 5KW 12V Diesel Air Heater Remote Control Silencer LCD For Truck Boat Car...

I was thinking of a easy diesel replacement for the AH but have not found one yet. I bought a very old propane fired block heater and restored it and now will install it once I figure the best location and have time. Photos below.

Here is a video on troubleshooting and what the inside of the Chinese heater looks like:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wrfEuQKBIM

Pierce

Re: Diesel Heater To Replace OEM Furnaces

Reply #13 – October 02, 2018, 02:47:24 pm

Espar is made in Germany as far as the ones I have seen. No copies for me.

Re: Diesel Heater To Replace OEM Furnaces

Reply #14 – October 03, 2018, 12:07:10 am

Quote from: Pierce & Gaylie Stewart – October 02, 2018, 10:51:09 am

They all seem to have less CO risk in the design compared to the OEM propane furnaces.

Why do you think the oem furnaces are a CO risk?

Re: Diesel Heater To Replace OEM Furnaces

Reply #15 – October 03, 2018, 12:25:42 am

Pierce I understand completely. Own a solara convert tow car. And two 10 year old amazing lexus's.

Re: Diesel Heater To Replace OEM Furnaces

Reply #16 – October 03, 2018, 01:48:39 am

So far China has little or no product liability, in any country. Might be one reason they can produce stuff cheap. Oem furnaces are intrinscally safe even if the heat exchanger fails, you have a draft fan to make the heat exchanger negative pressure, and you have the supply fan to pressurize the heat exchanger. This stuff costs money. Certifications cost money. Qaulity control costs money. Do what makes you happy. Safety first.

Re: Diesel Heater To Replace OEM Furnaces

Reply #17 – October 03, 2018, 09:56:00 am

Quote from: Old phart phred – October 03, 2018, 12:07:10 am

Why do you think the oem furnaces are a CO risk?

OEM furnaces can be 30 years old and some models have a higher risk than others. While the risk is much less compared to an unvented heater, it pays to at least take a look at the possibilities, especially in an older coach. CO is odorless and tasteless and while not poisonous itself, it interferes with the blood's ability to utilize oxygen. There are quite a few things that can go wrong with an RV furnace so an inspection and a CO detector seem like good sense. Here is some information I found online:

" If you have one of the old Duo Therm 9000 Series furnaces, strongly consider a new Furnace as it is generally considered to have some design and safety issues.

Restrictions can cause overheating of the burner chamber. Some of the undesirable results can be a cracked combustion chamber allowing carbon monoxide to escape into the duct system and living area. Carbon monoxide poisoning can cause serious injury or death. A couple of other potential problems are overheating of the electronic components and safety devices causing premature failure.

An RV furnace was not designed to have air filters. This too can cut down on air flow. Those pretty expanded metal grates that many people put in the front of the furnace can cut the free air movement by up to one half.

Atwood (Hydroflame) had a recall. It was mostly on 1993 models. The serial numbers were 699173 through 840685. All these numbers begin with ULM. This was the 8900 II Series and it involved premature burner chamber deterioration that created an unsafe carbon monoxide situation.

In order to insure the best possible air flow, do not block off any ducts or outlets. This reduces air flow, which can also cause problems.

Those dog and cat bowls or other objects placed in front of the return air grill can cause many of the crud problems I have previously mentioned.

There is a DSI board out on the market, which turns the fan off if the burner does not ignite. It can be retrofitted with some wiring changes on most models. Be sure whoever does this follows the installation instructions.

Those DSI boards can have an intermittent problem that can be extremely hard to diagnose. Heat and cold are generally what causes this intermittent failure due to expansion and contraction. When this happens a new board is generally the best answer."

Pierce

Re: Diesel Heater To Replace OEM Furnaces

Reply #18 – October 03, 2018, 10:16:40 am

Having an "old" coach I was concerned about CO so I mounted a CO detector in the bedroom, directly above the hot air duct/vent.
After perusing all the posts above I am thankful I did the install. I recommend everyone do what I did. The detectors are not expensive and may save your life.

Re: Diesel Heater To Replace OEM Furnaces

Reply #19 – October 05, 2018, 05:22:53 pm

How much air do these diesel air heaters blow in comparison to the existing furnaces? I notice they use smaller 3" ductwork compared to the propane furnaces which use 4" tubing. How many duct outlets would you be able to attach to one of these 5kw diesel heaters?

Re: Diesel Heater To Replace OEM Furnaces

Reply #20 – October 05, 2018, 09:44:19 pm

Some have four outlets. There are also 8Kw models available. I'm going to try on where the OEM propane furnace in the back is so will have an idea later this month. Betting they move less air but we will see.

Pierce

Re: Diesel Heater To Replace OEM Furnaces

Reply #21 – October 06, 2018, 06:53:12 am

Quote from: rsihnhold – October 05, 2018, 05:22:53 pm

How much air do these diesel air heaters blow in comparison to the existing furnaces? I notice they use smaller 3" ductwork compared to the propane furnaces which use 4" tubing. How many duct outlets would you be able to attach to one of these 5kw diesel heaters?

The one I have in my Semi blows at variable speeds. It will run wide open at first ,You will hear it although it is not as loud as the propane in my Coach. As the temp rises fan speed will ramp down until it is just running real slow and at that point you really cannot hear it. It will then ramp up and down as needed. With that said, The space in my sleeper is quite small compared to say the bedroom in my coach. I have wondered if it would ever get warm enough for the unit to actually ramp down. You do not have any kind of fan selector switch the unit does that automatically. Air enters one end and exits the other. Intake and Outlet is about 2 inch. You can run a duct off of it and split it with a Y I guess. Mine just blows out from under my bunk and I have a 12'' duct with a round diffuser on the end to kind of point it upwards. The only concern in a RV installation is, Would not get warm enough and then never ramp down? Running the fan at high speed all the time. Good luck with it and keep us posted.

Re: Diesel Heater To Replace OEM Furnaces

Reply #22 – October 06, 2018, 09:18:54 pm

Saw this on rvnetwork (Escapees forum). Might be of interest to someone in this thread.

Proheat XL 900 x 12 Diesel Coolant Heater Truck/Bus/RV - RV Accessories for...

Keith

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