Cheap Amazon Diesel heater recommendations?

[David H]

I got a vevor 8kw all in one unit. Haven't had a chance to fire it up yet. Had to work until 5,then had to go and pick up kitties from the vet, then make dinner, etc, etc. I won't get a chance to fire it up until after my kid goes to bed tonight, at the earliest.

I got the 8kw Vevor all in one unit and used it a couple weeks ago with my Gazelle tent. It kept me comfortable on the lowest setting (1.7Hz) all night.

I also use a Gazelle T3 tent with my daughter. I’m looking at getting a diesel heater for these cold Idaho nights but worry the heat will just dissipate. How cold has it been outside with you warm inside the Gazelle? P.S. I do throw an old quilt over the tent to try to keep the heat from just blowing out the top.

 

[Olen]

I'm actually a little worried that the 8kw heater will be too much for my RTT, but the winters here in Idaho can get REAL cold.

@reaver It was my first time to use it, so keep in mind:
1 - Temps got to about 22 degrees and I had the heater hose right under my cot in the gazelle tent. It wasn't warm per se, but comfortable enough for me to leave the 20 degree bag unzipped wearing thermals and a hat. It would be what I'd call snuggle temp if my wife was with me.
2 - Since it was my first time with it, I didn't know how much fuel it would use or how much it would draw on my battery. So I ran it on the lowest setting. Around 6:45 AM I turned it up from 1.7Hz to 2.4Hz (It goes to 6 I think) and by the time I turned it off, the tent was nice and warm after being outside cooking breakfast. In the end, I ran it for 12 hours and it used 1/2 tank of fuel and my battery was at about 75%.
3 - My motto is "it's better to have too much than not enough." I just bought a RTT on black Friday sale and I'm looking forward to using this heater all winter to expand my "comfort window."
4 - You can always unzip a window to let cold air in if it gets too hot.

BTW, the manual is trash. Make sure you set it up at home and try it before you need it so you have time to figure it out.

 

[Olen]

I also use a Gazelle T3 tent with my daughter. I’m looking at getting a diesel heater for these cold Idaho nights but worry the heat will just dissipate. How cold has it been outside with you warm inside the Gazelle? P.S. I do throw an old quilt over the tent to try to keep the heat from just blowing out the top.

I was in a Gazelle T4 by myself. It got to 22 degrees. It was fine on the lowest setting but at a medium(ish) setting the tent was nice and warm. I mean, its a tent so the heat will escape. But it was so much warmer and evenly heated than anything else I've tried by far. I bought a better heater duct because the one that comes with it sucks. Make sure you set up the heater at home so you know how to use it before you get out there in the cold. The manual is trash.

 

[reaver]

I've tested mine, and no it works. I just need to run it into the tent, and spend a night in the driveway.

 

[reaver]

it takes a few minutes for it to get to where it needs to be, but you are right about being too much. i used it in a 8x18 cargo trailer with no insulation in low 30s outside temp and the high setting ran us out pretty quick. i used the lowest setting and that was really good. ran it all night on 2 liters of fuel and about 25% of power from a 35ah battery.

Yeah, I monitored it via the renogy battery monitor on my trailer. It pulled about 10A while warming up the glow plug. Then it pulls about an 1A. If I have a 100Ah lifepo4 in the trailer. The heater will pull way less out of the battery than my 12v electric blanket.

 

[David H]

I was in a Gazelle T4 by myself. It got to 22 degrees. It was fine on the lowest setting but at a medium(ish) setting the tent was nice and warm. I mean, its a tent so the heat will escape. But it was so much warmer and evenly heated than anything else I've tried by far. I bought a better heater duct because the one that comes with it sucks. Make sure you set up the heater at home so you know how to use it before you get out there in the cold. The manual is trash.

Olen, Thanks for the info - I'll probably be upgrading to a T4 (need a little but more space) since a ShiftPod is out of my price range. I've done a lot of research on the diesel heaters and heard that the less restrictions on both intake and output is best (less than 270 degrees in total bends). I saw a great video about using two silencers (straight through) do a great job at silencing the exhaust.

I'll probably get the HCalory HC-A01 Diesel Heater - It's more expensive than most I'm looking at, but is complete with nothing to add/build. I think it will work out the best for me as far as storage space goes.

 

[Rudy C]

I did the 5kw similar to the HCALORY. My wife and I tested it in Mt. Hood and Washington during our Columbia river trip this past February and used it about a dozen times since then. It's still holding up good! Here's a reference video I used....https://youtu.be/HTywDTi6NTo

Good luck!

 

[David H]

I did the 5kw similar to the HCALORY. My wife and I tested it in Mt. Hood and Washington during our Columbia river trip this past February and used it about a dozen times since then. It's still holding up good! Here's a reference video I used....https://youtu.be/HTywDTi6NTo

Good luck!

Thanks for the link - watching it now...

 

[PCO6]

My apologies if this has already been asked but is the "thump thump thump" sound that I assume is from the fuel pump, audible when you're inside your tent or RTT? Is it annoying?

 

[grubworm]

My apologies if this has already been asked but is the "thump thump thump" sound that I assume is from the fuel pump, audible when you're inside your tent or RTT? Is it annoying?

the pump does make a fair amount of sound, but it is rhythmatic, so i found it kind of help put me to sleep. the high setting has the pump going fast and low setting almost sounds like a weird heartbeat. the exhaust is loud. i plumbed it outside the trailer and it sounds like a small turbo engine

the wife was slightly annoyed by the pump sound, so i turned on a fan and it pretty much drowned out the noise of the pump. there are vids on how to wrap something around the pump to insulate the noise, so that is a thing folk are making mods to if it gets annoying.

 

[PCO6]

the pump does make a fair amount of sound, but it is rhythmatic, so i found it kind of help put me to sleep. the high setting has the pump going fast and low setting almost sounds like a weird heartbeat. the exhaust is loud. i plumbed it outside the trailer and it sounds like a small turbo engine

the wife was slightly annoyed by the pump sound, so i turned on a fan and it pretty much drowned out the noise of the pump. there are vids on how to wrap something around the pump to insulate the noise, so that is a thing folk are making mods to if it gets annoying.

Thanks! That's good to know. I hadn't given the exhaust enough thought. I would use one in a few different ways ... RTT, tear drop and a Jeep and am trying to make it versatile.

I'm sure there's a solution ... if I Get Smart about it.

 

[lhoffm4]

I'm actually a little worried that the 8kw heater will be too much for my RTT, but the winters here in Idaho can get REAL cold.

You will not regret your decision. Besides, the 5KW and 8KW units are identical. Just marketing. Check the CDH forums.

 

[reaver]

You will not regret your decision. Besides, the 5KW and 8KW units are identical. Just marketing. Check the CDH forums.

Good to know. I'm eventually going to build a square drop trailer, and understanding how they work will be super helpful for that as well.

 

[smritte]

Good to know. I'm eventually going to build a square drop trailer, and understanding how they work will be super helpful for that as well.

Be careful on the heater sizing. I have a 5kw Vevor and low setting is almost too much. It takes about 3 mins and its time to turn it off. I cant seem to get the factory thermostat to work properly so, I just turn it on as I need. Apparently there's some aftermarket thermostats that work real well.
I have also given thought to adding a "Y" to the warm air duct and bleed off some warm air.

 

[grubworm]

Be careful on the heater sizing. I have a 5kw Vevor and low setting is almost too much. It takes about 3 mins and its time to turn it off. I cant seem to get the factory thermostat to work properly so, I just turn it on as I need. Apparently there's some aftermarket thermostats that work real well.
I have also given thought to adding a "Y" to the warm air duct and bleed off some warm air.

same here. i couldnt get the temp setting to work, but i did get the "power" settings to work. not sure what the "power" settings are exactly, but there are 5 and i dropped down to power setting 1 and that did great thru the night where it definitely heated up the trailer, but no so much where we were uncomfortable and kept awake.
i like your idea of a Y to bleed off some of the heat.

despite this heater's flaws...it is still superior to my buddy heater

 

[smritte]

espite this heater's flaws...it is still superior to my buddy heater

Pretty much hands down.

If im not mistaken, your trailer is bigger than mine and not sure if you insulated yours. I have the 1 inch foam insulation panels in mine. When it warms up, it keeps real well.

As for the "Y". I figured if I cant blend in some cool air to get the temp where I want it, I could bleed off some. I can find 4" air dampers. Making a bypass shouldn't be too hard. I could even add a control at my inlet to change it.

 

[lhoffm4]

Be careful on the heater sizing. I have a 5kw Vevor and low setting is almost too much. It takes about 3 mins and its time to turn it off. I cant seem to get the factory thermostat to work properly so, I just turn it on as I need. Apparently there's some aftermarket thermostats that work real well.
I have also given thought to adding a "Y" to the warm air duct and bleed off some warm air.

I have a Vevor with the quad outlets. I pipe two into the tent and two into an awning room. Even on low setting, both spaces are very comfortable when outside temps have been down to 35 F. My wife. Is always cold and even she was comfortable...

 

[Olen]

Be careful on the heater sizing. I have a 5kw Vevor and low setting is almost too much. It takes about 3 mins and its time to turn it off. I cant seem to get the factory thermostat to work properly so, I just turn it on as I need. Apparently there's some aftermarket thermostats that work real well.
I have also given thought to adding a "Y" to the warm air duct and bleed off some warm air.

same here. i couldnt get the temp setting to work, but i did get the "power" settings to work. not sure what the "power" settings are exactly, but there are 5 and i dropped down to power setting 1 and that did great thru the night where it definitely heated up the trailer, but no so much where we were uncomfortable and kept awake.
i like your idea of a Y to bleed off some of the heat.

despite this heater's flaws...it is still superior to my buddy heater

The all in one models have the thermostat built into the control panel, which is pretty useless. You’d never be able to set a comfortable temperature as the heater should be sitting outside your tent… in the cold.
The power setting is the frequency or pulse of the fuel pump per second. Basically, a setting of 2 is a 2 pulses per second. If your pump clicks like mine, it sounds like an old grandfather clock. My heater’s lowest setting (8kw Vevor all in one) is 1.7 and has been plenty in my tent. I put a thermometer in my tent to test and at 33° outside, it was 68° inside. It seemed to keep my tent about 35° above outside temp on the lowest setting down to the mid to 20’s.
For reference, my tent is the 49” Freespirit Recreation Evolution.

 

[rgallant]

Just a quick note, on the 5KW 3 printed parts (ABS and PETG) that are close to heat output on the heater can deform if you are running max temp. Not that you need that high but you should run at max for 10 to 15 minutes every now and then.

Did some testing it was after 20 minutes both ABS and PETG were soft using the stock output hose, both were printed with 30% in fill which may have been the issue

 

[reaver]

So, I went out to test some things yesterday.

My diesel heater was giving me some issues, and throwing an e-2 error code. Something to do with the flame sensor, I think?

While it was working for a few hours, it was quite nice in the tent.

I ended up packing up and coming home, as I didn't really want to be frozen and uncomfortable.

Successful shakedown run though.