Furnace duct questions for my diesel heater

[jkwilson]

So do we have a combustion chamber leak? Or (as I believed) moisture already in the trailer and its air being carried by warmer air currents created by the furnace onto still-very-cold surfaces where it condenses.

Not likely. Water and CO are combustion products. If you get one, you get the other so your CO detector would be telling you if you had a leak.

[Nuffsaid]

Hello, I have just finished up my diesel heater install. I have tapped into the furnace duct that dumps into the storage bay. My questions is, how hot is too hot for the ducting? I haven’t gotten a surface temp yet but it is hot to the touch. I’ll include some pics to better explain what I’ve got going on.

This is the front storage compartment where the heater is mounted.
Attachment 23949

This is the duct I added to feed the factory duct
Attachment 23950

Just another angle showing the factory duct a little better
Attachment 23951

The ducting I have shown in the pics gets uncomfortably warm to the touch when the heater is running. I can smell “hot” inside which is what made me nervous in the first place but our furnace hasn’t been run yet this season and I know there’s gonna be some burn off when first fired up.

Figured I’d throw the questions out there. If your not familiar with diesel heaters then this won’t make any sense to you but I know at least one other member has installed one.

I have several of these heater also. My first one I installed in my 2001 Holiday Rambler and tied it into the furnace ducts in the very front of the trailer as well as allowing some heat to go into the storage area. Works awesome! Heats the storage area up well enough that the floor in the bathroom gets warm now, it used to be like being in a meat locker.

I just intalled my other heater last week in my 310GK and set it up in the front generator compartment. I plumbed in a line to the belly area and let the rest of the heat go into the storage area. I was using some pvc fittings to distribute the heat, bad idea. I started smelling plastic fumes, so I removed the pvc. I drilled a 3 inch hole into the basement area and now I am running all of the heat into the basement. So far, this might not be the best use of the heat, not a lot of heat is making it into the trailer. Tying into the heater ducts would probably be better and I might have to run some more duct to do the same as you. I am in Bozeman, MT right now and last night it was 5 degrees, the propane furnace and electric fireplace struggled to keep the main living area 70 degrees.

[Champ837]

I'll bet there are others who'd like to know what a diesel heater for an RV is. I've never heard of one before. What is the brand name so I can research?

[StillCamping]

Yes, I believe you were the other guy that I had seen with one. It’s been super warm here so no need to fire it up yet. I think my ducting turned out pretty well. It favors the bedroom and bathroom, which was my intention. The second heater (when I order it) will get ducted to the main living area. Post some pics!

[StillCamping]

Search “cheap Chinese diesel heater” on YouTube and you’ll get a lot of into. They’re knock off’s of the “espar” heater. The name brand ones are $800+, which is why no one knew about them. They’re used in semi truck sleepers. Now that they have become more affordable everyone is starting to use them in either RV’s or van conversions.

[Nuffsaid]

The second heater I purchased is a 8kw all in one heater. It is super easy to install, drill a hole for the exhaust in the floor, hook up the + and - add fuel and go! The fuel tank isn't quite as large as the other 8kw heater I have that has a 10 liter tank. I would guess the all in one heater has about a 5 liter tank. The heat output is great, but since my wife likes to sleep cold, I would like to get the heat further back. Initially I thought having the heat go into the belly would be a good thing, but it didn't seem to add any heat inside the trailer. Now I have all of the heat going into the basement area and the bathroom floor seems to have warmed up nicely. Tying into the ductwork would probably still be better though. In the past my basement area was only in the high 40's, now it is in the 90's. I will try and post up some photos when I get a minute.

[ArviscCopley]

I have used the diesel fuel heater in sleepers on 18 wheeler, they are fantastic . Had not thought of using in fiver. Really want to follow you on this. Please keep posting your progress. Where did you get the heaters? If you don’t mind telling.

[Nuffsaid]

I have used the diesel fuel heater in sleepers on 18 wheeler, they are fantastic . Had not thought of using in fiver. Really want to follow you on this. Please keep posting your progress. Where did you get the heaters? If you don’t mind telling.

This one is similar to the one I purchased: https://www.amazon.com/SUPERFASTRACI...8854266&sr=8-1

[DaveMatthewsBand]

Interesting idea. We might try installing one of these in the future.
Right now we use a Mr. Heater during the day and a king-sized electric blanket on our bed overnight.
We have 4 batteries so running the blanket all night isn't a problem. It keeps us very comfortable.

[outkatn]

Question. Is there any vibration while running when this is mounted in the generator compartment? I've watched some videos and this could be a great addition to Winter RV living.