@TheJoslynJourney Thank you for doing the video with the practical advice from learning things the hard way through your experiences. I don't have an RV but, discovered these heater 2 years ago and use my heaters for home backup heat. I have probably more heater experience than the average person, having used portable kerosene heaters (wick and pressurized types) since the 1960's. I think these things are outstanding but, it's all about what you are used to. They are essentially a miniature oil furnace. I found the heat rating difficult to understand at first since it is in Metric units; watts of output. In the US,,we are use to seeing ratings in BTU (British Thermal Units). 1 watt = 3.4 BTU. So, a 5 kW (kilowatt, watts times 1,000) output for instance equals 17,000 BTU. Diesel has better heat output than Propane, 1 US gallon of diesel = 140,000 BTU output, verses 92,000 BTU for propane. All heaters have their own unique characteristics so, since it uses a flame to generate heat, it's best to fully understand your heater.
Boy I wish led I had known about that conversion rate before buying that expensive heater! I hope your comment will also help others. Thank you for taking the time to write a thoughtful response!
@TheJoslynJourney Glad to help. I bought 2 of the 5 kW Chinese heaters, which are a direct copy of the German heater. When it is starting up, it draws 10 amps of 12 volt current. After settled out from the warm up, it draws 1.8 amps with the temperature control set at 5 (the default middle setting). Never disconnect power from these heaters when they are running, such as to shut it off quickly, this can overheat and damage the internal control circuitry. They must go through a cool-down cycle, which takes about 5 minutes.
Good info on diesel heater. I'm not going to put one in my truck camper, my propane heater works very well (also have spare sail switches ..lol) and have small space heater. It appears that everyone with diesel heaters has problems, I hope you don't have anymore problems with yours. Be safe Have fun!
They're a bit finicky, that's for sure. The propane heaters are ideal when you can get propane (and aren't in super cold weather for extended periods of time). Changing that out for a diesel heater is not going to be the right choice for most folks, so completely agree with you. We will certainly keep our fingers crossed and hope no future issues!
Good tips for any furnace I think. No diesel heater in my rig. We have a 22 ft travel trailer with a propane furnace and I'll keep it for now. I see the faucet with the drinking water output. The one you have looks exactly like the one I'm thinking of installing. Is that stock with a under counter filter and doo you like it? I'm interested in your thoughts. Thank you.
You're right - it is good for any style of heater! As for the water filter, that's the older Acuva 2.0 - we do have a video of the install - ruclips.net/video/Fw38mZoaB84/видео.html. This one was rebranded to the Acuva Wanderer 2.0. Both have the same parts - the UV filter and the pre-filter, which has done well for us. In the video above, we do say we still use our Clear20 2-filter system to get water in our water tank, then use this one for the drinking water. We've been happily using this for the past 2.5 years. We've replaced the pre-filter about once a year (or when the water doesn't taste right to me - I'm picky!). I see it's actually on sale at Amazon! If you want, use this affiliate link to help us out if you buy - amzn.to/3ZTH4rX (it doesn't cost anything for you to use). And let me know if you have any other questions!
Nice video guys...What is is the real difference, in cost, between a diesel heater and the stock furnace? Is the difference enough to justify all the cost and trouble of a diesel heater?
In my opinion, the existing heater is fine for 90% of folks. I'd only consider it if you want to be off-grid in cold weather for longer periods of time. Just my $0.02.
Let me know - do you already have a diesel heater or are you thinking about upgrading to one? And why?
@TheJoslynJourney Thank you for doing the video with the practical advice from learning things the hard way through your experiences. I don't have an RV but, discovered these heater 2 years ago and use my heaters for home backup heat. I have probably more heater experience than the average person, having used portable kerosene heaters (wick and pressurized types) since the 1960's. I think these things are outstanding but, it's all about what you are used to. They are essentially a miniature oil furnace. I found the heat rating difficult to understand at first since it is in Metric units; watts of output. In the US,,we are use to seeing ratings in BTU (British Thermal Units). 1 watt = 3.4 BTU. So, a 5 kW (kilowatt, watts times 1,000) output for instance equals 17,000 BTU. Diesel has better heat output than Propane, 1 US gallon of diesel = 140,000 BTU output, verses 92,000 BTU for propane. All heaters have their own unique characteristics so, since it uses a flame to generate heat, it's best to fully understand your heater.
Boy I wish led I had known about that conversion rate before buying that expensive heater! I hope your comment will also help others. Thank you for taking the time to write a thoughtful response!
@TheJoslynJourney Glad to help. I bought 2 of the 5 kW Chinese heaters, which are a direct copy of the German heater. When it is starting up, it draws 10 amps of 12 volt current. After settled out from the warm up, it draws 1.8 amps with the temperature control set at 5 (the default middle setting). Never disconnect power from these heaters when they are running, such as to shut it off quickly, this can overheat and damage the internal control circuitry. They must go through a cool-down cycle, which takes about 5 minutes.
We learned the hard way on that one when we had our board go out and it stopped before the cool down. We had fumes in the RV - not pleasant!
Good info on diesel heater. I'm not going to put one in my truck camper, my propane heater works very well (also have spare sail switches ..lol) and have small space heater. It appears that everyone with diesel heaters has problems, I hope you don't have anymore problems with yours. Be safe Have fun!
They're a bit finicky, that's for sure. The propane heaters are ideal when you can get propane (and aren't in super cold weather for extended periods of time). Changing that out for a diesel heater is not going to be the right choice for most folks, so completely agree with you. We will certainly keep our fingers crossed and hope no future issues!
Good tips for any furnace I think. No diesel heater in my rig. We have a 22 ft travel trailer with a propane furnace and I'll keep it for now. I see the faucet with the drinking water output. The one you have looks exactly like the one I'm thinking of installing. Is that stock with a under counter filter and doo you like it? I'm interested in your thoughts. Thank you.
You're right - it is good for any style of heater! As for the water filter, that's the older Acuva 2.0 - we do have a video of the install - ruclips.net/video/Fw38mZoaB84/видео.html. This one was rebranded to the Acuva Wanderer 2.0. Both have the same parts - the UV filter and the pre-filter, which has done well for us. In the video above, we do say we still use our Clear20 2-filter system to get water in our water tank, then use this one for the drinking water. We've been happily using this for the past 2.5 years. We've replaced the pre-filter about once a year (or when the water doesn't taste right to me - I'm picky!). I see it's actually on sale at Amazon! If you want, use this affiliate link to help us out if you buy - amzn.to/3ZTH4rX (it doesn't cost anything for you to use). And let me know if you have any other questions!
Nice video guys...What is is the real difference, in cost, between a diesel heater and the stock furnace? Is the difference enough to justify all the cost and trouble of a diesel heater?
In my opinion, the existing heater is fine for 90% of folks. I'd only consider it if you want to be off-grid in cold weather for longer periods of time. Just my $0.02.