Little Buddy or Diesel Heater

[Wickedjeepadventures]

I have a little buddy that I use in my well ventilated tent and it does ok to knock down the cold. What are the pros of a diesel heater? Do they come ready to use or is the setup complex. Thanks for the input.

 

[OcoeeG]

Subscribed. got same question

 

[Shahn]

I think the biggest pro of a DH is the dry heat versus the moist heat produced by the buddy's catalytic radiant heating process. I tend to see most of the knock off Chinese DH's there will some "assembly/modifications required" but tend to work fairly well of the box, if you chose the name brands like Webasto, Heatso (Espar & Eberspacher), or Propex (Propane versus Diesel version) you will be paying substantially more as they are 100% ready to use, built to last, most are waterproof, and backed by long standing companies with warranty. It really comes down to your preference and price point.

In addition, search around in the forums here, you will find lots of folks builds on the Chinese DH's, that may shed some light on how they function out of the box.

Check out this thread also Diesel Heater?

Good installation tidbit on this thread Diesel Heater Exhaust Recommendations.

Hope this helps!

 

[DRAX]

I think the biggest pro of a DH is the dry heat versus the moist heat produced by the buddy's catalytic heating process. I tend to see most of the knock off Chinese DH's there will some "assembly/modifications required" but tend to work fairly well of the box, if you chose the name brands like Webasto, Heatso (Espar & Eberspacher), or Propex (Propane versus Diesel version) you will be paying substantially more as they are 100% ready to use, built to last, most are waterproof, and backed by long standing companies with warranty. It really comes down to your preference and price point.

In addition, search around in the forums here, you will find lots of folks builds on the Chinese DH's, that may shed some light on how they function out of the box.

Check out this thread also Diesel Heater?

Good installation tidbit on this thread Diesel Heater Exhaust Recommendations.

Hope this helps!

The biggest pro of a diesel or other heat-exchanger-based heater is the safety of knowing you're not going to burn down your tent which could cause a forest fire, etc. The second biggest pro is the dry heat that doesn't create condensation. People using Buddy or other open flame heaters inside their tents are really rolling the dice by doing so. These Buddy heaters are radiant heaters (They heat an element), there is no catalyst (chemical reaction).

 

[Shahn]

The biggest pro of a diesel or other heat-exchanger-based heater is the safety of knowing you're not going to burn down your tent which could cause a forest fire, etc. The second biggest pro is the dry heat that doesn't create condensation. People using Buddy or other open flame heaters inside their tents are really rolling the dice by doing so. These Buddy heaters are radiant heaters (They heat an element), there is no catalyst (chemical reaction).

Thanks, I've corrected my comment! :)

 

[DRAX]

Thanks, I've corrected my comment! :)

It's all good, perhaps it was a bit pedantic but wanted to avoid confusion since there are catalytic propane heaters that don't have open flames and produce no carbon monoxide so they are actually quite cool (not literally, of course) and a little safer than things like Buddy heaters.

I don't want to harp on the safety issues with Buddy heaters too much, I know people use them and haven't burned their stuff up yet, and I know the box says it can be used in tents. My concern comes from complacency or carelessness, tents and sleeping bags can burn crazy fast once ignited. I'd just hate for anyone to accidentally cause a fire because they didn't know any better or thought "it won't happen to me" all in the name of cost/convenience. I've seen other peoples' stuff that has gone up in flames due to open-flame heaters. We have a Buddy heater and they do work great, but it never set foot in our tent.

 

[Speric]

I only use my Buddy heater to break the chill before bed, and before I get out of bed in the morning. I rarely have it on for more than a few minutes. the thing I don't like about DHs, and I don't have one, is the need to carry another fuel source, and the noise of them running. I'm not quite sold on them personally.

 

[grubworm]

yeah, im really thinking i should have gone with a diesel heater now....

 

[MOAK]

I only use my Buddy heater to break the chill before bed, and before I get out of bed in the morning. I rarely have it on for more than a few minutes. the thing I don't like about DHs, and I don't have one, is the need to carry another fuel source, and the noise of them running. I'm not quite sold on them personally.

Agreed, we carry gasoline, and propane. If I had a Diesel engine, then I would have purchased a diesel heater instead of my Mr Buddy heater.. as you, we warm the tent up in the evening, shut it down just before lights out. I’ll get up around 5, and heat up the tent for getting up and dressed.

 

[Shahn]

I only use my Buddy heater to break the chill before bed, and before I get out of bed in the morning. I rarely have it on for more than a few minutes. the thing I don't like about DHs, and I don't have one, is the need to carry another fuel source, and the noise of them running. I'm not quite sold on them personally.

Yes, I also didn't want to add another fuel source, so I went with the Propex over the diesel heater since I always carry propane.

 

[lhoffm4]

A diesel heater is far and away the best and safest fuel based heater for camping in a tent, camper or vehicle. No smoke or fumes or condensation in the sleeping area. Only electric heat compares but with a much higher power consumption rate. There are a number of knock off all-in-one types of diesel heaters now available, most are made in China and their prices are going up, tho still only a fraction of the cost of the high end European models.

Expect to pay under $200 vs over $1500 comparatively. @$400+ if you want one in a ruggedized case that is plug and play. There are lots of vids on building them into different cases or installing them in various campers and vehicles.

 

[PapaDave]

Yes, I also didn't want to add another fuel source, so I went with the Propex over the diesel heater since I always carry propane.

How is your Propex working for you? They seem great but I hear reviews that they don’t work that well? I’m looking at the HS2211 externally mountable unit.

 

[Shahn]

How is your Propex working for you? They seem great but I hear reviews that they don’t work that well? I’m looking at the HS2211 externally mountable unit.

@PapaDave still going strong, I've used it a dozen times over the last year and no issues. It definitely gets hot, it's taken some time to figure out the balance, but found that if I turn it up and warm it up real good before bed I can turn it down really low throughout the night and it will run a few times and won't over heat as it pushes out a lot of heat. I also am looking to externally mount it to my trailer this season, as right now I have it in a tote that I set up each time.

 

[DRAX]

How is your Propex working for you? They seem great but I hear reviews that they don’t work that well? I’m looking at the HS2211 externally mountable unit.

We ordered our trailer with the Propex furnace, it's mounted on the side of the trailer in a metal box. Heat output from the unit is very good, both in terms of temps and airflow. It'll heat things up inside quickly, we've also used it at over 12,000FT elevation and it never missed a beat. My only complaint was with the mechanical noise from the fan that was carried inside the cabin of the trailer due to the type of ducts that were installed from the factory. I ordered 2 sections of acoustic ducting (Propex 60mm Acoustic Ducting (One Meter Length)) and now it's super quiet inside.

 

[PapaDave]

We ordered our trailer with the Propex furnace, it's mounted on the side of the trailer in a metal box. Heat output from the unit is very good, both in terms of temps and airflow. It'll heat things up inside quickly, we've also used it at over 12,000FT elevation and it never missed a beat. My only complaint was with the mechanical noise from the fan that was carried inside the cabin of the trailer due to the type of ducts that were installed from the factory. I ordered 2 sections of acoustic ducting (Propex 60mm Acoustic Ducting (One Meter Length)) and now it's super quiet inside.

I’m trying to engineer a cool way to mount it under my RTT and possibly create ducting to move the heat through the honeycomb base. But it sounds like neither of your two builds have the unit exposed?

 

[Ob1]

The DH is highly recommended. I’m installing a hydronic Espar diesel heater in a troopy build For water to air cabin heat and instant hot water. We used one in a sprinter van for cabin heater, radiant floors and instant hot water. Troopy will not have radiant floors. That thing is amazing and mounted under the body attached to the frame.

 

[North American Sojourner]

I like mine.
Zim

 

[El-Dracho]

The DH is highly recommended. I’m installing a hydronic Espar diesel heater in a troopy build For water to air cabin heat and instant hot water. We used one in a sprinter van for cabin heater, radiant floors and instant hot water. Troopy will not have radiant floors. That thing is amazing and mounted under the body attached to the frame.
View attachment 248966

This is interesting. In principle, this is just like a diesel heater to heat the engine's cooling water circuit. But in this case, it's a separate reservoir of coolant and the whole thing remains independent of the engine. So simply a separate hot water heating with heat exchanger and fan for the interior or or a heat exchanger for heating water. Right?

 

[Ob1]

This is interesting. In principle, this is just like a diesel heater to heat the engine's cooling water circuit. But in this case, it's a separate reservoir of coolant and the whole thing remains independent of the engine. So simply a separate hot water heating with heat exchanger and fan for the interior or or a heat exchanger for heating water. Right?

Exactly. In a sprinter van we had one more circuit with a heat exchange for heated floors. Radiator fan heated the cabin in 10 min to 71F and shut off and floor was set to 74F. Thermostatic valve was set to 90F for the floors with an aluminum plate covering the 4 copper pipes. One heat exchange for hot water the second for the floors. Floors had a 1 gallon glycol tank as a secondary circuit. Van was at 74F with 1’ snow on the roof.

 

[Dilldog]

The biggest pro of a Esbar or Esbar copy heater is both the intake and exhaust are routed outside. This means you can seal and insulate. Also I know most versions of the Esbar heater will run on gasoline as well, this was actually their first designed fuel source. They were later fueled with diesel for the trucking industry. You can also run them off of kerosene, which is a good idea to do periodically as the kerosene burns hotter and cleaner than diesel and will de-coke the combustion chamber.