I thought I'd tell you of my experiences with two Chinese diesel heaters.
I've had a 3kw diesel heater for 3 years. It was marketed on ebay as a 3kw but most of us are aware that this is a marketing ploy, heaters that are 3 or 4kw as advertised are likely to be 5kw heaters.
All was good until one day recently I couldnt get the heater to run. Eventually I put it in the shed and ordered a 2kw heater also chinese also ebay.
When the new unit arrived I took the old one out and it was only then that I found out why the 3kw wasnt working. There is a short section of small hose just before it goes into the heater. That hose needed bending to clear the chassis. The hose had a crack in it. Diesel fuel leaked and ran along the chassis to a point under the van out of sight out of mind..Hence fuel starvation. So I have a good heater for the shed now.
I installed the new 2kw heater and it got a good workout in the last week in cold conditions.
The main difference is that the 3kw needed shutting down regularly in our 16ft caravan, it was just too hot. It was rarely put on a temperature higher than the 8 degree minimum.
The 2kw heater also stays on 8 degrees but much more regularly is ramped up to say 15-18 degrees to get the van heated up. But the new heater is vastly more economical. I havent measured it but one full tank around 8 litres (mine is on an angle to help filling up with the neck outside the van) still has about 3 litres left. So 5 litres for the week. This would not be the case with the 3kw heater.
So thats my assessment. I think the 2kw heater would suffice with any caravan up to about 20-22 ft.
Tony
Radar said
09:38 PM Jun 23, 2021
Hi Tony.
Our 2kw is very economical but this week when we really needed it, it had pissey fit. Tomorrow we are having a lay day and I will be under, over it looking for a answer but yes a 2kw is great in our 6metre box.
Mike Harding said
07:57 AM Jun 24, 2021
I have a 5kW unit which I almost always run on its minimum setting but if the outside temperature is above 5C the van becomes too hot so I open two windows, one at each end of the van, and balance things that way. Fuel consumption, on minimum, is 125mL/hour.
Tony: my heater controller allows one to control the heater either via setting room temperature or pump pulse rate, I found that using the room temperature setting was hopeless and instead I set the pump pulse rate which is a much finer method of control.
One advantage of fitting a 5kW over a 2kW unit is that the 5kW will normally be running at its lowest setting thus fan noise and wear are minimised.
jontee said
11:00 AM Jun 24, 2021
Mike Harding wrote:
I have a 5kW unit which I almost always run on its minimum setting but if the outside temperature is above 5C the van becomes too hot so I open two windows, one at each end of the van, and balance things that way. Fuel consumption, on minimum, is 125mL/hour.
Tony: my heater controller allows one to control the heater either via setting room temperature or pump pulse rate, I found that using the room temperature setting was hopeless and instead I set the pump pulse rate which is a much finer method of control.
One advantage of fitting a 5kW over a 2kW unit is that the 5kW will normally be running at its lowest setting thus fan noise and wear are minimised.
G`day ,
X2 Mike .
Cheers ,
Jontee
Are We Lost said
12:00 PM Jun 24, 2021
The same story for me. With mine there was a way to access the advanced menu (would have to look up how again). With that I reduced the minimum pump speed from 1.6 cycles per second to 1.2. You can also adjust the settings for automatic fan speeds.
Then, I just use the remote's up or down arrows as needed to increase or decrease the output. I don't care what the actual reading is. Open hatches a little to circulate the heat right through the van.
So, running on the new low setting the fan is virtually silent, although the pump pulsing can still be heard. I just make sure I always give it a good hard burn before switching off to get rid of any carbon buildup, which I suspect may be more of a risk with a lower than standard pump speed.
Mike Harding said
02:20 PM Jun 24, 2021
Are We Lost wrote:
I just make sure I always give it a good hard burn before switching off to get rid of any carbon buildup, which I suspect may be more of a risk with a lower than standard pump speed.
I suspect that is correct and is the reason I haven't hacked my controller - let us know how you go please?
Because, as mentioned, mine runs on minimum for 98% of the time, every three months or so I give it 30 minutes at full power on pure kerosene in the hope of burning off that carbon buildup - so far so good :)
Eaglemax said
08:01 PM Jun 24, 2021
I admit to knowing about reducing the pump rate but never trying.
Now that that larger heater will go in the she'd I'll try it.
I use 10% kero. Reckon that'll keep the heater clean inside. Pure kero could be too coarse imo.
Tony
I thought I'd tell you of my experiences with two Chinese diesel heaters.
I've had a 3kw diesel heater for 3 years. It was marketed on ebay as a 3kw but most of us are aware that this is a marketing ploy, heaters that are 3 or 4kw as advertised are likely to be 5kw heaters.
All was good until one day recently I couldnt get the heater to run. Eventually I put it in the shed and ordered a 2kw heater also chinese also ebay.
When the new unit arrived I took the old one out and it was only then that I found out why the 3kw wasnt working. There is a short section of small hose just before it goes into the heater. That hose needed bending to clear the chassis. The hose had a crack in it. Diesel fuel leaked and ran along the chassis to a point under the van out of sight out of mind..Hence fuel starvation. So I have a good heater for the shed now.
I installed the new 2kw heater and it got a good workout in the last week in cold conditions.
The main difference is that the 3kw needed shutting down regularly in our 16ft caravan, it was just too hot. It was rarely put on a temperature higher than the 8 degree minimum.
The 2kw heater also stays on 8 degrees but much more regularly is ramped up to say 15-18 degrees to get the van heated up. But the new heater is vastly more economical. I havent measured it but one full tank around 8 litres (mine is on an angle to help filling up with the neck outside the van) still has about 3 litres left. So 5 litres for the week. This would not be the case with the 3kw heater.
So thats my assessment. I think the 2kw heater would suffice with any caravan up to about 20-22 ft.
Tony
Hi Tony.
Our 2kw is very economical but this week when we really needed it, it had pissey fit. Tomorrow we are having a lay day and I will be under, over it looking for a answer but yes a 2kw is great in our 6metre box.
I have a 5kW unit which I almost always run on its minimum setting but if the outside temperature is above 5C the van becomes too hot so I open two windows, one at each end of the van, and balance things that way. Fuel consumption, on minimum, is 125mL/hour.
Tony: my heater controller allows one to control the heater either via setting room temperature or pump pulse rate, I found that using the room temperature setting was hopeless and instead I set the pump pulse rate which is a much finer method of control.
One advantage of fitting a 5kW over a 2kW unit is that the 5kW will normally be running at its lowest setting thus fan noise and wear are minimised.
G`day ,
X2 Mike .
Cheers ,
Jontee
Then, I just use the remote's up or down arrows as needed to increase or decrease the output. I don't care what the actual reading is. Open hatches a little to circulate the heat right through the van.
So, running on the new low setting the fan is virtually silent, although the pump pulsing can still be heard. I just make sure I always give it a good hard burn before switching off to get rid of any carbon buildup, which I suspect may be more of a risk with a lower than standard pump speed.
I suspect that is correct and is the reason I haven't hacked my controller - let us know how you go please?
Because, as mentioned, mine runs on minimum for 98% of the time, every three months or so I give it 30 minutes at full power on pure kerosene in the hope of burning off that carbon buildup - so far so good :)
Now that that larger heater will go in the she'd I'll try it.
I use 10% kero. Reckon that'll keep the heater clean inside. Pure kero could be too coarse imo.
Tony