Installing a Cheap Chinese Diesel Parking Heater

[jakokombi]

What are your plans for the hot exhaust pipe?
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70 Sunroof Kombi
69 Tin Top
73 Thing
72 Baja

[wagohn]

[ImAddicted]

I can’t see anything wrong with it other than your ducting is going to have to make at least one hard 90* turn. Looking in my engine bay, the bottom if the spare well goes pretty deep, you might make it without having to extend the exhaust. Might want to wrap it to minimize extra heat in the engine bay.
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1979 Transporter (sold)
KC1MUR

[jakokombi]

Keep in mind that exhaust pipe can get red hot, not ideal for the engine compartment.
I used a ceramic wool insulation when I mounted mine under the driver's seat to keep the heat away from the brake line.
Maybe you could look into fibreglass wrap for headers or silicone products too.
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70 Sunroof Kombi
69 Tin Top
73 Thing
72 Baja

[wagohn]

Thanks all. I thought about the front seat area but the engine compartment also provides a local area for the diesel tank. I dont really want the diesel tank inside the bus as I am a notorious spiller. In the engine bay, all stinks can gather together.
Also, added heat wont be an issue because we will use the heater for camping only. I can live with a 20 min cold commute but not a 2-day camp.
Thanks.
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1976 VW Transporter, 2.0 FI Engine

[scubasteve321]

download the webasto manual, as it is what the Chinese heater is based off of; for each hard turn in your heat output, you lose significant pushing power; less bends with minor angles = more pushing power
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1971 Campmobile Tin-Top
1971 Campmobile Pop-Top
1974 VW Bus

[vwwestyman]

Hmm... Having the exhaust connection inside the Bus makes me a little nervous for if there is a small leak.

They can be mounted sideways; perhaps you could turn it 90 degrees and have it mounted to the side of the spare tire well. Then the exhaust connection could be "outside" the interior of the Bus.

What are your plans for ducting the heat to wherever you want it?
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Dave Cook

President, Wild Westerner Club

1978 Champagne Edition Westy, repowered to '97 Jetta TDI
1973 Wild Westerner
My Thing

[wagohn]

[wagohn]

[ImAddicted]

Agreed. If you have a second battery, it's hard in the engine bay. If you want max storage, it is difficult in the interior. I'm looking at these hard myself. I first wanted to go with the "portable" one because it is all self-contained (and I can get it wholesale for not much more than the little one) except the exhaust and intake routing, then realized the way I designed my interior, it won't fit. I thought about the small one under the bed but then I lose too much space. I'm thinking about tucking one up underneath instead. Still not sure if that will work without sacrificing too much ground clearance.
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1979 Transporter (sold)
KC1MUR

[71whitewesty]

I'm in the same boat with where to put it if I got one. I figure I'd use one about 6-7 times a winter when we go ski camping. I hate to lose any space for the rest of the year when I don't use it. So far I've just decided to bring a small Honda generator, couple gallons of extra gas and a 120v space heater when I need heat. Real easy to throw in and no issues unless you don't bring enough extra fuel.
But the heaters are still tempting....
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71 Westy 1600 DP, all stock Bus 1
1970's Snow Trac 1600 SP (sold 12/2016)
1968 Tucker sno cat, sold 2021
1969 Tucker Sno cat 542
2017 VW Alltrac
71 tin top stock 1600 DP (project but runs)
Twin 71 White Westy, Bus 2, that I pulled from a 15 year slumber in a dry eastern WA field in 2015.
1966 Sundial Camper "Boomer"

[1970fun]

Here is my install of a diesel heater, i went for the 2 KW and i’m running it on kerosene.
I didn’t wanted any holes in the original laminate so i converted the magazine box behind the jump seat.
All this can be build back to original as i didn’t drill any holes other then the inlet in the side and the outlet in the bottom of the magazine box.
For the outlet i used the original fresh air vent and sockets from the dashboard to give it a bit of that OG look and feel.

The heater is located under the seat next to the battery.

The controller is behind the passenger seat.

The 5 liter tank behind the driver seat.

And the exhaust with cover when not in use.

This thing is absolutely amazing very quiet and puts out a awefull lot of heat at very low cost, mostly the lowest setting is enough and with the kerosene it burns very clean.

[notchboy]

1970fun - very nice clean looking install. One of the best ones Ive seen.
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[scubasteve321]

[danfromsyr]

the heaters can mount with the exhaust/intake mounted down or out the side.
the glowplug needs to be orientated up so make sure it's not upside down if you go with a side outlet mounting configuration
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[vwwestyman]

I know the "name brand" heaters can be mounted outside of the vehicle (and that's how I've mounted mine). It occurs to me that you could mount a cheap heater underneath and protect it with a splash shield. Could probably seal the case up with some silicone too. (I did that with mine for a while, though didn't bother redoing it when I had to open the case one time.) And you'd likely be a-ok. And they are cheap, so if it eventually gets wet, just replace it!
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Dave Cook

President, Wild Westerner Club

1978 Champagne Edition Westy, repowered to '97 Jetta TDI
1973 Wild Westerner
My Thing

[wagohn]

[1970fun]

[wagohn]

Finished up placing the heater in the spare tire location. The fuel tank is behind the driver's seat but may be relocated in the future. So far, it's working great. 😊

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1976 VW Transporter, 2.0 FI Engine

[wagohn]

Just to wrap our install up, we vented to behind the driver's seat and used an old VW vent as it's directional. Also added a smaller tank that draws from the top of the tank, so as to remove the likelihood of a leak.
Will report back if things melt.

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1976 VW Transporter, 2.0 FI Engine