Chinese Diesel Heater In a Wall Tent

[pin_head]

Hello friends,

Has anyone run one of the Chinese diesel heaters off Amazon in a wall tent? We’ve got a banger wood stove in the 14x16 but come hell or high water we can’t make it burn through the night. The fact of the matter is that it really sucks to climb out of the sleeping bag when it’s below freezing, enter diesel heater. I’m also really curious about using it for other things but that’s not what this is about.

Ive only run it in my garage so far and it pumps that hot hot heat. Have any of you set one up in a wall tent? I’m not sure if it’s best to have the heater inside and run the exhaust out or to have it set up in an enclosure outside and just plumb the hot air into the tent.

Any experienced advice would be greatly appreciated.

Brad

[landphil]

How big of a heater do you have? 5KW? 8KW?

I recently installed a 5KW in my “mostly” insulated 8x16 camperized cargo trailer. Last night was -4C and it held 13C inside on a blend of level 1 and 2 (Currently sitting and waiting for some big antlers to stroll by), but takes a while to warm things up on level 5 or 6 once it’s cold in there. To put it simply, the 5KW seems about perfect for the trailer, but I think it would fall short for heating a tent that size.

[Dannybuoy]

I would think about getting a better woodstove .... lots being given away for not meeting CSA approval etc . They are heavy but I rolled it on the quad trailer with a dolly . I wouldn't like having to pack and handle stinky diesel on a hunting trip . You will also need a battery to run the pump . I have a loften diesel/kerosene heater in my boat and it takes awhile to heat the cabin but it's nice after it heats up

[RJHunter]

I run one in my tipi for weekend trips. Quick to setup and take down and good on fuel. Will burn around 5 liters each night. Need to make sure you have a good deep cycle battery. I have a 160 ah battery but have only used it for a two nights at a time so I don't know how long it will last. thinking I should get 4-5 days. We've camped on the ice with the family at -18 C and kids all slept through the night with no complaints. Our last weekend out was 5 C and was no problem keeping it 20C in the tent. Nice dry heat.

Ryan

https://i.imgur.com/uE6NuaR.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/VPMzWSZ.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/16cXTya.jpg

[pin_head]

How big of a heater do you have? 5KW? 8KW?

I recently installed a 5KW in my “mostly” insulated 8x16 camperized cargo trailer. Last night was -4C and it held 13C inside on a blend of level 1 and 2 (Currently sitting and waiting for some big antlers to stroll by), but takes a while to warm things up on level 5 or 6 once it’s cold in there. To put it simply, the 5KW seems about perfect for the trailer, but I think it would fall short for heating a tent that size.

Thanks for the feedback. I got an 8 kw unit. I’m not expecting it to work as well as the wood stove, just to take the edge off in the morning and make it a little easier to get up and start the coffee.

Brad

[tigrr]

Wow that might be something to put in the camper, so that dam fan doesn't wake me up each time it comes on.
Thanks for starting this thread.

[pin_head]

Wow that might be something to put in the camper, so that dam fan doesn't wake me up each time it comes on.
Thanks for starting this thread.

This is the unit I got, it was $289 through Amazon and showed up in 3 days.

https://vevor.ca/products/8kw-12v-all-in-one-diesel-air-heater-lcd-thermostat-boat-motorhome-truck-trailer?_pos=10&_sid=a4383e5ed&_ss=r

I wouldn’t say it’s incredibly loud but it’s not silent either. It has a blower fan to move air over the case that is faster or slower based on the amount of fuel you’re running through it. It’s not a silent burn like the catalytic propane heaters.

Brad

[fuzzybiscuit]

I run a diesel Trekker that I bought from Deluxe Wall tents. Not sure how the Chinese models compare to it but I sure wish I went to diesel heat years ago. No smell and no external power needed. Just light it and away you go. No more getting up in the middle of the night and no more cutting firewood. It’s freakin’ awesome!

[Sitkaspruce]

We use a 20 lbs propane tank with one of these on top to warm up the tent before getting up as well as warming it up while the wood stove heats up. Quick and easy heat!!

https://www.fastenal.com/products/details/4201501

Reach over from your sleeping bag, hit the switch, wait 10 min and your tent is warm. No having to get lout of bed and stoke the fire or turn on the heater.

We have a diesel heater for our ice shack, bought it on Kijji as you can find them showing up all the time.

Good luck on your search

Cheers

SS

[Bustercluck]

I run a diesel Trekker that I bought from Deluxe Wall tents. Not sure how the Chinese models compare to it but I sure wish I went to diesel heat years ago. No smell and no external power needed. Just light it and away you go. No more getting up in the middle of the night and no more cutting firewood. It’s freakin’ awesome!
We’ve had the same discussion around the lunch table many times and I’m with you. Quad trips or backpacking than I’m definitely running a wood stove, but if I was looking to heat a tent beside my pickup than it would be diesel heat. I actually don’t mind sleeping in -20, I just don’t like getting out of bed and sliding -20 boots on my feet.

[pin_head]

I actually don’t mind sleeping in -20, I just don’t like getting out of bed and sliding -20 boots on my feet.

This is exactly what I’d like to use this unit for. I’m thinking if I keep the heater inside and run the exhaust through a piece of A vent it should be ok. Not using the vent as a flue but as a sleeve to keep the hot exhaust pipe from burning the canvas or starting a ground fire. I’m sure it would be safer to keep it outside and plumb the heat in but I’m sure it would be warmer if it was all inside. The exhaust gets very hot very quickly, I learned this when it melted a hole through my camp table within a minute. Oops.

Brad

[RJHunter]

I use the Chinese diesel air heater because I heat my tipi, pop tent, rooftop tent, canopy, ice shack all with the same heater. If I was just heating a wall tent I would look at the trekker or expedition diesel stoves. Then you don’t have to mess with power.

As far as setting up the Chinese air heater inside the tent, my only two concerns would be condensation and exhaust leaks. You need to angle the exhaust down and away from the heater and get it far enough away that it doesn’t leak back inside. You might want to run fresh air in from outside if your trying to dry out gear and keep condensation down.

[pin_head]

I use the Chinese diesel air heater because I heat my tipi, pop tent, rooftop tent, canopy, ice shack all with the same heater. If I was just heating a wall tent I would look at the trekker or expedition diesel stoves. Then you don’t have to mess with power.

As far as setting up the Chinese air heater inside the tent, my only two concerns would be condensation and exhaust leaks. You need to angle the exhaust down and away from the heater and get it far enough away that it doesn’t leak back inside. You might want to run fresh air in from outside if your trying to dry out gear and keep condensation down.

Thanks RJ. That is my plan for the heater as well, wall tent, pup tent, garage, canopy, ice hut maybe one day.

It sounds like leaving it outside is the smartest thing to do so I’ll start looking at what kind of enclosure I can make for it.

Brad

[OceanMon]

I run a diesel Trekker that I bought from Deluxe Wall tents. Not sure how the Chinese models compare to it but I sure wish I went to diesel heat years ago. No smell and no external power needed. Just light it and away you go. No more getting up in the middle of the night and no more cutting firewood. It’s freakin’ awesome!
How big is your wall tent?

[wideopenthrottle]

anyone use a huge pot of water on the woodstove to help as a heat sink and keep hot water on hand?