r/dieselheater

We work with diesel heaters every day, and one thing we’ve noticed is that most heater problems aren’t actually caused by the heater itself — they usually come from maintenance habits over time.

Some of the most common things we see from users:

• Running low power for long periods without ever letting the chamber get hot
• Forgetting to clean intake or exhaust after a dusty season
• Letting fuel sit too long between seasons
• Small airflow restrictions that slowly affect combustion

From the manufacturing and support side, regular maintenance usually has a bigger impact on long-term reliability than most people expect.

Curious from actual users here:

What maintenance habit made the biggest difference for your heater over time?

Anything you learned the hard way?

So here is the deal, i'm new to boating (like 17 days), I have got this lovely narrowboat with a few radiators but I cant get any heat out of them and i'm not too sure why.

I have turned all the radiator valves on and bled them all.

I turn the central heating switch on with the controller. Makes good sounding noised for a couple mins then goes quiet until I try it again. Creating no hot water.
So i'm getting confused, I was told I have hot water via, Engine (no problems there), Heater, Immersion. Currently only getting hot after after cruising from the engine.
Also. When I try the central heating + the ON/OFF timer the inverter starts to beep at me.

So how can I get the heating to work?

Does my Inverter need to be off when central heating is ON? (Can i not watch TV and have heating?)

Does the central heating work only for radiators or is it hot water for a shower?

Why do the radiators not heat up?

Why does the heater turn itself off after a few mins?

• Webasto Thermotop C 12V Diesel water heater in the engine bay.
• Calorifer / water tank next to the engine bay.
• 3 Radiators (Front, Middle, Back of boat).
• Inverter Lvyvan 2000w Pure Sine.

Has any body else noticed you get better hotter heat out of your heater when you have a battery charger connected and charging the battery when the heater is running? I have a battery charger connected to the battery and if I run my lfbros heater without the charger running the heat is ok but when I switch the charger on then the heat gets hotter

My 75mm Vevor came with a plastic coupler between hose and heater output but Hcalory only came with a metal hose clamp. For camping it’s a hassle to loosen and tighten the hose clamp all the time

Picked up a diesel heater and was testing it on my EcoFlow River 2 Pro. I was expecting a much bigger power draw, but I’m only seeing a max of about 94W.

Did I get lucky with an unusually low-wattage unit, or is this pretty normal for these heaters?

I know the glow plug/startup phase is usually the big draw, but even then it seems pretty reasonable. Curious what others are seeing on their units.

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Looking at getting a vevor diesel heater all in one unit. Can you smell diesel when the unit is off and stored? Does the lid leak? I want to get one for my truck camper, but it will need to be stored inside the camper during transport to and from the campsite. I don’t want to smell up my camper like diesel and just a little concerned about that aspect. I would be able to keep it strapped in upright.