Diesel Cabin Heater - Portable
Diesel heaters (eg. Eberspacher, Espar or Webasto) have typically run about $2k +/- how much the extras cost to install. Chinese knock-off copies are coming in from $100-$200 USD complete with graphic displays and remote control, and a basic exhaust pipe/muffler setup.
I picked up and all-in-one unit complete with 5L tank and fuel pump. that's about the size of a medium toolbox hoping I could just set it up on deck outside an opening port and pump in fresh/dry/warmed outdoor air while keeping the exhaust & any noise outside.
While the actually heaters in these units seem very similar to the german made units the accessories, mostly the fuel line needed to be upgraded which took so searching online and in local automotive stores. The issue is these unit are very particular and the 4mm ID flexible fuel hose causes the unit to burn with quite a bit of soot. I wound up replacing it with 2mm ID hard nylon line (4mm OD) joined with small sections of rubber fuel line as well as adding a fuel filter. I also added a 12 foot 14AWG extension coord w/ cigarette lighter plug for power. The unit uses around 9 amps on startup/shutdown but only for maybe a minute or two and then backs off to < 1 amp or maybe 2 amps on max.
I should easily fit into the cockpit locker and on medium to low I should be able to get at least two nights from the 5L tank.
While there are many options out there the one I purchased came with a color remote that displays the battery voltage, altitude, ambient temperature (of the receiving unit - which I plan to drop into the cabin along side the vent duct. The remote also lets you manually control the fuel pump rate from 1.4hz to 5.5hz (each stroke of the pump delivers approx 0.00002 liters) or you can use it like a thermostat and let it automatically control the heat level.
