As Old Man Winter casts his freezing breath upon the US, most of us don’t consider camping a viable activity. Only foolhardy souls would consider sleeping in a tent when the temperatures are in the teens, right? For the most part, yes, you’d be correct. Living in Northern Michigan, I typically don’t consider driving through snowy trails and sleeping in a roof top tent this time of year. Until recently. As more people embrace vehicle based adventure, solutions to problems get creatively solved.
Safely heating a tent has been an issue in the past. Sometimes met with tragic results. I’ve heard stories of desperate winter campers dying from carbon monoxide poisoning. And I’ve seen the aftermath of a tent fire as a result of using a propane heater for warmth. Fortunately, a new solution has emerged, the inexpensive Diesel Heater. This is a much safer option for heating your tent, vehicle or roof top tent.
Don’t let winters freezing temperatures keep you from exploring
Heat Exchangers are among the safest way to heat small enclosed spaces
So what is the safest way to heat a tent or small enclosed space? Probably a heat exchanger. Like the ones used in the sleeping quarters of semi cabs. Small heat exchangers have been around for years but until recently, they’ve been a bit pricey for most casual campers. However, I keep hearing the term “Chinese Diesel Heater” or (CDH) on several of the Overland forums I follow. It seams our “friends” in China have knocked-off the Wabasto Diesel Heater and flooded Amazon, eBay and other sources with a much less expensive option. And when I looked into the all-in-one diesel heaters available, I was shocked at the price. For less than $200 one could have an all-in-one unit delivered to your home. I figured I might as well give it a try.
I ordered a 5Kw Chinese manufactured diesel heater from Amazon for $169.99 and it arrived 2 weeks later. Prices and shipping times may vary by now. Packaging was just good enough to protect the unit from damage but I’ve heard otherwise from several other buyers. Virtually no instructions were included with the unit and when I turned on the remote, it was displaying Chinese characters. Fortunately, there is a Facebook Page dedicated to users helping each other navigate this new piece of kit. Before long, I had the CDH unit fueled up, powered by 12 volts and pumping out hot air without any issue. I did need to purchase and solder on a 12v plug as the CDH came with nothing more than two wires exiting the rear panel for power.
Chinese Diesel Heater start-up and test video:
Amazon Link $169.99
Once I figured out how to throttle the fuel flow which regulates how much hot air was pumping out of this little device, I pulled the FJ Cruiser out of hibernation. Time to pop open the RoofNest Falcon and spend the night while the temperatures were in the upper teens. Most tents offer little to no insulation so the only way to survive winter camping is with a kick-ass sleeping bad. Like the Nemo Disco 15. This has been my go-to bag for several adventures but never for dedicated winter camping. As you see in the video, a sleeping bag probably wasn’t even necessary. A simple blanket would have been sufficient.
I ran the CDH for almost 8 hours including the start-up, preheating and cool down. The electrical draw and fuel consumption were both so low that I’m super confident this won’t leave me stranded with a dead battery. Or running out of fuel in the middle of the night. Now it’s time to pick a cold weekend and hit the trails. And see if this diesel heater is the missing key to unlocking four season Overland camping for me.
UPDATE: After competing in the Red Clay Rally in the fall, my son and I ran the Diesel Heater for 3 nights. It used less than half of the 1 gallon tank of fuel. This was heating both my roof top tent and the 3 person Gazelle tent he was sleeping in for the Rally. We used a “tee” in the duct to divert heat to both sleeping areas. Additionally, the power consumption on our Goal Zero Yeti 500 was 22% of full capacity for 3 nights of use. These heaters are very efficient.
For more in-depth information on how Diesel Heaters work, take a look at this article I found on the interwebz.
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Hello! If one was camping with this unit, how do you protect it from the elements?
I place mine alongside the vehicle and under my awning. The all-in-one unit can withstand some weather but the electronic control unit doesn’t appear to be sealed from the elements. Making that the weak link.
Great write up! I’m looking at getting one but nervous to go with the cheap models. Amy new updates to add?
If one were to use this inside an enclosed place, I assume that you’d have to have some sort of exhaust pipe routed to the outside?
I appreciate your video. I can’t get my remote to pair. Any suggestions? I cannot get the screen on the heater to say HFA which some of the other videos suggest needs to happen. Thanks for your time.
The unit must be off for remote pairing to work
Anyone measured the decibels on one of these?