Correct !! I would also have the radiator tilted / angled towards the end that the exhaust is exiting to promote draining the condensate. He's going to run into soot build up issues soon.
I came here also to make that suggestion. As it stands....it will trap the condensate. Burned hydrocarbons and water for carbonic acid. Very very corrosive. Going back over 30 yrs to my oil burner days as a heating/boiler tech.. BUT......WHAT A GREAT IDEA. I was considering using a 3 or 4 foot hydronic base board fin tube or an actual cast iron radiator. But you can find those electric all the time at yard sales. Garage sales. Goodwill. Or even free at the local dump!
Neat idea! I did something kinda similar but with a large barrel in my garage. My suggestion: raise the heater above the radiator so the exhaust is going into the top of the radiator. You’ll get more heat out of it that way. Also tilt the radiator at a slight angle towards the exit pipe so condensate can drip out. Where ever the exhaust is exiting should be the lowest point in the system. Lastly on mine I increased the exiting pipe diameter because I’ve read from multiple sources that increasing the exhaust length and thus back pressure is bad for these units.
Great idea. One suggestion for future videos: Either cut the music volume by 50% or lose it altogether. The latter would be my choice. Lots of content creators add music and it really isn't needed and add little to nothing to the video.
Usually when I see builds like these I tend to hate them and think people are stupid. But you actually did a really good job cuz I most people that just let me play the gun at don't show you temperatures or tell you the temperatures. But you were literally putting your hand on that exhaust pipe had not flaking it. I got to say amazing and a brilliant idea.
Just a suggestion - paint a spot on your SS exhaust pipes to make your IR thermometer far more accurate. The emissivity of shiny SS is low. Enjoy your heater!
Great idea for long term off grid solutions! However, during a snowstorm/ power outage last winter I heated my 750 sqft home with an electric radiator and a few strategically placed box fans connected to a battery bank and an inverter. I was able to keep it about 65-70 degrees for 3 days when it was around 0 outside. My experience with electric radiators is that they work great with well insulated spaces. We now have a propane heater for backup. Next will be a wood stove.
yes, a secondary exhaust heat exchanger usually doubles the efficiency and cuts the heat bill by half. so, adding another radiator to the gas furnace in any house will massively cut the heating bill. pays for itself over time. also, getting regular diesel off the gas station will cut the fuel cost further by another half, using the old canister from kerosene. your home depot kerosene is expensive. and again, on the radiator, using the lower point as an exit instead of the top will further cut the energy consumption by another 10%, "trapping the heat", heat prefers top layers over bottom. and all the extra paint works as an insulator.
Nice idea, you have given me some new thoughts on my own set-up. Remember the exhaust condenses so you will need some sort of drain in the heater body, I would suggest a radiator bleed valve as it is easily installed and used.
This was great! I have a friend who did something similar running the exhaust through metal piping before exiting his house .. don't know why more people don't work on that idea and take advantage of the exhaust heat! Good job!!!
I have one of those compact Diesel heater units, great little heater, but I too have thought about the heat wasted out the window. This is a very good adaptation! I've learned that off road Diesel fuel with the red dye is less expensive than regular Diesel or kerosene, but they're pretty much all the same heat wise, kerosene is the same thing without paraffin to lubricate the pump and injectors of a Diesel engine.
The IR thermometer does NOT read at the red dot. The reading is taken by averaging all the temperatures in an ever widening cone around the laser dot. The cone of average readings gets huge as you move farther away. You need to be right on top for an accurate reading. So many people use these things wrong. Also, the person who posted about the emistivity is correct.
You could add a couple of large diameter PC fans to the bottom of the radiator section and really accelerate the dispersion of heat into the shop, they would be able to run off of the same 12VDC supply that powers the heater.
FYI: Those Chinese Diesel Heaters efficiency has been measured at about 60% so the actual output is not 20K but about 12K BTUs. Capturing the exhaust heat is worth maybe another 20%. They are not efficient, but they are cheap and easy to setup and use. On another note, never have the exhaust positioned above the heater. As others have stated you will get condensate build up which will then restrict the exhaust and that will cause soot buildup in the burn chamber eventually to the point where the heater will refuse to run. Did you ever consider a hot water baseboard unit? The exhaust would be kept straight so there would be minimal backpressure and if set up at an angle any condensate would run out the end.
My idea was to coil a long piece of exhaust tubing inside of a duct tube and run the air outlet from the heater through that. Your idea is a lot easier though!
a great Idea I am sure we will see this idea popping up in amazon shortly. only issue is the exhaust moves so quickly would be nice if you could capture more of the heat.
Running the exhaust through some kind of heat sink like your old radiator is the way to go. I'm thinking of doing something similar using a long exhaust pipe coil in a fish tank with sandy soil.
Better imo just use long exhaust (angled downward for drainage) covered with a bunch of stainless steel scotchbrite (scourer) pads (cost is cheap) add fan to blow across it if desired. No back pressure, moisture carried away and is fast-easy to do. Pads are a tight fit over the 1" exhaust and can stretch out or bunch up as needed to cover length.
Cool idea. I'd have just run the pipe straight through the radiator and kept it filled with oil. Let the exhaust pipe heat the oil without making an issue of condensate gathering in the radiator.
@thewebbsace it shouldn't need a fan. The heat should rise off of it just like it was intended to originally. But if you really want a fan you could just mount the vevor heater in such a way that the blower on the front blows across the top of the radiator.
Voice of experience: Replace the automotive accessory plug with an XT-30 or Anderson PowerPole connection. Much more capable of handling the amps that are pulled while the glow plug is heating up, plus the connection type is much more secure. Those old-school cigarette-lighter style adapters, as well as the SAE connectors, just aren't the best solution for what you're doing, and on an AWSOME BUILD like this, you want only the best! When you shut it down, make sure you let it go through the "process", or you'll build up carbon in the unit. You can buy oil heaters at Goodwill or similar places for
Great info, thanks! I did remove hte cigarette-lighter adapter, because both the Ecoflow and car jumper were limited to 10A out on that outlet, which wasn't sufficient to power the heater. I found that the Ecoflow has a 12V/30A Anderson output. I hard-wired the heater to that for now, but my plan is to get an adapter and wire it to plug in cleanly.
This is an excellent build. I have thought of using one of these diesel heaters for quite some time now. This is an elegant solution to getting the maximum efficiency from them. I will build one soon for my shop and ditch the old wood stove. Thanks Al Hartley
A Russian blog found by experiment and calculation that these 5Kw heaters on max deliver 3.5Kw at the blower outlet and were able to extract a further 1.25 Kw adding a radiator to the exhaust
I'm no expert but surely this is less efficient? It's like the recirculation button on car aircon - the aircon (or heater in this instance) it doesn't need to work as hard as it's heating already warmer air?
@lee_brooks No, the air being heated isn't the same air used for combustion. Theses heaters are designed with 2 air inlets, one for the room air that gets heated and a completely different air inlet for combustion. This is just like your car, the air used for combustion has a different inlets for the air being heated. If you use inside air for combustion it will suck in the outside air and make the room drafty.
When I have time I would like to use the exhaust as a "pre-heat" for the air intake that way the starting temp is elevated resulting in more heat and less fuel used.
do a followup video after about 100 hours of running. i tried to do a heat exchanger with 1 inch iron pipe and after about 100 hours the heater would not heat well and had a soot buildup inside the combustion chamber. i think if i would have gone to a 2 inch it may have been fine though. the fan on the inside of the burner is not strong enough to force the exhaust any distance more than about 10 feet. if i would have done the 2inch iron pipe i think it would have worked though.. also going to need a drain. got about 8 ounces of water off the first heat exchanger after 20 hours or so
Just a thought... If there is heat coming out the exhaust pipe... and you can find a oil heater in like a garage sale (super cheap) maybe add a second heat exchanger
Before watching I will point out that if you use an engine to work a heat pump, you effectively get more than 100% efficiency. You can also run a generator and extract the "waste heat" is you have a use for the electrical power.
You should have the air intake for combustion on the outside. Doing that will prevent the heater from pulling heated air from inside that will be replaced by cold air pulled through gaps in doors, windows, etc.
Liked that build, let us know it soots up quickly. And I'm not going to gripe about the music, no, no way no how I'm not going to gripe about it,, I'm just not going to.
Efficiency and heat distribution would be improved if the output vent faced the radiator fins. Radiator style heaters work best with a fan to distribute the heat around the room. I'm sure it does a fantastic job as is, just giving my two cents... Everything can always be better ;)
@@jakepatrie8332 yeah, I thought about that. My original plan was to use a steam radiator like I’ve seen others do, and point the fan toward it to increase efficiency. But this type of radiator is designed with convection channels that cause air flow without a fan. That’s why I decided to use it and keep them separate.
Thanks for watching, everyone! Here's the build list: * Vevor Diesel Heater: www.vevor.com/diesel-heater-c_10321/heater-p_010495189666 * De'Longhi Oil Heater: www.amazon.com/dp/B000TGDGLU/ * Extra 10ft of Hose: www.amazon.com/dp/B0CR3TYGK7/ * Rustoleum Red Engine Enamel: www.amazon.com/dp/B0C828J6ZN * RTV Silicone: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07R17MD5S/ * 64" of 1-1/2" angle iron * 16" of 1-1/2" flat bar * 8" of 3/4" angle iron * Black spray paint
condensation goes down, to the hottest point of the device and they will be turned into steam. If the heater runs hot enough, the moisture will exit the system. If not.. I guess it will fill up and start making bubbly noises
@@EIS77-harmlessgoy if condensate collects in the radiator, I'll add a drip line. If that doesn't handle it, I'll modify the stand to raise the heater up a few inches so it doesn't backflow up the exhaust. I'm not stressing it.
Cool, clean build. I have watched a few of these type of conversions. The thing that made the radiator heaters hold heat for as long as they did is the oil or water inside them. I've often wondered if the re e is a way to heat the oil inside them with the exhaust. Until that gets figured out by someone smarter than me.... I would say this is the best route.
To upgrade your idea use a used car EGR connected to the exhaust connect the water pipes to a central heating radiator use a small 12 volt pump to circulate the water that will be the most efficient way to get extra heat out of a diesel heater I use two of these systems to heat my home so I'm sure they will be ok for a workshop you can actually couple up more than one EGR together you can find lots of videos on RUclips on this subject
@@Mr.Engineer. I’ve only been using it for 2 days so far, so I haven’t had the chance to check. If it’s a significant problem, my plan is to add a condensate drain line at the bottom of the radiator and see if that solves it.
@@offgrid101 Been thinking about doing something similar for my basement, but then I would use my chimney for the exhaust and having the exhaust travel 7-8 meters straight up leaving a lot of moisture all over the bricks. What will then happen when I use my fireplace and will it lead to forming of more soot and a higher risk of chimney fire? Maybe I must have a pipe all the way up the chimney and have the exhaust exit the pipe at the top of my chimney. Hard to find any data on this online, so your results would be highly appreciated if you share them :) Also, did you think about cross flowing the radiator for "better efficiency" or does it heat evenly enough as it is?
@ definitely, will share my experience and any updates or changes I make! FYI, I checked it tonight after running 8 hours yesterday and 8 hours today - no noticeable moisture buildup.
It'll be better your way as the condensation will exit rather than building up in the radiator. I'd tilt the radiator towards the exhaust side also as to promote draining.
@brettd.3222 that's what I was thinking. I know it'd be tall but I'd like to put the heater on a platform above the radiator as to not have a bunch of bends in the exhaust
@@HollisDoesStuff yeah, I didn’t have any diesel around at the time, and kerosene is close enough for a test. I’ve since filled it up with diesel for normal use.
Fill the radiator with sand and be even more efficient.. I did that with an old wood stove and filled the chimney pipe and ran the exhaust through stove & out the pipe.... Works a treat and holds heat for hrs after turning the diesel.heater off ✌
I've been looking at sand batteries (generally powered by excess solar and an 'immersion heater' type device (and they're great) but in this instance surely you need the airflow though? Not critical - just trying to understand : )
So does anyone actually know how to use o e of those IR thermometers. He is like the 30th here on YT I’ve seen using it like the laser dot is how big the area it reads is. Absolutely mind blowing that no one can read the instructions (usually print it on the side of the thing)
The problem you will have is the acrid condensate will condense in your radiator 0 You must always have the exhaust drain downward from your radiator until it exits your shop - as an alternative you could put a pinhole in the bottom of your radiator and run a small tube outside
so many thing wront whit this setup......it will trap condensate and that radiator leeks easy (thin material) and how will you clean all the dirt out from the axhaust? it will be blocked fast....
That's a cool build. I'm wondering how many hours that thing will run before soot build up becomes an issue and causes a restriction in the flow. Could create really hot spots or be a potential fire hazard down the line. If the red paint starts smoking or flaking off you might want to shut it off.
True, but that’s a bigger project, and i had this laying around. Also, this radiator produces a convection current, which steam radiators and sand batteries don’t. I think loss in efficiency might be offset by the air movement.
Hi just watched your video an design All very good. But exhaust should exit below the heater as water can build up in exhaust. As I have seen on another channel. It's in fitting instructions yours is very high above. Not criticising just keep a check on it buddy to be safe 👍
Yeah, bro, what Paul said, the diesel heater needs to be above the radiator, and the exhaust for the diesel heater needs to enter the top hole and exit out the bottom hole of the radiator. You then need to add a drain hole in the bottom of the radiator to drain out moisture ever so often. Otherwise, your radiator will rot out over time … I appreciate your ingenuity! Way to solve a problem we all suffer in the North.
@@paulmarsh6243 thanks guys, good to know! Fortunately the exhaust pipe from the heater is below, so should be exiting the heater. I think I can add a drain line at the bottom of the radiator. If that doesn’t drain enough vapor, I’ll fabricate a new stand to mount the heater on top of the radiator. 👍👍
Won’t run very long with it setup that way it’s way to restrictive on the exhaust side I tried setups much less restrictive then what you have and it ran great for a few days then it started smoking and not starting well it was plugged up with exhaust soot.
@ good question being that the exhaust barely flows as it is. I’m thinking of trying a 1.5 inch Y pipe with a small 1.3 inch variable blower and connect that in the middle of the exhaust somewhere to help pull the exhaust out of the combustion chamber and push it out the pipe hopefully it won’t mess with the heater to much.
The installation was wrong in terms of efficiency. You should have installed the diesel heater exhaust outlet on the top of the radiator and installed the outlet on the bottom. This provides warmer air flow and allows you to get a cooler exhaust temperature.
@@offgrid101 which ecoflow do you have? I'm pretty sure that 30amp is for the xt connection. The cig outlet is 10amp +/- 1 amp depending on your state of charge.
Those thinwall diathermic radiators are not designed for high heat and will pop at the seams releasing carbon monoxide. The exhaust is being restricted and will cause serious sooting and condensation. This is not a good idea and could be very dangerous. Be smart and be safe!
Your exhaust gas temp is well below dew point. Condensation will eventually block the exhaust. None condensing fuel heating appliances need to reach 290f at steady state to not be considered a condensing appliance that requires accommodation for drainage. Also that heater is very dirty with very high NOx. Soot will also clog the exhaust. And would require a method for cleaning out. Something you really can’t do in that radiator. I hate to sound like a fun hater but you’ve just recreated a condensing oil furnace. Aside from the company thermopride every company that’s made these (with engineers knowing what they are doing) has been sued into the dirt from property damage or loss of life. At least have a good low level CO detector near by at breathing height.
Ive not seen the video yet, but... What is it with ALL you guys hooking up radiators to exhausts ?!?! Why don't you all just use an hydronic heater for this ? ( like im builiding now.. ) Radiators are not suited for being an freakin' exhaust, one of these days some of you guys are going to die because of leaking exhaust fumes. Good luck !
It looks great, but I would’ve left it in its original color because painting it acts like insulation not allowing as much heat from radiating out of the heater. your efficiency will be lost a little bit.
The hot exhaust should go into the radiator at the top and come out the bottom! it will heat better and push the condensate out of the exhaust pipe.
I came here to say this same thing. Bump in efficiency as well as solving the problem of condensation. 👍
Correct !! I would also have the radiator tilted / angled towards the end that the exhaust is exiting to promote draining the condensate. He's going to run into soot build up issues soon.
And the air intake on the blower could have been picked up on the top of the radiator with a cowl.
I came here also to make that suggestion. As it stands....it will trap the condensate. Burned hydrocarbons and water for carbonic acid. Very very corrosive. Going back over 30 yrs to my oil burner days as a heating/boiler tech.. BUT......WHAT A GREAT IDEA. I was considering using a 3 or 4 foot hydronic base board fin tube or an actual cast iron radiator. But you can find those electric all the time at yard sales. Garage sales. Goodwill. Or even free at the local dump!
Installed with this method in a boat bilge you can have a bilge heater and route the heat into the cab. Thanks for the great idea!
Neat idea! I did something kinda similar but with a large barrel in my garage.
My suggestion: raise the heater above the radiator so the exhaust is going into the top of the radiator. You’ll get more heat out of it that way. Also tilt the radiator at a slight angle towards the exit pipe so condensate can drip out. Where ever the exhaust is exiting should be the lowest point in the system.
Lastly on mine I increased the exiting pipe diameter because I’ve read from multiple sources that increasing the exhaust length and thus back pressure is bad for these units.
Great idea. One suggestion for future videos: Either cut the music volume by 50% or lose it altogether. The latter would be my choice. Lots of content creators add music and it really isn't needed and add little to nothing to the video.
Wrong. Horrible idea lol. Get the toxic fumes outside as fast as possible. Im sure you will argue with that though.
@@Utubegofukurself I would agree with you, but I think you posted your comment not where yo intended to.
Usually when I see builds like these I tend to hate them and think people are stupid. But you actually did a really good job cuz I most people that just let me play the gun at don't show you temperatures or tell you the temperatures. But you were literally putting your hand on that exhaust pipe had not flaking it. I got to say amazing and a brilliant idea.
Just a suggestion - paint a spot on your SS exhaust pipes to make your IR thermometer far more accurate. The emissivity of shiny SS is low. Enjoy your heater!
Great idea for long term off grid solutions!
However, during a snowstorm/ power outage last winter I heated my 750 sqft home with an electric radiator and a few strategically placed box fans connected to a battery bank and an inverter. I was able to keep it about 65-70 degrees for 3 days when it was around 0 outside.
My experience with electric radiators is that they work great with well insulated spaces.
We now have a propane heater for backup. Next will be a wood stove.
yes, a secondary exhaust heat exchanger usually doubles the efficiency and cuts the heat bill by half. so, adding another radiator to the gas furnace in any house will massively cut the heating bill. pays for itself over time. also, getting regular diesel off the gas station will cut the fuel cost further by another half, using the old canister from kerosene. your home depot kerosene is expensive.
and again, on the radiator, using the lower point as an exit instead of the top will further cut the energy consumption by another 10%, "trapping the heat", heat prefers top layers over bottom. and all the extra paint works as an insulator.
Great job, my man! I was able to garner a lot from your video that I can apply to my own build. Thanks!
There is probably one way to improve this setup even further:
A thin boxfan blowing on the side of the former oil heater from middle to out.
Nice idea, you have given me some new thoughts on my own set-up. Remember the exhaust condenses so you will need some sort of drain in the heater body, I would suggest a radiator bleed valve as it is easily installed and used.
This was great! I have a friend who did something similar running the exhaust through metal piping before exiting his house .. don't know why more people don't work on that idea and take advantage of the exhaust heat! Good job!!!
Maybe because you can die from exhaust fumes if it has a leak lol. Yeah, GREAT idea lol
I have one of those compact Diesel heater units, great little heater, but I too have thought about the heat wasted out the window. This is a very good adaptation! I've learned that off road Diesel fuel with the red dye is less expensive than regular Diesel or kerosene, but they're pretty much all the same heat wise, kerosene is the same thing without paraffin to lubricate the pump and injectors of a Diesel engine.
Put smokeless 2 stroke oil in the kerosene will lubricate the pump. its recommended when running kerosene
You can find those oil heaters at garage sales usually very cheap .
Awesome build
The IR thermometer does NOT read at the red dot. The reading is taken by averaging all the temperatures in an ever widening cone around the laser dot. The cone of average readings gets huge as you move farther away. You need to be right on top for an accurate reading. So many people use these things wrong. Also, the person who posted about the emistivity is correct.
Great job. I like your design,
You could add a couple of large diameter PC fans to the bottom of the radiator section and really accelerate the dispersion of heat into the shop, they would be able to run off of the same 12VDC supply that powers the heater.
FYI: Those Chinese Diesel Heaters efficiency has been measured at about 60% so the actual output is not 20K but about 12K BTUs. Capturing the exhaust heat is worth maybe another 20%. They are not efficient, but they are cheap and easy to setup and use.
On another note, never have the exhaust positioned above the heater. As others have stated you will get condensate build up which will then restrict the exhaust and that will cause soot buildup in the burn chamber eventually to the point where the heater will refuse to run.
Did you ever consider a hot water baseboard unit? The exhaust would be kept straight so there would be minimal backpressure and if set up at an angle any condensate would run out the end.
My idea was to coil a long piece of exhaust tubing inside of a duct tube and run the air outlet from the heater through that. Your idea is a lot easier though!
i think if you added a couple 12v computer fans to the top of the radiator it would improve convection
I have a large 280mm slow-turning PC fan on mine - its silent and uses just 2 watts
This is the best design of this idea i have seen. I have been thinking of getting one of those heaters and i think i may do what you did.
Create you intake pipe and run right beside exhaust pipe to the outside. This will stop a siphoning effect from any cracks you may or may not have 😉
I suggest putting the heater and rad inline under the window 6 inches from the wall, the rad heat will help with window heat loss
I recommend piping the exhaust straight into your lungs. Maximum efficiency and warm yourself from the inside out
a great Idea I am sure we will see this idea popping up in amazon shortly. only issue is the exhaust moves so quickly would be nice if you could capture more of the heat.
people have been doing this mod for a few years, there's plenty of videos on youtube. I collected all the stuff to do it already but haven't started.
Running the exhaust through some kind of heat sink like your old radiator is the way to go. I'm thinking of doing something similar using a long exhaust pipe coil in a fish tank with sandy soil.
Better imo just use long exhaust (angled downward for drainage) covered with a bunch of stainless steel scotchbrite (scourer) pads (cost is cheap) add fan to blow across it if desired.
No back pressure, moisture carried away and is fast-easy to do.
Pads are a tight fit over the 1" exhaust and can stretch out or bunch up as needed to cover length.
I used a turbo charger intercooler with a 12 volt radiator fan on mine.
Similar results as you....
adding fan to allow air go thru the radiator and make the heat spread more in your room
Cool idea. I'd have just run the pipe straight through the radiator and kept it filled with oil. Let the exhaust pipe heat the oil without making an issue of condensate gathering in the radiator.
This was my ideal exactly and a fan of some sort
@thewebbsace it shouldn't need a fan. The heat should rise off of it just like it was intended to originally.
But if you really want a fan you could just mount the vevor heater in such a way that the blower on the front blows across the top of the radiator.
Voice of experience: Replace the automotive accessory plug with an XT-30 or Anderson PowerPole connection. Much more capable of handling the amps that are pulled while the glow plug is heating up, plus the connection type is much more secure. Those old-school cigarette-lighter style adapters, as well as the SAE connectors, just aren't the best solution for what you're doing, and on an AWSOME BUILD like this, you want only the best! When you shut it down, make sure you let it go through the "process", or you'll build up carbon in the unit. You can buy oil heaters at Goodwill or similar places for
Great info, thanks! I did remove hte cigarette-lighter adapter, because both the Ecoflow and car jumper were limited to 10A out on that outlet, which wasn't sufficient to power the heater. I found that the Ecoflow has a 12V/30A Anderson output. I hard-wired the heater to that for now, but my plan is to get an adapter and wire it to plug in cleanly.
This is an excellent build. I have thought of using one of these diesel heaters for quite some time now. This is an elegant solution to getting the maximum efficiency from them. I will build one soon for my shop and ditch the old wood stove.
Thanks Al Hartley
A Russian blog found by experiment and calculation that these 5Kw heaters on max deliver 3.5Kw at the blower outlet and were able to extract a further 1.25 Kw adding a radiator to the exhaust
Love the repurposing to get the efficiency up. You need to take the combustion air from the outside as well so you're not consuming the warm air.
I'm no expert but surely this is less efficient? It's like the recirculation button on car aircon - the aircon (or heater in this instance) it doesn't need to work as hard as it's heating already warmer air?
@lee_brooks No, the air being heated isn't the same air used for combustion. Theses heaters are designed with 2 air inlets, one for the room air that gets heated and a completely different air inlet for combustion. This is just like your car, the air used for combustion has a different inlets for the air being heated. If you use inside air for combustion it will suck in the outside air and make the room drafty.
@@christopherguy1217 Thanks for the explaination : )
When I have time I would like to use the exhaust as a "pre-heat" for the air intake that way the starting temp is elevated resulting in more heat and less fuel used.
The oil/electric radiators are fine. mine can keep a 25°C difference on the low setting. my Space is relative small and well insulated.
do a followup video after about 100 hours of running. i tried to do a heat exchanger with 1 inch iron pipe and after about 100 hours the heater would not heat well and had a soot buildup inside the combustion chamber. i think if i would have gone to a 2 inch it may have been fine though. the fan on the inside of the burner is not strong enough to force the exhaust any distance more than about 10 feet. if i would have done the 2inch iron pipe i think it would have worked though.. also going to need a drain. got about 8 ounces of water off the first heat exchanger after 20 hours or so
Just a thought...
If there is heat coming out the exhaust pipe... and you can find a oil heater in like a garage sale (super cheap) maybe add a second heat exchanger
Wow a harbor freight cobalt step bit would have made your life sooooo much easier
@@apintonut would you believe I JUST got the Temo step bit that won the @projectfarm comparison and completely forgot about it?? 🤦♂️
Before watching I will point out that if you use an engine to work a heat pump, you effectively get more than 100% efficiency.
You can also run a generator and extract the "waste heat" is you have a use for the electrical power.
You should have the air intake for combustion on the outside. Doing that will prevent the heater from pulling heated air from inside that will be replaced by cold air pulled through gaps in doors, windows, etc.
Thats awesome
I enjoyed your video, good build.
You could use bathroom heater elements, big tubes, big area
Liked that build, let us know it soots up quickly. And I'm not going to gripe about the music, no, no way no how I'm not going to gripe about it,, I'm just not going to.
i'm impressed!!! i need to find an old oil heater now. thanks
wondering if you will have problems with carbon build up from the back pressure, as your running of a new unit for 1 hour is not enough of a test
Efficiency and heat distribution would be improved if the output vent faced the radiator fins. Radiator style heaters work best with a fan to distribute the heat around the room. I'm sure it does a fantastic job as is, just giving my two cents... Everything can always be better ;)
@@jakepatrie8332 yeah, I thought about that. My original plan was to use a steam radiator like I’ve seen others do, and point the fan toward it to increase efficiency. But this type of radiator is designed with convection channels that cause air flow without a fan. That’s why I decided to use it and keep them separate.
with that 90' bend going to the radiator will trap the condensation in the exhaust causing an ERROR code. I would put a bleeder valve at that bend.
Thanks for watching, everyone! Here's the build list:
* Vevor Diesel Heater: www.vevor.com/diesel-heater-c_10321/heater-p_010495189666
* De'Longhi Oil Heater: www.amazon.com/dp/B000TGDGLU/
* Extra 10ft of Hose: www.amazon.com/dp/B0CR3TYGK7/
* Rustoleum Red Engine Enamel: www.amazon.com/dp/B0C828J6ZN
* RTV Silicone: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07R17MD5S/
* 64" of 1-1/2" angle iron
* 16" of 1-1/2" flat bar
* 8" of 3/4" angle iron
* Black spray paint
If hot exhaust goes in the bottom and colder goes out the top, wheres the condensation going?
The answer to this question will cost him a new heater soon...
condensation goes down, to the hottest point of the device and they will be turned into steam. If the heater runs hot enough, the moisture will exit the system. If not.. I guess it will fill up and start making bubbly noises
@@EIS77-harmlessgoy if condensate collects in the radiator, I'll add a drip line. If that doesn't handle it, I'll modify the stand to raise the heater up a few inches so it doesn't backflow up the exhaust. I'm not stressing it.
Cool, clean build. I have watched a few of these type of conversions. The thing that made the radiator heaters hold heat for as long as they did is the oil or water inside them. I've often wondered if the re e is a way to heat the oil inside them with the exhaust. Until that gets figured out by someone smarter than me.... I would say this is the best route.
To upgrade your idea use a used car EGR connected to the exhaust connect the water pipes to a central heating radiator use a small 12 volt pump to circulate the water that will be the most efficient way to get extra heat out of a diesel heater I use two of these systems to heat my home so I'm sure they will be ok for a workshop you can actually couple up more than one EGR together you can find lots of videos on RUclips on this subject
Have you experienced any condensation gathering in the "oil heater" from cooling the exhaust gasses below condensation temperature?
@@Mr.Engineer. I’ve only been using it for 2 days so far, so I haven’t had the chance to check. If it’s a significant problem, my plan is to add a condensate drain line at the bottom of the radiator and see if that solves it.
@@offgrid101
Been thinking about doing something similar for my basement, but then I would use my chimney for the exhaust and having the exhaust travel 7-8 meters straight up leaving a lot of moisture all over the bricks.
What will then happen when I use my fireplace and will it lead to forming of more soot and a higher risk of chimney fire?
Maybe I must have a pipe all the way up the chimney and have the exhaust exit the pipe at the top of my chimney.
Hard to find any data on this online, so your results would be highly appreciated if you share them :)
Also, did you think about cross flowing the radiator for "better efficiency" or does it heat evenly enough as it is?
@ definitely, will share my experience and any updates or changes I make! FYI, I checked it tonight after running 8 hours yesterday and 8 hours today - no noticeable moisture buildup.
Where was you looking? Great idea !
This might be a dumb question, but would it matter if I routed the exhaust from top of the radiator to the bottom?
It'll be better your way as the condensation will exit rather than building up in the radiator. I'd tilt the radiator towards the exhaust side also as to promote draining.
@brettd.3222 that's what I was thinking. I know it'd be tall but I'd like to put the heater on a platform above the radiator as to not have a bunch of bends in the exhaust
Found that it built up sooo much condensate that it made a problem code. Smaller radiator but same idea.
I wonder about moisture, the muffler that comes with the heater has a drain on it. Does the heater have a drain?
Put a small slow fan on the radiator.
a large cast iron radiator for an old boiler system would work even better since cast iron holds it's heat.
At 13:30 were you putting kerosene in it? Awesome idea by the way, going to keep my eye out for an old radiator style heater in fb or somewhere.
@@HollisDoesStuff yeah, I didn’t have any diesel around at the time, and kerosene is close enough for a test. I’ve since filled it up with diesel for normal use.
people can use a smaller cheaper rad if you add a fan to blows air threw it or more mass in the rad. basically extending the builtin heat exchanger
Fill the radiator with sand and be even more efficient.. I did that with an old wood stove and filled the chimney pipe and ran the exhaust through stove & out the pipe.... Works a treat and holds heat for hrs after turning the diesel.heater off ✌
I've been looking at sand batteries (generally powered by excess solar and an 'immersion heater' type device (and they're great) but in this instance surely you need the airflow though? Not critical - just trying to understand : )
You need to put a drainplug in the radiator. Water will condensate inside and you probably will not want to take the caps off periodicly.
I like that you painted it. Red, red just looks hotter than white. That probably added 10°.😂
🤣
Add a wood stove fan or 2 on the rad an can help heat the room faster
So does anyone actually know how to use o e of those IR thermometers. He is like the 30th here on YT I’ve seen using it like the laser dot is how big the area it reads is. Absolutely mind blowing that no one can read the instructions (usually print it on the side of the thing)
The problem you will have is the acrid condensate will condense in your radiator 0 You must always have the exhaust drain downward from your radiator until it exits your shop - as an alternative you could put a pinhole in the bottom of your radiator and run a small tube outside
I run my deisel heater off an old ac to dc converter from a laptop. May help you out a bit.
How did you seal your exhaust pipe to the radiator?
@@massimo187 welded on a piece of steel tubing to the old heating element at 11:00
so many thing wront whit this setup......it will trap condensate and that radiator leeks easy (thin material) and how will you clean all the dirt out from the axhaust? it will be blocked fast....
It will fill up with condensation.
Congrats!
I would have left the plastics off the oul heater to transfer the heat from those sections
That's a cool build. I'm wondering how many hours that thing will run before soot build up becomes an issue and causes a restriction in the flow. Could create really hot spots or be a potential fire hazard down the line. If the red paint starts smoking or flaking off you might want to shut it off.
you will find with greater use condensation build up in the heater rad , LOOKS COOL BUT KEEP TRYING
you should get a car battery and charger to relieve your ecoflow
Cheaper and better still would be to pass the exhaust pipe through a bucket of dry sand to act as a Sand Battery.
That diesel heater is 4kw at best 😊
@@kevinkc3onohelijeepworld953 they claim 8, so 4 sounds right!
black paint will radiate heat slightly better than red.
honestly, you would get more efficiency by piping the exhaust through a sand battery.
True, but that’s a bigger project, and i had this laying around. Also, this radiator produces a convection current, which steam radiators and sand batteries don’t. I think loss in efficiency might be offset by the air movement.
Hi just watched your video an design All very good. But exhaust should exit below the heater as water can build up in exhaust. As I have seen on another channel. It's in fitting instructions yours is very high above. Not criticising just keep a check on it buddy to be safe 👍
Yeah, bro, what Paul said, the diesel heater needs to be above the radiator, and the exhaust for the diesel heater needs to enter the top hole and exit out the bottom hole of the radiator. You then need to add a drain hole in the bottom of the radiator to drain out moisture ever so often. Otherwise, your radiator will rot out over time …
I appreciate your ingenuity! Way to solve a problem we all suffer in the North.
@@paulmarsh6243 thanks guys, good to know! Fortunately the exhaust pipe from the heater is below, so should be exiting the heater. I think I can add a drain line at the bottom of the radiator. If that doesn’t drain enough vapor, I’ll fabricate a new stand to mount the heater on top of the radiator. 👍👍
Well, with the amount of heat, surface area and air flow; the condensation probably evaporates and exits out the wall.
Maybe you can just rotate the radiator 180 and lift heater? I don't know if it's still be beautiful lol@@offgrid101
I was going to say I wouldn't paint the radiator then you held up the engine paint can and I finally said "ok fine😂"
A 100 percent efficiency would mean that the exhaust temp would be the same as ambient air temp.
Three thumbs 👍
Won’t run very long with it setup that way it’s way to restrictive on the exhaust side I tried setups much less restrictive then what you have and it ran great for a few days then it started smoking and not starting well it was plugged up with exhaust soot.
Good to know. How can you prevent the spot buildup?
@ good question being that the exhaust barely flows as it is. I’m thinking of trying a 1.5 inch Y pipe with a small 1.3 inch variable blower and connect that in the middle of the exhaust somewhere to help pull the exhaust out of the combustion chamber and push it out the pipe hopefully it won’t mess with the heater to much.
The installation was wrong in terms of efficiency. You should have installed the diesel heater exhaust outlet on the top of the radiator and installed the outlet on the bottom. This provides warmer air flow and allows you to get a cooler exhaust temperature.
Ecoflow 12v 30amp LOL try about 8-10 amps.
Maybe so, but it worked! You can see it working at the end of the video. FYI, it's marked 30A max, where the cigarette lighter out is 10A max.
@@offgrid101 which ecoflow do you have? I'm pretty sure that 30amp is for the xt connection. The cig outlet is 10amp +/- 1 amp depending on your state of charge.
@@Scott-ig1zd EcoFlow Delta Pro. The 30A is an Anderson connector.
The exhaust from the heater should have gone in the top of the radiator and the exhaust from the radiator should have come out the bottom.
Natural gas is the cheapest form of heat, i wish they had a natural gas version of a diesel heater!!
Drop the music next time and how will you drain the water out, there are building up in there..
Those thinwall diathermic radiators are not designed for high heat and will pop at the seams releasing carbon monoxide. The exhaust is being restricted and will cause serious sooting and condensation. This is not a good idea and could be very dangerous. Be smart and be safe!
Lol 🤣 your radiator is going to fill with condensate water and flood out your diesel heater. Probably happened within a few hours actually
Your exhaust gas temp is well below dew point. Condensation will eventually block the exhaust. None condensing fuel heating appliances need to reach 290f at steady state to not be considered a condensing appliance that requires accommodation for drainage.
Also that heater is very dirty with very high NOx. Soot will also clog the exhaust. And would require a method for cleaning out. Something you really can’t do in that radiator.
I hate to sound like a fun hater but you’ve just recreated a condensing oil furnace. Aside from the company thermopride every company that’s made these (with engineers knowing what they are doing) has been sued into the dirt from property damage or loss of life. At least have a good low level CO detector near by at breathing height.
You are gonna have to clean it alot, soot build up.
Why the super annoying music on an otherwise great video!!!!
That's a waste of time. They work perfectly fine stock.
Huge flaw using that cheap thin radiator! If you used a heavy duty cast iron radiator it would last a lifetime and hold more heat!
Ive not seen the video yet, but...
What is it with ALL you guys hooking up radiators to exhausts ?!?!
Why don't you all just use an hydronic heater for this ? ( like im builiding now.. )
Radiators are not suited for being an freakin' exhaust, one of these days some of you guys are going to die because of leaking exhaust fumes.
Good luck !
Why just copy others sheet?? How many has already done this 😵 RUclips became the same as TV, same boring sheet over and over again 😫
It looks great, but I would’ve left it in its original color because painting it acts like insulation not allowing as much heat from radiating out of the heater. your efficiency will be lost a little bit.
For the 98% of the world could you please refence 4 degrees Fahrenheit
Thank you
Sure! °F = % hot.... so 4° F is 4% hot (96% cold).