Thank you for an outstanding video. CO is very dangerous, about 6 yrs ago a camper in the UK picked up a stone cold disponible BBQ and put it inside the flap of the tent. His wife died and he came very close to death.
I would route the exhaust out the other side of the heater so there was no chance of it getting sucked into the fan and entering the camper. Your heater is obviously tuned correctly for your elevation but if you use it at high elevation it'll burn rich and CO will increase. Also any restriction to combustion air intake or exhaust will increase CO. Could be something as simple as a spider building a web in the intake tube.
There's a small rubber gasket on those heaters where the fuel delivery pipe goes in. It's often not sealed well, and silisone sealant can cure it. That's the route for exhaust gases to get in, because some get sucked in the burner intake, and then escape into the interior through that hole..
@2Awolf I admire your transparency. To find out with your audience whether or not you’ve made a good or bad decision, for the sake of teaching others, is highly noble of you. Thank you for sharing this life-saving information with us all. The Lord bless you, Sir!
I've been putting my heater inside and pipping the exhaust outside. Haven't had any issue and also never saw double digit CO level. Based on your review, it seems like even if there was an exhaust leak, you wouldn't really get that high of CO anyway (just smoke and smell).
@@kevingeaney7741 Good point. That is correct!! Earlier I had a failure due to low spot in the hose I had on the ground. It got filled with condensation.
Seems like the smart move would be to follow the manufactures instructions. 1 locate the heater inside the camper. 2 Exhaust vented outside the camper. How valid is your test inside the closed garage with the door to the camper open to the room where the exhaust is being discharged? Walt
Thanks Walt. Since the MSA Altair 5 works immediately, the exhaust outside could not have gotten inside that fast and with positive pressure from the heat being pumped into the sleeping area, it would be very difficult to get the CO to enter.
There's a small rubber gasket on those heaters where the fuel delivery pipe goes in. It's often not sealed well, and silisone sealant can cure it. That's the route for exhaust gases to get in, because some get sucked in the burner intake, and then escape into the interior through that hole..
If you want to stay safe you will also buy a CO detector for your rig. Anytime you are using a combustible fuel for heating you are at risk of CO poisoning. A faulty heat exchanger can also cause CO to enter your heating space. You can have the best exhaust system in the world and still die because of a faulty heat exchanger or an air intake drawing in exhaust. The proximity of the cold air for heating intake and the exhaust makes these types of heaters extremely dangerous if you don't take the necessary precautions. CO detectors are cheap life insurance.
Hi, Thanks for sharing. Once thing to think about is that, while the heater is not creating much CO, it still is creating CO2, and reducing oxygen, so you still might want to install an exhaust extension to remove the possibility of it picking up CO2, which, in large concentrations can also be harmful. Not as worrisome as CO, but still not great if, especially it replaces the oxygen. That's the issue Apollo 13 had.... The other thing to consider would be to bring the air from the area you are warming to the heater body inlet from inside your conditioned space. It would reduce the heating requirements as the air being heated would not be as cold once the cab starts to heat up. Let me be clear -- I am NOT talking about using air from the conditioned space as the source for your combustion air. Let the combustion air be drawn from outside as it is now, hopefully with some kind of mesh filter on it to keep mud daubers from building nests in there. Of course, if your intent is to provide fresh air in addition to the heat by using outside air for your conditioned air space, you would want to leave it the way it is, even though it would use more diesel. I am going to install one of these in a boat I am restoring, but will always have a CO monitor on when using it. Especially when sleeping. If the aluminum combustion chamber cracks, you could get CO that way, and if sleeping, that could be deadly. It's the same reason it's always a good idea to have a CO monitor in a house that has a furnace or water heater that uses combustion to produce heat. If you have electric heat r (hopefully like a heat pump )and electric water heater, you don't need to worry about this unless your auxiliary/backup/emergency heat is a gas or oil furnace. Cheers from Oregon, Philip
Ive come where there is a leak between the combustion chamber and the heat exchanger. Its a simple fix certainty one you shpild test. Also the exhort has to be taken far enough away from the air intake or ventilation
Your smelling diesel on the warm up due to incomplete combustion, someone cut the end off one and filmed it, early on its a very poor yellow flame but once up to temp, it burns with a blue gas like flame.
I am very wary of carbon monoxide output on these heaters , you clearly havent tuned your diesel heater properly and you should not have any carbon monoxide emissions from your diesel heater, check the seal on the top of the glow plug as sometimes it doesnt seal properly and alows carbon monoxide to escape from the burn chamber into the hot air stream. from the glow plug breathe hole, yes the tiny little breathe hole, you wouldnt believe it was true. next you need to get into the special settings menu on the blue lcd screen enter either 1866 or 9009 on the four dashes accessed by pressing the top left button on the lcd screen to enter the menu and adjust the heater at the lowest top fan setting and Hz setting that allows the two red bars to show on the display, adjustments to the top fan speed, you can turn the heater down with the lcd remote in the mnual setting using the remote to see what the lowest setting is that allows the two red bars to light up on the lcd screen.. this will allow it to burn very lean using only 1 to 2 litres of diesel in a 12 hour period. we run ours all night in a caravan at 1.7 hz we have carbon monoxide alarms set up to activate if it is being produced at all. our top fan speed is 4500 and our top temperasture setting is 5.1 Hz (or pump speed if you will) this may differ on yours. we first took delivery of the same unit as yours it was producing 33 parts per million of carbon monoxide, now it is tuned through the special settings it produces zero carbon monoxide emissions, its no good telling you my settings as every diesel heater has a slightly different combustion output even though they all appear to be the same design. try turning the rubber mount for the pump upside down so that the pump rests on the rubber mount rather than hanging from it ours is a little quieter now.
You think the external exhaust was coming into the back door? Remember, the back area is positive pressure ventilation. It would be difficult but possible. Thanks
It doesn't produce CO if it has absolutely perfect combustion (You live on a planet with 100% oxygen atmosphere). Even a well tuned heater will produce CO because we live in an imperfect world.
@@2awolf817 We serve railroad workers sickened by diesel exhaust and other railroad carcinogens. Railroad workers are often exposed to other toxins such as asbestos, solvents, fuels, welding fumes, silica, and creosote. Our experienced railroad cancer lawyers take all those exposures into account when consulting with experts and determining whether your illness is work-related. from the website. not just diesel
100% it does. His heater is newer and in good working condition, wait till the burner cokes up a bit. Why chance it, just put the rubber hose on and vent it farther away.
Thank you for an outstanding video. CO is very dangerous, about 6 yrs ago a camper in the UK picked up a stone cold disponible BBQ and put it inside the flap of the tent. His wife died and he came very close to death.
wow. yep this stuff happens all the time. Terrible..
I would route the exhaust out the other side of the heater so there was no chance of it getting sucked into the fan and entering the camper. Your heater is obviously tuned correctly for your elevation but if you use it at high elevation it'll burn rich and CO will increase. Also any restriction to combustion air intake or exhaust will increase CO. Could be something as simple as a spider building a web in the intake tube.
There's a small rubber gasket on those heaters where the fuel delivery pipe goes in. It's often not sealed well, and silisone sealant can cure it. That's the route for exhaust gases to get in, because some get sucked in the burner intake, and then escape into the interior through that hole..
Ive been running these heaters full-time for 8+ years..... Zero issues or problems........ Alot safer than propane.... A must have.😎👍👍
@2Awolf I admire your transparency. To find out with your audience whether or not you’ve made a good or bad decision, for the sake of teaching others, is highly noble of you. Thank you for sharing this life-saving information with us all. The Lord bless you, Sir!
Thank you.
@@2awolf817 Would you have a personal recommendation on a reliable gas/co meter under $100? I trust your judgement.
I've been putting my heater inside and pipping the exhaust outside. Haven't had any issue and also never saw double digit CO level. Based on your review, it seems like even if there was an exhaust leak, you wouldn't really get that high of CO anyway (just smoke and smell).
Good video,just installed one in my garage,and bought a house carbon monoxide alarm and it's always at the back of your mind, cheers Ian 🇬🇧
Thank you Ian
Pipe exhaust overhead, above the roof. Thank You for sharing!
In our case, our roof vent is open slightly when running the heater. But good thought.
No... the water vapour in the exhaust will build up in the pipe and will choke off the combustion. It must hang down.
@@kevingeaney7741 Good point. That is correct!! Earlier I had a failure due to low spot in the hose I had on the ground. It got filled with condensation.
Seems like the smart move would be to follow the manufactures instructions. 1 locate the heater inside the camper. 2 Exhaust vented outside the camper. How valid is your test inside the closed garage with the door to the camper open to the room where the exhaust is being discharged?
Walt
Thanks Walt. Since the MSA Altair 5 works immediately, the exhaust outside could not have gotten inside that fast and with positive pressure from the heat being pumped into the sleeping area, it would be very difficult to get the CO to enter.
There's a small rubber gasket on those heaters where the fuel delivery pipe goes in. It's often not sealed well, and silisone sealant can cure it. That's the route for exhaust gases to get in, because some get sucked in the burner intake, and then escape into the interior through that hole..
Crazy how much CO gas the truck engine is producing!!!! good video, I'm going to get one of those meters. thanks.
You don't want to buy one out of your pocket. There run about $1800 and that doesn't include calibration gas..
@@2awolf817 They are pricey for sure . I used to calibrate these units with the dual pumps and the smaller ones.
Yup, either duct the fresh air intake up, away from the combustion exhaust. Or vent the exhaust down away from the fresh air intake.
If you want to stay safe you will also buy a CO detector for your rig. Anytime you are using a combustible fuel for heating you are at risk of CO poisoning. A faulty heat exchanger can also cause CO to enter your heating space. You can have the best exhaust system in the world and still die because of a faulty heat exchanger or an air intake drawing in exhaust. The proximity of the cold air for heating intake and the exhaust makes these types of heaters extremely dangerous if you don't take the necessary precautions. CO detectors are cheap life insurance.
Hi,
Thanks for sharing.
Once thing to think about is that, while the heater is not creating much CO, it still is creating CO2, and reducing oxygen, so you still might want to install an exhaust extension to remove the possibility of it picking up CO2, which, in large concentrations can also be harmful. Not as worrisome as CO, but still not great if, especially it replaces the oxygen. That's the issue Apollo 13 had....
The other thing to consider would be to bring the air from the area you are warming to the heater body inlet from inside your conditioned space. It would reduce the heating requirements as the air being heated would not be as cold once the cab starts to heat up. Let me be clear -- I am NOT talking about using air from the conditioned space as the source for your combustion air. Let the combustion air be drawn from outside as it is now, hopefully with some kind of mesh filter on it to keep mud daubers from building nests in there.
Of course, if your intent is to provide fresh air in addition to the heat by using outside air for your conditioned air space, you would want to leave it the way it is, even though it would use more diesel.
I am going to install one of these in a boat I am restoring, but will always have a CO monitor on when using it. Especially when sleeping.
If the aluminum combustion chamber cracks, you could get CO that way, and if sleeping, that could be deadly. It's the same reason it's always a good idea to have a CO monitor in a house that has a furnace or water heater that uses combustion to produce heat. If you have electric heat r (hopefully like a heat pump )and electric water heater, you don't need to worry about this unless your auxiliary/backup/emergency heat is a gas or oil furnace.
Cheers from Oregon,
Philip
Wow. Thanks Philip!
There are places where exhaust can leak into the fresh air check the gaskets. Use brand-new gaskets if you take them apart and clean this heater.
Ive come where there is a leak between the combustion chamber and the heat exchanger. Its a simple fix certainty one you shpild test.
Also the exhort has to be taken far enough away from the air intake or ventilation
Your smelling diesel on the warm up due to incomplete combustion, someone cut the end off one and filmed it, early on its a very poor yellow flame but once up to temp, it burns with a blue gas like flame.
🤔 Pretty sure it's supposed to re circulate air inside the van and if you test the hot air for C0.. To tune it you measure the exhaust..
Do a proper test with the door closed.
that is the exact methode
I am very wary of carbon monoxide output on these heaters , you clearly havent tuned your diesel heater properly and you should not have any carbon monoxide emissions from your diesel heater,
check the seal on the top of the glow plug as sometimes it doesnt seal properly and alows carbon monoxide to escape from the burn chamber into the hot air stream. from the glow plug breathe hole, yes the tiny little breathe hole, you wouldnt believe it was true.
next you need to get into the special settings menu on the blue lcd screen enter either 1866 or 9009 on the four dashes accessed by pressing the top left button on the lcd screen to enter the menu and adjust the heater at the lowest top fan setting and Hz setting that allows the two red bars to show on the display, adjustments to the top fan speed, you can turn the heater down with the lcd remote in the mnual setting using the remote to see what the lowest setting is that allows the two red bars to light up on the lcd screen..
this will allow it to burn very lean using only 1 to 2 litres of diesel in a 12 hour period. we run ours all night in a caravan at 1.7 hz we have carbon monoxide alarms set up to activate if it is being produced at all. our top fan speed is 4500 and our top temperasture setting is 5.1 Hz (or pump speed if you will) this may differ on yours.
we first took delivery of the same unit as yours it was producing 33 parts per million of carbon monoxide, now it is tuned through the special settings it produces zero carbon monoxide emissions, its no good telling you my settings as every diesel heater has a slightly different combustion output even though they all appear to be the same design.
try turning the rubber mount for the pump upside down so that the pump rests on the rubber mount rather than hanging from it ours is a little quieter now.
wow. Great feedback!! Thank you very much!
You shouldnt have carbon monoxide because diesel doesn't produce it
What kind of ducting is that on your heater?
It's like that flexible sewer type hose for a RV.
Where did you get the tester?
From work. Made sure it was calibrated and ready to go before samples
You modified it if the exhaust came out of the bottom instead of under the intake fan you wouldn't have a problem
Great demonstration..... Thanks
Shouldnt you have the doors closed?
And maybe, not test in a closed garage? 😂
Maybe. That MSA monitor is pretty accurate. It may have gone up a tad but we leave a vent open a little while running the heater anyways.
So those heaters are waterproof?
I don't think there "water proof" . They do run on 12v. If it gets wet enough, I would put the fuse or ruin the controller.
Your test is flawed. You should have run it outside with a pipe far away from the vehicle to what gets in the vehickle.
You think the external exhaust was coming into the back door? Remember, the back area is positive pressure ventilation. It would be difficult but possible. Thanks
Diesel doesn't produce carbon monoxide. Only CO2 and no2
Sure does see dieselinjurylaw.com
It doesn't produce CO if it has absolutely perfect combustion (You live on a planet with 100% oxygen atmosphere). Even a well tuned heater will produce CO because we live in an imperfect world.
@@2awolf817 We serve railroad workers sickened by diesel exhaust and other railroad carcinogens. Railroad workers are often exposed to other toxins such as asbestos, solvents, fuels, welding fumes, silica, and creosote. Our experienced railroad cancer lawyers take all those exposures into account when consulting with experts and determining whether your illness is work-related.
from the website. not just diesel
100% it does. His heater is newer and in good working condition, wait till the burner cokes up a bit. Why chance it, just put the rubber hose on and vent it farther away.