You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
I'll be reconfiguring my van next year so don't want to fit a 'plumbed in' diesel heater now, but am looking for heating options for this winter.
Any recomendations for temporary heating that isn't built into the van?
I’ve got a diesel heater now, eberspacher which is brilliant.
before that had a oil filled radiator which was really good but need to be on hook up.
Any recomendations for temporary heating that isn’t built into the van?
A temporarily fitted diesel heater.
Unless you've got access to mains electricity, nothing else comes close.
Diesel heater in a box with a flexible hose to the underside of the van?
yep. I bought a chinese diesel heater back in 2021. I've actually got a petrol t4 so needed to put a small diesel tank in the back. It's brilliant
(This was back when you could get them much cheaper onn ebay)
Had to upgrade pipes and fittings. Advise on the fourms is to go with https://lavaner.com/pd.jsp?id=85as they have the upgrades
EDIT: Sorry should read the OP's message properly 🤦
Unless you want to buy a generator and an electric fan heater, which is still essentially using petrol for the source of power then it has to either be a gas or diesel powered heater.
both need external routing so the combustion takes place outside of the vehicle, but a diesel heater can use its own small tank and not be connected to your main fuel tank.
these kind of space heaters are around 2-5kw output, whatever your source you are going to need at minimum 1-2kw into the space to be beneficial
combustion takes place outside of the vehicle
The combustion doesnt have to be external. The heater itself is typically inside the van with air and exhaust sealed and routed externally of course.
As @trickydisco I bought one a few years ago. Replace all of the pipes and clips and cables and they are fine. Thermostat is not great but they can be upgraded and the pump is a bit tappy but they are so powerful that they cant be left on long as they get a small space too warm...
yea.. you can change the setting to Hz which allows you to set it on a lower setting. If it's based on temp it can be pretty noisy at full tilt
The combustion doesnt have to be external. The heater itself is typically inside the van with air and exhaust sealed and routed externally of course.
I was debating this for winteryfying the summerhouse.
On ballance I've concluded that the mixture of cheap knock-off, electricity and diesel is bad enough without adding a wooden structure to the mix!
I'll be locating it in something like a toolbox/ammo crate, just need to make sure the heating air intake is drawing the other way from the combustion exhaust!
You'd be better just using an oil fired radiator in something such as a summerhouse
I have 2 of the knock off Chinese diesel heaters. That's two before I realised they were just poorly made.
Got a Truma lpg heater in the van now much quieter and dependable.
You’d be better just using an oil fired radiator in something such as a summerhouse
It's an option, it's UPVC double glazed, the walls are 44mm thick and suspended floor so it's not badly insulated (albeit there's nothing in the roof other than the 29mm timber and 3mm EPDM).
Using it as a gym and office though, so I just quite like the idea of 5kW instant heat making it toasty first thing in the morning, plus waste veg oil means it would pay for itself VS an electric rad pretty quickly, would need to test it doesn't make the garden stink like a chippy though!