$200 5KW Portable Diesel Air Heater

[hour]

( E-cigarette above, unit not smoking :ylsmoke: )



( Hot air out is metal flange )



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Parts
$200 eBay 5kw diesel air heater
$38 Dewalt DS300 tool box
$7 Spectre 8148 3" duct mounting plate (for the cool side)
$15 Spectre 81413 3" maf sensor plate (metal, for the hot side)
$0 Metal plate found in garage for exhaust and inlet holes
$0 Exhaust header wrap scraps (not necessary)
$260

Stats
17,500 BTU
200+ degree output
20lbs assembled weight including tool box
9 hours per gallon on HIGH non-stop, consuming 2 amps 12v dc

No need for elaborate steps. I used a 3 1/8" hole saw and drilled two holes on either end of the Dewalt box. I used some aluminum bar and scrap to mount the unit and ensure it wasn't capable of moving. I cut out a section of the front of the tool box and mounted a metal plate with two holes drilled in it for intake/exhaust. This ensures that nothing starts to melt.

 

[Bbasso]

Very cool idea but how are you supplying power to the unit ?

 

[danfromsyr]

WOW those have really come down in price..
thanks and let us know how it works
or also if it has any troubles, say at altitude? or coking up?
the Espars needed regular cleaning unless you burned Kerosene.

how's the exhaust smell? don't want to suck that into the heated air intake.

 

[Bbasso]

the Espars needed regular cleaning unless you burned Kerosene.

They do???
I installed my Espar D4 2.5 years ago and not a hint of trouble. It gets used any time the weather is below 65 deg= it gets a lot of run time.

 

[Haf-E]

Nice kit in that it includes a fuel tank as well. Diesel or kerosene is a much safer fuel than gasoline.

 

[hour]

Very cool idea but how are you supplying power to the unit ?

I've only been testing this in my garage (combustion intake and exhaust creatively routed out a window) so I've been using a 12v bench power supply. It will normally be powered from my pop up camper's battery.

The highest I tend to camp is at about 8,000 feet so I'll have to follow up soon with results, but it works fine at 5250'. I only have maybe 10 hours on it so no comment on issues/coking up. Maybe I could run kerosene through it occasionally if that burns cleaner. The maintenance seems straight forward and I expect more youtube videos will emerge as these cheap knockoffs make their rounds.

Exhaust smells like diesel when it's first getting going. The digital controller with it lets you run the fuel pump when off to get lines filled, so I might be flooding it to some degree. After it's running there's no diesel smell on my front porch where my tests have been exhausting, and no leaks ensures that if the intake and exhaust are at least routed outside, the air stays fine inside.

I'm happy to carry a second fuel that's available everywhere so I didn't consider having a gas vehicle and a diesel heater a negative

 

[hogasm]

Do you have a link to the unit you purchased

 

[Happy Joe]

Is there any obvious way to thermostatically control it? ...or does it lack a pilot light/electric start?
...I hope I'm wrong; but (my luck) bet the answer is "no easy way to thermostatically control it."...

Enjoy!

 

[Oka 374]

How do you connect the intake and exhaust piping for the burner? They should be separated by enough distance so the burner isn't sucking its own exhaust back in which would lead to problems due to soot etc, never mind the lack of oxygen.

 

[danfromsyr]

they are thermostaticly controlled.
though you may want to match the heat output close to your heat loss and warmth expectations.
as they ignite with a glow plug and more cycles may draw more power vs longer cycles.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr...ter&rt=nc&LH_PrefLoc=1&_trksid=p2045573.m1684
I see them on fleabay in the 2kw, 5kw, and 8kw for similiar pricing..
8kw= 27,ooo BTUs
5kw= 17,ooo Btus
2kw= 6,8oo Btus

 

[hour]

How do you connect the intake and exhaust piping for the burner? They should be separated by enough distance so the burner isn't sucking its own exhaust back in which would lead to problems due to soot etc, never mind the lack of oxygen.

The kit included a separate intake pipe and a sturdier exhaust pipe. I plug these pipes in to the front of the tool box where the metal plate is. If I run this thing outside the camper I'll just connect the exhaust and let the intake draw from the unused hole in the tool box.

And yes this thing has a thermostat. I have no idea how to properly operate the controls though as they're in chinese, and even though they provided some translations on a sheet of paper, I can't figure out how to reliably control it. I'll fiddle with it on a test run out in the sticks.

 

[cruiserpilot]

How to make something that I've thought of for a few years now, but I made it overcomplicated. I never thought of putting it in a box and making
it portable. Very well done. How are you connecting the fuel? Now, I have another winter project. Thanks.

 

[hour]

How to make something that I've thought of for a few years now, but I made it overcomplicated. I never thought of putting it in a box and making
it portable. Very well done. How are you connecting the fuel? Now, I have another winter project. Thanks.

There's a 1/4" fuel line that I drilled a hole for in the top corner of the tool box. The hole I drilled is almost the same size as the tubing so it isn't prone to sliding back in to the tool box unless I want it to. I'd like some sort of quick connect method though.

 

[krick3tt]

I had one in my Pinzgauer. No thermostat, either on or off or open a window to cool down while it is running. Heat the cab fine in 0 degree weather.

 

[1HaytchZed]

Do they make engine coolant heaters/circulators as well (aka engine block heaters)?