heating

[Burgerman]

Most housing in the UK in town and cities have a grid for gas (no not petrol, methane). And at least 80% of the country use this with a central heating system and radiators (hot water) etc.

Me too.
I also have a small heat pump (air to air mini split) that is amazingly efficient to heat my room. And to cool it if I want in summer. This is a great solution if you re mainly in one room and it costs very little to heat this space in winter.

But I like diversity. And gas and electricity is super expensive because of our governments suicidal green nonsense.

When I was about 18 I worked as an apprentice on big trucks at SP Commercials in grimsby. We fitted a lot of rather costly diesel heaters. This is because it is easy to heat a truck sleeper cab, motorhome, or whatever with a so called "cab heater".

A few years back the design patents ran out. Now theres dozens of chinese versions that are basically cheap copies that work just as well.
So I am in the middle of fitting a 5KW output hot air heater on the outside of my house. As well as a 15 litre diesel tank. These things are remote controlled, thermostatic, and run for pennies an hour while making your house really warm.

The other advantage is that they not only run on cheap red diesel, but on the UKs heating oil called kerosene. And no kerosene is not paraffin. But they are similar. Kerosene is a 28 second oil (a thinner version of the 35 second diesel). Its clear and you can ruun a diesel car on it too. Not that I am suggesting this ...
So I am ordering 200 litres of kerosine to be delivered too. Already had it running indoors and the heat it throws out is remarkable.
Heres the one I ordered.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/404451341478
It will be fitted outside on a wall, with its 3 inch hot air pipe going through the wall into my lounge. With the door left open it will heat the allway, upstairs and so most of the rest of the house.
Is it cheaper to run than using my central heating? Its debatable. But it may well be. However thats not the point. The point is that I can buy a lot of kerosene when the price is low (its highly erratic) and then that oil is mine. I wont be worried about getting a huge bill. And its an alternative. The other thing is that it will burn old cooking oil, as long as its well filtered, 50/50 with its diesel, kero, paraffin, other oils.

[martin007]

In Spain there are two problems when using such a heater.
1- The percentage of collective housing is very high and is growing year after year.
2- If you don't live in a small town it's easy to get fined for using that device.

[Burgerman]

Fined? For what?

You can use it 2 ways.
Whole thing indoors with its 25mm exhaust out through a wall.
Whole thing outdoors, on a wall bracket with a 3 inch pipe coming in through the wall.

Which is better. All you see is a small vent. And all the noise is outside so almost silent indoors.
In my lounge, all you will see is this. 75mm.

[martin007]

Fined? For what?

You can use it 2 ways.
Whole thing indoors with its 25mm exhaust out through a wall.
Whole thing outdoors, with a 3 inch pipe coming in through the wall. Which is better. All you see is a small vent. And all the noise is outside so almost silent indoors.

In Spain, you only need one justification to be fined.
Does the heater not produce smoke?

[Burgerman]

No.
Well it does for around 30 seconds as it starts from cold. But then its super clean, its actually up to the same standards as a car exhaust.


Features:

1. Suitable for all 12V Universal diesel vehicles; it can be used for cab heating of various vehicles such as trucks, vans, battery cars, etc., to eliminate window frost;
2. 5KW power adjustable to meet different needs;
3. Compact structure, easy to install
4. Easy to install and disassemble;
5. Environmental products, low emissions, low fuel consumption;
6. The volatilization technology, the fuel is heated and evaporated into gas through the ceramic spark plug, the ignition is fast and the combustion is sufficient;
7. The use of advanced automatic control technology, with abnormal operating conditions reliable;
8. Technology Volatile, by ceramic ignition socket the fuel heating evaporates into gas, rapid ignition, complete combustion;
9. Fuel, electricity, temperature can be set arbitrarily.

[Burgerman]

https://hcalory.com/collections/all/pro ... 7494784043
Have a read.
They are programable for low emmissions (you can change fuel mixture digitally depending on altitude etc). Very clean and once started practically odourless. At least outdoors. Only thing hat seems to come from the exhaust is a little water vapour and steam if its cold outside.

There are some from 79 pounds on eBay. I bought this one as its a plastic rust free case for outdoors. And it comes with 5 litre tank, but I wanted a 15 litre one. So it runs for a week or so.


For the outside wall...
15 litres.

[martin007]

The car exhaust expel smoke/gases...
They already have a justification for fined you.

[Burgerman]

In the EU you can be fined for heating your house? Thats crazy.
Why/how can they make you freeze???

Remember that any form of heating creates some polution. This thing is actually more efficient and cleaner than most. INCLUDING electricity! Thats produced by dirty means too. Neven mind burning wood, coal, smokeless fuels, gas, oil etc.

So in spain and so the EU, you can be fined for staying warm???

Hell I am fitting one into my garage too. My carer has an RV or camper van. He is about to fit one in that. Almost every truck, caravan, camper and boat already use these things.

[shirley_hkg]

Why not a intake circulation of the air indoor , to gain efficiency further.

[Burgerman]

I already do to some extent. But yes. It would work even better.

[Jayde1976]

there is a Facebook group on these heaters as well. if you got radiators you could buy a different version that can heat up water. there is one on my Chrysler voyager that heats up the engine and heater quickly.they are similar to my oil heater burner thingy I got already installed in my house which I think can run on 12 volts. them heaters btw need a battery or a decent transformer, you could run a lithium battery and a solar charger, you probably got a old lithium pack or gel battery knocking about which will work fine.
In some EU country's you can't run these as the exhaust emissions is not going through a catalytic convertor.

[Burgerman]

Well the reason we dumped the EU ever growing socialist group of unelected rulers is for exactly these kinds of things. Rediculous EU regulations.

Yes they need a low power 12v supply. I used an old 12v power supply that was small enough to sit in the bottom of the case. No battery required. The water heat ones put very little power into water. At best they will run 1 small radiator. But that MUST use a glycol antifreeze as the heat exchanger is an aluminium casting... So OK in a car. If you really want to reclaim some heat and increase efficiency you can re route its 25mm exhaust directly through a houshold radiator. But beware as it will get hot enough to burn at well over 100C at least where the exhaust enters it.

But they work well without all the messing about.

[LROBBINS]

What's the level of carbon monoxide in that exhaust?

[Burgerman]

I havent measured it, some online did. You can adjust the fuel mixture at the high end, and the low end in programming (secret menu) to get it as low as possible. According to your altitude. Its pretty low though. Even so you wouldnt want to run it indoors for too long. What may be higher is unburned hydrocarbons when first started. And water vapour.

I used to have a 4 gas exhaust analiser in my rolling road dynamometer setup. That told me that an engine was rich/weak and how complete the combustion was. Ideally there would be low hydrocarbons, low oxygen, high co2, low carbon monoxide. At idle. On full power or on boost, considerably richer and higher carbon monoxide/unburned hydrocarbons for engine safety and best power.

But these heaters seem to run pretty clean straight out of the box. If you worry about such things. Specs say that at mid power its 10 to 20 parts per million from the exhaust (outside) and zero from the hot air duct (inside). Goes to a high of 100 parts per million at its lowest setting.

[Burgerman]

This guy is testing them in his toolshed, a sealed room indoors.
He came to the conclusion that you can if desperate run them indoors! Exhaust too.
As the CO never gets high enough to be a problem. But even so, dont!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7is93XchBNo

[martin007]

In the EU you can be fined for heating your house? Thats crazy.
Why/how can they make you freeze???

Remember that any form of heating creates some polution. This thing is actually more efficient and cleaner than most. INCLUDING electricity! Thats produced by dirty means too. Neven mind burning wood, coal, smokeless fuels, gas, oil etc.

So in spain and so the EU, you can be fined for staying warm???

Hell I am fitting one into my garage too. My carer has an RV or camper van. He is about to fit one in that. Almost every truck, caravan, camper and boat already use these things.

"You will have nothing and you will be happy."

[Burgerman]

Not me.
Thats the socialist agenda. The WEF and the like. Thats the new soviet union superstate in the making. That worked great.

Vote to get OUT of the EU/
Vote to take control of your OWN laws, borders, seas, regulations.
Vote against the stupid net zero bankruption bullshit.
Vote against everything the woke, the left stand for.

If you dont then all of your and my countries will be back into the dark ages and trapped in terible poverty and no way out. How the rich west died...

[martin007]

Many Spaniards can no longer heat their homes and eat at the same time.
Bridgestone is going to stop its four factories in Spain because there are too many tires.
The show starts...

[Burgerman]

Living standards are falling across the UK and especially in the EU for decades. As long as everything is socialist, over legislated, over taxed, and as long as you chase the green nonsense and tax any type of fuels or business to death it can only get worse. And as long as the government hand out too much money to the lazy and waste it on all the crap that they do, big government etc then you are all doomed to get ever pooere.

What makes a country rich? Have high living standards?
FREEDOM to hire, fire, earn and invest. Freedom to do or build or grow things without taxing or legislating to death. And without giving the lazy homes, free /drug money etc. The FREEDOM to do this always works. Free trading, freedom to KEEP what you earn or make. Results in success. Socialism is the oppsite to this. The EU is by its very definition a massive regulatory socialist mess. It helps nobody. Its protectionist, overburdoning and non elected.