So I've read of fouled combustion chambers in diesel heaters. Have also read of people mixing in some percentage of kerosene where they have low-quality diesel, possibly go so far as using 100% kerosene, in order to combat fouling.
Just curious how "clean" N. American diesel fuel is for use in diesel heaters. Primarily concerned about Canada and the US. Mexico is on the map but for a farther future.
Should I carry some kerosene around to mix into my heater fuel?
I've read that turning the heater down very low can cause fouling issues too. Better to have a smaller heater and run it hot than a larger heater set low.
Yes, US and Canadian emissions standards require ultra-low-sulphur diesel now. Many diesel-heater aficionados recommend running them on high for 5-10 minutes before shutting them down to burn out any accumulated carbon. We do that with ours rather than avoid low settings altogether.
I’ve got a Chinese heater and it fouled up a few times when I first got it, and it took some experimenting to find its happy spot, but it hasn’t let me down in two years. Just running pump diesel.
I went propane “Propex” in my van (as we carry propane anyway for cooking) & propane heaters do not seem to have the same operational issues like fouled combustion chambers & finicky requirements (Like running them on high so they don’t carbon up).
Recently, I purchased a Chinese “Barking Heater” & installed it in my cabin 3,500’ Above Sea Level. Canadian diesel is ultra low sulpher as SteveSS reported & I have used this diesel heater for a couple of weeks. It is an 8KW heater (or so the label says). The heater “so far” has performed very well. Here are a couple of observations I have made about my “Barking Heater” (some I had no idea of how they operated until I ran mine);
1) My diesel heater used more amp-hours to operate than my propane (this is very noticeable during the startup process - I am assuming some type of glow plug operation & time required to get lit).
2) I have noticed when starting up; the process is way shorter if the house battery is @ 14.1 vs 12.5v
3) I can smell even 1 drop of diesel
4) Diesel is a cheaper energy heat source due to “No Fill Fees - Many places charge Fill Fees for propane”. When I buy diesel it is at market price & I am not charged a crazy high “fill fee” (if you fill your propane tanks @ Costco in Canada you pay for what you get filled now which for a 20lb tank is about $7.50 Canadian & I have experienced a fill fee of $25 for a 20lb tank regardless of how much propane is filled)
My cheap diesel heater has been great. I do try to run it higher. I use an anti gelling additive since my tanks is mounted outside the vehicle on my ladder. I even ran it at over 6000ft in colorado and expected issue, but no problems there either.
Watch the series of youtube vids by john McKay if you have operation questions. Running off road diesel is the best and lowest cost fuel source. Long term pump lubricity is probably your biggest issue if run correctly.
No issues, and we have run it at over 9,000 feet several times. The controller on ours turns on the glow plug and runs it on high for a few minutes as part of the shutdown process. I love how efficient it seems to be, and we are an all-electric, no propane design, so the diesel heater made the most sense for us.
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