Chinese Diesel Heater Install in a Chinese Boat 

I bought one for my tool trailer after seeing this video. Best couple hundred i ever spent.

I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars.

They now have a waterproof Wago connector called Wago Gelbox with an IPX8 rating. It’s actually a waterproof cover over a standard Wago 221, made my the manufacturer. Best way to connect different wire gauges.

Remember to fit a carbon monoxide sensor in each cabin, and especially where you sleep. I ended up with a blocked flue (exhaust) the alarm went berserk and save the day ..colourless, tasteless and no smell ..a real secret killer. So I fitted 4

That's quite the floating complex machine you've built there Doug. Fantastic.

I have a espar heater/ac setup in my semi. The last 1 ran 7 years with no issues. I was so impressed i opted for the lithium iron sleeper battery setup in my 23 pete.

Have a Great Christmas Doug! Idk where you are these days Yet you seem to always be Busy enjoying your Vessel and Life! Be Blessed at whatever you put your hands and brains to. Smiles

I run one in my Garage for the 3rd winter now. It’s very reliable… If possible, reuse the exhaust for additional heating for better efficiency.

It took a lot of research to figure out how to operate the controller. Thank you English campers

Merry Christmas Doug! (And another great video showing the full trial and error process!)

Haaaa! I just bought a diesel heater and am installing in my ‘84 Albin trawler. Thank you for the tips.

just a hint... those copper busbar on circuitbreakers can be fitted into that slot closer to screw. There is also fork version of the busbar which fits even better. The hole for the cables is therefore empty and can be used for cables or connection. There is also three phase variant of the busbar so you can have a three distribution networks in a same line of breakers. And in general, AC circuit breaker might not be the best solution for DC. It might not be able to extinguish the high current DC arc during disconnection (AC arc will extinguish by itself). Just dont take is as rule generaly that any circuit breaker will work in any situation.

Great video. I've been using Right Stuff for years as a mechanic and it is amazing how much other stuff you can find to use it on. I loved the boat parade, especially the "Sanity Clause". Hope you have a Merry Christmas, my friend.

looking forward to the next voyage

The black duck . The merganser . Is a diver duck . They spend all summer up here in Northern n.y . Iv often wondered where they wintered . Cool to find out .and now know they eat fresh water and brackish water fish . Thanks Doug. 👍👏👊 hope that heater is working out

Theres another bird that looks alot like those also here in Florida called a Cormorant, does the same thing, only they have a hook-tipped beak, instead of the pointy spear one of the Anhinga - Fun stuff watching them Catch fish

Keep in mind just like running solar yards away use a larger gauge wire to matain your voltage.

I found some 1" ss tubing at a scrap yard and rolled it in a cheep chinamanize roller and put it in a small 25 gal water heater tank also from scrap yard that i cut the top off and put the coil in it , welded it back up and around the in and out with blumax rod and bam hot water heater from exaust , love the way you see things , people say you only live once ... wrong...you only die once , you live every day you are here , take that chance and make every day something to remember and a story to tell ,

fantastic video!

This is a classic Doug video. You haven't lost that attitude where you just try things and learn. 👍

15:32 I was the LPO for A-Gang on a Knox class frigate. Ventilation ran 24/7 when we were underway. I would wake from a sound sleep, any time there was silence. If we lost the 1S board, steam powered generators, the ship service diesel generator would auto start and power the 2S and ventilation would come back on. If it didn't, I knew I would need to roll out.

Regarding the two wires instead of one bigger one at 12:15: When a single wire gets a loose connection, it only heats up at the bad connection inside your panel. When you have two wires and one gets loose, the other takes the full load and gets hot along the whole length. It's not a big deal if you're doubling up to reduce the voltage drop, like on that long run to the heater - you fuse it for the rating of a single wire, and it'll protect them both. Otherwise, you can put a fuse on each wire at the source, and they'll be fully protected.

to help prevent chips from clogging hole saw, drill a thru hole in the saw teeth's path, just inside the hole's max diameter (pilot drill bits works) the hole lets the chips fall out of the saw's 'gullets'. WD-40 or rubbing alcohol is a good cutting lube for aluminum.

I hope you sail on down by Naples. I'd like to see the boat and I'd be glad to help out with anything you have to do.

Always amazing what your mind gives you to give you the finished job and it is a total plus. Well done. It's a never ending for sure. Wishing you a Very Merry Xmas and Happy Newer Year, loved the Xmas Light Boat Parade...Stay safe all !!

That is a cool little heater. I know others have said it too but Please make sure to keep your monoxide detectors in good repair. Love the idea of a compact backup heater since my furnace was taken out by a hurricane. My Friend was taken out by a faulty stove. P.S. Would you consider selling the round 1/4 inch discs you cut from the ship for souvenirs by any chance?

I love how every concern I see while the video is going on, you solve in the process. Plus you explain why you did it that way!

I have some marine electrical experience and I have to gripe at your electrical chops, you mention the right things and don't do them! Hahaha. Marine adhesive lined crimps all day, stick to stranded tinned marine cable when you can, and for the sake of everyone's lives have 3 CO detectors on 3 separate power sources. (I recommend on on ship power 12-24v, and a couple battery jobs) Love the work you're putting in, Seeker looks great.

Looks great. I hope all will enjoy the heat this winter. Have a great week ahead, and merry Christmas to all

I had a similar issue in the van, had to put the dc feed directly over the battery terminals to the heater, the three meters to the switch panel dropped the volts below ten on startup, cutting the heater off. PITA getting out of bed to start the engine to start the heater. No more and next week if of skiing in it . Toasty!!

Standard 120v switch is nice, there's room in that box for a small 10a dc pwm controller, I've incorporated them into all my camper light fixtures as an awesome bulb dimmer.

I do t think they sell them anymore but I have one of these Chinese diesel heaters that also has a side for heating water.

On the ones i've installed on boats I've made it a point to get the air from outside. Helps with getting the humidity out of the boat. You cant expect wet clothes/sailsuites to dry in the wet air you just took from the cabin

Love the snake bird clip. Cormorants, as we know them. Also known as Black Paddy's. Well we are in Northern part of Ireland. Chinese heater. Concur. Throw away most of the extra fixings. Jubilee clips,filter,pump mounting rubbers etc. installed one in my land rover and all that stuff fell apart. Funny enough. On the boat I have a Propex (GB) Gas to air and it's great. But I used Chinese internet bought distribution air ducting and jubilees. When the jubilees get too hot they expand so much they fell off!

The little splices with the solder that take a really good heat gun or a small torch are some of the best environmental splices you can use. That style is what AirBus uses on all wire splices including in the wheel well area. Very good choice you made. And finally a review of a Chinese Heater that I can trust. Question.... Does it smell or burn your eyes like when you run diesel in a space heater? just wondering. Thanks .. Great Video.

Damn you're pretty flexible I can't even get through a walkthrough closet nobody's taking over your boat real soon

have you considered running 24Vto the heater and installing the dc dc converter locally to the heater, this would give it a good 12v at the heater. and save running an extra wire.

the fact that you continue to put inexpensive (non yachty) shit on your boat and it is working fine, and it pisses the people off that has yachty shit makes me so happy! heres a quote for one of your floor boards " I dont want to fly to the moon on a rocket that Doug built, but if I were stuck on the moon and had to get back I would want his ass beside me"

You can run 24v to a buck converter to 12v i would also change the tanks out to a aluminum or a boat tank i run both i also run 10 gallons of kerosene at least once a year to clean out the fuel lines im also in the process of changing out the fuel lines from plastic to copper less chance of them breaking and looseing all my fuel

Could you run add a DC / DC converter (maybe much smaller) closer to the heater, and then provide 24V over the length of the existing wire?

I do respect the aluminum fabrication and welding skills. I cannot do that. But I really do think he needs to rethink the wiring!

Are there hydronic (hotwater) versions of the cheap heaters? They would be my preferred option but do not have the noise and venting you wanted. Cheers warren

You still in st .pete beach area?????…I reside in st.petersburge..Would love to check out the seeker…🙏🏼🙏🏼…..If not merry x-mas to the sv seeker family..

You have a lot of differnet systems on the boat, it would be nice to have a paper manual that described all the systems and how they work. I know we have all these videos, but when shit hits the fan it would be nice to have some reference. Just a thought, I love the videos though, keep sharing and I'll keep watching!

Heat shrink crimps are nice

Doug if I couldn't go in my workshop I would not be happy, its about creativity This last week has been awful as I have had a virus but I look forward to tomorrow back working on my little boat feeling much better. Anyway hope you have great Christmas and a very happy new year.

I've been working on building a shop in my spare time. I've redesigned it several times as I go along. I'm kind of tired of people asking me why I did it a "that" way.

11:13 I bet ya these guys are trying to get into the "What did you make today?" section...

Outstanding Doug - your videos, your build, but mostly your can-do attitude and your pleasant disposition. Thank you for all of that! And PS - I hope you have a Merry Christmas.

Happy holidays! I'd forgotten about the Anhinga, saw them on a florida trip in the early 90s. They would sit in trees near the water looking down, I guess for hunting purposes. Do those heaters generate any smell?

Hdpe stands up to most all solvents. You can get them in spray bottle form, usually white, from crc products, They stand up to laquer thinnner which is somewhat impressive. Tubing of that material will probably last forever. And, coaxial putty for waterproofing coaxial antennas and wire connectors and such IS waterproof and air tight. It can seal any sort of caulk tube and keep it basically factory air tight sealed.

Doug the exhaust needs to be in stainless from the vid it looks like you used aluminium, the flue gasses will corrode through the Aluminium very quickly and let exhaust gasses out into the cabin.

Surprised how well the red paint has held up on the outside of the bulwarks it hasn't faded. White noise on a boat its something you get used to most mariners get used to it so much they can't sleep at home in a regular bed.

It's worth buying 2, so you have a spare. I went with a Planar hydronic diesel heater and a grizzly wood stove.

Doug an ABOM79 shop tour would be a nice episode before you leave. Might get a few other things done with his help.

Good morning Doug, Your installations always make me feel WOW that's a great idea. Till today your Heater under the cabinet buried in and around all that foam terrifies me. Maybe I'm just worrying too much. Like I said maybe it's me. Cheers. Sean from LBC

Just a thought. The low DC Voltage will require additional amps for the required wattage. (volts x amps = watts, watts stays the same and when volts decreases, amps must increase). The additional amperage may shorten the diesel heaters electrical components.

My boat is heated by a Webasto 2010 40,000 btus. of hydronic heat. Works fine with blowers and baseboard even with temps in the teens here in NJ. Used a Espar (Eberspacher) hot air unit initially (1987) but newer diesel fowled up the glow plugs. Made a tank to burn kerosene but that became a hassel so that's when I converted to hydronic heat. The Chinese hadn't poached the patents yet.

That black rubber fuel hose that comes with the heater will only last about 2-3 years it seems then it cracks in half just so you know Doug! I have 4 of these cheap heaters

Keep a spare igniter on hand. Mine went out after two months.

I don’t know if you have a stud welder or not but I feel like you could use one very regularly on your boat. Instead of drilling and tapping holes in the hull just zap on 4 studs. Pros and cons to each for sure!

My all time favorite movie , worlds fastest Indian , Burt Munro, Put every thing he had to do what he knew he could do , no matter what everyone else said, I see him in you in the the way you look at life . F every one who says different , Your life Your boat , thats all that matters , On another note I grew up on the water worked two trips on a long liner sward boat when i was 19 been self imployed since as a mechanic ,fab shop, machine shop , two years from now i will be retired and traveling in my RV that i built from church bus and pulling my 1952 Monark 20" alumanun boat with factory cabin i restored , going to go to FLA and would love to meet you if you are still around . Happy sailings , Mark

Doug over the years I have been watching van life RU-vidrs and almost all of them have bought the Chinese heater. They work great the first year then they break down the second year. Some have found that the heaters need to be run periodically all year round like once a week or so to keep it functioning right. Others if they don’t run it in summer they will fire it up before winter just to make sure it’s working fine, so they’re not caught in freezing temps. From what I have seen people have had less problems from the American made diesel heater more reliable dependable. Since you already have the Chinese one make sure you do the maintenance on it to keep it functioning. It requires more attention in preventive maintenance then the American made one. It’s true they work great for awhile and they are cheap. If it were me as broke as I am I would spend the extra on the American made one. So if you have to replace it next year go with the American made brand

A friend gave me one of these heaters. I’m looking for the restrictions on running the exhaust. If I run it across an up thru my deck will condensation form and puddle in the heater?

In Australia they call Seagulls "Bin Chickens" 😂 13:09 I saw that bottle of tequila 😊

I watched two videos about this very heater yesterday. What are the odds 😂

Thanks Doug, them heaters sure do look the part. Have you any idea what the burn rate is per hour or day? Merry Christmas and thanks for posting....

mind you the exhaust is sad to get really hot🤔 ou and were did you get the fan 😊❓

Lots of friends hat many issues with the Chinese Diesel Heaters.They all are moved to Webasto types.

Put a small firebox in the cabin to burn wood and trash. That would be cool. Old car rims work great for material.

Lovely, Cheersssssssssss!!

Sending the hot exhaust straight outside means you miss out on some of the heating. Having a few feet of exhaust pipe that could radiate heat would maybe be smart. I also saw someone putting the exhaust pipe through a sand thermal battery before it exits.

Do you have to replace the driveshaft bushing every 3000 miles, and the shaft is bent? Or did you fix the problem?

I like the Runescape song Sea Shanty 2. Look it up

Hmmm....bird like warm places 😂

Why not run 24 volts to the heater then add the dc to dc converter at the heater?

Do you not use washers just to get on everybody's nerves? I want to come on-board with a countersink bit and a few dozen boxes of countersunk bolt's. You wouldn't hear from me in days,or ever again. Id get lost under the flooring somewhere

The pilot bit for the Greenlee hole saw kit you can get at any electrical supply store and its inexpensive.

Oh wow i just put one in my camper van

How long before the boat burns down 😮

ya could... make a FAN somplace that is nice to run, but it's BELT AND MOTOR TO SPIN IS is to spin a ''car alternator'' ;) so ya got the REAL 12 VOLTS ?? or put the 12 volts from DC to DC to a TRIKKLE CHARGER to a ''heater bank battery'' a real 12 volt batt, with the DC to DC 12v doin the ''chargeing'' instead of the RUNNING.... ?? eh... I would put an alternator into one of the hyrdolik systems that pump all the time or something so it does the ''house12v'' stuff or that other idea if the trikkle chargers put out 13.8v with a 10 to wutever imput... ''at least 9.0v to 15v ??'' 8v to 26v could be good too... there should be something like that... I ain't gunna go off rabbit hunting lookin at the junglewebsite lol BUT.... eh.... also... I would personally SOLDER EVERY THING with a real ''nice'' good solder iron OF PROPER WATTAGE FOR THE ITEM SOLDERING ;) makes a diff sigh

i could watch these vids all day. Yes I know instead of watching i should be doing, but its my relax day :)

run 24 to the heater the put a DC-DC at the heater to reduce voltage drop

I never could get my diesel heater to work. Sooted up the first time, cleaned it, it has a hard time igniting and then it gets e-10 error flameout.

👍👍👍👍👍👍

How do you think one of those little heaters would work on waste oil?

When you're using your hole saw at high speed set the clutch so it gives. It sure hurts if you dont.

Feed the 24 volts towards the heater. Put your buck converter there.

13:20 The thing with fast boats, he was getting wet before it started raining 😉

anhinga= water turkey =snake bird - like to air dry spread eagle will steal a bait same as a gull or pelican

👍👍

LOL ! Love those welfare seagulls ! With the heat and the dissimilar metals (aluminum and steel) in a salt environment.... Be on the lookout for corrosion! Insulate the the areas where the two metals touch.

Nothing wrong with running 2 parallel wires for extra current capacity

Hey Doug I sent a email a few days back. Not sure if you got it or was sent to spam. Are you taking any visitors to help?

You are anchored a stone's throw from my sister and bro-in-law's former house in Broadwater. We spent many family weekends there and I've watched many a sun set over the Don.

8:50 Fischreiher in German ;)

Boat safety officer should talk to you about barefoot metal cutting ;-p

Most voltage converters have adjusting pots to fine tune. If possible, turn voltage up to 14 volts or get dedicated adjustable converter. I would set any converter at minimum of 13 volts regardless. Voltage drop is very common with 12 volts vs 24 volts and above. I bought a 24v 2000 watt inverter to make the connections more reasonable size and also run my solar charging at 24 volts. My low wattage 12 volt accessories are powered by a 24v to 12v 40 amp adjustable voltage converter, overload protected at 30 amps and used as a 30 amp 12 volt circuit. Don't use converters near their max ratings unless intermittent; heat and voltage drop. If low voltage with high wattage needs sent any distance on your boat, I would send 24 volts and convert to 12 volts at the accessories. Otherwise send high voltage from the mains and step it back down. 24 volts will travel much easier without drop than 12 volts, save you enough $$ on wire to pay for converters and be more reliable. 24v will still conduct and do its job better when a connection is bad or becomes loose from vibration and movements; like during the middle of battling a bad storm, when everything HAS to work correctly and long enough to at least get through the storm. The bad 24v connection will look terrible from burns and arcing, but it still powers through the storm to be repaired afterwards. The 12V connection could either stop conducting from the low voltage and bad conductivity or burn the connection open from the extra amperage available and resistance acting as a heating element. I have also done alot of work with 24 volt control circuits in industrial automation and HVAC circuits; never had issues with voltage drop; even on long production lines and where the e-stop circuit is daisy chained. For really long runs, they make e-stop relays to shorten the 24v runs. Most of the 24v was low wattage, but the voltage stayed consistent, unless their was a short. Then voltage goes to zero and no green light on power supply. Remove short, green light comes back but nothing overloads, blows or trips. Allen Bradley power supplies and many others, are smart enough to protect itself. Watch for DC relay switching messing with your electronics. Keep switching DC circuits and wiring away from low voltage electronics and sensors. Don't put DC power circuits inside the same conduits or enclosures as low voltage control cables or sensor cables. The EMF from the DC messes with the electronics, especially when switching; seems to spike the electronics and can give false readings, cut off momentarily and back on, etc. Computers and accessories really don't like it. I always had to seperate ethernet com. cables to industrial accessories and HMI's from low voltage control circuits by at least 3-4 feet. Never ran them in same conduits; if one crossed the other, I did it like a cross and never let them be side by side. 24v DC seems to have the most negative effects on electronics; I did not notice this effect with 24v AC. Also, if you end up with an adjustable 24v power supply, you can turn them up to 27 volts and not have issues. Helps for same reasons; more likely to actually receive at least 24 volts at accessories. A volt or two over is much better than undervoltage; undervoltage will damage and cause excess stress on windings. 13.5v is a good setting for a 12v power converter. Test with meter while converter under heaviest load possible; the floating voltage, without load of some sort is irrelevant.

how did you cure your sea sickness ?

We're is the seekers c-mass lights????😂