One opportunity we don't see people taking advantage of very often is to somehow capture some of the wasted exhaust heat. These heaters produce crazy hot exhaust and all of it just goes to waste. If we could somehow capture that heat in a radiator to keep water warm or something - because so much heat just goes to waste. Residential gas furnaces have been recapturing flue gas heat for years to be 96% efficient - we need something like that for these diesel heaters.
CAUTION!!! Dan I did not see you put a fuel filter on your fuel line. Let me warn you I have owned three of those diesel heaters over the years some expensive some cheap. I can tell you that all of them have EXTREMELY small orifices. They will plug up very quickly with dirty fuel. I highly recommend that you put a small fuel filter on there someplace that is very easy to get you and carry several extra filters with you. Especially if you’re overseas any place where you cannot guarantee the quality of the fuel. I know you’re not going back to Africa, but other countries have dirty fuel also. But believe me you want a filter on that line
The Espar and planar have a filter in the pump. It’s tiny but it’s there. Ive had 4-5 so far and the current one mainly dislikes sitting for a long period of time. I’ve blown it out with compressed air, but bringing a complete spare pump probably would have been the best thing to do.
Hi Dan, good job. The exhaustpipe need a angle down to ground. Now its possible that water condense in the pipe, froze and clock ist up. Also after watercrossings, the water need a way out of the pipe.
I have, as you know worked in the highlands of Iceland and north Norway for 30 years, using diesel heater a lot. The important thing is to turn them on at least once a week, regardless of the need. If they are not used for some months, something regarding the ignition fails and you need to take them to workshop for overhaul. All you get is lots of white smoke through the exhaust. I have most of the time had Webasto heaters. Very very good. Now they have cabin heater like this, but is also water heater for shower. All in one unit. So that is what I am aiming for.
Head up, they make a muffler and a air intake silencer if you find the exterior components are a but noisy for your taste. Also I would recommend you make sure to run the heater once a month for a high heat burn for about 30 min. That has served us well for the units we install. Camper is looking great!
Great advice. I have 2 of these installed in our van and boat. The mufflers really do work, and are a nice courtesy for those who might be camped nearby as these heaters are quite noisy from the outside when starting up. High burn will prevent sooting.
Just a word of advice.... Make sure that you plug the exhaust hose and intake hose ,underneath the trailer, to prevent insects from getting in and building nest.
Love it, Dan! This is by far my favorite of all the mainstream overlander builds so far, and I'm not even a Jeep guy. But the uniqueness, usability, lack of weight, living space, capability... everything about your Jeep is awesome.
Yet again you hit a home-run on a practical no-nonsense approach to the full-time travel lifestyle and showing how attainable it is to to anyone willing to make the necessary choices. Diesel heaters are a great option for cold weather living. That said, I did not see any sort of filter on diesel line going to the heater. Oversight? Installed but not featured? Given the places you're going and the (questionable) fuel quality a filter is probably cheap/easy insurance.
If you ever want to quiet it down the mufflers for the exhaust side and the felt hose on the outlet side makes a huge difference. Did a Propex heater and even using a small section to non felt hose made a huge huge difference in volume reduction.
Nice work. Though if it was me, I would route the air intake hose towards the front of the vehicle (as far away from the exhaust outlet it can go), and maybe even wrap the exhaust tube with thermal exhaust tape for added heat protection.
Haven't managed to install the exhaust silencer on my diesel heater yet, sounds like a jet engine starting up when it gets going. But it's a hydronic system with an Autoterm unit so it's got a bit more oomph. Definitely needs a silencer.
good explanation of the overall install. One thing: I would have used a longer line for the air intake, best chase run to the other side of the vehicle
Dan I've been a subscriber for over 6+ years and once a patron member (I'm full-time now, so I need all the money now). You are the reason I chose to live this lifestyle. I've talk to you in person, patreon message and comments on social media and you've always been awesome on answering my questions and really just an awesome dude. But, why would you use your main diesel tank for the heater and not a separate tank? I know the heater sips diesel, but I wouldn't want it to come out of my main tank. What is your thought/reasoning? Funny thing I already know your answer to this..... extra weight. To be honest I might join patreon again just because you're just awesome and knowledgeable, however 8 do know where you are shipping but mums the word.
haha, thanks! It's about the weight, but also complexity. Another tank has to be mounted someplace, you have to fill it separately, it might leak. It will be small enough you have to fill it often etc. etc. The pickup tube for the diesel heater does not reach to the bottom of the tank, so it can't drink the tank dry no matter what. There will always be diesel to run the Jeep. It's just much, much simpler this way.
It’s really nice installing with a lot of details. I’m curious to know where to buy the bamboo panels you have on your goose gear system, this is available to DIY guy wants to build is own thing? I searched online try to find bamboo panels but no find?
This might be a dumb question but it’s relevant bc I’m about to install a diesel heater in my 80 series LC I’m building to live in. Do you have any concerns of heat making its way upstairs to the bed area when it is closed? Reason i ask is because I’m having a hard time trying to figure out how to get the heat both upstairs and downstairs in my setup as it’s a split drawbridge style bed platform that will seal off the downstairs when it’s shut. Getting heat downstairs is no problem but getting it upstairs when it’s closed is the challenge I’m facing. Very good chance I’ll just do what you did with your door vent on one of the bed platforms with some form of blast gate to control where the heat’s directed to. Big fan of your stuff, huge inspo for my own!
My bed platform will not entirely cover the opening for exactly that reason - it means a person can climb up and down and it means the hot air will be able to go upstairs no problem. Maybe you can leave a gap in yours
I'm a little surprised at not seeing any filters and especially with a small fuel line. My BJ60 LC had a sedimenter and no problems with winter wax in Canada. Even an intake filter for snow...
So can you not open that cabinet now? Or everytime you open it the outlet tube has to expand and contract? 🤔 ... I also noticed some type of straight lift roof lift system, have you solved the straight lift roof with straight lift bed situation? Thank you 😁
@@TheRoadChoseMe so the hose just sits near the vent hole in the door? Or does the hose connect to it's own flange inside the cabinet then when the door closes the inside flange and the outside vent mate together so that there is no heat loss into the cabinet? I'm definitely staying tuned for the roof/bed lift setup, have you solved it yet? It's a difficult puzzle to solve so just knowing if you've solved it would be helpful :D
Did yoù consider having a separate diesel fuel tank just for the heater, as is common on caravans here in Australia? There are pros and cons. Does your diesel heater have a fuel filter?
No, that sounds like extra hassle I absolutely do not want to deal with. The whole point it is have every system be as "invisible" as possible so I can spent more time enjoying adventures, and less time messing with my setup and all the systems.
When you are showing the pump underneat the car and showing the fuel line going to the pump, are they zip tied to the exhaust? it sure looks like but that can't be?
Ive been curious how well these heaters handle dust and water in the intake pipe. There will be tons of dust and water spray at the back of the camper, and possibly could be submerged in a water crossing. I assume as long as the heater isn't running it'll be fine, but ill be keeping an eye on you to see how its lasting.
I’ve had a few in different vehicles and have never had a problem with that. Our current heater is giving us a bit of trouble now but I’m guessing 90 percent of that is because we haven’t used it much between the US and Argentina. They really need to be cycled fairly often and our planar can’t be run above 80 something Fahrenheit
@@TheRoadChoseMe I have a 200AH lithium secondary battery in my vehicle and a 550Wh lithium portable battery source. Was wondering if using a diesel heater would be a good option for a tent.
I'm looking for a car to make the trip around Africa with two other people. Would a Super Duty F-350 XLT with a SuperCrew cab and 8' Bed be possile. I would also use the Fx4 Off road Package. Is this a good idea?
I'm sure it can work, though I don't recall seeing a single one around Africa. What engine does that have, and does it have modern emissions controls? That could be a problem.
How hot does the exhaust pipe get, and also the pipe that brings hot air into your space ? Ive used a diesel heater, and they Both get very hot. Are you ever gonna be done it’s this Build ?
The exhaust gets very hot for sure! But it's designed for that and will be fine. The camper must be in a container to ship to a new part of the world in mid July, so yes, the build has to be finished! The clock is ticking
Great video Dan…. You should be a teacher mate! As for the trip, its clear you are heading for Russia but as a westerner, aren’t you worried about your security?
Dan, are there any elevation restrictions on the diesel heater that you are aware of? I know that venture4wd installed a petrol heater that started malfunctioning above 5K feet. I've heard Chris say that he was looking into diesel heater options in the future to try to remediate that problem.
They all vary. I’m not sure which version this is but I think the newest Espar has a built in compensation function and is good for probably at least 4k meters maybe 5. The last Espar I had required a dongle that increased the ceiling from 2200 to 4000 meters if I remember correctly. And our webasto required a lower volume fuel pump do get similar results. We currently have an auto term that’s good up to 4k meters but the dealer where I bought it said that you can run kerosene to get a little more elevation out of the heater.