Portable diesel heater from Total Composites

[delica1994]

I am looking at this portable diesel heater, and wondering if anyone has had any practical experience with this unit? Seems like a versitile option to use in my RTT, and then to be able to use it in any number of other camping scenarios, including ice fishing huts, hunting cabins, bird blinds, emergency heater for your truck/car in the winter, really I can imagine lots of applications. I'd be greatfull for any input or thoughts on this sweet looking unit.
https://totalcomposites.com/product-category/heating-cooling/

 

[ArkansasDon]

I have & use the Heat Source H2000 tent furnace which is propane. The ducting is run inside the tent & the thermostat controls the temperature to the tent from the inside of the tent while the unit is outside. The whole heating unit is 22" L x 8" W x 10" H weighs in about 20lbs.

 

[delica1994]

I have & use the Heat Source H2000 tent furnace which is propane. The ducting is run inside the tent & the thermostat controls the temperature to the tent from the inside of the tent while the unit is outside. The whole heating unit is 22" L x 8" W x 10" H weighs in about 20lbs.

Thanks for the heads up on the H2000, I will check it out and see if they are available in Canada.

 

[Dozer Dan]

They are not difficult to build if you want to have a go at it.

 

[Victorian]

Great video. Thanks! I see a couple of design flaws in that one with a 50/50 chance of the unit overheating. Other than that, nice looking.

 

[delica1994]

They are not difficult to build if you want to have a go at it.

Great link, looks like an excellent build. Thanks for posting that.

 

[Dozer Dan]

Great video. Thanks! I see a couple of design flaws in that one with a 50/50 chance of the unit overheating. Other than that, nice looking.

There should be a vent on the side of the box as well and the instructions call for one but It's not overheating anyway. Or what other flaws have you?

 

[Victorian]

There should be a vent on the side of the box as well and the instructions call for one but It's not overheating anyway. Or what other flaws have you?

We have a couple of safety features build in to prevent the leakage of exhaust into the cabin air intake. If you have a leak, this could potentialy be life threatening . I know that a set up like this looks very simple and easy to do, but trust me there is a lots of research and long term testing that needs to be done before we are confident about the portable heater. All of our portable heaters are being test run by the manufacturer. Cheers.

 

[Dozer Dan]

Really?

Is this yours?

The intake air to both the combustion chamber and the heat chamber for the vehicle are both inside the box. This is not only contrary to manufacturer instructions but a sure way to get exhaust fumes into the tent. The version in the linked video use fresh air from outside the box for both.

It would also appear that you have the thermostat in the box itself, should that not be in the tent?

What am I missing here? How is this safer than taking fresh air from the outside?

 

[Victorian]

Really?

Is this yours?

The intake air to both the combustion chamber and the heat chamber for the vehicle are both inside the box. This is not only contrary to manufacturer instructions but a sure way to get exhaust fumes into the tent. The version in the linked video use fresh air from outside the box for both.

It would also appear that you have the thermostat in the box itself, should that not be in the tent?

What am I missing here? How is this safer than taking fresh air from the outside?

That is an older picture for our first prototype. This one has the heater control mounted inside the box. We also offer the controller with a 10' extension so you can take it up into the roof top tent or inside the trailer. On a side note, the unit you see is not a thermostat! Thermostats have a couple of downfalls with diesel heaters. One of them is the fact that they "turn the heater on and off" to maintain a certain temperature. Those heaters are like diesel engines, they like to run hot. With a Thermostat you will kill them sooner than otherwise. Therefore we only offer them with a very basic Temperature controller that will run on the desired C/F till you turn it off or change it.

 

[Victorian]

Just a heads up: for the month of December we are offering free shipping for our portable heaters within North America!!!

 

[TSnider]

I built an Espar setup pretty much identical for hunting this year. I got the heater for 150 on ebay, the pelican for 15 bucks, but i live at elevation so i did have to spend money on the new fuel pump.

kept the RTT at the set temp (65 degrees) during around 32 degree nights. worked quite well, does take up space. at elevation just run it on kerosene.