Diesel heater in a Harbor Freight box: temps inside the box while running 

I haven’t started mine yet. How has your fuel consumption been? Thanks

@@Zekerose I don’t think they are particularly noteworthy for fuel consumption but they give a dry heat. Good for a caravan where the wooden carcass tend to rot.

I have not had that happen in many hours of run time. Set up like this in the box you cannot use the thermostat function, you have to go to the Hz setting. Your questions are exactly why I made this video though. I was curious what the temperatures inside would be, and how close it would be to auto shut off or cooking the controller. It's a non-issue though.

I actually want the section inside the garage exposed, might as well get all the heat out of it that I can. If this was not a rental, I would put an 8-10 foot chunk of black pipe the length of the garage before exiting out the back to get more of the radiant exhaust heat into the garage. Since I can't cut holes in the wall I have to run the exhaust under the garage door, so the only part I have put the sleeve over is a 4 inch section that gets sandwiched under the door. I was able to layer three chunks of the heat tubing over one another on that small piece under the door to protect the rubber sweep. Then I fill the gaps under the rest of the door with assorted lengths of 2X4 lumber. Helps keep the draft from coming under the gap.

It is the Apache 4800 usually about $60 at Harbor freight. The fan is blowing to the inside of the box. That way it is blowing the exhaust out the shortest distance and not drawing it across the controller, fuel pump and combustion intake. I'm planning to add a small switch in line on the fan and mount it on the outside of the box. Mostly just for curiosity's sake to see how much it actually changes the temperature inside. With the heat wrap being so incredibly effective it may not be necessary, but since it draws so little current it can't hurt to have.

This is the stock pump mounted in the little rubber isolation mount that comes with the kit. I've never really considered it being quite or loud. You can hear it in person, but I've never been bothered by it.

It is just a standard SAE style female flush mount built into the box and a male on the power cord to the battery.

This heater came with the hard nylon line which depending on who you trust is probably the correct stuff to use. Since it's a very small inner diameter it helps bleed the air out of the system faster, won't bulge outward under stroke presser from the pump, and it's very heat resistant. The line from the tank to the pump intake doesn't really matter, so I just used some gates fuel line that felt like it would stand up to the elements and be durable in the cold. There are plenty of other videos here on RU-vid of how to properly install using the clear nylon fuel line. You use the small chunk of rubber fuel line they supply to essentially sheath the connection between the pump and heater and the nylon line. If yours comes with the orange or green fuel line my advice would be take the pump, whatever fuel filter you plan to use and the fuel tank outlet to an auto parts store and get better fuel line.

I'm not sure because I didn't measure. There's a lot of videos on fuel usage. Also you can do the math because it's a dose pump that moves a specific volume, and the hz measures pumps per second.

@@timlong1462 thanks

Nope none so far. It's just a basic small engine filter so I expect it'll last the life of the heater since I run it mostly on clean kerosene.

Most of those have the little controller mounted on the outside which is a no go if you camp and this stays outside of the vehicle or tent. That's my number one use for this thing. That's why all of the temperatures I took here are important. My initial worry was the temps in the box would be too hot for the controller to live long. This is not waterproof, but I transport it on too of the vehicle and drive through rain and snow. I is rain proof and stayed dry inside even after a 10 hour drive. I also wanted something a bit more durable construction than paper thin sheet metal and generally cheap construction. Those all in ones just look so incredibly flimsy and cheaply made I chose to make this.

I bought it at a hardware store by the lawnmower stuff. You can get them anywhere, or order them. It's just a Briggs and Stratton fuel filter 150 micron. This is not where I ordered from, but it's the same thing. Briggs & Stratton 4105 5-Pack Of 298090S Fuel Filter 150 Micron For Engines without Fuel Pump a.co/d/hXgBSq9

@@timlong1462 thank you!

If you search diesel heater on thingaverse it is the first thing that pops up. It's called portable diesel heater.

Can you explain this a bit more? I didn’t entirely understand what it’s doing?

I don't know about that… Look up any reliable source on these and they say the exact opposite of what you have said. Running these at low fuel rates results in more carbon buildup. You have to keep the combustion temperature high enough in order to reduce this.

@@timlong1462 that depens how much experience you wanna listening to. If you want it clean and same heat for lower cost you use them. If you wanna open and clean it and use more waste of money for same heat, good luck to you. I am still burning 3 years stright

@@vin9976 try low Hz 1.2 and max 3.6hz at topp. Fan speed 2000 2200 low. 3600 to 4000 high. Burn cleaner and saves fuel. And gives the same heat. If not go see fine tune china air heater here in RU-vid. Abaout same same if not remember wrong. Am on hospital now. But can send exactly later

@@timlong1462 try and see ur self. Alsow fuel lowe cost. And less watt is used

The difference is being able to set this one outdoors in rain/snow and then throw it up on the roof during travel. None of the premade versions are waterproof or water resistant at all. While this design cant be dunked under water, it could be sprayed with a hose no worries or set out in the rain with the addition of a 3 inch plug, or with the output heat hose in place. The only design I saw built similar was the Hcalory (I think spelled that way) and it looked extremely cheaply made for $300 or $150 more than the kit I built this with. The metal case ones just look cheap and flimsy in my opinion. To each their own though. If one of those works for you then save the time and just go with a premade design.