Skotl's diesel heater garage install thread

[Newlands]

I got a portable version delivered the other day. Found an atx power supply which has been sacrificed to the god of warm workshops with the aid of an led or two, a switch, a big fat resistor and a YouTube video, so I now have a power supply that should be ok for about 15a. My problem now is where to drill a hole in the wall, as the workshop is rather full. The only core drill I have is 63mm so I’m going to sleeve the hole with a bit of scaffold tube and use vermiculite to pack round the exhaust tube.
I’ve run the heater up outside to test it - it certainly seems to chuck out some useful heat. Fuel is red diesel - Travis Perkins sell it in 20 litre boxes (yes, cardboard boxes !), no idea what the current price is as the stuff I have was bought a couple of years ago when I hired a little 360 off them. I’ll get a picture or two when I’ve decided where to drill the hole in the wall.

 

[davep10000]

Dont forget an in line fuel filter!

 

[MCKDAVID]

next time if you need bigger holes, use a smaller bit, say 6mm, and chain drill round the size you need, and knock out the middle bit when you're done, although to be honest it usually breaks up on it's own. Saves buying bigger bits you don't often need... ok it's a bit messier, but works fine especially for the bigger sizes, vents etc..

 

[not done it yet]

Today I borrowed a core drill off my retired-builder neighbour, and am amazed at how much of a difference it is compared to an SDS drill!

I dug out a 28mm core drill from my stock of masonry drills, made a pilot (to follow the original 10mm hole which was angled downwards to the outside) and it went through steadily and safely (no broken-out panel) at slow speed in my old ’bodge’ drill. It beat the torque limiter a couple of times as it was set too low, but then no trouble at all.

The supplied exhaust pipe will be extended by a piece of 28mm copper (for through the workshop wall/insulation/garage wall panel).

 

[Ubique]

Dont forget an in line fuel filter!

A bowl type sedimenter would be better, especially if the fuel is being stored outside and the pickup reaches the bottom of the tank/container, something that takes a Crosland 522 with the sedimenter below would be my choice.

 

[Newlands]

Made a space for my portable heater and tried it out for size - need to make up a stand so the exhaust has a clear run out through the wall. I put the ATX power supply in a plastic box so I had room to make the connections. Some people jam it all in the existing enclosure, but I wasn’t keen on doing that.

 

[northwest]

Travis Perkins sell it in 20 litre boxes (yes, cardboard boxes !), no idea what the current price is as the stuff I have was bought a couple of years ago when I hired a little 360 off them. I’ll get a picture or two when I’ve decided where to drill the hole in the wall.

It is £55.25 whatever happened to cheap bunker oil?

Fuel Box Red Diesel 20 Litres

Red Diesel FuelBox is a U.N approved pre-filled 20 litres bag-in-box fuelling system.

www.travisperkins.co.uk

 

[James1979]

It is £55.25 whatever happened to cheap bunker oil?

Fuel Box Red Diesel 20 Litres

Red Diesel FuelBox is a U.N approved pre-filled 20 litres bag-in-box fuelling system.

www.travisperkins.co.uk

I paid £18 for 20l of kero the other day and thought that was expensive. Was from a hardware shop, not the usual place.

Think red is still around £1 here. Don’t really look, just buy it. If you need it then you need it.

 

[addjunkie]

It is £55.25 whatever happened to cheap bunker oil?

Fuel Box Red Diesel 20 Litres

Red Diesel FuelBox is a U.N approved pre-filled 20 litres bag-in-box fuelling system.

www.travisperkins.co.uk

Cheaper to just buy white at the garage.

 

[Newlands]

It is £55.25 whatever happened to cheap bunker oil?

Fuel Box Red Diesel 20 Litres

Red Diesel FuelBox is a U.N approved pre-filled 20 litres bag-in-box fuelling system.

www.travisperkins.co.uk

£55??? I definitely didn’t pay that much for it at the time, more like £20. I’ve still got a few litres left in the box, have to lock it up now. Like @addjunkie says, cheaper to buy white for us mere mortals who don’t have access to farm or marine red.

 

[northwest]

Cheaper to just buy white at the garage.

By a considerable margin too!

 

[Kayos]

Red diesel is about to get more expensive and harder to get

In a move to "clean up construction" (not my words) the tax relief on it will be stopped, doesn't affect farms though

However the kit to replace the diesel burning plant either doesn't exist or is prohibitively expensive

Some of my sites now have electric powered plant so instead of 4 or 5 engines running we now have 4 or 5 generators running with leads all over the place......

 

[northwest]

Red diesel is about to get more expensive and harder to get

In a move to "clean up construction" (not my words) the tax relief on it will be stopped, doesn't affect farms though

Yes, pretty soon too, my cousin was down today to see me and at present he is holding 3000 gallons of the stuff, he is also a farmer and not slow on the uptake, you can bet he will have thought it through.

 

[Jan-DIY]

This is what I got today.
Because I got about 2000Liters of diesel (or kerosene don’t know what the heating stuff called in English) and using nearly nothing I will feed it into this unit. I change over to woodchips for my prison..

Exited to feel the difference in my garage but as usual it will generally took some months to install such things. But maybe….

 

[gaz1]

Red diesel is about to get more expensive and harder to get

In a move to "clean up construction" (not my words) the tax relief on it will be stopped, doesn't affect farms though

However the kit to replace the diesel burning plant either doesn't exist or is prohibitively expensive

Some of my sites now have electric powered plant so instead of 4 or 5 engines running we now have 4 or 5 generators running with leads all over the place......

I can see whats going to happen farms are going to be hit hard for stealing red diesel

all for sites and those that still drive with red diesel

 

[skotl]

This is what I got today.
Because I got about 2000Liters of diesel (or kerosene don’t know what the heating stuff called in English) and using nearly nothing I will feed it into this unit. I change over to woodchips for my prison..

Exited to feel the difference in my garage but as usual it will generally took some months to install such things. But maybe….

View attachment 325406

At first I thought you'd mounted it vertically and was going to respond with a "Ummmm.... will that work?".
Then I spotted the shoe

 

[addjunkie]

I can see whats going to happen farms are going to be hit hard for stealing red diesel

all for sites and those that still drive with red diesel

Its already not uncommon, nor is folk getting their heating oil tanks emptied on a dark night!

 

[Newlands]

Got mine installed this afternoon, put a piece of scaffold tube through the wall (thermalite cavity wall, 250mm). As it turned out the hole happened to end up right on a mortar joint, and, just to test my arm muscles out, of course there was a wall tie right in the way - the drill won and my arm lost!
Slightly concerned that the insulation in the cavity is polystyrene, but I’m hoping that the 24mm exhaust floating about in the 50mm scaffold tube is not going to give me problems. Ran the heater up this evening for about 15 minutes and it seems alright.

 

[not done it yet]

I‘ve got mine running. Still bits to sort out, but content that it does what it says - even if the heat output is not as claimed in the advertising hype.

 

[tom2207]

I‘ve got mine running. Still bits to sort out, but content that it does what it says - even if the heat output is not as claimed in the advertising hype.

But if the air recirculates and gets hotter every time it goes round , you may be surprised at how well it works ,,, unless all the heat leaks out of course