Rear heater

[Dtfj40]

Well guys as we all know the rear heaters are becoming increasingly hard to find and expensive to repair or replace. I am a unimog mechanic at a shop in denver and have been working with espar and webasto heaters for some time now and well theyre great but very very expensive as well. So in an attempt to save money i came across a russian diesel fired air heater it comes with a 2 gallon fuel tank puts out just over 10000 btu uses very little battery power and next to no fuel as in 34 hours straight on high mode for 2 gallons 70 hours on low for 2 gallons. I have been testing mine for about a month now went on a weekend run when it was 14 below and even with my soft top it was a comfortable 65 degrees at night. I am very impressed so far had to drill some holes in my fenderwell but nit a big deal for me tell me what you guys think also i am becoming a dealer for them so if anybody wants one let me know as soon as i can ill start selling them

 

[Dtfj40]

Some more pictires

 

[spotcruiser]

My experience with diesel-fired space heaters on mobile cranes and boats is that many people are nauseated by the smell of the fumes. Even with an enclosed cab on a mobile crane, with all of the combustion taking place outside the cab, there's no way to prevent some of the fumes from entering the cab and making some operators ill. Just saying.

 

[3DAMAN!]

expensive
Too much wasted space
damn nauseating smell
Needs separate shut off
Active flame in the cab (not in my truck)

If you look in the right places, they arent that hard to find
(maybe mud classifieds?) (flee-bay?) (GL)
Factory R. heaters can be rebuilt fairly cheap also!

I have often seen muddboard members needing one. They ask in the classifieds or some tech questions and and seems every time members come to their rescue.

 

[Fast Eddy]

expensive
Too much wasted space
damn nauseating smell
Needs separate shut off
Active flame in the cab (not in my truck)

If you look in the right places, they arent that hard to find
(maybe mud classifieds?) (flee-bay?) (GL)
Factory R. heaters can be rebuilt fairly cheap also!

I held back posting to your forsale thread, but I agree with the 3DAMAN here in tech. I'm also still concerned with C0, regardless of the little exhaust hose. One crack in the wrong place and someone could die.

This is still not classifieds!

I love your enthusiasm, but I think you picked the wrong horse to bet on this time.

 

[spotcruiser]

CO.

I held back posting to your forsale thread, but I agree with the 3DAMAN here in tech. I'm also still concerned with C02, regardless of the little exhaust hose. One crack in the wrong place and someone could die.

 

[cruiserpilot]

I have looked at Espar and Webasto heaters. So I'm interested in heating the back of my 60, I can't be too critical as I don't know the full specs on this russian heater. I see a real concern with CO, but both Espar and Webasto have diesel burners as well, but I don't think they are mounted in the cabin either.

So have you looked at mounting this in the engine compartment, and ducting the hot air back into the cabin? I think that is the way that Espar and Webasto mount their heaters.

What is this russian heater worth? The other route is a couple of $$grand...

 

[Rocky_LC]

That baby is the bomb!

j/k

Rocky

 

[Mark W]

Looks like it would be simple to mount under the hood and route the heated air inside.

Or under the rig maybe (maybe not on my trail rigs that see a lot of water crossings though). Or on the back door behind your tire/cargo carriers if you have any.
i would want the fuel tank located out of the cab. Just no reason to have it inside.

Is that air in on one side and out on the other?

Is the combustion sealed and isolated from the heated air? (I would assume it must be...)

Do they make diesel fired coolant heaters too?

Personally I prefer an interior heater that uses engine coolant. These can easily be found and most work far better than the original Cruiser rear heater. But this would make for a nice preheat on those -20F mornings with the addition of a remote start switch for it.

Assuming that the ventilation/exhaust is not a problem, it would be nice to be able to shut the rig off when you grab a nap beside the road in the middle of the night on a winter run and still stay warm inside.


Mark...

 

[Dtfj40]

Looks like it would be simple to mount under the hood and route the heated air inside.

Or under the rig maybe (maybe not on my trail rigs that see a lot of water crossings though). Or on the back door behind your tire/cargo carriers if you have any.
i would want the fuel tank located out of the cab. Just no reason to have it inside.

Is that air in on one side and out on the other?

Is the combustion sealed and isolated from the heated air? (I would assume it must be...)

Do they make diesel fired coolant heaters too?

Personally I prefer an interior heater that uses engine coolant. These can easily be found and most work far better than the original Cruiser rear heater. But this would make for a nice preheat on those -20F mornings with the addition of a remote start switch for it.

Assuming that the ventilation/exhaust is not a problem, it would be nice to be able to shut the rig off when you grab a nap beside the road in the middle of the night on a winter run and still stay warm inside.

Mark...

Yes all of that can be done. Combustion is sealed in the heat exchanger and cool air in heated out. The can be ducted and mounted in the engine bay or under the tank can be anywhere as long ast its 5500mm from the heater and is no more then 2500mm below the heater.

 

[Dtfj40]

expensive
Too much wasted space
damn nauseating smell
Needs separate shut off
Active flame in the cab (not in my truck)

If you look in the right places, they arent that hard to find
(maybe mud classifieds?) (flee-bay?) (GL)
Factory R. heaters can be rebuilt fairly cheap also!

I have often seen muddboard members needing one. They ask in the classifieds or some tech questions and and seems every time members come to their rescue.

Uhm price isnt a concern when youre freezing on a mountain. Is a shoebox big? And if i want to waste gas by idleing my 2f all night to run the factory rear heater then yay oh not to mention there is no nausiating smell and the active flame as you put it is completley sealed inside the heat exchanger. Js

 

[bikersmurf]

I'd stick with a stock or aftermarket water heater. Princess Auto has a range of them here for $200-300. Having a second fuel would be a PITA when I've got tons of hot coolant from a SBC.

But it rarely gets below freezing here...

 

[Dtfj40]

Again ill stress this is for heating the cabin not the engine thats why its called an air heater. If you want to run your engine all night to stay warm be my guest i for one do not id rather spend 3 bucks then 30 to stay warm for the night

 

[3DAMAN!]

Well,
I for one am not going to be sleeping in my 40 in sub-freezing temps in the friggen mts. I have very good cold weather gear, and some very good training to survive in some uncomfortable environments.
And, Im not going to put myself or mine in a potentially dangerous situation if not need be.
Yours is a product that I feel is simple unneeded with most Landcruiser/ offroad enthusiasts.
I could see a market in maybe those ice-fishing huts. Or something like the far northern expedition camps or explorations.
Good luck with your business endeavor, 'cause Im sure, some one, right now, wishes they had one of your heaters!

 

[Dtfj40]

Well,
I for one am not going to be sleeping in my 40 in sub-freezing temps in the friggen mts. I have very good cold weather gear, and some very good training to survive in some uncomfortable environments.
And, Im not going to put myself or mine in a potentially dangerous situation if not need be.
Yours is a product that I feel is simple unneeded with most Landcruiser/ offroad enthusiasts.
I could see a market in maybe those ice-fishing huts. Or something like the far northern expedition camps or explorations.
Good luck with your business endeavor, 'cause Im sure, some one, right now, wishes they had one of your heaters!

Well some of us arent weekend wheelers and i for one have very good cold weather training and gear and rain snow sleet or ice i go wheeling all year round as do plenty of people i know its amazing how much more of a challenge it is with snow covered ice. Oh not to mention the skill required to do it. So yes for the fair weather wheeler its not what they need but for those like me who go all year round its a great thing to have especially at 14 below when the 40heater just isnt enough

 

[bikersmurf]

I'd heat with propane before diesel.

 

[Dtfj40]

Well they way i see it if anyobe knows how to keep people warm its the russians and ues propane has more btus but you need a sparkplug a bigger fan and oh that 7gallon tank that you have to find where to put and all sorts of expensive valves and safties theres a grand by the time its done