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11-20-2021, 03:49 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Green Valley, Arizona
Trailer: 2018 5.0TA
Posts: 138
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Diesel fueled space heater
Anyone have experience? I would mount a portable unit on the rear bumper and duct the heat into the dinette or dinette seating areas. No more issues with sail switches or elevation, or.....?
All advice welcome!
Phil Murray
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11-20-2021, 03:54 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Central, Pennsylvania
Trailer: Escape#5 2022 E19
Posts: 26,268
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I would not be comfortable with a fuel fed heater attached to my camper exterior, too many things can effect it's performance as well as it's safety.....the furnace inside is safe and you can also install an electric auxiliary heater inside..
__________________
Jim
Sometime life gets in the way of living.......
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11-20-2021, 04:00 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: North Van., British Columbia
Trailer: 2014 Escape 19, sold; 2019 Escape 21, Sept. 2019
Posts: 8,786
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Interesting concept. If folks can install and A/C externally why not a diesel heater.
I've had years of experience with the Dickinson marine diesel heaters. Love them and as you point out they're pretty bomb proof, no sail switches etc. Not in the early days, then we called them fire breathing dragons. But those problems were solved a long time ago.
I was strongly tempted to install one inside my 21C. But I would have had to give up the drawer stack and that's just too valuable to give up.
Ron
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11-20-2021, 04:47 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2020
Location: Overbrook, Kansas
Trailer: 2021 E19 (Padawan)
Posts: 1,961
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I had a Webasto on my last cruising boat, but never had diesel heat in an RV, but I’m sure it could be done.
__________________
Randy & Barb
1998 C 2500 (Cruncher) and 2021 Ranger (Yoda)
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11-20-2021, 06:23 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Northern Nevada, Nevada
Trailer: 2014 Escape 15A
Posts: 330
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Have an Espar on our 15A and it works great all the way up to ~10,000' elevation.
Had a Webasto in our then Kimberley Kamper, a dozen years ago, and never liked it due to the lack of altitude correction; was great at sea level but anything higher than about 4,000' it just couldn't keep up. Newer models feature altitude correction as standard feature on some models and optional on other models.
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Dan Streight
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11-20-2021, 07:01 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2020
Location: Overbrook, Kansas
Trailer: 2021 E19 (Padawan)
Posts: 1,961
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Nice to know if I ever need it. My boat was always at sea level
__________________
Randy & Barb
1998 C 2500 (Cruncher) and 2021 Ranger (Yoda)
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11-20-2021, 07:44 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: Farmington Hills, Michigan
Trailer: 2021 Escape 19
Posts: 649
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brroberts
Nice to know if I ever need it. My boat was always at sea level
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That's the thinking that can get you in trouble. Once had a problem with marine diesel calibration on Lake Tahoe from excessive white smoke after start. Well, we never tested the marine engines at anything other than sea level. It seemed obvious, except it was wrong.
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11-20-2021, 09:30 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: North Van., British Columbia
Trailer: 2014 Escape 19, sold; 2019 Escape 21, Sept. 2019
Posts: 8,786
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brroberts
Nice to know if I ever need it. My boat was always at sea level
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Not mine, it went up and over the Ardenne Mountains.
The thing that I really like about the Dickinson Marine heaters is that they don't depend on electricity to function. And if moving some heated air is wanted a simple computer type fan drawing a miniscule amount of current compared to the forced air heaters can be used.
Ron
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11-21-2021, 09:40 AM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2020
Location: Overbrook, Kansas
Trailer: 2021 E19 (Padawan)
Posts: 1,961
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I looked at Dickinson, the placement for my boat just wasn’t good. My boat did go by truck from Annapolis to Annacortes, so not always sea level. I had it when we lived in Alaska. In Kansas it would be too much boat, so now I have a Catalina 18.
__________________
Randy & Barb
1998 C 2500 (Cruncher) and 2021 Ranger (Yoda)
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11-21-2021, 10:29 AM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: North Van., British Columbia
Trailer: 2014 Escape 19, sold; 2019 Escape 21, Sept. 2019
Posts: 8,786
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brroberts
I looked at Dickinson, the placement for my boat just wasn’t good. My boat did go by truck from Annapolis to Annacortes, so not always sea level.
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Mine was afloat all the way over the Ardenne Mountains.
Yes, that's the paradox with Dickinson cabin heaters. They radiate a tremendous amount of heat which is both good and bad. The bad being placement becomes important in terms of nearby objects.
Ron
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11-21-2021, 01:05 PM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Trailer: 1979 Boler B1700
Posts: 14,935
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron in BC
Mine was afloat all the way over the Ardenne Mountains.
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So I had to go looking for what must be a canal with locks... Canal des Ardennes
Well done, Ron.
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11-21-2021, 01:51 PM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: South Lake Tahoe, California
Trailer: 2017 Escape 17B
Posts: 253
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This is a great idea actually. You can't go very wrong because they are super cheap, but you will have to cut a pretty large hole in the fiberglass so there is that.
From my research I understand that their temperature control is very poor and they put out so much heat that it may be a bit much for an Escape since they tend to way overrun (by like 10F). Maybe get one and set it up with the heat piped into a shed or something of similar size to see what you think before committing.
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11-21-2021, 01:51 PM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: North Van., British Columbia
Trailer: 2014 Escape 19, sold; 2019 Escape 21, Sept. 2019
Posts: 8,786
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Yes, what they call staircase locks. The locks are close together. Normally on the Rhine and Rhone the large locks are operated by canal operators and on the smaller locks by yourself. Either the old puff n' grunt ones or remote control or pull on an overhanging rope.
But for the staircase locks a team of young people on bikes are always one lock ahead of you preparing the next lock.
453 locks from the Med. to Amsterdam, piece of cake.
Ron
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11-21-2021, 03:10 PM
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#14
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Arvada, Colorado
Trailer: 2015 E'21 - 'Velocity'. Tow: Toyota Tacoma V6, 4X4, manual.
Posts: 1,692
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brroberts
Nice to know if I ever need it. My boat was always at sea level
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Mine was occasionally in danger of going below sea level.
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11-21-2021, 03:33 PM
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#15
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: North Van., British Columbia
Trailer: 2014 Escape 19, sold; 2019 Escape 21, Sept. 2019
Posts: 8,786
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When your boats in Holland it's no trouble being below sea level.
Ron
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11-21-2021, 03:40 PM
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#16
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Trailer: 2012 E19
Posts: 1,750
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A while ago I bookmarked this youtube on the knockoff, Chinese diesel heaters, fwiw to anybody.
Dan, when you say the Webasto "couldn't keep up" when above 4000', what do you mean exactly? The heat output was reduced due to the wrong fuel/air mixture? Or something else?
__________________
Losing weight puts one at much greater risk of becoming thin.
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11-21-2021, 04:17 PM
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#17
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Central, Pennsylvania
Trailer: Escape#5 2022 E19
Posts: 26,268
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron in BC
Yes, what they call staircase locks. The locks are close together. Normally on the Rhine and Rhone the large locks are operated by canal operators and on the smaller locks by yourself. Either the old puff n' grunt ones or remote control or pull on an overhanging rope.
But for the staircase locks a team of young people on bikes are always one lock ahead of you preparing the next lock.
453 locks from the Med. to Amsterdam, piece of cake.
Ron
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My grandfather and uncle worked on the locks on the Monongahela River in Brownsville, Pa where my parents originated from.
__________________
Jim
Sometime life gets in the way of living.......
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11-21-2021, 05:27 PM
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#18
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: North Van., British Columbia
Trailer: 2014 Escape 19, sold; 2019 Escape 21, Sept. 2019
Posts: 8,786
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike G
A while ago I bookmarked this youtube on the knockoff, Chinese diesel heaters, fwiw to anybody.
Dan, when you say the Webasto "couldn't keep up" when above 4000', what do you mean exactly? The heat output was reduced due to the wrong fuel/air mixture? Or something else?
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A friend has just finished installing one of those in his boat. Seems good so far but hasn't had a lot of use yet. If it's any good at all it'll be a real bargain.
Ron
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11-21-2021, 06:16 PM
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#19
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: n/a, Texas
Trailer: Escape
Posts: 728
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On the divergent “lock” thread drift, the Welland Canal in Ontario has two flights of three stair locks. Each individual lock raises or lowers the boat 50 feet, or 150 feet per flight. You are instructed to never tie off your boat at the top of a lock because once the valves open they cannot be stopped. The water drops quite quickly.
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11-21-2021, 07:32 PM
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#20
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Northern Nevada, Nevada
Trailer: 2014 Escape 15A
Posts: 330
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@Mike G, apart of a November Elk hunt where we were camped at 7500' and the overnight lows were in the low 20's and daytime highs (clouds and snow) were much higher, the diesel Webasto Air Top 2000 struggled to keep the air temp in the tent trailer above mid-40F. At similar temps below ~5000', its heat output was more than needed. It was a consistent (and known) issue.
Webasto later offered an optional altitude correction kit for their higher output heaters. Espar did similar but on the latest gen model I installed onto our 15A (Espar S2D2L) has auto altitude compensation built in and works great.
__________________
Dan Streight
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