Diesel heater for LD? December 23, 2022, 02:40:15 pm Has anyone installed a RV diesel heater and tank in a RB LD?
Re: Diesel heater for LD? Reply #1 – December 23, 2022, 05:23:58 pm Hi Tracy; I don't remember any mention of diesel space heaters. Harry (HBN7HJ) added a gasoline fueled heater for extra cold weather. Lazy Daze floor construction Reply #20. Harold (Blueox25) owns a diesel fueled one on his boat. (mentioned in that thread). Webasto is the brand IIRC. Are you still having that issue with propane delivery to your space heater? RonB 2 Likes
Re: Diesel heater for LD? Reply #2 – December 23, 2022, 07:21:41 pm Quote RV diesel heaterWe had the Aqua-Hot system on one of our rigs. Like Ron said, it used a Webasto motor. It would be really expensive to retrofit that system into a Lazy Daze. They are really neat systems, providing unlimited hot water and cabin heat but not worth the extra money in my opinion. The LP heaters are noisier but, at least for us, work just fine.jor 1 Likes
Re: Diesel heater for LD? Reply #3 – December 24, 2022, 03:51:17 pm I can agree with not using the webasto/aquahot style hydronic heater. But using the diesel heaters or many referred to a Chinese heaters have had some real good results. I can’t speak to any installed in a LD, but I would add one if I had a LD. They work very well, obviously the only downside is you would just have to have a separate diesel tank to store the fuel. I still think it would be worth while to add one it were me.
Re: Diesel heater for LD? Reply #4 – December 24, 2022, 06:00:05 pm I would caution on the space and weight (and exhaust plumbing) required for yet an additional heater AND fuel tank. 1 Likes
Re: Diesel heater for LD? Reply #5 – December 25, 2022, 10:19:32 am A question for Socal-gal: in what ways would a diesel heater be an improvement over the Suburban propane heater installed by Lazy Daze? Michelle makes good points about the added space, weight, and plumbing needed for a diesel heater and tank. In addition, there's the annoyance of having to keep filled up with three different kinds of fuels instead of two. Well, this is second-hand information, so take it for what it's worth. But a friend of mine who is a long-time boater and RVer, and is familiar with both diesel and propane heaters, suggests a Propex propane heater. They are said to be more efficient than the Suburban heaters in our Lazy Dazes. If you're dissatisfied with your current heater, Propex might be worth looking into.
Re: Diesel heater for LD? Reply #6 – December 28, 2022, 04:47:27 pm Quote from: Andy Baird - December 25, 2022, 10:19:32 amA question for Socal-gal: in what ways would a diesel heater be an improvement over the Suburban heater. We have found the propane heater to be ineffective when temps get lower. I’ve read that’s common with propane heaters.
Re: Diesel heater for LD? Reply #7 – December 28, 2022, 08:03:02 pm We have camped in zero degree weather using two Wave 3 heaters and have been comfortable.Diesel is dirty, one leak and you will hate it forever.LarryWarm Anza Borrego SP
Re: Diesel heater for LD? Reply #8 – December 29, 2022, 01:29:26 pm QuoteDiesel is dirty, one leak and you will hate it forever.I can vouch for that. We had an hydronic system which I really liked. However, when we had a diesel leak my wife forever hated that thing. Propane in the next rig!jor
Re: Diesel heater for LD? Reply #9 – December 29, 2022, 02:47:55 pm Hi Tracy; I remember a time in my first motorhome, about 1990 in Bryce canyon where the space heater would cycle on and off and spent less and less time off as the night approached. At 10:00 PM the heater just kept running but it still got colder. The 'Not an LD' had just 1-1/4" thick walls, and it was 11 degrees outside and snowing. The next morning we left for warmer climes and lower altitude, the south rim of the Grand Canyon. The LD has thicker walls, overall better insulation and a better heater. The old Lindy 19.5' had a 7,000 BTUH heater, and our 'TK I believe has a 14,000 BTUH heater. In really cold weather with cold winds blowing through underneath, the large windows become a major heat loss, but it still stays warm enough inside. You of course have a larger interior volume. Inside Reflectix in the windows, and a separator from the cab should help a lot. I've noticed in friends trailer's that the space heaters increase their output, without getting a bigger footprint, by putting in bigger, more power hungry and noisier fans. A friend with a 25' trailer with slideout had a heater that reminded me of a jet engine. The one 12v. battery would be dead by 4 AM. He ended up with 3 parallel batteries inside, vented outdoors with a 2" hose. He still had to charge them daily by running his truck. The Wave catalytic heater might help a lot as an addition. Do you have the 17 gallon propane tank? At Morro Bay one year I went through most of my 8.5 gallon (10G) tank in just 5 days. (39 one night with rain). One other advantage is that it is quieter, and doesn't need electricity. I don't have room for one, and not sure about how 3 cats would react. If it gets really cold, you remember the Rock group 3 Dog Night, Yep! '3 cat' nights! RonB 1 Likes
Re: Diesel heater for LD? Reply #10 – December 29, 2022, 03:04:10 pm "We have found the propane heater to be ineffective when temps get lower."I can't speak to your experiences, but that surprises me. I've known a lot of Lazy Daze owners, and have camped in temperatures getting down into the teens (F.), but I've never heard of, or had, a complaint about the Suburban furnace being inadequate. Noisy? Electricity hungry? Yes. But not putting out enough heat? No.I may be wrong, but if it were me, the first thing I'd do is have that heater thoroughly inspected and overhauled.Then as Larry said, a Wave 3 catalytic heater is a good supplementary source of heat. (I'm using one right now, and it feels great.) It has the advantages of being silent, using no electricity, and being much more efficient in propane use. Yes, I could keep my rig warm all day with the Suburban furnace... but instead, I only run it for 15 to 30 minutes in the morning to take the chill off, and then stay warm the rest of the day with my Wave 3 heater.Bottom line, though: your Suburban propane furnace should be able to keep your rig warm, so if it isn't, I suspect it of not working properly. Tackle that first, before you make major changes such as installing a potentially smelly diesel heater. 5 Likes
Re: Diesel heater for LD? Reply #11 – December 30, 2022, 02:07:52 pm I'll add that we had a coach with hydronic heating (and hot water) for 13 years. Our next coach will have it because we prefer it over LP for heat and hot water, but it is nowhere near as low maintenance as LP. You need to (or should) pull and clean the burn chamber, check ignitor gaps, change nozzles, etc. annually.
Re: Diesel heater for LD? Reply #12 – March 10, 2023, 12:05:18 pm Quote from: RonB - December 29, 2022, 02:47:55 pm The Wave catalytic heater might help a lot as an addition. I don't have room for one, and not sure about how 3 cats would react. If it gets really cold, you remember the Rock group 3 Dog Night, Yep! '3 cat' nights! RonBLate response here to your post Ron, but our kitty loves our cat heater, snuggling up next to it as soon as it is turned on. Sometimes she will cozy up to it when off, hoping it will get turned on. The downside of 3 cats is there will be no room for you next to the heater!Steve 3 Likes
Re: Diesel heater for LD? Reply #13 – March 10, 2023, 10:04:41 pm I have a Wave 6 cat heater that I keep strapped to the wall under the dining table. Never gets in the way and it's a great heater in cold weather. The coldest I was ever in was 31 degrees and we were happy campers. It was a matter of how far away we put the heater from us. I have a mid-bath and it usually was set around the door area pointing towards the back. We slept in the back and not the overhead bed. I'm clumsy. I have a temperature measuring gun ($12) that I would use to make sure it was pointed correctly and none of the woodwork would get too hot. A quick disconnect propane flex tubing was hooked into the Suburban gas supply line and exited the wall in the stairway. All that stuck partially out from the wall was the quick disconnect. Tubing would be coiled up inside the wall next to the Suburban heater. Proper coiling in the wall was learned thru trial and error (coil pointing the tubing downward)We would open a forward area window a couple of inches to let air in otherwise we would wind up with our windows dripping wet in the morning. 2 Likes
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