# External fitting - Chinese diesel night heater.



## Mtbcol (Jan 1, 2021)

Hello all and Happy New year to you all!
I have decided to.purchase the above soon in the hope that we may eventually be able to do some wilding during the winter months.
For reasons of space, noise and extra safety I have decided to fit this externally to out 2011 Transit van ( currently under conversion). However looking at the various external metal mounting boxes available the prices seem prohibitive, most being more than the heater unit itself. So I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts or experience of making this box from wood? My first thoughts would be safety dye to heat from the unit.
Any thoughts, ideas, or experience would be gratefully received.
Thank you.
Coli .


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## 1807truckman (Jan 1, 2021)

Personally I would go with metal box, maybe try a small local welding/engineering company.


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## The laird (Jan 1, 2021)

Metal box clad /lined with fireproof  material would have to be a must imho


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## The laird (Jan 1, 2021)

Go onto our sister site /forum motorhomebuilder and seek advice over there .


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## Robmac (Jan 1, 2021)

I would have said metal box.

But then I thought, many boats have them installed in either fibre glass or wooden lockers. May be worth a look at some boating forums for installations. I'll try and find some.


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## trevskoda (Jan 1, 2021)

Alloy would be easy to fold one up from and rivet.


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## Robmac (Jan 1, 2021)

Robmac said:


> I would have said metal box.
> 
> But then I thought, many boats have them installed in either fibre glass or wooden lockers. May be worth a look at some boating forums for installations. I'll try and find some.



This is the sort of thing I mean;






Ok he has quite a large locker there, but he also has a battery in there - which I would not recommend. If you Google 'Boat Chinese diesel heater' installations you should find a few examples. I don't know what regulations cover these though, so check up before you install!


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## Mtbcol (Jan 1, 2021)

Thanks everyone.
Looks like metal is the way to go. Probably aluminium as suggested easier to work with if I'm going to have a go myself


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## molly 2 (Jan 1, 2021)

Check out ebay ,  metal ammo box


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## Robmac (Jan 1, 2021)

molly 2 said:


> Check out ebay ,  metal ammo box



Good idea Bazz.

They make good woodburning stoves too.


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## Deleted member 80299 (Jan 1, 2021)

Mine is mounted in the garage of an Autotrail Chieftain, no problems at all, just follow the installation instructions carefully and insulate the exhaust pipe. They are excellent value for money!


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## mistericeman (Jan 1, 2021)

Robmac said:


> Good idea Bazz.
> 
> They make good woodburning stoves too.




And Coleman petrol cooker ovens....


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## trevskoda (Jan 1, 2021)

Old army ammo box would work well.


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## witzend (Jan 1, 2021)

better inside for security but theres electrical switch boxes that may do what you want https://tinyurl.com/y8tey277


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## Mtbcol (Jan 1, 2021)

Hi everyone, and thanks for the great ideas.
At the moment it's looking like an ammo box or electrical switch box is the way forward for me just need to get some dimensions of the heater unit to see which would be most suitable


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## RV2MAX (Jan 1, 2021)

They run quite cool with regards to the casing ,  but the exhaust   does get very hot .   The real concern is the electronic components are not well protected inside the unit , which doesn't have any sort of IP rating .


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## Mtbcol (Jan 1, 2021)

RV2MAX said:


> They run quite cool with regards to the casing ,  but the exhaust   does get very hot .   The real concern is the electronic components are not well protected inside the unit , which doesn't have any sort of IP rating .


Hi I'm going to go down the ammo  or electrical switch gear box after a fair bit of research now. Either of these should make it fairly water proof


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## Silver sprinter (Jan 2, 2021)

Some people fit it inside the base of drivers seat or passenger seat. Most are wasted space anyway and your electrics are inside


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## Mtbcol (Jan 2, 2021)

Silver sprinter said:


> Some people fit it inside the base of drivers seat or passenger seat. Most are wasted space anyway and your electrics are inside


Sadly taken up by starter and auxiliary batteries.


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## badgerdid (Jan 3, 2021)

I would mount it inside maybe under a seat or the bottom of a wardrobe, they suck the air in at the back, heat it and blow it out the front, mine blew straight into the living area but some use the ducting.
I would mount it inside like this because it’s going to be recirculating the air, warming up warm air so to speak
Mounting it outside it will be sucking in cold to freezing air which will make it work really hard.
the noise isn’t that bad especially if mounted in a cupboard.


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## wildebus (Jan 3, 2021)

badgerdid said:


> I would mount it inside maybe under a seat or the bottom of a wardrobe, they suck the air in at the back, heat it and blow it out the front, mine blew straight into the living area but some use the ducting.
> I would mount it inside like this because it’s going to be recirculating the air, warming up warm air so to speak
> Mounting it outside it will be sucking in cold to freezing air which will make it work really hard.
> the noise isn’t that bad especially if mounted in a cupboard.


 A common technique with the Eberspacher Airtronics was to mount under the drivers seat, but EXTERNALLY.
The hot air outlet would be routed in the space between the front seats.  The fresh air intake would not be left to just use air from outside but routed to the driver door step, so nicely out the way but recycling internal air for efficiency.


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## ShockedFox (Jan 3, 2021)

Mtbcol said:


> Hello all and Happy New year to you all!
> I have decided to.purchase the above soon in the hope that we may eventually be able to do some wilding during the winter months.
> For reasons of space, noise and extra safety I have decided to fit this externally to out 2011 Transit van ( currently under conversion). However looking at the various external metal mounting boxes available the prices seem prohibitive, most being more than the heater unit itself. So I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts or experience of making this box from wood? My first thoughts would be safety dye to heat from the unit.
> Any thoughts, ideas, or experience would be gratefully received.
> ...


For a cheap and cheerful safe option buy an extra large metal tool box and Mount that .... good luck


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## martinmartin (Jan 3, 2021)

I would avoid bringing in air from the outside of the van as it could add to condesation problems.


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## Mtbcol (Jan 3, 2021)

Hello and thank you all for your input.
I had not thought about the very good point of bringing in cold air from outside to have to heat up and so mounting inside the vehicle makes a lot of sense.

I'm going to have a look at possibly doing away with some storage area behind the rear wheel arch and mounting it there.

Need to do some more measuring, to see if this is possible. 

Thanks again all.

Colin.


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## 1 Cup (Jan 5, 2021)

On the daughters old ducato that had a gas underslung air blower, took it off and the metal shield was galvanised very thin metal. What about a washing machin outer casing or fridge and repaint.?
The one I took of was not air tight, as it had tbe hot air outlet  pipe faceing the near side rear wheel ,  we put extra insulation on befor it went through the van floor.
I took it off as electrical fault  on the 20 years old plug. There are pictures of the strip down on here that I posted.


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## witzend (Jan 5, 2021)

Mtbcol said:


> Hello and thank you all for your input.  I had not thought about the very good point of bringing in cold air from outside to have to heat up and so mounting inside the vehicle makes a lot of sense.  Colin.


I seem to remember that some heaters have a twin exhaust / inlet one inside the other  where the inlet air is drawn in thru the out side of a twin pipe so as cooling the exhaust and and warming the air taken in might help to enable fitting outside if you kept your 2 together inside a larger  piece


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## mistericeman (Jan 5, 2021)

Has your transit already got twin batteries under the drivers seat.... 

IF not it should be, possible to fit leisure battery there as its what Ford do whe n the twin battery system is fitted. 






Drawing raw air for cabin heater from outside is a bad idea as not only are you increasing the heaters work load/restricting the heaters ability to actually maintain a set temperature environment but also bringing in potentially damp air too.


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## martinmartin (Jan 5, 2021)

witzend said:


> I seem to remember that some heaters have a twin exhaust / inlet one inside the other  where the inlet air is drawn in thru the out side of a twin pipe so as cooling the exhaust and and warming the air taken in might help to enable fitting outside if you kept your 2 together inside a larger  piece


I dont think its a case of avoiding bringing in cold air from outside the van because its cold,its more dont bring air from outside because on some days that air will be loaded with moisture and in effect this would turn the van into a giant dehumidifier with all that moisture looking for somewhere in the van to condensate,I must say also that I may be talking nonesense as ive never read anywhere that this could happen,it just seems to make sense to me.I do run a chinese heater and I think there brilliant.


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## mistericeman (Jan 5, 2021)

martinmartin said:


> I dont think its a case of avoiding bringing in cold air from outside the van because its cold,its more dont bring air from outside because on some days that air will be loaded with moisture and in effect this would turn the van into a giant dehumidifier with all that moisture looking for somewhere in the van to condensate,I must say also that I may be talking nonesense as ive never read anywhere that this could happen,it just seems to make sense to me.I do run a chinese heater and I think there brilliant.



Bringing ambient air from outside with a eberspacher heater is akin to having your central heating on in your house with your windows open.... 

Pointless waste of fuel.... 

Parking heaters are designed to recirculate cabin air so they are only heating the space they are designed for NOT the whole of the world.


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## martinmartin (Jan 5, 2021)

mistericeman said:


> Bringing ambient air from outside with a eberspacher heater is akin to having your central heating on in your house with your windows open....
> 
> Pointless waste of fuel....
> 
> Parking heaters are designed to recirculate cabin air so they are only heating the space they are designed for NOT the whole of the world.


On some days,say foggy ones for instance when the air is loaded with moisture it doesnt make sense to me to heat that air up costantely and pump it into the van as it will seek out cooler nooks and crannies to turn back into water.Much better to recirculate warm dry air.


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## mistericeman (Jan 5, 2021)

martinmartin said:


> On some days,say foggy ones for instance when the air is loaded with moisture it doesnt make sense to me to heat that air up costantely and pump it into the van as it will seek out cooler nooks and crannies to turn back into water.Much better to recirculate warm dry air.



Exactly my point.... 

Bringing RAW air in from outside is a massive massive folly both efficiency wise AND from a humidity point of view.


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## Mtbcol (Jan 5, 2021)

Hello again all.
Once again, thank you all for your ideas and thoughts. I already have two batteries under my driver's seat, and my leisure battery is under the passenger seat, so that option is out.
After reading all of your advice, in particular that regarding bringing cold/damp air inside (something that I hadn't even thought of, but makes massive sense) I've decided to do away with some of the storage space behind the rear wheel arch and mount the unit inside.
There's no rush at all as probably won't be able to go anywhere this winter, and probably be too hot to use a heater by the time were out of lockdown . 
Thanks again for the ideas and advice.

Colin


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## QFour (Jan 7, 2021)

The one we had on the boat was mounted in the locker with a hole in the back for the end of the silencer pipe. Air pickup was from high up in the cabin so the warmer it got the warmer the air going into the heater. This also helped to circulate the air. Mounting a unit under the van could lead to all sorts of problems with maintenance and damp. Our bikes got very rusty sitting on the back under a cover. Boat locker was different as it was effectively inside although outside. It certainly needs to be somewhere accessible because they always pack up just when you need them. Good silencer system and keep the little pump out of the way. Ours used to make a right racket on a quiet night out on the water. Sounded like a demented woodpecker sometimes.


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## yeoblade (Jan 7, 2021)

I bought mine already in a metal box
Air Diesel Night Heater


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## AMcQ46 (Jan 7, 2021)

on my Ford Transit van, there is no space in the box under the passenger seat, so the night heater is mounted under the Van with just a splash guard to protect it.   
The new location is just below the passenger seat area, and the inlet comes from inside the van, in this case its in the step of the passenger door, which is close to the same level the heater sits.  

So it is possible to have the heater outside assuming its waterproof, and still draw internal air into the inlet of the heater


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## witzend (Jan 11, 2021)

martinmartin said:


> I dont think its a case of avoiding bringing in cold air from outside the van because its cold,its more dont bring air from outside because on some days that air will be loaded with moisture and in effect this would turn the van into a giant dehumidifier with all that moisture looking for somewhere in the van to condensate,I must say also that I may be talking nonesense as ive never read anywhere that this could happen,it just seems to make sense to me.I do run a chinese heater and I think there brilliant.


I think You are talking about the air used for heating where as I'm referring to the combustion air which is drawn into the heater burnt then goes out the exhaust


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## Robmac (Jan 11, 2021)

yeoblade said:


> I bought mine already in a metal box
> Air Diesel Night Heater



Is the 4th picture in the ad showing the unit spontaneously bursting into flames??


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## Lemut (Jan 12, 2021)

Hi Guys, can any one tell me subjectively just now noisy these units are at tickover and full chat?


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## RichardHelen262 (Jan 12, 2021)

There is a face book group for the Chinese diesel heaters and on there people are buying tool boxes from machine mart about £13 and use them to mount them underneath


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## mistericeman (Jan 12, 2021)

Lemut said:


> Hi Guys, can any one tell me subjectively just now noisy these units are at tickover and full chat?



I had a genuine eberspacher d2 with inlet and exhaust silencers fitted to a transit Jumbo under the passenger seat.... 

It was inaudible even on full from more than 1.5 m away 
And only just audible closer up


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## witzend (Jan 12, 2021)

Lemut said:


> Hi Guys, can any one tell me subjectively just now noisy these units are at tickover and full chat?


Have a look on uTube there's one that actually measures its volume right thru its start up sequence where you can hear it for yourself


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## badgerdid (Jan 12, 2021)

I had one and it isn’t really that noisy once upto temperature, when it first started it was noisier as it would be on full to get the van warm, me and my two grandkids slept in the van and it didn’t bother us. Mine was open under the passenger seat though, if it’s fitted inside a cupboard with duckting I should think it’s fairly quiet.


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## martinmartin (Jan 12, 2021)

My Chinese heater on full chat is quiet more of a thrum,on low its pump is annoying so I suspended the pump instead of it being fixed to the bodywork, that quietened it down.


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## yeoblade (Jan 12, 2021)

Robmac said:


> Is the 4th picture in the ad showing the unit spontaneously bursting into flames??


    Sh1t, I didn't see that before I bought it . Must do more research!
It hasn't happened yet, it is in my garage, but I will move it away from the ammo box now I've seen that.

Regarding noise, this all-in-one heater is *very *noisy, in my garage.

On a similar note, once when we were away in France my missus woke at around 1am petrified someone was try to gas us or set fire to us. She had heard the noise of a van parked next to use eberspacher start up. And insisted I went out to check .

Does anyone know is it possible to get kero or heating oil from a pump / litre.   about  £0.90  cheaper /litre than diesel.


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## yeoblade (Jan 12, 2021)

witzend said:


> Have a look on uTube there's one that actually measures its volume right thru its start up sequence where you can hear it for yourself


This guy has loads of videos  tests on them, and shows how the supplied parts can make it noisier

Air Diesel Night Heater


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## witzend (Jan 12, 2021)

yeoblade said:


> Sh1t, I didn't see that before I bought it . Must do more research!
> Does anyone know is it possible to get kero or heating oil from a pump / litre.   about  £0.90  cheaper /litre than diesel.


20 ltr cans of Kerosene and red diesel on ebay But most Oil suppliers I'm sure would fill a can of either for you.


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## trevskoda (Jan 12, 2021)

yeoblade said:


> Sh1t, I didn't see that before I bought it . Must do more research!
> It hasn't happened yet, it is in my garage, but I will move it away from the ammo box now I've seen that.
> 
> Regarding noise, this all-in-one heater is *very *noisy, in my garage.
> ...


Lots of garages now sell 28sec heating oil from the pump, mind you they use so little I would just run off the diesel tank.


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## Silver sprinter (Jan 13, 2021)

yeoblade said:


> Sh1t, I didn't see that before I bought it . Must do more research!
> It hasn't happened yet, it is in my garage, but I will move it away from the ammo box now I've seen that.
> 
> Regarding noise, this all-in-one heater is *very *noisy, in my garage.
> ...


I'm up in Scotland and the shell station has red at a pump. You need to go in to fill form out then thay put it on. You could try shell garage near you. Would imagine others are doing it.


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## yeoblade (Jan 13, 2021)

Silver sprinter said:


> I'm up in Scotland and the shell station has red at a pump. You need to go in to fill form out then thay put it on. You could try shell garage near you. Would imagine others are doing it.


I've checked their web site and the local ones to me only show:

Fuel Available
Shell V-Power Unleaded
Shell V-Power Diesel
Shell FuelSave Unleaded
Shell FuelSave Diesel

I'm in Somerset

min delivery is 500 litres  @ around  30p / l

20l on ebay is 150p p/l 

I'll call my local oil depot and see what they do


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## Robmac (Jan 13, 2021)

I wonder if the delivery man would fill me a Jerry can when he fills our main heating tank. 

I don't see why he shouldn't.


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## davep10000 (Jan 14, 2021)

I just use a 12v oil transfer pump (£10 from lidl) to fill a couple of jerry cans from my CH oil tank for my diesel heater.


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## Deleted member 80299 (Jan 19, 2021)

Here's mine fitted in the garage of my chieftain


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## trevskoda (Jan 19, 2021)

Robmac said:


> I wonder if the delivery man would fill me a Jerry can when he fills our main heating tank.
> 
> I don't see why he shouldn't.


Have you not a drain tap at other end, or use a syphon hose or electric pump from the top.


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## trevskoda (Jan 19, 2021)

Jon said:


> Here's mine fitted in the garage of my chieftain


The air intake should be taken from the cab to reheat.


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## Robmac (Jan 19, 2021)

trevskoda said:


> Have you not a drain tap at other end, or use a syphon hose or electric pump from the top.



No drain tap Trev but could syphon some off.

Julie wouldn't be very happy though if I kept nicking the heating oil from the tank.


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## Robmac (Jan 19, 2021)

I might even get a biggish tank next to the cabin in the garden where the heater is going.

The delivery man can just fill both tanks then. I'm sure I could find a 50 litre or so tank somewhere, that would keep it going!


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## trevskoda (Jan 19, 2021)

Robmac said:


> No drain tap Trev but could syphon some off.
> 
> Julie wouldn't be very happy though if I kept nicking the heating oil from the tank.


Mine is disconnected at moment from boiler, so i fill some 5 ltr jars and take them into the garage and have a outboard tank connected to the burner filter, so i can see how much oil i burn in 12hr cycles.
Im for moving the tanks in spring when i make a new stand to lift them 18 inches of the ground.
 Get a tap if you fancy a heater in the garage.  i have some rads in mine which is handy.


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## Deleted member 80299 (Jan 19, 2021)

trevskoda said:


> The air intake should be taken from the cab to reheat.


The heated air comes from the inside of the garage which is effectively inside the vehicle, the air used for combustion must be drawn in from the outside however


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## FULL TIMER (Jan 19, 2021)

wildebus said:


> A common technique with the Eberspacher Airtronics was to mount under the drivers seat, but EXTERNALLY.
> The hot air outlet would be routed in the space between the front seats.  The fresh air intake would not be left to just use air from outside but routed to the driver door step, so nicely out the way but recycling internal air for efficiency.


they still do it that way on VW's however there are protection panels already there and the eberspachers are far more water resistant than the chinese heaters which have absolutely no attempt at stopping  any water ingress with  a totally bare circuit board as the ECU, even the eberspachers are generally mounted in a virtually waterproof metal box when fitted under most vans with ducting for both  cool air in and hot air out entering the interior of the vehicle for recirculating.


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## FULL TIMER (Jan 19, 2021)

mistericeman said:


> Bringing ambient air from outside with a eberspacher heater is akin to having your central heating on in your house with your windows open....
> 
> Pointless waste of fuel....
> 
> Parking heaters are designed to recirculate cabin air so they are only heating the space they are designed for NOT the whole of the world.


not only that but unless they have an optional controller with a built in thermistor the eberspacher D2 / D4 s at least have the thermistor built onto the side of the ECU and it regulates the room temperature using the temperature of the  recirculated air passing through the heater.


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## FULL TIMER (Jan 19, 2021)

yeoblade said:


> I bought mine already in a metal box
> Air Diesel Night Heater


unfortunately not very safe to fit inside a vehicle as the exhaust joint is  inside


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## FULL TIMER (Jan 19, 2021)

AMcQ46 said:


> on my Ford Transit van, there is no space in the box under the passenger seat, so the night heater is mounted under the Van with just a splash guard to protect it.
> The new location is just below the passenger seat area, and the inlet comes from inside the van, in this case its in the step of the passenger door, which is close to the same level the heater sits.
> 
> So it is possible to have the heater outside assuming its waterproof, and still draw internal air into the inlet of the heater


I can guarantee these chinese heaters are no where near water resistant let alone waterproof, the nearest to an eberspacher is the Lavaner Pro but at the end of the day none  that I have come across are waterproof,


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## FULL TIMER (Jan 19, 2021)

witzend said:


> I seem to remember that some heaters have a twin exhaust / inlet one inside the other  where the inlet air is drawn in thru the out side of a twin pipe so as cooling the exhaust and and warming the air taken in might help to enable fitting outside if you kept your 2 together inside a larger  piece


the Mikuni My30 I have is like that,


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## jp11 (Jan 20, 2021)

To any of you using kero (or home heating oil), don't.  It won't lubricate the pump like diesel.  It certainly burns cleaner and hotter, sometimes useful to decarbonise the heat exchanger, but only occasionally and small quantities.


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## mistericeman (Jan 20, 2021)

Jon said:


> The heated air comes from the inside of the garage which is effectively inside the vehicle, the air used for combustion must be drawn in from the outside however



It'll still be colder air than if you are recirculating the cabin air,so not ideal. 

Far better that the heater draws the already heated air from in the cabin. 
Far more efficient fuel/electricity wise AND gives far better temperature control.


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## yeoblade (Jan 20, 2021)

FULL TIMER said:


> unfortunately not very safe to fit inside a vehicle as the exhaust joint is  inside


I have mine fitted in a garage and, as I work in confined spaces (sewers) with explosive gases, , O2, CO, H2S,LEL I own an (expensive!) Personal gas monitor for this work. I have monitored mine and it doesn't show any PPM of dangerous gases even right next to the exhaust joint. though I do see your concern. A CO alarm is a minimum requirement for using one.


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## trevskoda (Jan 20, 2021)

jp11 said:


> To any of you using kero (or home heating oil), don't.  It won't lubricate the pump like diesel.  It certainly burns cleaner and hotter, sometimes useful to decarbonise the heat exchanger, but only occasionally and small quantities.


Garbage, there is a lub in it as it has to lube the rotor on central heating burners


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## harrow (Jan 20, 2021)




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## trevskoda (Jan 20, 2021)

Should have had a bottom hole just in case water got in at the top or sides then it will drain out.


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## Deleted member 80299 (Jan 20, 2021)

mistericeman said:


> It'll still be colder air than if you are recirculating the cabin air,so not ideal.
> 
> Far better that the heater draws the already heated air from in the cabin.
> Far more efficient fuel/electricity wise AND gives far better temperature control.


Maybe, but it is quieter and more easily accessed for maintenance where it is, besides which, my garage has a heating vent! I have fitted many Eberspacher, Webasto and Wallas heater to boats and I can honestly say the best is Webasto when everything overall is considered, but the new Chinese kits are far more comprehensive than anything on the market and are very good value for money!


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## mopedracer (Jan 24, 2021)

i have one mounted in a Kingsman plastic toolbox from b&m mounts sideways so exhaust goes straight out  also fuel tank inside so box plus separate battery and flexi hose for my camper car no problems with fumes as its outside fully waterproof and before anyone says anything the actual units dont get that hor no lack of rigidity on the plastic or machine mart to a steel toolbox that they fit in .
best £80 iv spent in a while


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## jp11 (Jan 27, 2021)

trevskoda said:


> Should have had a bottom hole just in case water got in at the top or sides then it will drain out.


Garbage is stuff you throw away or discard.  Perhaps there there is a degree of lubricity in kerosene.  But not as much as in diesel (modern diesel engines with high speed, high pressure injectors certainly rely on it).  I made the comment because of what I've read from others who have tested it.  I'm guessing Trevskoda hasn't got one of these heaters, so it won't matter to him if your pump fails on kero ...........


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## wildebus (Jan 27, 2021)

jp11 said:


> Garbage is stuff you throw away or discard.  Perhaps there there is a degree of lubricity in kerosene.  But not as much as in diesel (modern diesel engines with high speed, high pressure injectors certainly rely on it).  I made the comment because of what I've read from others who have tested it.  I'm guessing Trevskoda hasn't got one of these heaters, so it won't matter to him if your pump fails on kero ...........


I have run my current chinese heater solely on Kerosene since installation approximately 3 years ago.  Pump still working fine .........


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## Robmac (Jan 27, 2021)

jp11 said:


> Garbage is stuff you throw away or discard.  Perhaps there there is a degree of lubricity in kerosene.  But not as much as in diesel (modern diesel engines with high speed, high pressure injectors certainly rely on it).  I made the comment because of what I've read from others who have tested it.  I'm guessing Trevskoda hasn't got one of these heaters, so it won't matter to him if your pump fails on kero ...........



I've never known Trev to wish to be unhelpful to anybody, quite the opposite in fact. I certainly wouldn't argue against him when it comes to mechanics and fuel systems.


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## trevskoda (Jan 27, 2021)

jp11 said:


> Garbage is stuff you throw away or discard.  Perhaps there there is a degree of lubricity in kerosene.  But not as much as in diesel (modern diesel engines with high speed, high pressure injectors certainly rely on it).  I made the comment because of what I've read from others who have tested it.  I'm guessing Trevskoda hasn't got one of these heaters, so it won't matter to him if your pump fails on kero ...........


I do and it runs on kero, there is a similar pump on all home boilers and there is a clean burn lub put in to 28 sec.
To keep you happy put a small amount of sinthetic two stroke oil in tank or a drop of cooking oil, folk love the smell of chips cooking.


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## xsilvergs (Jan 27, 2021)

jp11 said:


> Garbage is stuff you throw away or discard.  Perhaps there there is a degree of lubricity in kerosene.  But not as much as in diesel (modern diesel engines with high speed, high pressure injectors certainly rely on it).  I made the comment because of what I've read from others who have tested it.  I'm guessing Trevskoda hasn't got one of these heaters, so it won't matter to him if your pump fails on kero ...........



Don't jet engines run on kerosene, wouldn't they have a pump?


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## wildebus (Jan 27, 2021)

trevskoda said:


> I do and it runs on kero, there is a similar pump on all home boilers and there is a clean burn lub put in to 28 sec.
> To keep you happy put a small amount of sinthetic two stroke oil in tank or a drop of cooking oil, folk love the smell of chips cooking.


I used to run my T4 on Cooking Oil.   Looked like a bit of a chip van I was told.
If I ever had an attractive young lady knocking on the door and asking for a portion, I was happy to offer her a poke (of chips!  of chips, you filthy minded people!)


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## trevskoda (Jan 27, 2021)

xsilvergs said:


> Don't jet engines run on kerosene, wouldn't they have a pump?


Yes but its much cleaner oil and their pumps are different as far as i know, i shall ask a chap i know who works on them local when i track him down.


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## xsilvergs (Jan 27, 2021)

trevskoda said:


> Yes but its much cleaner oil and their pumps are different as far as i know, i shall as a chap i know who works on them local when i track him down.


I did work on aircraft early 80's but electrical not engines and it was so long ago I can't remember much about it all.

If it comes from oil surely it has some lubricating properties until it's refined to a point when it gets to petrol etc? 

Chemistry isn't my subject either.

One day perhaps I'll own a 2kw diesel heater.


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## mopedracer (Jan 27, 2021)

run mine on kero but its only £10 to £15 for a new pump that's handy to have even if you are running diesel


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## Dowel (Jan 27, 2021)

wildebus said:


> If I ever had an attractive young lady knocking on the door and asking for a portion, I was happy to offer her a poke (of chips!  of chips, you filthy minded people!)



Paint your van red with little yellow spots and add a spot of this to your kero:
*Strawberry* 2 is a 2 *stroke* *oil* with a sweet *strawberry* scent. Choose from either semi-synthetic, for use in injection systems or as a pre-mix
They will all be banging on your door.

Have you got a fridge for squirty cream?


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## trevskoda (Jan 27, 2021)

This lock down is just getting too much for some.


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## Nabsim (Jan 28, 2021)

jp11 said:


> To any of you using kero (or home heating oil), don't.  It won't lubricate the pump like diesel.  It certainly burns cleaner and hotter, sometimes useful to decarbonise the heat exchanger, but only occasionally and small quantities.


Is home heating oil not just red diesel? If so we ran millions of pound worth of vehicles on the stuff for years in the quarry with no ill effect. Lots of lorry drivers used to run on it til caught not to mention farmers and agricultural vehicles. Opps, I mentioned them.


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## mopedracer (Jan 28, 2021)

red is just normal diesel with a dye heating oil is a slightly different fraction of diesel without automotive additives


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## trevskoda (Jan 28, 2021)

mopedracer said:


> red is just normal diesel with a dye heating oil is a slightly different fraction of diesel without automotive additives


Correct as you go down the scale as in a lighter flued, 35 red/white with more oil and additives in it, 28 has much less oil and burns cleaner, but there is a oil added to it which is ment to save pumps, but it should not be used in a auto engine unless oiled up, 20 ltrs 28 sec and 1 and a half litres of cooking oil for older diesels, lots did it here before the advent of common rail diesels, some will run on it but others not to good.
You can also run red or white 35 sec fuel in a central h boiler with no problems, it in fact gives slightly more heat but soots the boiler up faster,


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## Deleted member 80299 (Jan 28, 2021)

FULL TIMER said:


> unfortunately not very safe to fit inside a vehicle as the exhaust joint is  inside


If you fit them correctly using the metal mounting plate provided, then the exhaust joint is outside.


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## Deleted member 80299 (Jan 28, 2021)

trevskoda said:


> Correct as you go down the scale as in a lighter flued, 35 red/white with more oil and additives in it, 28 has much less oil and burns cleaner, but there is a oil added to it which is ment to save pumps, but it should not be used in a auto engine unless oiled up, 20 ltrs 28 sec and 1 and a half litres of cooking oil for older diesels, lots did it here before the advent of common rail diesels, some will run on it but others not to good.
> You can also run red or white 35 sec fuel in a central h boiler with no problems, it in fact gives slightly more heat but soots the boiler up faster,


Why would you want to run it on Kerosene when it is designed to run on diesel which is much easier to obtain?


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## Deleted member 80299 (Jan 28, 2021)

Nabsim said:


> Is home heating oil not just red diesel? If so we ran millions of pound worth of vehicles on the stuff for years in the quarry with no ill effect. Lots of lorry drivers used to run on it til caught not to mention farmers and agricultural vehicles. Opps, I mentioned them.


Diesel engines will run on any oil that the injectors can atomise. The first diesel engine was run on peanut oil!


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## mistericeman (Jan 28, 2021)

Jon said:


> Why would you want to run it on Kerosene when it is designed to run on diesel which is much easier to obtain?



A run on kero now and again is a great idea as it can help clean the combustion chamber etc.... 

However I can't understand the obsession some folks have pfaffing with, separate tanks etc so they can run on red/kero as they use so little road diesel the savings are ridiculous.... 

Thats coming from someone that hates being cold and is regularly away in the winter.... 
Who's other half is from Yorkshire ;-)


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## mistericeman (Jan 28, 2021)

Jon said:


> Diesel engines will run on any oil that the injectors can atomise. The first diesel engine was run on peanut oil!



True they will run..... 

For how long before the pump gives up the ghost due to lack of lube or injectors/etc get gummed by incorrect fuel is another matter


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## Deleted member 80299 (Jan 28, 2021)

mistericeman said:


> True they will run.....
> 
> For how long before the pump gives up the ghost due to lack of lube or injectors/etc get gummed by incorrect fuel is another matter


I ran my transit for years on Soya oil from Bookers wholesale for years (£9.99 for 20 litres) with no problems at all. Old style mechanical diesel pumps/systems won't have any trouble with virtually any refined oil but modern electronic systems will soon fail. As for kerosene cleaning out the combustion chamber, I'd like to see the need for it, I've never had to decoke one of these heaters ever!


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## mistericeman (Jan 28, 2021)

Jon said:


> I ran my transit for years on Soya oil from Bookers wholesale for years (£9.99 for 20 litres) with no problems at all. Old style mechanical diesel pumps/systems won't have any trouble with virtually any refined oil but modern electronic systems will soon fail. As for kerosene cleaning out the combustion chamber, I'd like to see the need for it, I've never had to decoke one of these heaters ever!



I've known more than several landrover owners killing engines running on veg oil/waste oil 
Not all engines will run forever on veg depends on the fuel pump type. 

As for ebers.... I've worked on them for years.... Some had run clean others needed stripping to clean the combustion chamber and regular gauze changes.... 
Mostly depends on useage... Run for long periods at high temps, they tended to stay clean... 
Drivers that didn't run them hot or switched on and off all the time tended to coke the damn things up.


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## wildebus (Jan 28, 2021)

Jon said:


> Why would you want to run it on Kerosene when it is designed to run on diesel which is much easier to obtain?


Depends doesn't it.  
For you diesel is easier to obtain I guess?
For me, I have a thousand litre tank of Kerosene 4 foot away from my camper.  nearest diesel supplier is 4 miles away  





mistericeman said:


> True they will run.....
> 
> For how long before the pump gives up the ghost due to lack of lube or injectors/etc get gummed by incorrect fuel is another matter


Some engines/pumps are designed to be Bio compatible - the older VWs are (and are labelled as such)




mistericeman said:


> I've known more than several landrover owners killing engines running on veg oil/waste oil
> Not all engines will run forever on veg depends on the fuel pump type.


If if is a Landrover, who knows if it was the veg oil that did it or not - usually a race to what fails first  
Often not the fault of the veg oil anyway but stupid owners using it incorrectly.  I have a neighbour that ran his pickup on veg oil  (not sure if waste or fresh) and of course it froze up when cold as that is what veg oil does when it goes cold.  
Bosch Pumps are good with Veg Oil.  Lucus Pumps are not.



mistericeman said:


> As for ebers.... I've worked on them for years.... Some had run clean others needed stripping to clean the combustion chamber and regular gauze changes....
> Mostly depends on useage... Run for long periods at high temps, they tended to stay clean...
> Drivers that didn't run them hot or switched on and off all the time tended to coke the damn things up.


This is one of the problems with typically the Chinese Heaters in smaller vans like the VW Transporters.... a 2kW heater is as big as you would really ever want to go, but there is a tendency for people to get bigger as they are the same price  (hey, bigger for same money.  got to be a better deal!?) and the heaters are never run hot for any length of time and so coke up as you say.


Too often, and in too many areas of life generally, products get the blame and it is the person using the product that is the fault as they were either too ignorant to learn how to use it correctly, or decided they were too clever to have to do so.


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## swiftnik (Jan 31, 2021)

Mtbcol said:


> Hello all and Happy New year to you all!
> I have decided to.purchase the above soon in the hope that we may eventually be able to do some wilding during the winter months.
> For reasons of space, noise and extra safety I have decided to fit this externally to out 2011 Transit van ( currently under conversion). However looking at the various external metal mounting boxes available the prices seem prohibitive, most being more than the heater unit itself. So I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts or experience of making this box from wood? My first thoughts would be safety dye to heat from the unit.
> Any thoughts, ideas, or experience would be gratefully received.
> ...


Be careful,  I ordered a diesel night heater through wish paid for it but recieved a 12volt plug in for the dash took a while to get my refund


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## mopedracer (Jan 31, 2021)

Jon said:


> Diesel engines will run on any oil that the injectors can atomise. The first diesel engine was run on peanut oil!
> [/QUO





swiftnik said:


> Be careful,  I ordered a diesel night heater through wish paid for it but recieved a 12volt plug in for the dash took a while to get my refund


NEVER buy from wish full of rip-offs on the listing i bet it showed the diesel heater and type a b etc whichever you chose would be the worth £2 electric heater .Plenty on ebay or amazon around £80


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## jp11 (Feb 3, 2021)

trevskoda said:


> I do and it runs on kero, there is a similar pump on all home boilers and there is a clean burn lub put in to 28 sec.
> To keep you happy put a small amount of sinthetic two stroke oil in tank or a drop of cooking oil, folk love the smell of chips cooking.


I guess if you're running it successfully and without damage on kero, that's fair enough.  The say it also burns hotter.


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## trevskoda (Feb 3, 2021)

Jon said:


> Why would you want to run it on Kerosene when it is designed to run on diesel which is much easier to obtain?


Cheaper by far


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## xsilvergs (Feb 3, 2021)

As I know little about fuel and chemistry I looked on the www. Found this:








						Putting Kerosene In Your Diesel Engine or Tank
					

Why kerosene in diesel engine? In the winter time, kerosene is extremely useful for changing the cold weather handling temperatures of diesel fuel.




					www.bellperformance.com


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## FULL TIMER (Feb 4, 2021)

yeoblade said:


> I have mine fitted in a garage and, as I work in confined spaces (sewers) with explosive gases, , O2, CO, H2S,LEL I own an (expensive!) Personal gas monitor for this work. I have monitored mine and it doesn't show any PPM of dangerous gases even right next to the exhaust joint. though I do see your concern. A CO alarm is a minimum requirement for using one.


the trouble is many people don't have that experience or equipment all these heaters get very hot at the exhaust joint near the heater especially if there is a bend in it, the pipe even the very expensive stuff becomes very brittle and will split very easily some might not notice this and end up in trouble. the fact is the all in one units are not designed for use in vehicles or suitable, I'm also on the chinese heater forum where we are constantly advising people about this.


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## FULL TIMER (Feb 4, 2021)

Jon said:


> If you fit them correctly using the metal mounting plate provided, then the exhaust joint is outside.


you are right but the one we were talking about was an all in one unit where that isn't possible unless you strip the heater out of the casing


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## mopedracer (Feb 4, 2021)

here is one i made up myself the ducting can be used on my caravan gazebo and the  white sheet fixes in the rear window of my stealth camper car .
everything is outside and very quiet the only sound i hear is the hot air fan.
will have to get proper pictures but you get the idea


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## Alf (Feb 5, 2021)

mopedracer said:


> here is one i made up myself the ducting can be used on my caravan gazebo and the  white sheet fixes in the rear window of my stealth camper car .
> everything is outside and very quiet the only sound i hear is the hot air fan.
> will have to get proper pictures but you get the ideaView attachment 92410View attachment 92411View attachment 92412


Do you find the silencer works OK i thought the optimum length of Exhaust pipe was about 1M mine is that and 2 silencers.


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## caledonia (Feb 5, 2021)

Alf said:


> Do you find the silencer works OK i thought the optimum length of Exhaust pipe was about 1M mine is that and 2 silencers.


Good to see you back on the Forum Alf. Hope you and your Misses are feeling better


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## Alf (Feb 5, 2021)

caledonia said:


> Good to see you back on the Forum Alf. Hope you and your Misses are feeling better


Thank you it’s been an uphill battle the las 12 months we have had our first injections we were going to sell our van but Trev talked me out of it we may have to move though the garden and house is a bit too much now but finding a M/caravan friendly bungalow is not easy.


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## mopedracer (Feb 5, 2021)

Alf said:


> Do you find the silencer works OK i thought the optimum length of Exhaust pipe was about 1M mine is that and 2 silencers.


cant hear a thing in the van apart from the hot air fan .
tried 2 silencers couldn't hear the difference the motorcycle crankcase air filter makes a big difference


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## Alf (Feb 5, 2021)

mopedracer said:


> cant hear a thing in the van apart from the hot air fan .
> tried 2 silencers couldn't hear the difference the motorcycle crankcase air filter makes a big difference


Its not particularly inside although if you fit it correctly with the proper thermostat the loud fan noise is cut by 75% the reason for the intake and exhaust silencer is to cut external noise for others


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## wildebus (Feb 5, 2021)

Hey Alf, good to see you back!


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## Deleted member 80299 (Feb 6, 2021)

FULL TIMER said:


> you are right but the one we were talking about was an all in one unit where that isn't possible unless you strip the heater out of the casing


Ys, they are stand alone units


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## Pandaman2020 (Feb 18, 2021)

mistericeman said:


> A run on kero now and again is a great idea as it can help clean the combustion chamber etc....
> 
> However I can't understand the obsession some folks have pfaffing with, separate tanks etc so they can run on red/kero as they use so little road diesel the savings are ridiculous....
> 
> ...


Apparently the Chinese ones consume approximately 1 liter every 10 hours if kept running but I doubt if you'd be able to stand the heat so the thermostat will be turned down a bit which will make them more economical?


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## mistericeman (Feb 19, 2021)

Pandaman2020 said:


> Apparently the Chinese ones consume approximately 1 liter every 10 hours if kept running but I doubt if you'd be able to stand the heat so the thermostat will be turned down a bit which will make them more economical?



Most of the Chinese ones can be throttled back by reducing the pump pulse frequency... 
But I'd still go for the 2kw version over the larger 5kw etc as 2kw is plenty.


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