Diesel heater for greenhouse

[hseII]

First overnight test results:

At the lowest setting, the heater kept the 8x14 greenhouse at +20 degrees over ambient air temp. Ran it for about 15 hours, and it used just about 1 gallon of fuel. Greenhouse was at 56 degrees this morning before the sun hit it. Air temps overnight here were in the mid 30s.

We're only running manually at the moment, haven't attempted any Bluetooth control of it yet.

Following for updates.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[rbstern]

Second night results. Got down into the mid-20s here last night. Greenhouse temp never dropped below 46. Again, heater running on low, ran it for about 15 hours. Consistently give a 19 to 20 degree rise in the greenhouse air temp vs. outside temp. As soon as the sun hits the greenhouse, the heater is no longer needed.

My fuel use number is more accurate today: I didn't have the tank 100% topped off on night #1. Last night, it used a bit less than 3 liters, slightly over half a tank.

 

[rbstern]

Third night produced similar results. Based on the numbers, looks like I can get about 36 hours of run time from a tank of fuel (about 1.3 gallons).

If anybody is interested, Vevor is doing an early Black Friday sale. The 8kw unit (same unit as my 5kw, different tuning for higher heat output), is on sale for $72.90 (free shipping). I was going to spend $20 on a spare glow plug and gasket kit, but I think I'm going to buy a whole unit to keep as a spare.

VEVOR 12 Volt DC Car Heater - 8KW, 215–269 ft² Fast Heating

Stay warm anywhere with the VEVOR 12 volt DC car heater. 8KW output, Bluetooth app, LCD, 5 L tank, heats 215–269 ft². Perfect for cars, RVs, and boats. Buy now!

www.vevor.com

 

[basstracker89]

I like the idea. I've been watching your results

 

[rbstern]

Meant to add: Bluetooth app is fair, at best. It works for basic turn on/turn off, some auto temp settings, and a bit of monitoring info, but like many of these types of apps, it's just not thoughtfully designed for any serious automation. For an RV, truck or cabin heating situation, it'd be fine for basic control. We're using the provided key fob.

 

[basstracker89]

Meant to add: Bluetooth app is fair, at best. It works for basic turn on/turn off, some auto temp settings, and a bit of monitoring info, but like many of these types of apps, it's just not thoughtfully designed for any serious automation. For an RV, truck or cabin heating situation, it'd be fine for basic control. We're using the provided key fob.

It's $70, can't expect too much. It was already a pretty good bargain