Excellent information, I didn't give it much thought when I purchased the heater a year ago for my wife's office, which is the coldest room in the house. Today I took it apart, because it quit working. It was plugged up with soot, so I cleaned it out. We are at 8200 ft (2500 m), so I guess it never got enough air compared to the fuel input. It's now working fine again, but I ordered a CO meter so I can tune it properly for continued use. Thanks a bunch.
This is the first video I have seen that shows how to reset the pin code! I set mine to - - - -. The best way to get consistent and accurate CO readings is to direct the gases into a can, like a large bean can, and punch a hole in the side for the meter nose to stick in. If you are in open air, you have have very still air. For a cabin CO monitor, I highly recommend the Kidde KN-COPP-B-LPM. DO NOT buy a Chinese CO cabin monitor. I don't want to write a page long explanation why. I have been using the same hand held CO meter shown in this video for 4 years. Works great. You should check your new cabin monitor with the handheld when it is new, then annually. Subscribed.
Brilliant! And thanks for taking the time to watch and comment.. also i found out after posting that - - - - was an acceptable input.. makes things so much easier. Thanks for the bean can tip 🤝
A brilliant video, mine is virtually the same as yours except I have 4 smaller outlets. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong but I can't seem to get mine into hz, it just shows the temp. Thank you once again.
Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment… To switch between Hertz power setting and temperature on the display hit the setting button and the up button at the same time.
I set my pin code to _ _ _ _, no numbers. That way you only need to push "OK" four times 👍. My settings are P-1.4hz Fan 1450rpm 25PPM, P-4.3hz Fan 4500rpm 30PPM, 700ft AMSL (1.23353kg/m³ Air Density).
Well shoot! I didn’t know a “-“ Input was an acceptable value.. wish I knew that before!! Going to do this for sure.. thanks for posting your stats 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤝
I've had a 2kw version installed in a van the past few years -- out-of-the-box it wouldn't ignite consistently; initially i used the 'no tool' method, and it ran fine with these for ~2 years, though i was using fan at 5000 rpm and they were burning out every year this year i bought a CO tool similar to the video and sought to find lower rpm and pump combo -- i made the mistake of testing with too much air current around, leading to higher CO readings no matter what as RPM increased (the air current was blowing too much away so stronger rpm led to more reaching the meter rather than a true reading of what was coming out), and leading me to conclude the lowest rpm possible were best (1500 low/ 3500 high) i fouled up 2 burn chambers in ~2 months with these settings and recently recalibrated in area with little air current -- readings are not always consistent as expected at different fan/pump combos, but by taking multiple readings over several hours i've arrived at 3.8hz & 4350 rpm on high, 1.2 hz and 1500 rpm on low... hoping i'm done swapping the burn chambers with these but not sure
In my experience, you can achieve very good CO numbers at the max output end because the burner temperature is high. By "very good" I mean 20 - 30PPM. At the low end, when I typically have just one yellow bar showing on the controller, I can only achieve 250 to 300PPM because the heater is running too cool to run clean. Bear in mind that lowering the fuel does not always mean less CO. If you go lower to the point that your heat output suffers at a given fan setting, your CO will actually go up. I live with the higher CO at the low end because I need a very low heat setting to maintain comfort in my camper. I always start and end my heating session with the burner on the highest setting to burn off accumulated carbon. These heaters work amazingly well, but they do require some tinkering. I love mine. If you are not a curious person, I would get something else!
This is valuable info… Just like with modern diesels you should run them hard after long idling to avoid soot buildup and/or regen process. Running on high for a period of time after running long periods at low should combat that.. after tuning I’ve been able to achieve consistently below 30 ppm on my low temp setting @1.4Hz (often below 15ppm).. I typically run 2.8-3.2hz heat setting which is right in the middle of the 1.4-5.4 heat range and maintain minimal sub 30ppm.
@@GatorOverland I agree. I don't ever see any carbon buildup by following this routine. For some context, my travels take me to a wide range of elevations. For the last month I have mostly been camped between 7500 and 8500 ft. Earlier in the year I was at the south Oregon coast. I am currently in Utah camped at 7300. The only way these heaters can increase oxygen is to increase fan speed. That creates an unstable burn at very low fuel settings, but that is where you end up when the air density is low. Does that make sense? I wish there was a way to increase air flow without increasing air speed. Maybe a secondary air port? I'm not contradicting anything you have said. These heaters were designed originally for use near sea level, and tuning in that dense air is much easier. When it is very cold, and you are at altitude, just don't be surprised if these perfect readings become hard to achieve. I'm not posting any settings because it would just confuse everyone. I'm using a James Browning Smith fuel pump, which is also tunable For people who do like to tinker, this pump is pretty awesome, and James is a very good guy. You can google "James Browning Smith fuel pump" if you are curious. I have no affiliation.
@Dav-S5658 absolutely makes sense.. understandably less efficient at elevation with lower air density. Thats a lot of traveling and high elevation. You must be in a pretty capable rig. I would be happy to share some of my camping coordinates in Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona. If you’re interested, shoot me an email to gator.overland@gmail.com
You should be able to get low numbers at the low end too. Some motherboards dont allow the hz to drop below a certain figure, even if they say they do. So you may have to raise the lowest fan speed. But I can get lower figures at bottom end than top. The lower end usually also reads low, as the fan is slower, thus pushing less out of the exhaust and reaching your probe if in the same position. So if the probe is in the same position and getting higher readings, then something doesn't sound right. It can also be not enough fuel.
Good video. All I'd say is that sharing settings with other users is not advisable, they are all different. The tolerences on stuff like pumps isn't great, so even changing that will change things. Same with duct/exhaust length etc, and thats before we even get into the different heater and pump combinations. Traditionally 2kw used .016ml, 5kw .022ml but that is often no longer the case. There's just too many variables even on the same brand, where they just seem to package what they can get their hands on that week. But its a good video to show how to tune your individual heater.
Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment… I do preface in the video that my settings will differ from anybody else’s due to elevation or unit, but the tuning concept will be the same…. Asking for others settings based on location is just an idea for general reference.. totally agree too many variables are involved to be relevant for actual usage per unit
@@GatorOverland yes, please, check it and comment to complete the excellent video. I would wait excited for the results. This is a very important point sice many people using RVs get hard problems with the heater above 2000 meters altitude getting the burner chamber clogged of slug due to bad combustion (running rich) an later the heater doesnt work any more untill complete dissasembly and cleaning. We are RV builders ant had some customers with this problem (we intall Webasto Airtop with the optional "altitude function" installed (I supose is the same as "PF" in the chinese heaters), but they forget to activate it manually when staying high, and enter in such vicious circle)
I remember Chris from @venture4wd had issues with his webasto heater in his JK Ursa Minor Jeep. I believe they resolved the issue, but it was definitely elevation related.
@jasonparsons81 depends on where you’re at elevation wise, but should be fine as long as you’re getting sufficient burn without too much carbon monoxide.. Require the fan speed to increase slightly, but it all depends on the PPM.. everybody’s unit will be different, but most will perform variably the same
Depends on the unit KW size and fuel pump, but for reference: 5KW unit with 0.022ml pump Sea level low- Hz@1.6 RPM@1680 Sea level high- Hz@5.0 RPM@4500 2500 ft low- Hz@1.4 RPM@1680 2500 ft high- Hz@4.5 RPM@4500 5000 ft low- Hz@1.3 RPM@1680 5000 ft high- Hz@4 RPM@4500 7500 ft low- Hz@1.2 RPM@1750 7500 ft high- Hz@3.5 RPM@4500
Great video! Any chance you could post the link for the nice little aluminum step thing that you set the heat on? That would be perfect to put the heater in the greenhouse. Thanks in advance.
Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment… the link is in the video description, but you can pick it up at your local Walmart or Northern tool amzn.to/3DsLnBB I made some custom adjustments to the existing legs to sit flat when folded. I would be happy to share that information and photos with you. Shoot me an email gator.overland@gmail.com
@@GatorOverland Thanks. The thing is, I didn't (and still don't) see it in the description. hmmmmm Anyway, thanks for that. I'm in Canada and sadly, our local Walmart doesn't carry anything like that. LOL But that's ok. Fairly simple to just make one. I just liked that style. It's like it was made for that style of heater.
That’s interesting… You can order an 18 inch aluminum platform or go to one of your hardware stores and they should have something similar… Feel free to reach out once you get the item and I can send you photos showing you what I did to make it slightly shorter
My controller looks like yours but I can’t find how to get into the settings. Pressing the gear doesn’t do anything. If I hold it then it will start the heater in temperature or timer mode. But I do have the Bluetooth app and it shows my altitude correctly so I wonder if it automatically adjusts my settings. I mostly run it in an old uninsulated garage that is a bit drafty. Exhaust stays inside and burns without odor after initial startup so I keep that heat too. Aluminum body will run somewhere around 320 once it’s been running a while.
Yes, some models do have an altimeter mode built into them… Hard to say what model yours is… You should be careful running the exhaust in the garage unless you have ventilation… pressing it three times should bring it to the admin menu for entering 1-6-8-8.. if yours doesn’t do that you probably have a newer controller .. what brand/model is your unit?
@@GatorOverland I can't find any really good details but it's an Hcalory 8kw one that looks very similar to yours. Bought it a couple weeks ago with an included power supply. But like I said, I can't seem to get into that admin menu system. I'll try to mess more with it later.
I just bought a non-labeled CDH. It has a “new” controller that does not allow access to revise the air/fuel mixture. It only has normal and alpine mode. I’ve purchased an “old” controller and matching motherboard to allow this type of access and tuning. It hasn’t arrived yet, but I’m looking forward to being able to better tune mine.
@lucecannon 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼 thanks for taking the time to comment. Looking forward to the report back of your results. I believe the newer controllers have an altimeter in them to calibrate for elevation, but hard to say how accurate that may be, and or if the settings are even adequate.
Perhaps someone can comment about the impact that a ducting system has on these settings. I have had an 8 kW on my sail boat with about 30' total piping for years, but ive always felt that there could be more output somehow. Smoky on startup, but runs clean when warmed up. Always has been since new.
This could have been a great tutorial if the camera was set on the controller constantly. Being able to to slow down the video in settings many people could benefit from the audio. Only criticizing the speed you run through instructions. Paired with a slower speed and a constant control panel visual this would be so much better IMHO. Still I thank you for your upload
You make a very good point, and I apologize for the seemingly quick speed of working the controls… it’s actually very simple and A lot of it is punching the same things over and over. I was up against having the menu constantly time out after 7-10seconds and reset to the main menu, so for that you’ll have to understand that it was with a bit of haste to cover the process or it would’ve been inversely hard to watch waiting on me to constantly type in everything. I have a very detailed description of what to do in the video comments for those that want to slow things down a little bit.. I hope this helps, and if you have any other questions feel free to reach out to me through email and we can tackle things on a personal level. Gator.Overland@gmail.com
question, I have been playing with my heater for over 5 hours tuning with this ppm meter. i find the lowest ppm readings the exhaust puffs out some small amount of white smoke. if i tune for 0 smoke i find ppm skyrockets above 300+. do you find your most optimal setting to have some white smoke coming out and the burnt diesel smell?
white smoke typically means rich or raw un-burned fuel is getting into the exhaust. This could be result of a few things, but more-so for unit that have experienced a bit of runtime. For units that have been used a while, it could be that your chamber is full of soot and needs to be cleaned out. I could also mean that your glow plug or glow plug mesh screen is blocked. it could also be that you're not getting enough air in (inlet is blocked) or not enough exhaust out (too much exhaust piping length and/or bends).. could also be the quality of fuel. If you're not getting any code (i.e. E6 which would mean fan obstuction). It could also be your powered connection. these units can use up to 15A at startup and if your source of power is not connected properly or is dropping out under load, it could result in power voltage to the system. I know this is a lot of channels of troubleshooting, but with more info from your end we can potentially assess the issue.
my unit is brand new. Less than 5 hr runtime. I'm tuning it with the co meter. It's very odd. I find my lowest co ppm to have visible exhaust. With no visible exhaust I see ppm increase. Been testing for hours. Just found it interesting and was curious if others found this. I will continue testing.
@@Rickydbaby very interesting. Yes typically if its running clean (minimal if any exhaust seen) the PPM should be low. When i ramp from say P2.2 to P3.5 (power setting) there is a brief period of time where the PPM will increase off the chart until it settles and then the PPM will go back down. I know youre trying to tune it, but what is your current location (elevation/ temps). and if youve been tuning it, what are your current settings for LOW & HIGH Hz speed and LOW & HIGH fan speed?
@ I see what you’re talking about and that’s really interesting to see that the PPM is quite low because I figured that would be paraffin, which is a result of burn fuel generally contains carbon monoxide… Those levels are actually acceptable… Generally anything below 30 is all right… Does it still produce as much smoke when the power level is increased to highest setting?
Elevation 4500ft. Low 1.0hz 2500 fan. high 2.9hz, 4400 fan, air temp from heater is 330F. With 10ft stainless steel ribbed exhaust tube, 12” intake length. Fan speeds over 4450rpm creates a turbulent air supply and is bad for burn efficiency due to the inlet and outlet size of 1” even with short 8” length of tubing connected. 10ft exhaust does not change anything air flow is really low on these 2.8 mph max at 5000 rpm from exhaust turbine is a static pressure type so air flow has a sweet spot 4300-4500rpm after that watts go up air flow levels off with little increase compared to power consumption 40-45watts ideal fan speeds.
Can I just take my permanently installed CO meter off the wall and use it instead of buying another one? It has a digital display. It’s the popular one from Kidde for $27. Apparently it detects from 11 PPM to 999PPM and updates every 15 seconds. I don’t want to contaminate it and make it less accurate over time.
You won't contaminate it but my standard wall one doesn't start displaying until 20ppm. I bought a cheap chinese air analyzer from aliexpress for about $15 and it is 100 times for sensitive.
If a Chinese diesel heater is producing excessive smoke, it usually indicates an imbalance in the air-to-fuel ratio, most likely caused by issues like a clogged air filter, faulty fuel injectors, a dirty combustion chamber, or incorrect fuel pump settings, leading to incomplete combustion and smoke emission. Could also be bad fuel
@@GatorOverland Ive had 2 different ones off of amazon and every time one failed it was the fuel line when it smoked like that. either air getting in the fuel at a bad coupling point in the line or it getting so cold the line was loose and actually drip / leaked. They dont like this type of stuff at all.
I bought a couple Vevors. They have a different much simpler display. Im looking for solutions, or perhaps I need to buy the controller everyone else has.
vevor unit must be powered on, but put at minimal heat temp setting to keep the heater from turning on. pushing the up and down arrow at the same time brings you to the engineering menu, and then you input your elevation and it calculates the fan/fuel speed automatically ..
@@GatorOverland Nope, you're not up on your information. Lowest setting still turns the heat on. Pressing both buttons at the same time does nothing except make the number display wonky. I have tried every possible combination of buttons pressed for many different lengths of time. The only thing that is adjustable is the timer. Literally nothing else works.
@wiredforstereo you should press those two (up/down arrow) for three seconds and the screen should go to what looks like a lowercase “u 11” (aka wonky display).. from there you press the up button and it will go to your 1 fault list which will show E00 if you have no faults. 2 Press up again and you will get the temperature.. 3 again and you will get the supply voltage (I.e 12).. 4 again and it’s heating operated gear, which should be at 10L 5 Again will be cab temperature, 6 Again will be Altitude 7 Again will be Bluetooth pairing “P” 8 Again with be the remote “rte” 9 Again will be the Bluetooth password “1234” Again brings you back to u 11 This is all info from the vevor manual
Are you or anyone familiar with the controller exactly like this one but Has P-1 thru P-6 gears instead of the P-Hz numbers? I have The P-1 to 6 controller and I want to adjust Fan and power numbers.
All of these reviewers and no explanation what is an intake and why You should ALWAYS put it outside. Intake is only for burn chamber. It takes dense cold air from outside, mixes it with diesel and heat and blows it out exhaust. Intake for the inside air is ON OPOSITE SIDE OF THE HOT AIR EXHAUST which heats Your workspace/cabin. So if You put intake hose inside of a space, it will blow air from Your heated space through the metal exhaust pipe outside, create negative pressure and You will use more diesel to heat same space.
Nope, you'll have to do the math again on that one. The air of the exhaust has the same temp. With warmer air in the intake, less diesel is needed to get to that temp.
@@aboner2551 I was thinking if one used a heat exchanger on the exhaust to heat the incoming combustion air, possibly help with the combustion and efficiency.
@@hottractor1999 Cold air is more dense. Engines run better in cold air. I'm no expert, just logic. If the exhaust temp does not change, the same amount of heat is lost in either situation. Therefore the same amount goes into the heated space.
This has been discussed in other groups and does work, but can also be an efficiency if the unit is in the area being warmed and the inlet air eventually starts taking in the warmed air that is filling the room. Vs having the unit outside constantly taking in cooler air to produce warm air. The only issues with a unit inside is assuring you don’t have any exhaust leaking into the area being warmed, and being in a warmer room could cause the units to overheat prematurely. Overall it’s something that can be done but take testing the variables to see if it works .
@@GatorOverland If the heat in the exhaust is the same (why wouldn't it be), the warmth going inside is the same. With warmer air on the intake you just use less diesel to get tot that exhaust temp. Cold air is more dense, you probably can produce more heat, but also using more diesel in the process. If you lose the same amount of the on the exhaust there is no difference in efficiency. The warmth you extract from inside will help warming up the burn chamber, it is not lost.
when i adjust my temperature on my heater it will error with an E-05 and i have tried to change other setting but it still fails, if i run it at its low heat and slowes fan speed wil will run all day for 36 hours until it runs outn of fuel
Great info. Have been searching and investigating diesel heaters for a short while now and this is the first video I’ve found that explains the tuning in and clear way. Thanks lots!
Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment… like you I did a lot of research and felt I could produce a video that explains what I found in a handful of videos all in one…. Hope it helps.. check the video description for notes and links to equipment
I’m sorry about that. It’s very simple functions and after you do it once or twice it’s literally the same steps over and over. But nonetheless, everything relevant to the tune is demonstrated in the video, you just might have to cycle back to the beginning of the demonstration a few times.
So after all of this configuring…What is the actual diesel $$ savings ur getting? Has anyone figured that out yet? Also my fan seems to always blow hard/fast no mater what settings. Is anyone else’s like this?? How can I run the fan slower at times or on demand? Thanks in advance!! KIKO
The diesel saved will all be relative to your specific settings, and at that you would have to test the fuel consumption at each setting .. but simple math can figure it out with 0.022ml pump x the fuel pump hz.. but there is too many variables an won’t apply to everyone’s tune. Just know if you hade low ppm CO, you’re saving fuel. As for the fan, you can get an anemometer to gauge the air speed.. different brands have different fan types, also could depend on your hose length.
I watched a vid where the guy tested his at 21° and 30°, he got 50hrs with the medium temperature and 15hrs at the high, all using 1 Gallon of diesel. Another guy mixed used chipshop cooking oil, filtered of course, with 30% kerosine,
no it doesn't. I did the experiment. The rate of change between the temp. of two bodies is faster the greater the temperature difference. Which means that hot water COOLS faster but it doesn't freeze faster than the same amount of colder water because the RATE of change does not have inertia.
Mr. Rocket Science, you may want to enroll yourself in a science class or two. It's unfortunate that people can spread misinformation so easily. It's probably even more unfortunate that there's so many who have just enough smarts to believe that misinformation :)
Fantastic attention to detail! They didn’t have any yellow cans at the store and having a vessel to carry the fuel was more important than waiting on the right color. I have “diesel” written on the outside of it to remove all doubt.. I also have a red gas can with 2cycle written on the outside of it.. works fine..
Excellent information, I didn't give it much thought when I purchased the heater a year ago for my wife's office, which is the coldest room in the house. Today I took it apart, because it quit working. It was plugged up with soot, so I cleaned it out. We are at 8200 ft (2500 m), so I guess it never got enough air compared to the fuel input. It's now working fine again, but I ordered a CO meter so I can tune it properly for continued use. Thanks a bunch.
Awesome! Great to hear! Let us know how the tuning works for you!
This is the first video I have seen that shows how to reset the pin code! I set mine to - - - -. The best way to get consistent and accurate CO readings is to direct the gases into a can, like a large bean can, and punch a hole in the side for the meter nose to stick in. If you are in open air, you have have very still air. For a cabin CO monitor, I highly recommend the Kidde KN-COPP-B-LPM. DO NOT buy a Chinese CO cabin monitor. I don't want to write a page long explanation why. I have been using the same hand held CO meter shown in this video for 4 years. Works great. You should check your new cabin monitor with the handheld when it is new, then annually. Subscribed.
Brilliant! And thanks for taking the time to watch and comment.. also i found out after posting that - - - - was an acceptable input.. makes things so much easier. Thanks for the bean can tip 🤝
Fantastic video! Well done sir
Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment.. hopefully you found it helpful
A brilliant video, mine is virtually the same as yours except I have 4 smaller outlets. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong but I can't seem to get mine into hz, it just shows the temp. Thank you once again.
Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment… To switch between Hertz power setting and temperature on the display hit the setting button and the up button at the same time.
@@GatorOverland Thank you for your reply, I'll give it a go later. Again, thanks. 🙂
@malcytull you bet .. stay warm
If you tune for the lowest CO reading will that also be best for the least amount of soot build up?
Yes! That is generally the result.. low CO means optimum burn and why it is crucial to tune at your specific elevation.
I set my pin code to _ _ _ _, no numbers. That way you only need to push "OK" four times 👍. My settings are P-1.4hz Fan 1450rpm 25PPM, P-4.3hz Fan 4500rpm 30PPM, 700ft AMSL (1.23353kg/m³ Air Density).
Well shoot! I didn’t know a “-“ Input was an acceptable value.. wish I knew that before!! Going to do this for sure.. thanks for posting your stats 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤝
I've had a 2kw version installed in a van the past few years -- out-of-the-box it wouldn't ignite consistently; initially i used the 'no tool' method, and it ran fine with these for ~2 years, though i was using fan at 5000 rpm and they were burning out every year
this year i bought a CO tool similar to the video and sought to find lower rpm and pump combo -- i made the mistake of testing with too much air current around, leading to higher CO readings no matter what as RPM increased (the air current was blowing too much away so stronger rpm led to more reaching the meter rather than a true reading of what was coming out), and leading me to conclude the lowest rpm possible were best (1500 low/ 3500 high)
i fouled up 2 burn chambers in ~2 months with these settings and recently recalibrated in area with little air current -- readings are not always consistent as expected at different fan/pump combos, but by taking multiple readings over several hours i've arrived at 3.8hz & 4350 rpm on high, 1.2 hz and 1500 rpm on low... hoping i'm done swapping the burn chambers with these but not sure
🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼 thanks for your input.. what elevation are your ?
Excellent info!!
Thanks!
In my experience, you can achieve very good CO numbers at the max output end because the burner temperature is high. By "very good" I mean 20 - 30PPM. At the low end, when I typically have just one yellow bar showing on the controller, I can only achieve 250 to 300PPM because the heater is running too cool to run clean. Bear in mind that lowering the fuel does not always mean less CO. If you go lower to the point that your heat output suffers at a given fan setting, your CO will actually go up. I live with the higher CO at the low end because I need a very low heat setting to maintain comfort in my camper. I always start and end my heating session with the burner on the highest setting to burn off accumulated carbon. These heaters work amazingly well, but they do require some tinkering. I love mine. If you are not a curious person, I would get something else!
This is valuable info… Just like with modern diesels you should run them hard after long idling to avoid soot buildup and/or regen process. Running on high for a period of time after running long periods at low should combat that.. after tuning I’ve been able to achieve consistently below 30 ppm on my low temp setting @1.4Hz (often below 15ppm).. I typically run 2.8-3.2hz heat setting which is right in the middle of the 1.4-5.4 heat range and maintain minimal sub 30ppm.
@@GatorOverland I agree. I don't ever see any carbon buildup by following this routine. For some context, my travels take me to a wide range of elevations. For the last month I have mostly been camped between 7500 and 8500 ft. Earlier in the year I was at the south Oregon coast. I am currently in Utah camped at 7300. The only way these heaters can increase oxygen is to increase fan speed. That creates an unstable burn at very low fuel settings, but that is where you end up when the air density is low. Does that make sense? I wish there was a way to increase air flow without increasing air speed. Maybe a secondary air port? I'm not contradicting anything you have said. These heaters were designed originally for use near sea level, and tuning in that dense air is much easier. When it is very cold, and you are at altitude, just don't be surprised if these perfect readings become hard to achieve. I'm not posting any settings because it would just confuse everyone. I'm using a James Browning Smith fuel pump, which is also tunable For people who do like to tinker, this pump is pretty awesome, and James is a very good guy. You can google "James Browning Smith fuel pump" if you are curious. I have no affiliation.
@Dav-S5658 absolutely makes sense.. understandably less efficient at elevation with lower air density.
Thats a lot of traveling and high elevation. You must be in a pretty capable rig. I would be happy to share some of my camping coordinates in Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona. If you’re interested, shoot me an email to gator.overland@gmail.com
You should be able to get low numbers at the low end too. Some motherboards dont allow the hz to drop below a certain figure, even if they say they do. So you may have to raise the lowest fan speed.
But I can get lower figures at bottom end than top.
The lower end usually also reads low, as the fan is slower, thus pushing less out of the exhaust and reaching your probe if in the same position. So if the probe is in the same position and getting higher readings, then something doesn't sound right. It can also be not enough fuel.
@Kevin-h9k2n 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼
Good video. All I'd say is that sharing settings with other users is not advisable, they are all different. The tolerences on stuff like pumps isn't great, so even changing that will change things. Same with duct/exhaust length etc, and thats before we even get into the different heater and pump combinations. Traditionally 2kw used .016ml, 5kw .022ml but that is often no longer the case. There's just too many variables even on the same brand, where they just seem to package what they can get their hands on that week.
But its a good video to show how to tune your individual heater.
Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment… I do preface in the video that my settings will differ from anybody else’s due to elevation or unit, but the tuning concept will be the same…. Asking for others settings based on location is just an idea for general reference.. totally agree too many variables are involved to be relevant for actual usage per unit
The "PF" is the Plateau Function for adjusting for elevation. It's the short cut for everything you just did.
Well well well.. that’s interesting.. 😂😂 thanks for taking the time to watch and comment..
I will have to look more into this plateau function
@@GatorOverland
yes, please, check it and comment to complete the excellent video. I would wait excited for the results. This is a very important point sice many people using RVs get hard problems with the heater above 2000 meters altitude getting the burner chamber clogged of slug due to bad combustion (running rich) an later the heater doesnt work any more untill complete dissasembly and cleaning. We are RV builders ant had some customers with this problem (we intall Webasto Airtop with the optional "altitude function" installed (I supose is the same as "PF" in the chinese heaters), but they forget to activate it manually when staying high, and enter in such vicious circle)
I remember Chris from @venture4wd had issues with his webasto heater in his JK Ursa Minor Jeep. I believe they resolved the issue, but it was definitely elevation related.
I just adjusted the pump flow to 1.0 instead of 1.6 is this ok to do???
@jasonparsons81 depends on where you’re at elevation wise, but should be fine as long as you’re getting sufficient burn without too much carbon monoxide.. Require the fan speed to increase slightly, but it all depends on the PPM.. everybody’s unit will be different, but most will perform variably the same
Thanks, what is the general rule for higher altitudes... lower hZ and slower fan ... concept wise,
Depends on the unit KW size and fuel pump, but for reference:
5KW unit with 0.022ml pump
Sea level low- Hz@1.6 RPM@1680
Sea level high- Hz@5.0 RPM@4500
2500 ft low- Hz@1.4 RPM@1680
2500 ft high- Hz@4.5 RPM@4500
5000 ft low- Hz@1.3 RPM@1680
5000 ft high- Hz@4 RPM@4500
7500 ft low- Hz@1.2 RPM@1750
7500 ft high- Hz@3.5 RPM@4500
Great video!
Any chance you could post the link for the nice little aluminum step thing that you set the heat on?
That would be perfect to put the heater in the greenhouse.
Thanks in advance.
Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment… the link is in the video description, but you can pick it up at your local Walmart or Northern tool
amzn.to/3DsLnBB
I made some custom adjustments to the existing legs to sit flat when folded. I would be happy to share that information and photos with you. Shoot me an email gator.overland@gmail.com
@@GatorOverland Thanks. The thing is, I didn't (and still don't) see it in the description. hmmmmm
Anyway, thanks for that. I'm in Canada and sadly, our local Walmart doesn't carry anything like that. LOL
But that's ok. Fairly simple to just make one. I just liked that style. It's like it was made for that style of heater.
That’s interesting… You can order an 18 inch aluminum platform or go to one of your hardware stores and they should have something similar… Feel free to reach out once you get the item and I can send you photos showing you what I did to make it slightly shorter
@@BlondieHappyGuy Do you have Harbor Freight up there? That is where I got mine from.
Thanks for chiming in… I believe they do have them there
My controller looks like yours but I can’t find how to get into the settings. Pressing the gear doesn’t do anything. If I hold it then it will start the heater in temperature or timer mode. But I do have the Bluetooth app and it shows my altitude correctly so I wonder if it automatically adjusts my settings. I mostly run it in an old uninsulated garage that is a bit drafty. Exhaust stays inside and burns without odor after initial startup so I keep that heat too. Aluminum body will run somewhere around 320 once it’s been running a while.
Yes, some models do have an altimeter mode built into them… Hard to say what model yours is… You should be careful running the exhaust in the garage unless you have ventilation… pressing it three times should bring it to the admin menu for entering 1-6-8-8.. if yours doesn’t do that you probably have a newer controller .. what brand/model is your unit?
@@GatorOverland I can't find any really good details but it's an Hcalory 8kw one that looks very similar to yours. Bought it a couple weeks ago with an included power supply. But like I said, I can't seem to get into that admin menu system. I'll try to mess more with it later.
I just bought a non-labeled CDH. It has a “new” controller that does not allow access to revise the air/fuel mixture. It only has normal and alpine mode. I’ve purchased an “old” controller and matching motherboard to allow this type of access and tuning. It hasn’t arrived yet, but I’m looking forward to being able to better tune mine.
@lucecannon 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼 thanks for taking the time to comment. Looking forward to the report back of your results. I believe the newer controllers have an altimeter in them to calibrate for elevation, but hard to say how accurate that may be, and or if the settings are even adequate.
Perhaps someone can comment about the impact that a ducting system has on these settings. I have had an 8 kW on my sail boat with about 30' total piping for years, but ive always felt that there could be more output somehow.
Smoky on startup, but runs clean when warmed up. Always has been since new.
Yes, back pressure definitely plays a roll. I think all of them smoke to some extent at startup until the chamber temp is optimized
This could have been a great tutorial if the camera was set on the controller constantly. Being able to to slow down the video in settings many people could benefit from the audio. Only criticizing the speed you run through instructions. Paired with a slower speed and a constant control panel visual this would be so much better IMHO. Still I thank you for your upload
You make a very good point, and I apologize for the seemingly quick speed of working the controls… it’s actually very simple and A lot of it is punching the same things over and over. I was up against having the menu constantly time out after 7-10seconds and reset to the main menu, so for that you’ll have to understand that it was with a bit of haste to cover the process or it would’ve been inversely hard to watch waiting on me to constantly type in everything. I have a very detailed description of what to do in the video comments for those that want to slow things down a little bit.. I hope this helps, and if you have any other questions feel free to reach out to me through email and we can tackle things on a personal level. Gator.Overland@gmail.com
question, I have been playing with my heater for over 5 hours tuning with this ppm meter. i find the lowest ppm readings the exhaust puffs out some small amount of white smoke. if i tune for 0 smoke i find ppm skyrockets above 300+. do you find your most optimal setting to have some white smoke coming out and the burnt diesel smell?
white smoke typically means rich or raw un-burned fuel is getting into the exhaust. This could be result of a few things, but more-so for unit that have experienced a bit of runtime. For units that have been used a while, it could be that your chamber is full of soot and needs to be cleaned out. I could also mean that your glow plug or glow plug mesh screen is blocked. it could also be that you're not getting enough air in (inlet is blocked) or not enough exhaust out (too much exhaust piping length and/or bends).. could also be the quality of fuel. If you're not getting any code (i.e. E6 which would mean fan obstuction). It could also be your powered connection. these units can use up to 15A at startup and if your source of power is not connected properly or is dropping out under load, it could result in power voltage to the system. I know this is a lot of channels of troubleshooting, but with more info from your end we can potentially assess the issue.
my unit is brand new. Less than 5 hr runtime. I'm tuning it with the co meter. It's very odd. I find my lowest co ppm to have visible exhaust. With no visible exhaust I see ppm increase. Been testing for hours. Just found it interesting and was curious if others found this. I will continue testing.
@@Rickydbaby very interesting. Yes typically if its running clean (minimal if any exhaust seen) the PPM should be low. When i ramp from say P2.2 to P3.5 (power setting) there is a brief period of time where the PPM will increase off the chart until it settles and then the PPM will go back down. I know youre trying to tune it, but what is your current location (elevation/ temps). and if youve been tuning it, what are your current settings for LOW & HIGH Hz speed and LOW & HIGH fan speed?
@@GatorOverland th-cam.com/users/shortsbHSR_SU0A3w
@ I see what you’re talking about and that’s really interesting to see that the PPM is quite low because I figured that would be paraffin, which is a result of burn fuel generally contains carbon monoxide… Those levels are actually acceptable… Generally anything below 30 is all right… Does it still produce as much smoke when the power level is increased to highest setting?
Elevation 4500ft. Low 1.0hz 2500 fan. high 2.9hz, 4400 fan, air temp from heater is 330F. With 10ft stainless steel ribbed exhaust tube, 12” intake length. Fan speeds over 4450rpm creates a turbulent air supply and is bad for burn efficiency due to the inlet and outlet size of 1” even with short 8” length of tubing connected. 10ft exhaust does not change anything air flow is really low on these 2.8 mph max at 5000 rpm from exhaust turbine is a static pressure type so air flow has a sweet spot 4300-4500rpm after that watts go up air flow levels off with little increase compared to power consumption 40-45watts ideal fan speeds.
Incredible evaluation! Thanks for taking the time!
Great information. Thank you.
Can I just take my permanently installed CO meter off the wall and use it instead of buying another one? It has a digital display. It’s the popular one from Kidde for $27. Apparently it detects from 11 PPM to 999PPM and updates every 15 seconds. I don’t want to contaminate it and make it less accurate over time.
As long as it’s reading ppm, I think it will be fine
You won't contaminate it but my standard wall one doesn't start displaying until 20ppm. I bought a cheap chinese air analyzer from aliexpress for about $15 and it is 100 times for sensitive.
@ that’s great info thank you
Alot to learn .I turn mine on and it jest smokes alot
If a Chinese diesel heater is producing excessive smoke, it usually indicates an imbalance in the air-to-fuel ratio, most likely caused by issues like a clogged air filter, faulty fuel injectors, a dirty combustion chamber, or incorrect fuel pump settings, leading to incomplete combustion and smoke emission.
Could also be bad fuel
@@GatorOverland Ive had 2 different ones off of amazon and every time one failed it was the fuel line when it smoked like that. either air getting in the fuel at a bad coupling point in the line or it getting so cold the line was loose and actually drip / leaked. They dont like this type of stuff at all.
I bought a couple Vevors. They have a different much simpler display. Im looking for solutions, or perhaps I need to buy the controller everyone else has.
vevor unit must be powered on, but put at minimal heat temp setting to keep the heater from turning on. pushing the up and down arrow at the same time brings you to the engineering menu, and then you input your elevation and it calculates the fan/fuel speed automatically ..
@@GatorOverland Nope, you're not up on your information. Lowest setting still turns the heat on. Pressing both buttons at the same time does nothing except make the number display wonky.
I have tried every possible combination of buttons pressed for many different lengths of time. The only thing that is adjustable is the timer.
Literally nothing else works.
@wiredforstereo you should press those two (up/down arrow) for three seconds and the screen should go to what looks like a lowercase “u 11” (aka wonky display).. from there you press the up button and it will go to your
1 fault list which will show E00 if you have no faults.
2 Press up again and you will get the temperature..
3 again and you will get the supply voltage (I.e 12)..
4 again and it’s heating operated gear, which should be at 10L
5 Again will be cab temperature,
6 Again will be Altitude
7 Again will be Bluetooth pairing “P”
8 Again with be the remote “rte”
9 Again will be the Bluetooth password “1234”
Again brings you back to u 11
This is all info from the vevor manual
@@GatorOverlandmust be a different model because no dice on mine
@jasonwood640 wish you could share photos on here.. or email gator.overland@gmail
Are you or anyone familiar with the controller exactly like this one but Has P-1 thru P-6 gears instead of the P-Hz numbers? I have The P-1 to 6 controller and I want to adjust Fan and power numbers.
All of these reviewers and no explanation what is an intake and why You should ALWAYS put it outside. Intake is only for burn chamber. It takes dense cold air from outside, mixes it with diesel and heat and blows it out exhaust. Intake for the inside air is ON OPOSITE SIDE OF THE HOT AIR EXHAUST which heats Your workspace/cabin. So if You put intake hose inside of a space, it will blow air from Your heated space through the metal exhaust pipe outside, create negative pressure and You will use more diesel to heat same space.
Nope, you'll have to do the math again on that one. The air of the exhaust has the same temp. With warmer air in the intake, less diesel is needed to get to that temp.
@@aboner2551 I was thinking if one used a heat exchanger on the exhaust to heat the incoming combustion air, possibly help with the combustion and efficiency.
@@hottractor1999 Cold air is more dense. Engines run better in cold air. I'm no expert, just logic. If the exhaust temp does not change, the same amount of heat is lost in either situation. Therefore the same amount goes into the heated space.
This has been discussed in other groups and does work, but can also be an efficiency if the unit is in the area being warmed and the inlet air eventually starts taking in the warmed air that is filling the room. Vs having the unit outside constantly taking in cooler air to produce warm air.
The only issues with a unit inside is assuring you don’t have any exhaust leaking into the area being warmed, and being in a warmer room could cause the units to overheat prematurely.
Overall it’s something that can be done but take testing the variables to see if it works .
@@GatorOverland If the heat in the exhaust is the same (why wouldn't it be), the warmth going inside is the same. With warmer air on the intake you just use less diesel to get tot that exhaust temp. Cold air is more dense, you probably can produce more heat, but also using more diesel in the process. If you lose the same amount of the on the exhaust there is no difference in efficiency. The warmth you extract from inside will help warming up the burn chamber, it is not lost.
when i adjust my temperature on my heater it will error with an E-05 and i have tried to change other setting but it still fails,
if i run it at its low heat and slowes fan speed wil will run all day for 36 hours until it runs outn of fuel
E-05 means overheating.. make sure your duct hose isn’t too long or too many turns.. also, make sure then fan isn’t obstructed and has good air flow.
Also could be due to altitude. You’ll need to turn on the altitude mode
Great info. Have been searching and investigating diesel heaters for a short while now and this is the first video I’ve found that explains the tuning in and clear way. Thanks lots!
Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment… like you I did a lot of research and felt I could produce a video that explains what I found in a handful of videos all in one…. Hope it helps.. check the video description for notes and links to equipment
I wish more of the video was of the screen while he is going through it.
I’m sorry about that. It’s very simple functions and after you do it once or twice it’s literally the same steps over and over. But nonetheless, everything relevant to the tune is demonstrated in the video, you just might have to cycle back to the beginning of the demonstration a few times.
So after all of this configuring…What is the actual diesel $$ savings ur getting? Has anyone figured that out yet? Also my fan seems to always blow hard/fast no mater what settings. Is anyone else’s like this?? How can I run the fan slower at times or on demand? Thanks in advance!! KIKO
The diesel saved will all be relative to your specific settings, and at that you would have to test the fuel consumption at each setting .. but simple math can figure it out with 0.022ml pump x the fuel pump hz.. but there is too many variables an won’t apply to everyone’s tune. Just know if you hade low ppm CO, you’re saving fuel. As for the fan, you can get an anemometer to gauge the air speed.. different brands have different fan types, also could depend on your hose length.
I watched a vid where the guy tested his at 21° and 30°, he got 50hrs with the medium temperature and 15hrs at the high, all using 1 Gallon of diesel. Another guy mixed used chipshop cooking oil, filtered of course, with 30% kerosine,
@THEPINKFLOYDIANS brilliant!!
I am strictly here to find out how to slow the fan down
Go through the admin steps mentioned and report your default settings.
Low hz
Low fan rpm
High hz
High fan rpm
1.5hz 1620 rpm 10 ppm co/ 5.0hz 4600 rpm 16 ppm co, 2400 ft
EGT at 5.0hz 550 F
Awesome!! Thanks for taking the time to share!! 🤘🏼🤝
I need one much easier
Anyone cut their diesel fuel with used transmission fluid? Filtered @ 10 ppm of course.
Incredible! Always heard of tractors doing this every 100k miles. If it works, it works 😂🤘🏼
No.
Hot water freezes faster! Cold air heats faster cold air intake. Its rocket science.
no it doesn't. I did the experiment. The rate of change between the temp. of two bodies is faster the greater the temperature difference. Which means that hot water COOLS faster but it doesn't freeze faster than the same amount of colder water because the RATE of change does not have inertia.
Mr. Rocket Science, you may want to enroll yourself in a science class or two. It's unfortunate that people can spread misinformation so easily. It's probably even more unfortunate that there's so many who have just enough smarts to believe that misinformation :)
😂😂🤘🏼🤘🏼
Your using a red gas can for diesel..that a no no.......right out of the gate....
Fantastic attention to detail! They didn’t have any yellow cans at the store and having a vessel to carry the fuel was more important than waiting on the right color. I have “diesel” written on the outside of it to remove all doubt.. I also have a red gas can with 2cycle written on the outside of it.. works fine..
@@GatorOverland Very Good! Thank you for all the work you put into this - you owe us nothing!
Thanks dingo! Stay warm!