Portable Diesel Heater

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UPDATED: Jump to VERSION 2 or VERSION 3

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It’s pretty much fall here in OH and wanting to use our van in at least 3 seasons means having heat when parked. Sure we could idle the van and turn on the heater (we also have stock rear heat when driving around!). However that is so wasteful and not efficient.

Enter a Chinese Diesel Heater. Yeah these things are straight knock-offs of units from Webasto and Espar for a fraction of the price! Basically a glow plug that heats up and using a heat sink and fan, blows out heat!

Its a pretty neat unit. The version pictured above comes in a sort of portable housing however it is not really rugged or waterproof. We wanted to use this in our van without making it a permanent staple in the build. So we came up with a pretty neat portable way of using this heater.

Firstly, we 3D printed a “port” of sorts that was glued into the D-pillar of the van, at the rear passenger corner. This allows for an outlet hose to be attached to the heater. A hose was ran inside the D-pillar itself as well as wiring.

We then used some “legs” to make a stand of sorts to mount the heater to. Hooking up 12V using the house batteries and it works (the picture shows a portable battery, for testing purposes)!

VERSION 2:

Using a “cooler” hitch carrier, we’ve now mounted the heater inside a plastic tub now making it truly portable!

Version 2 uses a Viking Solutions Carrier and Rubbermaid ActionPacker as the basis for storing the portable heater. The heater itself is secured to the ActionPacker storage bin using aluminum plate and angle hardware. This makes the entire system VERY portable.

VERSION 3:

For this version I thought I could get the overall size of the entire heater/hitch apparatus even smaller in size. I decided to ditch the Rubbermaid ActionPacker and all-in-one heater shell. I deconstructed the heater using the main components but ditched the plastics and also the included fuel tank (it was leaking from the drain port/fitting anyway). For the new main housing I used:

It’s an APACHE 4800 Weatherproof Protective Case, X-Large from 4800 Weatherproof Protective Case, X-Large, Black (harborfreight.com). I also needed a substitute for the fuel tank so I decided to use a Rotopax 2gal tank since I figured if they are rugged enough for off-roaders then it should be good enough for this application. Amazon.com: Rotopax rx-2d diesel pack 2gal 19x14x4 (RX-2D) : Automotive

To mount this tank to the above case, I used this mount:

In order to make this package possible, I had to 3D print a few pieces. One to hold the pump at its recommended 45°, a new cap insert to hold the new threaded fuel line and tap, an intake fan support and a power panel. I used PETG hoping it will hold up to the rough temperatures. Also needed was a through-hull exhaust: Amazon.com : VTurboWay Stainless Steel 316 Straight Thru Hull Exhaust Skin, Fitting 24mm Tube Pipe Socket Hardware, for Diesel Parking heaters : Sports & Outdoors

As well as a few flanges for air inlets and outlets:

Some other major parts used:

Resources:

Thing files for Portable Diesel Heater by KeeganBuilds – Thingiverse