Diesel fired heaters.......

[TomC]

I agree with Jeremy about having propane on a boat. Since propane is heavier then air, it can pool in the bilge and have a very effective boat blowing apart explosion. That's why most boaters use natural gas which is lighter then air.
On a bus, the propane can be used quite safely with quality fittings and electronic sniffers. I have a solenoid on my tank that has a switch inside the bus so only when I need the propane is it on. Besides, my only propane items is my stove and furnace. Everything else is electric. I like so much, I'm repeating the same on my truck conversion. Good Luck, TomC

[Paso One]

You missed a good one on ebay for Buy it now $ 850.00  DBW 2010  They show up time to time

[wg4t50]

Propane/LPGas,  I had the Dual Refrig, DC/LPGas, nice box, but I worry about the lp and burning up my toy, so I had it removed and installed a Samsung Counter Depth 24.1 cuft with water and ice in door, WOW ! do love it and no more LP to worry about, so remoing the LP tank, have space for the 4th & 5th 8D Gel Batteries. total 5 with 1125 AH worth of battery.
Oh Joy
Dave M

[TomC]

825lbs of batteries!

[Lin]

I read once that there are more electrical fires in recreation vehicles than propane fires, so it seems safety is a function of use and maintenance.

As far as heaters go, having one fuel is a convenience.  We have three: diesel engine, gas generator, and propane furnace/heaters and stove.  If the genny died, I might get a diesel, but changing to diesel heat seems unnecessarily costly and high maintenance for my needs.  However, the top of the line products of the world are often costly and high maintenance. 

[belfert]

I chose a diesel heater in large part because I don't have any place to run the duct work required for a forced air furnace.  I will have spent between $2000 and $2500 for my whole system once I get the installation finished.

Clifford says that propane boilers use a whole lot less fuel than diesel boilers, but they are difficult to find especially in used.

[OneLapper]

I suppose there one more factor in my single fuel decision.....

I was a propane certified mechanic years ago.  When the equipment I sold and serviced ran well, it was perfectly safe for the operator to use.  But when it wasn't safe, that machine could make everyone in a huge warehouse or store sick in a matter of hours or minutes!  Just one cylinder not firing would do it.  Or a faulty regulator.  Or it running rich. And especially a dirty air filter.

I received some great replies about available units out there, thanks guys!

[Lin]

I have never had a diesel heater, but I would question whether they would have less, if not more, potential for problems than what you experienced in your propane service work.  I am sure that burners get clogged at least as often considering it is a liquid rather than a gas.  There would even be a greater chance of particulate clogging.  They are also relatively loud.  I have heard some compare them to a jet engine noise.  The smell is much more noxious for both you and your neighbors too.  Which would you rather be parked next to?

Ducting can certainly be an issue, but I question whether much ducting is really necessary.  We have the furnace in the living area with three or four registers pumping the air in various directions with almost no ducting.  We are not exactly heating the Superdome here.  If a roof air can cool without ducting, why wouldn't a heater work without it too.  This setup heats the front area quite well and is generally enough for the bedroom too.  If not, we have a Platinum Cat there which also does fine.  Sometimes at night, I set the furnace at around 60-65 and just turn up the bedroom heater to a more respectable temperature.

This gives a little redundancy, but not really enough if we were truly deep freeze campers.  One could, of course, have two furnaces, back and front, gaining quality redundancy and still avoiding ducting

[sledhead]

I have it all (at least in the heatin world! ) 4500 pro heat to pre heat eng.and for in floor radiant heat,forced air rads.works great in the cold .You can get the bus up to 75 f easy off eng. or boiler. most nights at 20f or higher we don't need any heat.The radiant heat of the drive all day is lots. But when more is needed I turn on the rv propane wall furance 12000 btu (small unit but works good ) .The radiant heat only works good for the long cold drives.It takes hours to heat up walls floors, inside cabinets that's why when we are in a warmer climate I use a 120 volt cube heater,off gene for the heat up fast times that only last a hour or two . So in a nut shell ,radiant for a long cold time or propane or cube for short blasts.                  dave

[OneLapper]

I have it all (at least in the heatin world! ) 4500 pro heat to pre heat eng.and for in floor radiant heat,forced air rads.works great in the cold .You can get the bus up to 75 f easy off eng. or boiler. most nights at 20f or higher we don't need any heat.The radiant heat of the drive all day is lots. But when more is needed I turn on the rv propane wall furance 12000 btu (small unit but works good ) .The radiant heat only works good for the long cold drives.It takes hours to heat up walls floors, inside cabinets that's why when we are in a warmer climate I use a 120 volt cube heater,off gene for the heat up fast times that only last a hour or two . So in a nut shell ,radiant for a long cold time or propane or cube for short blasts.                  dave

I would like to install radiant heat in the floors and walls, but I fully understand that I would still need the forced hot air to get the temps up quickly.  I have radiant in my house and I love how it heats everything in the rooms, but without the forced hot air, it can take 10 hours to heat the house to a comfortable temp. 

The diesel fired heater gives me the option to be creative!  I secretly dream about using it to heat the water in a portable hot tub!!!!

[luvrbus]

I have to agree with TomC though not a huge fan of the rv furnaces the propane fired boilers are a lot cheaper to run than a diesel fired unit on the average of 5 or 6 gals of fuel a day at over 4 bucks and going up plus the propane boilers don't sound like a helicopter running and stinking lol

[edroelle]

The last time I computed the costs between propane and diesel, I used $3.75/gal for diesel and $3.25/gal for propane.    Propane was 26% more expensive per BTU.    (19300 BTU/#
65% diesel efficiency, 91500 BTU/# 67% propane efficiency.)

With limited maintenance, I have not experience problems with Webastos - knock on wood.

Ed Roelle
Flint, MI

[belfert]

I have to agree with TomC though not a huge fan of the rv furnaces the propane fired boilers are a lot cheaper to run than a diesel fired unit on the average of 5 or 6 gals of fuel a day at over 4 bucks and going up plus the propane boilers don't sound like a helicopter running and stinking lol

Clifford, where does one even buy a propane boiler?  I could probably locate a couple hundred used diesel heaters before I would ever find a single propane boiler.

[Rick 74 MC-8]

Tahiki ( spelling) makes a tankless water heater that can be used as a boiler not positive but I pretty sure it can be converted to propane



               Rick 74MC-8