I've been reading a lot of chatter regarding installing and using diesel heater in rvs.
Supposedly they're very cost efficient, heat is amazing and unlike propane doesn't cause condensation.
If you use a diesel heater in your LD, please share your thoughts.
Thanks!
Mark
Diesel heaters are common on boats. They have their pros (use the same fuel as the engine) and cons (bad smell, need for cleaning, etc.). You can find plenty of discussion on boating forums.
Forget diesel heaters. You want a gasoline heater that can deal with altitude. Espar makes one, Webasto makes one, and Velit makes one.
I installed one and posted it here. It is 14,000 BTU and will heat the coach even without a blanket blocking off the cab Propane now lasts for two months. It was a PIA to install as you have to put a 4” hole in the floor. It requires maintenance to clean the carbon out if it won’t start. Mine has run two years now without a cleaning but I have had to pay a lot of attention to it as I am usually at 9500ft. using it only on a high setting.
I use the Velit. The heat output is very high so don’t put your Crocs any where near it.
If you can find the thread you are welcome to post it. I took a lot of abuse at the time about fire
hazard but I am still here.
Harry's previous thread about modifications to his floor and installation of a gasoline heater. Lazy Daze floor construction (https://www.lazydazeowners.com/index.php?topic=37173.msg238582#msg238582)
A diesel heater doesn't make much sense cost wise unless you already have a diesel engine and the tank of course. Those LD's got a propane generator with two propane tanks. So of course that situation left you with more propane than the average LD, that could be used for space heating.
Gasoline, while more energy dense than propane, IMO gasoline is more dangerous to work with.
RV Tito did install and Youtube'd what he did, to heat his residential garage with a diesel heater. He liked the results. I guess that could be adapted to a motorhome. https://www.google.com/search?q=RV+tito+diesel+heater+of+garage+youtube&oq=RV+tito+diesel+heater+of+garage+youtube&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRigATIHCAMQIRigATIHCAQQIRigAdIBCTI1NjEzajBqN6gCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:2d179627,vid:tboUb3-IU1I,st:0 RonB
Diesel only makes sense if your MH's engine runs on it. Diesel Sprinter vans are the perfect candidate for a diesel heater, already having a diesel fuel tank..
The installation of any additional heater, gas, or diesel is a major project. It gets expensive if someone other than you does the installation.
If you need more heat, consider a catalytic heater; they are very efficient, quiet, and use no electric power.
You said a month or two ago, you were selling your LD. Are you now keeping it?
Larry
Diesel only makes sense if your MH's engine runs on it. Diesel Sprinter vans are the perfect candidate for a diesel heater, already having a diesel fuel tank..
The installation of any additional heater, gas, or diesel is a major project. It gets expensive if someone other than you does the installation.
Larry
Gotta agree with Larry on this. If you don’t have the chops to cut a 4” hole in your coach choose another solution.
I am very happy I did it and I’ll help any one that wants to try it. It will never be as trouble free as the propane furnace so keep it as a backup. I tried the Wave 6. Not enough heat. and inconvenient. The 2000 models of gas heaters are not enough. You need the larger model.
Hi Larry.
I'm still undecided if I'll be selling my LD. I don't travel like once did for work. Leaving any RV sitting is not good. A friend has offered to sell three acres to me and he'll help me build a 700-900 sq ft. home. If i take him up on his offer I would live in my LD while we build the home.
Hi; I'm puzzled by your comment about " unlike propane doesn't cause condensation". Your propane heater is vented outside, so byproducts of combustion don't add to any condensation inside the RV. Catalytic heaters do provide some to the interior air, but you should have some vent space. A cracked open, just 1/8" ceiling vent, would take care of carbon dioxide and water (vapor) produced. A diesel heater also would vent combustion byproducts outside.
Cooking with propane will produce water vapor and carbon monoxide/dioxide inside. With all of my vents closed and open flames on the cooktop, or inside the oven, I have managed to set off my CO alarm. That disturbs the cats very badly. I always crack a ceiling vent slightly open to prevent CO build up. Hot fumes rise up to the top of the living space, and are disbursed outside.
Any condensation inside on your windows is produced by breathing, or cooking. The method of heating doesn't affect that. RonB
Ron.
Google searched do diesel heaters create condensation in rvs.
A diesel heater typically does not create condensation in an RV, as it produces dry heat without adding moisture to the air. However, other factors like breathing, cooking, and damp items can still contribute to condensation issues.
"A diesel heater typically does not create condensation in an RV"
True. And as Ron pointed out, neither does your built-in propane furnace. In both cases, exhaust gases and moisture are vented to the outside.
If a diesel heater is still appealing, consider a portable diesel heater, the type used for tent camping. Your rig does not have diesel tank, so you will be running it off a 5-gallon fuel can or heater with a small, built-in fuel tank.
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Whatever type of aux heater you choose, it will consume power, with the exception of a propane catalytic heater.
If you are building a house, the power company should providetemporary electrical power to the site during construction. It could be used for electric heat, which is the best of all worlds.
If your rig will be parked for along period, have the local propane company deliver a large propane tank the furnace.
Larry
Propane doesn't create condensation??
I've full-timed off and on for 12 years.
Five years in an Airstream 7 in a LD. In both rigs during the winter condensation was an issue. Just me and my small dog. Each winter I would slightly open a roof vent. It's difficult to leave vents open when temps drop into the single digits. If I find myself staying in my LD during the winter I will invest in a quality humidifier.
"Propane doesn't create condensation??"
Any hydrocarbon fuel creates moisture when it burns. The question is: where do the combustion gases go?
Unvented heaters, such as portables, catalytic heaters, or inexpensive "blue flame" unvented heaters, will contribute moisture to the interior of your rig.
But a heater that vents its exhaust gases to the exterior, such as your rig's built-in furnace, will contribute no moisture to the interior. It all goes outside. That goes for propane, gasoline, or diesel furnaces, as long as they're vented outside.
Unless you're using an unvented heater, your condensation problems in winter are the result of moisture generated by you, your dog, cooking, washing and showering, and so on. (Plus, of course, if you camp in a humid climate, you can get condensation as the temperatures go down at night, just from atmospheric moisture.)
The condensation problems you have experience are common to all cold weather campers.
Over the last 50+ years, we have camped in cold winter conditions and condensation is a problem in a tent or an RV .
Our bodies produce as much or more skin moisture In very cold condition as when it is warm, the skin tries to maintain its moisture level to keep it flexible. I'm thirstier at night in frigid conditions as when it is warm, the cold pull moisture away along with heat as it escapes our bodies. The colder it is, the more heat and moisture escapes.
In our LD, it is common on very cold morning to find ice and water droplets on the metal frame around the escape hatch and on the metal window frames.
Running the propane furnace helps drive moisture out, it does not add moisture to the interior .
Larry
Five years in an Airstream 7 in a LD. In both rigs during the winter condensation was an issue.
Which is caused by breathing; however the alternative leaves a lot to be desired.