I was sold and excited to purchase one after watching. Went to their website to discover this diy heater is nearly $2,000! Forget that. I can't justify that price considering this appears to be made with a pelican. Hey at least it gave me an idea to build my own. Knowing I can purchase a quality diesel heater for less than $500, hell $300, I can't justify the 10x price.
you cannot buy quality diesel heater for less then $500, only Chinese knock offs. Only 3 legit brands on the market, they all sells for approx. 600USD for 2 kW heater.
@@ravenfeather7087 You get what you pay for. Be happy if Chinese heater lasts one season. Only 3 genuine brands on the market-Planar Russian brand, Espar and Webasto Germans. All 3 been way over 20 years on the market. All chinese knock-offs started to come out only about 5 years ago. Quality product never sells cheap. Planar is the first company who started making portable diesel heaters about 6 years ago. All others just copying them.
@@MrVodolaz86 Chinese heater about ,$109 vs $2000🤔 you can buy almost 18 Chinese models to equal 1 $2000 dollar heater. Everyone I know that's bought these going on 5 years 4 different people still working for the Chinese heater. That's how I know you have no clue. This one is a rip off.
If going to use this set up in winter weather. Put the battery in a box like you said. But have the heater hose pass though the box so the heat off the hose keeps the battery warm. A container outside has many advantages. Keeps the smell of diesel ,noise of the pump etc outside. Refilling is easier. Big enough for heater and battery ( keeps battery warm) Last thing if you are going to test other trailers. You got one box with everything you need. Great video 💯👍
I bought one of these trailers in 2018. Same size but with barn doors on the back; it's been great! I've also thought about adding a heater. Thanks for sharing this!
Love this set up. One thought I had while you were doing the experiment was maybe crack a vent in the trailer just because they are so air tight. You are forcing hot air in with no place for it to go. You may have had even better results. Nice video thanks for the info.
It has been a few years since I made the purchase, but if memory serves me, it was Russian made and distributed in Canada. The Canadian distributor was very knowledgeable and good to work with. I bought some accessories after the fact and they always responded promptly. A google search will likely answer your questions and be more up to date.
Nice video. I have the same unit, using it for last months. Started out using in my rooftop tent, and also ground tent. Just cut a 2” hole in my teardrop and using it for the first time in the trailer. Instead of running off a typical battery, I actually modified the terminal connections and installed a 12V cigarette male plug, and run the unit off a Jackery 1000W portable battery. They don’t sell it with that in mind but it works great. I’ve kept my rooftop tent at 60 and over with most of the windows open, with outside temps in low 40’s, high 30’s. It gets quite toasty. On the low setting, running 7-10 hours I estimate I have at least 4 days of runtime between fuel consumption and battery life. Typically my Jackery runs down by about 20%; then with solar panels it recharges the next day. My tests indicate I might be able to stretch the fuel out to 7 days if I run the heater 6 hours or less per night. The only downside is that there is not an auto thermostat that cycles the unit down automatically. I read it’s not good to do a hard shutdown as it’s bad for the glow plug. The unit will do a safe down cycle if you turn it off. For those curious, the heater surges to about 8 amps of draw at startup for maybe a minute or two, so the 12V connection is fine. Good luck. Keep the videos coming!
Hi Kim, I totally agree and have used my generator often. The diesel heater is simply another option that works pretty good too. Thanks for your feedback!
@@theviper6602 Not really true, if the battery is not in a heated space and it is a critical application, a small heater may be required to keep the battery warm.
Have you considered placing the battery alongside the heat tube and maybe enclosing it somewhat to use some of the heat produced to keep the battery warm? Might that extend the battery life?
it would defiitely help the battery. theyre not meant to be freezing cold. in fact they can and will be damaged if run down to empty while at freezing temperatures
Nice video, thanks. I subscribed to your channel after seeing it the first time. Came back for another look and wondered, how you keep people from stealing it while boondocking?
I haven’t spent a lot of time, Boondocking, but to keep people from stealing all the other nice stuff that I usually camp with. I make sure it’s chained up best as I can and choose a spot that has a chance of being safe. Bottom line a professional thieve is going to get anything they want, including the whole trailer. 😳
Great video, I do have a question, Diesel fuel gels at cold temps I used to add a chemical to my diesel truck when Temps were going to be below 35f. Also the truck had a fuel tank heater that was powered while running, or plugged into an extension cord when parked to prevent gelling. Any idea how to prevent the diesel from gelling in the fuel tank? Say while traveling from location to location and how to degell it?
I use power service in the white bottle to keep from gelling. It’s easier to keep diesel from gelling then to ungell it. Power service 911 in the red bottle with the ungell the fuel the power service bottle gives a number on the bottle for the gallons it treats but that number is to treat it to 33 degrees. You need to double it to get it to 0 degrees. You can also mix the diesel with kerosene like they used to do. Diesel bought in a winter climate is usually treated upon delivery to the fuel station. I believe they just put in an additive at the fuel station now I don’t think they put kerosene in it anymore.
Jim: Would the fuel container be too heavy to mount on fender or tool box cover? Im sure you could mount it on the front where a normal propane tank would go. Keep up the vids.
The fuel tank probably would fit inside the rear storage box. But I’m also working on being able to mount the entire unit inside the trailer with a special exhaust fitting going through the side. The other alternative would be to buy the non-portable heater and mount it inside the trailer with the exhaust going out the floor and have a remote fuel tank either on the tongue or in the storage box etc.
Thank you for these videos about the Planar, they've been super helpful. I just received my Planar a few weeks ago and still need to get a battery, what kind are you using and have you been happy with it so far? There are so many battery choices at all different price points, it gets confusing.
there has to be a burner of some sort in the heater box,,,but is there a fan powered by battery,,,or is there a diesel motor of some sort, or just what?
There is a diesel burner in the box that the warm air passes over on its way to the tube. There is a small fan powered by the battery as well as a small fuel pump to supply the correct amount of diesel to the burner. I wanted to check the claims that the manufacturer makes about how little energy it takes to run the system.
That is a Microlite Trailer , check out the rest of the videos on the channel for a better look. Feel free to contact me directly at two six nine 2173029
your heater seems to consume even less fuel than mine , and most of the time i run my heater at a pretty low heat output setting. BTW mine is a Chinese heater, and its prob not made as well as the Planar.
You want a more efficient heater? Add a return hose back to the yellow box. That way you will recycle the already warm air in the trailer. Also the capacity of oil pumped to the combustion chamber is based on how many clicks the fuel pump makes per minute. The fuel pump capacity per click is the same regardless of the heat setting. Each click represents a certain amount of liquid pumped per cycle. You can count how many cycles per minute the pump cycles and that would tell how many ounces the pump produces per that many cycles. This per cycle amount of fluid is a fixed constant. Using this info, you can pretty much mathematically figure the amount of fuel for any given time. Also, I would never pay the ridicules amount of money they are charging for this heater just because they put it in a yellow plastic case. Your better off mounting this heater as a single unit and gain the benefits of the recycled intake air for better efficiency.
Thank you for your input Randy. Thank you for the tech tips on the fuel pump. The inside mount can be more efficient for sure, but for a fellow like me with multiple application needs, the portable allows me to move the heater easily from trailer to trailer to vehicle or even ice fishing shanty.
Actually adding return line back to heater is bad idea as heater needs to cool itself. If air supplied to the heater is warmer than needed heater will drop capacity first and then pump will stop, heter will go through cooling cycle, if air is over 30 Celsius heater will shut down. Regarding fuel: heater burns from 100 ml per hour to 250 ml per hour depending on setting, pump supplies 4.4ml per 1000 clicks. What's a point of counting clics???
these little diesel air heater units get a micro camper hot enough as it is, no way you'd want it any more efficient. for an AC return though, definitely.
This Planar setup has a major flaw in it. The exhaust should never be pointed up. Condensation collects but ALSO, if you prime that pump a bit too much or have an issue with ignition etc...where does that fuel go and pool? right at the lowest point of the exhaust. Its not entirely uncommon. Then what happens? It catches on fire. Then...that fire ignites that fuel can. They need a proper downward sloping exhaust. Having all those pig tails hanging out of the box rather than two Mil-Spec IP68+ sealed connectors that's are properly panel mounted/sealed is also pretty cheapo. With a bit more venting (not a bad thing) you could just mount the intake within the box too like Keegan's builds do. I have mine like that (no CPU fan) and get no issues. Not having that extra hose mess out there makes it REAL clean and easier to pack.
All details of these heaters have been designed, tested and proved to be safe and reliable. The exhaust pointed up to prevent any chance of the fumes to be drawn into the heater intake. For such a short exhaust hose condensation could be collected in the amount that is next to nothing. At the start heater goes through a purging cycle to clean entire exhaust passage. The heater has a protection from non-ignition fault. It allows only 2 attempts to ignite fuel, and then the heater turns-off to a purging cycle with a fault code. In this case the heater needs a technical service. This protects the heater from over-fueling, flooded exhaust, and respectively from any possibility of fire in the exhaust. The wire connectors are fully sealed and provide firm cable connection. Combustion air intake is equipped with an air filter and is protected from any elements.
I’m going to build one of these for fun and make it run off Milwaukee M18 batteries with a mosfet to bring down the voltage. Although it probably can take 18v no problem.
@@clintonbutler4503 The heater is power enough to heat an average RTT, trailer, or camper drawing air from outside. Such, you will always have fresh and clean heated air supplied. Although, the heater could be easily converted for air recirculation in case of extremely low temperature or for bigger space to heat. To do that, all you need is to mount an air vent below heaters' outlet in opposite way - with a pipe sticking out. Then, you can attach additional hose for return air.
Hi John, I have been the factory rep for Microlite trailers for the past 15 years. I use our display models to go wherever I need to or want to, it’s a nice way to get our name out there and a great part of my job!
you need air recirculation which is more aficant producing dry air & the thermostat will work properly.old warm air being blown back in is the correct way .This is an expensive way producing only warm draging cold air in.
I'm so glad to see someone test a heater in the real world 🌎 Thanks, I was very impressed 👏 👌
I was sold and excited to purchase one after watching. Went to their website to discover this diy heater is nearly $2,000! Forget that. I can't justify that price considering this appears to be made with a pelican. Hey at least it gave me an idea to build my own. Knowing I can purchase a quality diesel heater for less than $500, hell $300, I can't justify the 10x price.
you cannot buy quality diesel heater for less then $500, only Chinese knock offs. Only 3 legit brands on the market, they all sells for approx. 600USD for 2 kW heater.
@@MrVodolaz86 Chinese knock-offs? You mean less expensive? You can buy these "knock-off" for less than $200. And they work.
@@ravenfeather7087 You get what you pay for. Be happy if Chinese heater lasts one season. Only 3 genuine brands on the market-Planar Russian brand, Espar and Webasto Germans. All 3 been way over 20 years on the market. All chinese knock-offs started to come out only about 5 years ago. Quality product never sells cheap. Planar is the first company who started making portable diesel heaters about 6 years ago. All others just copying them.
@@MrVodolaz86 Chinese heater about ,$109 vs $2000🤔 you can buy almost 18 Chinese models to equal 1 $2000 dollar heater.
Everyone I know that's bought these going on 5 years 4 different people still working for the Chinese heater. That's how I know you have no clue.
This one is a rip off.
@@MrVodolaz86 you can buy 13 Chinese cheap heaters for the price of this unit .
If going to use this set up in winter weather. Put the battery in a box like you said. But have the heater hose pass though the box so the heat off the hose keeps the battery warm.
A container outside has many advantages.
Keeps the smell of diesel ,noise of the pump etc outside. Refilling is easier. Big enough for heater and battery ( keeps battery warm)
Last thing if you are going to test other trailers. You got one box with everything you need.
Great video 💯👍
I bought one of these trailers in 2018. Same size but with barn doors on the back; it's been great! I've also thought about adding a heater. Thanks for sharing this!
Love this set up. One thought I had while you were doing the experiment was maybe crack a vent in the trailer just because they are so air tight. You are forcing hot air in with no place for it to go. You may have had even better results.
Nice video thanks for the info.
It has been a few years since I made the purchase, but if memory serves me, it was Russian made and distributed in Canada. The Canadian distributor was very knowledgeable and good to work with. I bought some accessories after the fact and they always responded promptly.
A google search will likely answer your questions and be more up to date.
Nice video. I have the same unit, using it for last months. Started out using in my rooftop tent, and also ground tent. Just cut a 2” hole in my teardrop and using it for the first time in the trailer. Instead of running off a typical battery, I actually modified the terminal connections and installed a 12V cigarette male plug, and run the unit off a Jackery 1000W portable battery. They don’t sell it with that in mind but it works great. I’ve kept my rooftop tent at 60 and over with most of the windows open, with outside temps in low 40’s, high 30’s. It gets quite toasty. On the low setting, running 7-10 hours I estimate I have at least 4 days of runtime between fuel consumption and battery life. Typically my Jackery runs down by about 20%; then with solar panels it recharges the next day. My tests indicate I might be able to stretch the fuel out to 7 days if I run the heater 6 hours or less per night. The only downside is that there is not an auto thermostat that cycles the unit down automatically. I read it’s not good to do a hard shutdown as it’s bad for the glow plug. The unit will do a safe down cycle if you turn it off. For those curious, the heater surges to about 8 amps of draw at startup for maybe a minute or two, so the 12V connection is fine. Good luck. Keep the videos coming!
make sure your plug has secured connection to power station. The whole unit might get damaged if power cuts off while heater is in operation.
Those diesel heaters are amazing!!
I put an 8DM in my 37 ft coach. 130 degrees at the vents and a third the cost of propane. Never looked back. They rock
Amazing! So it dosen't draw much power!
thank you for your input, much appreciated!
Nice, battery went down only 0.5 volt in almost 8 hours and barely burned any fuel.
I used an 1800watt ceramic heater in mine and it worked great even down to 20° days. If I didnt have power, I had a 2000 watt honda generator.
Hi Kim, I totally agree and have used my generator often. The diesel heater is simply another option that works pretty good too. Thanks for your feedback!
@@jamesmulder7284 seemd pretty cool. Especially if you're somewhere you can't run a generator.
The battery should be in the heated space. A cold battery looses capacity.
Wrong please educate yourself .. if the battery has a draw the internals are warm enough to keep capacity. Running a heater will keep it warm
@@theviper6602 Not really true, if the battery is not in a heated space and it is a critical application, a small heater may be required to keep the battery warm.
I’m sold. Wow nice.
Great vid! Any idea where I can get 10’ of that 3” (75mm) black heat ducting? That would work perfect for my build! Thanks! 👍🏼
i would check on line, the tube came with my heater order from Canada
Have you considered placing the battery alongside the heat tube and maybe enclosing it somewhat to use some of the heat produced to keep the battery warm? Might that extend the battery life?
it would defiitely help the battery. theyre not meant to be freezing cold. in fact they can and will be damaged if run down to empty while at freezing temperatures
For me, I would run the exhaust pipe or gasses through a battery box to keep the battery warm. Insulated heat vent pipe would be nice too..
Nice video, thanks. I subscribed to your channel after seeing it the first time. Came back for another look and wondered, how you keep people from stealing it while boondocking?
I haven’t spent a lot of time, Boondocking, but to keep people from stealing all the other nice stuff that I usually camp with. I make sure it’s chained up best as I can and choose a spot that has a chance of being safe. Bottom line a professional thieve is going to get anything they want, including the whole trailer. 😳
Great video, I do have a question,
Diesel fuel gels at cold temps I used to add a chemical to my diesel truck when Temps were going to be below 35f. Also the truck had a fuel tank heater that was powered while running, or plugged into an extension cord when parked to prevent gelling. Any idea how to prevent the diesel from gelling in the fuel tank? Say while traveling from location to location and how to degell it?
I have the same question!
I use power service in the white bottle to keep from gelling. It’s easier to keep diesel from gelling then to ungell it. Power service 911 in the red bottle with the ungell the fuel the power service bottle gives a number on the bottle for the gallons it treats but that number is to treat it to 33 degrees. You need to double it to get it to 0 degrees. You can also mix the diesel with kerosene like they used to do. Diesel bought in a winter climate is usually treated upon delivery to the fuel station. I believe they just put in an additive at the fuel station now I don’t think they put kerosene in it anymore.
Marvel mystery oil should help as a fuel additive.
@@JasonTheMunicipalMechanic thank you :) great info
what is the wire leading from the trailor to the camper , dont think thats off grid mate
Thank you
Is it safe to be breathing thT in all night thanks
Thanks for your video
Jim: Would the fuel container be too heavy to mount on fender or tool box cover? Im sure you could mount it on the front where a normal propane tank would go. Keep up the vids.
The fuel tank probably would fit inside the rear storage box. But I’m also working on being able to mount the entire unit inside the trailer with a special exhaust fitting going through the side.
The other alternative would be to buy the non-portable heater and mount it inside the trailer with the exhaust going out the floor and have a remote fuel tank either on the tongue or in the storage box etc.
A unit a fraction of the size would be adequate, use less fuel and especially electricity. Somebody ought to invent a Buddy-like vented heater.
Lower 20s as in Celsius or ? Thanks
Thank you for these videos about the Planar, they've been super helpful. I just received my Planar a few weeks ago and still need to get a battery, what kind are you using and have you been happy with it so far? There are so many battery choices at all different price points, it gets confusing.
Today we have a ton of battery choices best covered with a phone call. Two six nine 217 3029. Thanks for encouragement!
Boy i need one of these for sure.
Where can I get this heater at an how much do they cost?
I bought mine from the Canadian distributor. Good people to work with. Give it a google, you'll find them.
on line , come on
Is it quite enough to run this in a campground?
Where is this made
there has to be a burner of some sort in the heater box,,,but is there a fan powered by battery,,,or is there a diesel motor of some sort, or just what?
There is a diesel burner in the box that the warm air passes over on its way to the tube.
There is a small fan powered by the battery as well as a small fuel pump to supply the correct amount of diesel to the burner.
I wanted to check the claims that the manufacturer makes about how little energy it takes to run the system.
Your video is so cool! Guys!
Good video what size unit was that and is that gas or diesel please.
Thank you
hi Monty, the unit is a Planar Diesel heater, if you google it you will find it is their only portable model.
@@gunlakepaddlesports thank you
It’s their 2kw model. They now have a 5kw version for heating larger spaces. The fuel tank holds almost 2.5 gal.
good test! Thanks
Can you tell me what kind of camper that is
That is a Microlite Trailer , check out the rest of the videos on the channel for a better look. Feel free to contact me directly at two six nine 2173029
your heater seems to consume even less fuel than mine , and most of the time i run my heater at a pretty low heat output setting. BTW mine is a Chinese heater, and its prob not made as well as the Planar.
You want a more efficient heater? Add a return hose back to the yellow box. That way you will recycle the already warm air in the trailer. Also the capacity of oil pumped to the combustion chamber is based on how many clicks the fuel pump makes per minute. The fuel pump capacity per click is the same regardless of the heat setting. Each click represents a certain amount of liquid pumped per cycle. You can count how many cycles per minute the pump cycles and that would tell how many ounces the pump produces per that many cycles. This per cycle amount of fluid is a fixed constant. Using this info, you can pretty much mathematically figure the amount of fuel for any given time. Also, I would never pay the ridicules amount of money they are charging for this heater just because they put it in a yellow plastic case. Your better off mounting this heater as a single unit and gain the benefits of the recycled intake air for better efficiency.
Thank you for your input Randy.
Thank you for the tech tips on the fuel pump.
The inside mount can be more efficient for sure, but for a fellow like me with multiple application needs, the portable allows me to move the heater easily from trailer to trailer to vehicle or even ice fishing shanty.
Actually adding return line back to heater is bad idea as heater needs to cool itself. If air supplied to the heater is warmer than needed heater will drop capacity first and then pump will stop, heter will go through cooling cycle, if air is over 30 Celsius heater will shut down. Regarding fuel: heater burns from 100 ml per hour to 250 ml per hour depending on setting, pump supplies 4.4ml per 1000 clicks. What's a point of counting clics???
@@MrVodolaz86 Thank you for your reply. More knowledge into my shallow knowledge pool!
these little diesel air heater units get a micro camper hot enough as it is, no way you'd want it any more efficient. for an AC return though, definitely.
Just pushing air into the trailer is creating positive pressure inside the trailer.
This Planar setup has a major flaw in it. The exhaust should never be pointed up. Condensation collects but ALSO, if you prime that pump a bit too much or have an issue with ignition etc...where does that fuel go and pool? right at the lowest point of the exhaust. Its not entirely uncommon. Then what happens? It catches on fire. Then...that fire ignites that fuel can. They need a proper downward sloping exhaust. Having all those pig tails hanging out of the box rather than two Mil-Spec IP68+ sealed connectors that's are properly panel mounted/sealed is also pretty cheapo. With a bit more venting (not a bad thing) you could just mount the intake within the box too like Keegan's builds do. I have mine like that (no CPU fan) and get no issues. Not having that extra hose mess out there makes it REAL clean and easier to pack.
All details of these heaters have been designed, tested and proved to be safe and reliable. The exhaust pointed up to prevent any chance of the fumes to be drawn into the heater intake. For such a short exhaust hose condensation could be collected in the amount that is next to nothing. At the start heater goes through a purging cycle to clean entire exhaust passage. The heater has a protection from non-ignition fault. It allows only 2 attempts to ignite fuel, and then the heater turns-off to a purging cycle with a fault code. In this case the heater needs a technical service. This protects the heater from over-fueling, flooded exhaust, and respectively from any possibility of fire in the exhaust. The wire connectors are fully sealed and provide firm cable connection. Combustion air intake is equipped with an air filter and is protected from any elements.
I’m going to build one of these for fun and make it run off Milwaukee M18 batteries with a mosfet to bring down the voltage. Although it probably can take 18v no problem.
Probably works 12-24v
there isn't a return hose to the heater?
no they have an intake port/hose closer to the unit
@@clintonbutler4503 The heater is power enough to heat an average RTT, trailer, or camper drawing air from outside. Such, you will always have fresh and clean heated air supplied. Although, the heater could be easily converted for air recirculation in case of extremely low temperature or for bigger space to heat. To do that, all you need is to mount an air vent below heaters' outlet in opposite way - with a pipe sticking out. Then, you can attach additional hose for return air.
You have a link to the website?
still new to this..... i found the product with a google search
What kind of trailer do you have?
Hi John, I have been the factory rep for Microlite trailers for the past 15 years. I use our display models to go wherever I need to or want to, it’s a nice way to get our name out there and a great part of my job!
@@gunlakepaddlesports How much one like that cost?
We have documents that I email out just about every day. Send me a text at 269-217-3029 and I will get you the information.
sorry for the late reply John, i am the factory rep for microlite trailers "microiltetrailer.com"
you need air recirculation which is more aficant producing dry air & the thermostat will work properly.old warm air being blown back in is the correct way .This is an expensive way producing only warm draging cold air in.
Where the hell are you supposed to store these things when Overlanding and not in use? They arent small.
Sorry but the heater is meant to be inside
£56 in uk on fuel 24_7 .much cheaper to run in us.
Try red diesel or heating oil. Saves me a packet.
That's not a small trailer, it's a large coffin
Thank you