Heater for enclosed utility trailer

[rslaback]

How would one do that? Looks like the intake surrounds the exhaust, correct?

I'd say make a sweep duct and fold it up and rivet it or spot weld it.

A top and a bottom with segmental tabs around a 90 degree sweep and then two verticals fastened in.

I think the air intake is actually on the front of the grate and only combustion exhaust goes out the back.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Is every 1500 watt really just the same as another or do some throw more heat than others? Why the big price difference?

When it come to electric heat, 1500w is 1500w.

You are paying for "styling", knobs, displays, better mechanical parts (fans).

Walmart has a large selection in the US for under $50.

 

[babzog]

So I returned the quartz radiant - too bright at night for sleeping. Nice heater otherwise - home hardware (canada) has the best price on these! Looking for a decent oil heater on kijiji.

In the meantime, have been looking at other options, whether it be propane wall heater or diesel oil heater.

I like the diesel heater, especially the Planar model from Russia. The Espar and others are way too overpriced for what they are. I'm sure they're nice, but $1200 for a unit plus installation? I can get a house furnace - more material and heating capacity - for 1/3 the price! The German units are simply way too costly (I can get two Planars for the price of one Espar!).

The other option is the propane wall heater such as this one, but it requires a wall thickness of 4.5" min.

So, regarding the propane unit, what is the technical rationale behind their stated min wall thickness? Possible to simply ignore that and install it anyway into the trailer with a wall thickness of just 1.5"?

And what opinions do people have of the Planar heater? Bear in mind, I'm Canadian so do not possess the "official" anti-Soviet bias. They buy our wheat and play hockey with the same passion as us so they're cool in my books. LOL The Russians build some good stuff (and their share of ****, as do we), so I'm really looking for some honest critiques of these units. At a fraction of the German prices, they're far more attractive. The reviews of them from the boating community seem to be fairly positive.

Either unit will be installed inside the trailer (unless there is a cheap - primary concern - way to mount it externally), so operational noise will be a concern. Not so much "tick tick" type noises, but, I've slept in a buddy's park model trailer when the furnace came on and damn, that thing woke me every time, it was so loud. No idea what it (the furnace) was, but the trailer was made in mid-2000's. Just how noisy are these diesel heaters, the Planar in particular?

 

[Nowater]

I saw a youtube about a diesel heater and it was freaking loud, don't remember the name of it. Why not make a thicker wall where the furnace will go- I like the idea of outside combustion air and direct vent out. If you mount the propane tanks on the trailer tongue put the heater close but not too close.

 

[babzog]

I saw a youtube about a diesel heater and it was freaking loud, don't remember the name of it. Why not make a thicker wall where the furnace will go- I like the idea of outside combustion air and direct vent out. If you mount the propane tanks on the trailer tongue put the heater close but not too close.

The thing I like about them is they're really small. Could hide one on the floor under the lower bunk. The propane wall heaters consume valuable wall space. But, if they're loud (I too saw one vid which seemed to show it off as loud... Makes me concerned), then I might have to consider externally mounting and waterproofing and ducting the air to/from trailer. Anyone done something like that?

Make the wall thicker.. Hehe, I suppose I could have a box built onto the outside for the sole purpose of thickening the wall. Seems kinda pointless though if it's just to hide a pipe. Why can't the pipe be cut shorter than 4.5"?

 

[babzog]

I think, for this trailer, I am going to stick with electric heat. Bought a second oil heater for the real cold days and we're running with that for this and next year. Just too complicated to try and shoehorn something big and permanent into the space we have.

When I upgrade to a larger trailer, I will have separate living quarters and garage space and will have a propane furnace installed in the garage and ducted to the living area.

Thanks for the thoughts folks,
Really appreciate the different perspectives!