TantoTrailers
Well-known member
Progress so far. The wide angle lens on my phone totally distorted the way that the pump appears in that pic. Its actually at about 30*
My last hurdle - condensation
- Thread starter TantoTrailers
- Start date
luthj
Engineer In Residence
I would personally avoid mounting the fuel pump inside if possible. Less noise, shorter lines. If you have any spots in your intake/exhaust lines which will hold water, drill a small drain hole. I have seen exhausts freeze up solid in cold weather if water can accumulate. If needed there are exhaust and intake mufflers available which make the unit much quieter outside.
TantoTrailers
Well-known member
I have a muffler that is going on the end of the pipe, good tip on the tiny holes I will see if that will apply in my case. As for fuel pump placement, I am keeping it in the rear galley so that my tick tick tick of the fuel pump isnt bothering camp mates and I also do not want to splice the pump power cables and run them outside...short leash there. Heater is on the truck so the waiting game begins. I am re-evaluating the lines I used for my setup...may run to the car parts store here soon.
luthj
Engineer In Residence
Good tight fittings is important on the suction side of the pump, any air intrusion can cause issues. Good free movement of the lines on both sides of the pump helps the noise. I would suggest possibly suspending the pump by ties or similar, so it can move about 1/4-1/2" back and forth to help alleviate noise transmission to the cabinet and lines.
TantoTrailers
Well-known member
New heater arrived later than I want it but 2 hours later I was on the road to camp. Im all set up and enjoying some fire in the 20* temps. The "2kw" turned out to be about a half inch longer than the 5kw so I don't think its a smaller unit...the insides looked the same. However the housing is really really nice and well built. Needless to say it got installed. The process was a bit tough but it went together as if it was meant to be. I swapped out all of my inside tubing for the tubing that came with the new heater and I will eventually replace the line to the tank. Ill post pics of the underbelly and tank setup tomorrow when I have daylight. I will also get better pics with the DSLR for heater porn if anyones into that sort of thing...
TantoTrailers
Well-known member
Quick update...I am happy (and proud) to announce I have crossed the condensation hurdle with a bonus of cozy cabin type of heat. The heater is amazing. I actually had to run it a bit higher than its lowest setting as last night got cold, maybe a 3rd of the way up from lowest. I stayed warm and dry all night with temps peaking at 60* inside. The tick tick tick of the pump was rhythmic enough to put me right to sleep. I'll post more pics of the finished setup when I get back but hell yea!! So stoked this worked so well. Thanks everyone for the help along the way!
Found some fall frozen in time on a morning hike! I remember feeling like those leaves just a few weeks ago ?
Found some fall frozen in time on a morning hike! I remember feeling like those leaves just a few weeks ago ?
Nice photo!
TantoTrailers
Well-known member
Here are some better pics of the final install. I think this turned out pretty well considering none of this was ever planned from the beginning. Having this experience will also make it nice for future builds. I need to do some buttoning up of the fuel lines underneath with some corrugated cable housing and I am going to add some bars across the box to secure the fuel tank a bit more. 2 long nights of sleep used exactly half of 5L tank. 1st night ran at 1.5hz, second night ran at lowest setting which is 1.2hz and was still too warm for the sleeping bag I had in there....got to 63* since it was a bit warmer outside. One little oddity is that the remote stopped working, not a big deal but its a bit of a reach inside to get it going when I'm not inside the cabin. I tried the pairing sequence but the heater doesn't respond to this remote. I will tinker with that over the holidays.
Adding horizontal removable bars to secure the tank a bit more.
Easy no mess fueling.
Adding horizontal removable bars to secure the tank a bit more.
Easy no mess fueling.
shade
Well-known member
After following along, I'm giving a little more thought to adding a similar heater to my pop-up camper. Thanks for letting us see how your project came together.
I'll always prefer having down bedding for overnight warmth, but there's a lot to be said for having a way to heat the living space when I'm not sleeping. IME, nothing sucks the joy out of camping like prolonged cold, and having the ability to warm up & dry out if the weather is too bad to do much outside would be nice.
I'll always prefer having down bedding for overnight warmth, but there's a lot to be said for having a way to heat the living space when I'm not sleeping. IME, nothing sucks the joy out of camping like prolonged cold, and having the ability to warm up & dry out if the weather is too bad to do much outside would be nice.
TantoTrailers
Well-known member
I highly recommend this setup to anyone! Having spent 2 nights in dry warm comfort put the biggest smile on my inner child’s face this weekend. I can now easily camp 4 seasons and I’m going to push the limits to see where/when this thing cannot be used...hurricane/tornado I will avoid haha everything else is fair game! I would like to see how this would do with a foot of snowfall and some single digit temps. I may take this up north and do some ice fishing this season.
chet6.7
Explorer
Do you think running the exhaust to the edge of the trailer would decrease the amount of CO building up under the trailer?
I was watching a YT video of a model with an analog dial instead of the digital control,I wonder if it would be more reliable?
Can this be used with the vehicle in motion?
Thanks for the updates.
I was watching a YT video of a model with an analog dial instead of the digital control,I wonder if it would be more reliable?
Can this be used with the vehicle in motion?
Thanks for the updates.
TantoTrailers
Well-known member
I suppose a short extension would put more of the exhaust farther out and away but I didnt really notice much exhaust smell in and around the trailer when it was running. One thing to be aware of is that not every unit will work with every controller as the connectors are sometimes wired differently. I chose the digital display because it can display error codes and you have a better idea of what the unit is doing. I see no reason this thing couldnt be allowed to run while in motion, there is nothing that I deploy at camp once parked to make this work, it is always good to go. Im no pro but I would be happy to answer any questions as you guys install yours! Its a fun project and the manly satisfaction I got from being toasty warm on a low 20s night was well worth the stress (mmv) and effort.
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