Diesel heaters (also known as Chinese diesel heaters/CDH) are a very popular way to heat your vehicle while it is parked. The least expensive heaters cost ~$100, and they use very little fuel. Unlike portable propane heaters, another popular heating option, diesel heaters don't create condensation in your living space. All diesel heaters must be vented to the outside of the vehicle and should be permanently installed for best results. Diesel heaters are a type of parking heater.
Advantages
Diesel fuel is energy dense and burns very hot, making it the ideal candidate for powering a ventilated heater.
A major benefit of diesel heaters for nomads is the fact that they produce a dry heat, which is important to control humidity. Condensation is a significant challenge for living in a vehicle in the winter, even in dry climates. Other dry heat producers include wood stoves and electric heat. Most propane heaters produce a lot of condensation as a product of combustion.
Disadvantages
Diesel heaters require a fair amount of power to start and warm up, so you'll need an electrical system capable of supporting it, or you'll need to be connected to shore power. (Once warmed up, they require much less power, possibly less than an electric blanket, while still being able to easily heat your entire living space.) Starting a diesel heater from the auxiliary power outlet (cigarette lighter), either from your vehicle or on a portable power station, will probably not work. Running any kind of heater from your main vehicle battery is not recommended.
These heaters are not designed to be portable. In most cases they should be installed permanently in your vehicle. You can use them portably if your power source is also portable, such as a sufficiently large portable power station, and you can safely vent the exhaust. Some nomads have constructed cases for their heaters to increase portability, or to make it externally mountable.
The smell from spilled diesel fuel is quite persistent. If you can fill your heater's fuel tank outside your vehicle, or can connect your heater directly to your diesel vehicle's fuel tank, you'll avoid this problem.
Changes in elevation can change the effectiveness of diesel heaters (and other fuel-burning heat appliances). If you will spend time at high elevations, be sure that any heater you purchase will perform well. Many heaters have adjustment knobs or other ways to compensate for high elevation.
Safety
You must ventilate diesel heaters to the outside of your vehicle. Because these heaters rely on combustion, we recommend a carbon monoxide detector for safety.
You'll want to keep a few spare parts for your heater in case it malfunctions. It's a good idea to order a spare glow plug/screen and fuel pump. Always have a backup heat source if you are somewhere dangerously cold.
Alternatives
Other available parking heaters are powered by propane or gasoline/petrol. If diesel is available where you live, most nomads find that the advantages usually favor diesel heaters. There are other options for keeping warm.
Installation
Installing a diesel heater requires cutting a hole in your vehicle for the exhaust. If you cannot do that (for example in a removable build vehicle ...
Diesel fuel tank tapping
If your vehicle's fuel type is diesel, you may be able to tap directly into your fuel tank instead of needing to refill the heater's tank. Your tap should not go all the way to the bottom of your tank; this allows a reserve amount of fuel to be saved for actual driving.
Brands
Leading brands of diesel heaters include:
Chinese diesel heaters
Derivations and knock-off reproductions of the Webasto and other brands are significantly cheaper than the name brands, and people are generally happy with their performance. Due to the price difference, you'll generally be able to purchase multiple cheap replacements if needed, and still pay less overall. Order a spare glow plug/screen and fuel pump when you purchase your heater.
Recommendations
- happybuy recommended by maddoggrimmyjimmy[1]
- superfastracing recommended by likesweirdthings[2]
Resources
- Check out this youtube channel for a very long and detailed breakdown of Chinese diesel heaters, how they work, and how to avoid some of the common pitfalls/failures.
- See this exhaustive playlist about diesel heaters.
Other options
Keeping warm while living in a vehicle is a bit easier than keeping cool! There are multiple options to stay warm, and they're relatively inexpensive. Your options can be part of your van build, simple additions like a portable heater, or simply moving to a warmer climate. Learn more about other heat options …
Resources
| Resource | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Diesel Heaters for Dummies | Public Facebook group with 35k members as of August 2024. "A friendly and knowledgeable place where you can ask questions without fear of being belittled or berated because you are a novice and not an expert. We all had to start somewhere and sometimes the simplest of questions can be the hardest to ask." | |
| The Chinese Diesel Heater Community | Private Facebook group with 34k members as of October 2024. "This group is set up with the aim to be a friendly place to help people with their installations and any issues you may have with your heater and also to provide people with a resource of Spares, Manuals, Guides, Videos and Tutorials uploaded by members, and also an open minded place to chat about your installations, Modifications and projects that benefit the Diesel Heater Community." | |
| Search Amazon | Search Amazon for related products. | |
| Search forums and groups | Search van life discussion groups for "diesel heaters" | |
| Search related sites | Search van life sites for "diesel heaters" | |
| Search NomadLife.wiki | Search other pages on this wiki for "diesel heaters" |