Are you able to isolate batt. banks as required?
Diesel heater for your caravan.
- Thread starter condor22
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Help Support Prospecting Australia:
Please do Di.Dihusky said:
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Jaros said:
Yeah I have 3 different battery options and neither on is connected to the Vehicles system and the Starting system battery is not connected to anything other than the how it came from the factory,
1) I have a choice of 2 or 3 110Ah batteries which can power my 1500 / 3000w pure sine wave Inverter.
2) I have 2 Dometic Lithium PLB-40 packs,
3) I also have a small Lithium self contained setup that powers lighting and can supply USB power
4) The Van has it's own 80/800cca AGM Stop/Start Battery, fitted with 3x 12v sockets @ 20A,
5) Then I have a 2000w pure sine wave Generator with a 12v Charger built in,
6) I also have 240v 16A Hook Up to power other gadgets in the Van etc, when camping at powered Caravan sites or I can hook up the generator to it,
lt sounds like you want to get off that lump of dirt west of the mainland. 
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Jaros said:lt sounds like you wan to get off that lump of dirt west of the mainland.
yeah for sure, I think for heading North to Scotland in winter the Diesel Heater would be the better option, because there are less powered campsites,
The Diesel Heater I was looking at was a 3kw model and cost about 130.00 / which is about $235.30c AUD, But even are that price I think it is still a great option and I could always fit it just in case I need it, I like the idea of them,
In the US/Canada there is a Guy who fitted one and he has camped in -20 to -30*c so they are pretty good and more controllable than a Gas heater, :Y:
You guys have talked me into it!!
I have, 'Buddy', which is a gas heater thing..
And last time I looked at diesel heaters, they were still a bit too dear for me...
But now...!!!
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/All-IN-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649
I have, 'Buddy', which is a gas heater thing..
And last time I looked at diesel heaters, they were still a bit too dear for me...
But now...!!!
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/All-IN-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649
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Simmo said:
Here ya Go, have a look at this Guy, He has fitted one in a V Dub Camper and in some of his video's it's -35*c outside and about 25*c inside the Van, but you might have to watch a few of his Vids to see the other where he talks about it,
Enjoy,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3j5qW9kKBLM
If you're on a good thing -stick to it.......Bzzzzzzz
condor22
Mike
The only thing with -20 C temps is you might need alpine fuel, normal diesel might be a problem.
Mind you, I say "I go out there for a good time, not a hard time" , bugger going camping in those temps lol.
We're prospectors, ground might be a bit to hard at -30.
Mind you, I say "I go out there for a good time, not a hard time" , bugger going camping in those temps lol.
We're prospectors, ground might be a bit to hard at -30.
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condor22 said:The only thing with -20 C temps is you might need alpine fuel, normal diesel might be a problem.
Mind you, I say "I go out there for a good time, not a hard time" , bugger going camping in those temps lol.
We're prospectors, ground might be a bit to hard at -30.
UK Diesel has an additive in it which is good for around -15*c +/-, I tried detecting in -5 to -12 and the top 6 to 10" were hard going but once you got below that the warm dirt was nice on the fingers,
Normal Diesel is good for about -5 to -10 +/- plus you can always put some additive in it or stick a couple of Gallons of Jet fuel Type -A in ya tank and that is good for -40*c and Jet Fuel Type A-1 is good for -47*c or Av Gas which freezes at around -100*c ]
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Jaros said:
Actually Jaros I have been toying with my Idea for years so Last winter I decided to do some testing on it,
My Idea was to buy a Greenhouse 240v Electric Tube heater the 1 foot or 12" model measures about 16" long or around 400/450mm and it has a built in thermostat so you can set the Temp and it is rated at 45 Wh, You can buy these things up to 6ft long / 182cm, Anyways I tested it out by plugging it in to my small 300w inverter and it was impressive,
Best part about them is the temp builds up as long as you keep the doors and windows shut while your away from camp, I test it in a large box where it was 14*c and after an hour or 2 it was reading 27* in there with the lid closed, They only cost about 20 / $36 ish AUD so it was a no brainer to get one and try it out,
I think the 3ft one chews about 90wh from memory but don't quote me on that,, But even the 2ft model chews about 55 to 70w and with over 231Ah of useable battery power I think I have enough to run one of these on cold nights and having a built in thermostat it should save a bit of power, The one I got is about 16"/400mm X about 2" / 50-60mm fat so it can be mounted just about anywhere using the supplied brackets :Y:
I just checked my settings Jaros,
I set my thermostat on the lowest setting, 8c. The unit fires up like in the video I sent, but then slows right down once fired up, ticks over nicely and I can barely hear the fan......great stuff.
I'm happy with my Cheapy Chinese heater.
The hardest part of installing it is drilling the 1st hole.
Put the mounting plate where you think it will be mounted and drill a 2mm pilot hole, if it's not a good spot fill the hole with silicone and find somewhere else to mount it.... :Y:
I set my thermostat on the lowest setting, 8c. The unit fires up like in the video I sent, but then slows right down once fired up, ticks over nicely and I can barely hear the fan......great stuff.
I'm happy with my Cheapy Chinese heater.
The hardest part of installing it is drilling the 1st hole.
Put the mounting plate where you think it will be mounted and drill a 2mm pilot hole, if it's not a good spot fill the hole with silicone and find somewhere else to mount it.... :Y:
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Simmo said:
That's the one I ordered for my shed.
It appears not to have the pump and just uses the gravity from the tank sitting directly above it, that's probably why that model is so cheap.
Only disadvantage of that would be if you mount that inside a van and spill some fuel it will be very hard to get the stink out once diesel is soaked into the flooring.
Just be super careful when topping up.
The advantage it has though is only the exhaust and air inlet pipes need holes cut for them.
You would need to be super careful the exhaust pipe was perfectly fitted and no exhaust entered the cabin.
With the other "kit" type, the unit mounts through the floor on a metal plate, air intake and exhaust pipes are outside the vehicle, so if the exhaust connection wasn't perfect, it wouldn't matter so much.
When I mounted mine I didn't run the air intake to the outside, 1 less hole to drill, for the exhaust I drilled a hole about 15mm bigger than the exhaust pipe, centered it so it couldn't move much and filled the space around it with exhaust (heatproof) silicone.
Jaros said:
This is the setup Jaros
We simply flick a switch beside the bed and the system fires up, bit of a roar to start with which I find good as it confirms everything has fired up. Exhaust goes out through the floor, only thing I might think of adding is some insulation round the water tank, but probably overkill. If the water is hot, the camper is toasty in a few minutes when we turn on the interior heat exchanger.
This is kind of 'all the bells and whistles' and not a cheap unit, but they do have a good variety of heaters.
Nice and neat instal. Thanks mate.
Nice looking unit Dihusky
:Y:
:Y:
shakergt
Moderating Team
I'm thinking of setting a portable one up for the soft floor camper. Run the heating duct in through a zip that is wide enough
Good idea.
shakergt said:
Looks good, but. don't forget these things take up very little room in the camper/van, you'll have to connect power and fuel every time you want to use it, probably have to prime the pump and bleed the fuel line.
I had a soft floor camper trailer before the current setup and I know I wouldn't want to be doing that. Do it once, do it properly, mount it permanently in the camper, only 1 hole needed and that's for the exhaust, air intake for the burner can be from inside the camper and no duct work needed. KISS
