Vevor Diesel Furnace

[Ron in BC]

In boating I always thought that the diesel forced air furnaces that were available were a bit overpriced. A big bit. So about 3 years ago when a friend bought a Chinese knockoff for less than $200 CDN I was interested to hear how it worked in his boat. Bottom line: very well and being forced air he could send warm air into areas that were hard to heat with his existing non-forced air diesel heater.

Then, earlier this year, I built a simple camper for a friend. I bought a unit like the one on the cover of Manual. All in one. Just add 12V and a hole for the exhaust to exit. Easy. It cost less than $200. We were at several high altitude lakes in early Spring and it worked well. Kept him from freezing.

So when Vevor started selling the component version for $79CDN, about $58US, I bought one. More, what the heck, why wouldn't I buy one. I've never had a problem with my furnace but we've been in some pretty cold places where the furnace cycled on and off enough to be a bit annoying. The Vevor is more adjustable because you can select different heat outputs. It also has a remote control so that if wake up up cold at 3 in the morning you can bump it up without getting out of bed.

What arrived was impressive. Being the component version there were lots of bits and pieces as well as an electric fuel pump, fuel tank, etc. But complete it was down to the last little hose clamp and assorted screws. When you looked at what was in the box it seemed hare to believe that the whole works cost so little.

More later

Ron

 

[Ron in BC]

Furnace Location

When I first saw these furnaces I thought that I'd just put one in my rear box. But then I took a closer look and saw that there was lots of room between the box and the rear wall of the trailer. That's good because the box was built to carry certain items and a furnace inside would have to displace something.

Also, I wanted a linear flow to the warm air similar to my built-in electric heater. Blowing warm air along the interior is so much more efficient for circulating air.

I decided to make an aluminum box to hold the furnace and keep it dry and secure. Although I'd done some careful measuring I put the half finished box roughly in place just to make sure it'd fit. Wouldn't be the first time that I'd said, "Oh yah, there's lot's of room........" Fortunately there's good clearance on each side.

At first I was going to center it and have the cold air in and the warm air out in front of each dinette seat. I already had a cable hatch nearby and held the 3" air intake hose up to it. Wiggle, jiggle and it's a perfect fit. Great I'll take the air from under the dinette seat with maybe a grill on the face. That allows the hot air in to be almost in the center of the rear wall. Even better.

The flat fuel tank will mount on the rear wall of the rear box, out of the way and well protected.

The unit come with an air intake hose and air filter, that goes towards one side. The exhaust goes towards the other side. Both under the rear of the trailer and out of the way.

Ron

 

[dstreight]

Looks good Ron! I went the Espar route for full time heating of our 15A; I think the Chinese variants have been refined considerably over the years and I'd opt for one if making the purchase again. The Bluetooth controller most of them come with being interest #1.

Originally, I had a fuel tank where the feed tube exited the tank on the bottom. But, after a spate of operation issues, I discovered diesel, at least here in the states, is far dirtier than petrol. Sediment/contaminants would plug the tiny tube at the bottom of the tank...

This past January, I had a larger capacity tank fabricated and am now 'pulling' diesel from the tank from a top feed tube. The tube stops short of the bottom of the tank where all the sediment falls and has fully eliminated fuel flow issues.

 

[Ron in BC]

Looks good Ron! I went the Espar route for full time heating of our 15A; I think the Chinese variants have been refined considerably over the years and I'd opt for one if making the purchase again. The Bluetooth controller most of them come with being interest #1.

Originally, I had a fuel tank where the feed tube exited the tank on the bottom. But, after a spate of operation issues, I discovered diesel, at least here in the states, is far dirtier than petrol. Sediment/contaminants would plug the tiny tube at the bottom of the tank...

This past January, I had a larger capacity tank fabricated and am now 'pulling' diesel from the tank from a top feed tube. The tube stops short of the bottom of the tank where all the sediment falls and has fully eliminated fuel flow issues.

I don't know if it's due to refinement or what they call the 3rd shift. I've had enough experience importing Chinese stuff to know that sometimes parts from a name brand product are a perfect fit for a no-name product.

Good point about the fuel. When I mount the fuel tank I'll tilt it slightly to provide a low spot for contaminates. I've used kerosene for my test run and plan to run a 50/50 kerosene/diesel mix. That's supposed to allow for prolonged low running without any issues.

Ron

 

[Ron in BC]

First test run

OK, first test run was an exercise in patience. I've dealt with lot's of Chinese equipment and the "manuals" that come with them. I've never understood how a sometimes sophisticated product could come with a manual written in "English" that was so incredibly poor. I sometimes start off reading with the best of intentions and by the end of the first sentence have given up. I already knew the furnace manual would be terrible because I installed one in my friends camper. Just gave up and pushed buttons until it ran.

On mine I actually found a great video that showed the priming video. To start they said, ignore the manual.

Once primed, getting the air out of the lines, the output was impressive so I moved on to complete the installation.

Ron

 

[Ron in BC]

Air out, air in

One of the things that really made my work easier was finding that the 3" flexible hoses for the intake air and warm air fit perfectly inside a standard electrical cable hatch. For anyone that wants an some extra heat for Winter use or a backup for their propane furnace this would make the use of the portable version of this unit, all-in-one, very feasible.

So I mounted the second, hot air in hatch, the inside grill and the control panel.

Despite having the fuel line off and inserting a ball valve inline, if didn't need priming and fired right up.

Seemed almost nuts to be testing a furnace in this heat. The grill on the back wall blew detectable heat down towards the bed. Much more efficient than the sideways exit from the propane furnace.

My friends had a remote that was on the complicated side. Mine is as simple as can be. On/off and up and down. What more do you need? Sure going to beat getting out of bed on a cold night, walking down to dinette and bumping up a thermostat.

All that's left to do is mount the fuel tank of the back of rear box.

So, all-in-all, it's an insanely low price for a very nice product. We'll keep on using our propane furnace but if it fails, does that ever happen, we have a backup. Since it puts out heat faster and more efficiently it'll probably get used when we come into a cold trailer for a quicker warmup.

So, exceeded expectations.

Ron

 

[Viajante]

In case $58 seemed pricey here is one for $36. Why not?
https://homedeccom.com/products/vev...ncy=USD&variant_sku_code=16785231-0-0-0-0-0-0

 

[Ron in BC]

Not too sure about that link, Avast blocked it as a threat.

That was my thinking, at that price why not grab one and play with it a bit. Didn't really think that it would be worth installing but then it became very feasible.

Sure could have used the extra heat and fast warm up at our early season high altitude fishing trips..

Ron

 

[Viajante]

The site could be a scam. I opened the link to see what they are selling, but did not attempt a purchase. Best to avoid it. Thanks for the warning.

 

[John in Santa Cruz]

$ whois homedeccom.com shows the domain name was first registered November 2023, so its a 'new' site. it appears to have been registered in Korea, but it is using cloudflare hosting so it could be anywhere.

 

[Zu!]

Those of us with diesel trucks especially would find this very useful! No need to carry around any special fuel.

 

[Ron in BC]

Well, I said that I'd had 3 propane furnaces and none of them had ever given me any trouble. But I installed the diesel furnace "just in case". So, in the middle of Oregon and very cold we used the diesel in the evening. With the heat outlet under the table, pure joy. Then we went to put the propane furnace on prior to going to bed, our usual routine. Dead as a door nail. Zero response. On went the diesel and with a remote that works from bed, no big deal.

Next day I tried the propane and its working again and has several times since. Not going to worry about it. Heck, if it become problematic I'd probably install a second diesel in its place.

So, bottom line, the Vevor diesel furnace, at about 80 bucks CDN was an insanely good deal. One of those cases where the product exceeded expectations.

I notice that the Vevor has increased in price and there's quite a difference in prices which is a bit strange because they all come complete with a huge amount of accessories. They look identical.

Ron

 

[Eggscape]

We enjoy ours and it is very quiet once the place is warmed up and the variable fan slows down.

 

[Genebuilder]

Following

 

[Eggscape]

Following

If you are following this build of Ron’s you may also be interested in this one as well. Here is the link below of where it starts and you can read along as the complete build is comprised of about 5 posts…enjoy.

Modifications to Eggscape

Is there a Mod so I don't scalp myself, getting through the door? I keep hitting my head. I hate to steal Eggscape’s thunder, but his mod you’re looking for is post #631 of this voluminous (and remarkably creative) thread. Direct link: Valance Bump Shelf for Eggscape I’ve seen that some folks...

www.escapeforum.org

 

[iamunique127]

Like you, Ron, we haven't experienced problems with our furnace but I don't relish the thought of suddenly having that displeasure on a cold night.

This appears to be a fairly straightforward mod and I have been considering it since I read Eggscapes original post about his diesel furnace. If I'm in need of a project this spring I just may take this one on.

Thanks for the info and especially the follow up.

 

[Genebuilder]

Thank you, Eggscape, for your thoughtful info. Appreciate it.

 

[dstreight]

Hope the Vevor isn't as maintenance intensive as my Espar S2D2L diesel heater! Its great when its running but for no more than I use it over a year's time...it requires regular feeding of labor time and parts. Definitely not a "set it and forget it" type of appliance.

 

[Eggscape]

They are so cheap that two could be installed.