Cheap Chinese diesel heater.

Bobsticle said:

Yes.
Just got a second one via the Czech Rep. for £85. Looks as good as the first one direct from China but that was £135.
Prolly all made in the same factory so you’d be unlucky to get a dud.

just chose the controller wisely. Take into consideration the remote ones use battery power all the time. Fine under normal day to day driving but can run the battery down if you only use the landy now and then.

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Have you got a link for one ?

Does the controller not come with it or do you have to buy it separately ?

Cavey_P38 said:

Have you got a link for one ?

Does the controller not come with it or do you have to buy it separately ?

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They come as a set. Some have the led screen with remote control (most now) and some just have a simple on off and rheostat.
Both eBay vendors I have bought from have now sold out so it’s just a case of finding the best price and ordering.

look at the kit closely. Most come with a silencer but some don’t.

This is a typical remote kit.

At the moment it should be around the £80 mark including shipping.

Mine didn't come with the silencer despite the contents list saying it did, even without it, it's not noisy though.

Col

Colthebrummie said:

Mine didn't come with the silencer despite the contents list saying it did, even without it, it's not noisy though.

Col

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The one I recently received was advertised with two silencers and I got both. Not sure what to do with the second one

Fit it to anything that needs quietening down....lol

Could make some suggestions but sure someone will be along to do that who is cheeky than me

On a serious note, thanks very much for the info, was chatting to a mate yesterday with a series 3 and his is always cold..

Think it could well be on the cards for the 110 project pondering on heater and nice RX8 heated seats dependant on which route i go down with it

So I have now read every post in this thread and I am so grateful for all of the information you guys are sharing. I have decided to keep my 2003, d110 td5 out and running this winter And I’m reading every post and scrap of information I can get about winterizing it as here in Canada it is not uncommon to see -30° C For days at a time…


I am looking at an 8 kW unit from the made in China selection available on Amazon That has a remote control and thermostat as well… My idea for the heater is actually to install it under the hood and then run the heat into the existing ductwork that channels heat to the cabin from under the hood. I have the air conditioning unit in the cabin and that has a fan that works independently of the air conditioning itself… So I am hoping that if I plumbed the heat into the same ductwork as the heater core it will simply channel heat into the cabin through the regular heating channels including the window defrost?

Strangely enough I have only found one mention of one person who was thinking the same as this and no follow up of any person who has ever done it… Is there a reason why?. Has anyone reading this ever done that or seen it done and if so are there any resources I can find as to how and where etc.…

on another note I keep seeing them paired with oil pumps… And I have been unable to figure out if these oil pumps are actually to heat and circulate oil in the block while the heater is running…

I am also thinking of block heating (seems there is no block heater plug solution???) as well as putting a trickle charger on the battery and running both of them from a temperature control switch so when they are plugged in they will just automatically turn on should the temperature outside go below X°

I would be very grateful for any conversations either here on the thread or in private message with other people who have had to prepare their defenders for extreme winter condition.

Canadude said:

So I have now read every post in this thread and I am so grateful for all of the information you guys are sharing. I have decided to keep my 2003, d110 td5 out and running this winter And I’m reading every post and scrap of information I can get about winterizing it as here in Canada it is not uncommon to see -30° C For days at a time…


I am looking at an 8 kW unit from the made in China selection available on Amazon That has a remote control and thermostat as well… My idea for the heater is actually to install it under the hood and then run the heat into the existing ductwork that channels heat to the cabin from under the hood. I have the air conditioning unit in the cabin and that has a fan that works independently of the air conditioning itself… So I am hoping that if I plumbed the heat into the same ductwork as the heater core it will simply channel heat into the cabin through the regular heating channels including the window defrost?

Strangely enough I have only found one mention of one person who was thinking the same as this and no follow up of any person who has ever done it… Is there a reason why?. Has anyone reading this ever done that or seen it done and if so are there any resources I can find as to how and where etc.…

on another note I keep seeing them paired with oil pumps… And I have been unable to figure out if these oil pumps are actually to heat and circulate oil in the block while the heater is running…

I am also thinking of block heating (seems there is no block heater plug solution???) as well as putting a trickle charger on the battery and running both of them from a temperature control switch so when they are plugged in they will just automatically turn on should the temperature outside go below X°

I would be very grateful for any conversations either here on the thread or in private message with other people who have had to prepare their defenders for extreme winter condition.

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I think the adverts refer to diesel fuel as oil, hence they say comes with oil pump, they mean diesel dosing pump.
There are basically two basic heaters, the 2/5 kw and the 5/8kw, in reality they are going to be either a 2 or a 5 kw heater, the higher figures are probably artistic licence!
Bigger machine has 75mm ducting.
I would say 5kw might be to much for a small vehicle, but given the temps you are talking about maybe not.

They now do one that heats the air and also heats a seperate coolant circuit.

You will have to forgive the scottish accent, and yes they are all as annoying as his

Quick technical question, I'm looking after a Series 3 with one of these heaters fitted, no fob to be found however! I'm trying to work out how the hell to operate it from the panel, however I'm having no luck. Does it require some kind of pin to unlock it?

Jacob27 said:

Quick technical question, I'm looking after a Series 3 with one of these heaters fitted, no fob to be found however! I'm trying to work out how the hell to operate it from the panel, however I'm having no luck. Does it require some kind of pin to unlock it?

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What conrol panel is it? there are many types.
Mine you just push the power button and wait a minute or two and away she goes.
Battery needs to be good as well, low voltage means no start

Pop over to the introduce yourself section and say hi.

I've fitted one of these into the drivers seat box, the pump is behind the seat and I've just rigged a standard fuel can for the supply , this is in the trackbed, works a treat, easy enough to fit and use , agree with earlier comments , chuck the instructions and use YouTube,

Canadude said:

So I have now read every post in this thread and I am so grateful for all of the information you guys are sharing. I have decided to keep my 2003, d110 td5 out and running this winter And I’m reading every post and scrap of information I can get about winterizing it as here in Canada it is not uncommon to see -30° C For days at a time…


I am looking at an 8 kW unit from the made in China selection available on Amazon That has a remote control and thermostat as well… My idea for the heater is actually to install it under the hood and then run the heat into the existing ductwork that channels heat to the cabin from under the hood. I have the air conditioning unit in the cabin and that has a fan that works independently of the air conditioning itself… So I am hoping that if I plumbed the heat into the same ductwork as the heater core it will simply channel heat into the cabin through the regular heating channels including the window defrost?

Strangely enough I have only found one mention of one person who was thinking the same as this and no follow up of any person who has ever done it… Is there a reason why?. Has anyone reading this ever done that or seen it done and if so are there any resources I can find as to how and where etc.…

on another note I keep seeing them paired with oil pumps… And I have been unable to figure out if these oil pumps are actually to heat and circulate oil in the block while the heater is running…

I am also thinking of block heating (seems there is no block heater plug solution???) as well as putting a trickle charger on the battery and running both of them from a temperature control switch so when they are plugged in they will just automatically turn on should the temperature outside go below X°

I would be very grateful for any conversations either here on the thread or in private message with other people who have had to prepare their defenders for extreme winter condition.

Click to expand...

The heater is very closely monitored by its inboard cpu. If for any reason the internal temperature varies from pre set norms it will shut down for obvious safety reasons.
The air running through the heat exchanger (body) to warm your cockles is an integral part to maintaining those temperature norms so must not be restricted by anything more than the minimum length of ducting and a simple vent grill.
I fear trying to push that air through anything else will disturb it’s equilibrium and shut it down.

Jacob27 said:

Quick technical question, I'm looking after a Series 3 with one of these heaters fitted, no fob to be found however! I'm trying to work out how the hell to operate it from the panel, however I'm having no luck. Does it require some kind of pin to unlock it?

Click to expand...

You can buy a fob for a few pounds on eBay and there are several videos on YouTube on how to pair it to the heater.

I originally aimed to fit one of these to my td5 defender, the heater in it is actually really good… once around four miles are under its belt, but initial heating of the cab is fairly slow. Decided to buy one that was all enclosed (heater, pump, fuel tank etc), and run it in my 20’x10’ workshop off a spare battery over last winter to see what reliability and function ability was like. It was pretty much spot on though does not like running on anything other than full power or it shuts off, heats the place lovely though and quite efficient , aim to buy one as a disposable part for initial defrost this winter as for the price ya can’t go wrong.

A little food for thought.

My first kit came with the green silicone fuel pipe. The second came with a nylon pipe. I did say the second pump was louder than the first and although the silicone pipe is useless because silicone isn’t fuel safe and disintegrates, I replaced it with rubber fuel hose. This has led me to believe the nylon hose transmits more noise than rubber or indeed the useless silicone.

I have the option as far as I can see of either replacing the nylon one in my camper trailer (as it’s a more noise sensitive environment) or attempting some sort of sound insulation. Or both.
My pump is slung under the chassis on the trailer and I built an EVA foam box round it with the pump hung off zipties to minimise the transfer of vibration/ticking. It’s still louder than I would like which is what makes me think the sound is travelling along the tubing.

I fitted an 8kw to my 109. I mounted the main heater under the body and attached to the chassis via a home made bracket, The heater sits at 90 degrees to the chassis just in front of the middle outrigger. The output hose enters the cab through the cover under the middle seat ( or where the middle seat would be if I had one fitted )

Given the vulnerable mounting position I made a custom aluminium cover to protect the heater , pump and fresh air combustion intake . The exhaust is outside of the the cover .

The simple controller I mounted on the bulkhead between the fresh air vents . I just got around to connecting the wiring last week, just in time for the first snow and was doing it outside when the snow started So to save time I took a live feed from the battery to a simple on off switch to power up the controller, otherwise there would be power to the controller all the time and given that the Landy doesn't get heavy use, the small draw that illuminates the controller could drain the battery.

I used one of the unused switches on the dash as the on off power switch. so no holes drilled and nice and simple.

So how well does it work. First off it wouldn't fire, the problem was found to be air drawn in just ahead of the pump. Close inspection showed that the rubber hose supplied with the heater had perished, despite it never having had fuel through it or being exposed to UV ,its just garbage Chinese rubber so throw it in the bin and fit some decent rubber hose to the thin plastic fuel line.

With the rubber hose replaced it was clear to see that the fuel was now passing through the pump with no air bubbles.

After that the heater fired right up , I messed about doing other stuff for 10 minutes but when I went into the Landy it was toasting, bear in mind its a 109 with rear bulkhead removed, It does have a lot of insulation but its still a big space to heat . . I've fired up the heater a couple of times now and so far it has always fired up without a problem . Ive driven the Landy with the diesel heater running and it didn't phase it either .

When driving with the heater running the noise is incidental, the trans noises drown out the heater 2 to 1 . with the engine off and the heater running at full tilt the noise isn't to bad just a steady low pitch drone..

Regrets .. I bought the simple controller for ease of use , but it would be an advantage to be able to fire the heater up from the house .. but that would mean the controller would need to be live all the time. ? The reason I fitted an on off switch so as not to drain the battery with its constant backlight . But thinking about it, the draw must be pretty low ..

Sorry to drone on with my annoying Scottish accent lynall ..

I too fitted an isolator switch as like you I wondered what drain the clock display would have on the battery, this said , mines an everyday driver so possibly worrying without reason.

I also run mine whilst driving at times but recently had a thought when passing through a local flooded road that I may need to be conscious of the air intake sucking in water if I'm wading to deep with the heater on, hopefully this will be isolated occurances and I have the intake sitting high up against the underside of the rear tub.
I'm now looking to make an adapter to divert the inferno of heat from the foot pedals ( mines under the drivers seat) to disperse it away from my melting feet and legs

Bobsticle said:

A little food for thought.

My first kit came with the green silicone fuel pipe. The second came with a nylon pipe. I did say the second pump was louder than the first and although the silicone pipe is useless because silicone isn’t fuel safe and disintegrates, I replaced it with rubber fuel hose. This has led me to believe the nylon hose transmits more noise than rubber or indeed the useless silicone.

I have the option as far as I can see of either replacing the nylon one in my camper trailer (as it’s a more noise sensitive environment) or attempting some sort of sound insulation. Or both.
My pump is slung under the chassis on the trailer and I built an EVA foam box round it with the pump hung off zipties to minimise the transfer of vibration/ticking. It’s still louder than I would like which is what makes me think the sound is travelling along the tubing.

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Have a look on youtube, someone has made/invented a pretty much silent fuel dosing pump.

lynall said:

Have a look on youtube, someone has made/invented a pretty much silent fuel dosing pump.

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I av urd differing reports from the quiet side. Not sure if there are any new ideas but the ones available have been ever so slightly quieter but not enough to justify the large price.

I had one of the Chinese heaters, used it for a year or so. It developed a fault that it wouldn’t turn off and only blew out cold air. Was a heat sensor. Easy to replace and cost £4.