[dazmond]

My diesel heater only kicks in a couple of times during the coldest nights. Mines always connected to mains straight to van overnight  to charge batteries.  So if you can't connect to mains then charging will be a issue.

Maybe best option for Lee is to invest in installing electric posts in his yard similar to caravan park hook ups to use heaters.

same......i always charge my batteries every night regardless of what time of year it is.....

[jonboywalton75]

Drain pump and reel.
Chuck what I can in the front cab with me and heater on full to first job.
Failing that, backpack the first few jobs til temp picks up.
Any colder, I stay in bed.

Love it😂😂😂

[dazmond]

The trouble with diesel heaters is that they use a fair amount of current to get started.

To keep a van above freezing (my electric froststat kicks in a 2 degrees and off at 4 degrees) would mean that heater firing up numerous times through the night. Battery drain will be a major concern. If that cleaner hasn't off road parking, how will he bench charge his leisure battery?

There could be the other option of fitting a very expensive lithium-ion battery that will accept very fast charging with temperatures above freezing. But this could mean some alternator modifications plus the cost of the heater.

A propex gas heater requires a minimal amount of current to start it but probably uses a similar amount as a diesel heater with the fan running.

One of the local lads has on street parking only. He drains his pumps down at night during the winter and brings his hose reels inside. But we don't get the cold on the North East coast some experience futher inland.
Another further north insulated his tank and lagged the pipe from his tank to the pumps. He added 12v heat tracing cable between the pipe and lagging. When he started the van in the morning he switched this heat tracing cable on and it warmed the pipe enough to melt an ice in the pipe.  He also drains his pumps down and at the same time pumps the water out of the pipe from his pump to his van port.

On a side note, I wonder if its a viable option to look into all these charging points for electric vehicles that are now becoming more widely available and make use of them.

i dont think a 9kw diesel heater that fires up for a few times over the course of a night would take THAT much out of the batteries if they are fully charged in the first place spruce.......i always have mine connected up to a "connect and forget" charger overnight though(2x 105ah numax batteries)plus i have my smart battery to battery charger when im driving about adding a bit of juice here and there....

[Spruce]

The trouble with diesel heaters is that they use a fair amount of current to get started.

To keep a van above freezing (my electric froststat kicks in a 2 degrees and off at 4 degrees) would mean that heater firing up numerous times through the night. Battery drain will be a major concern. If that cleaner hasn't off road parking, how will he bench charge his leisure battery?

There could be the other option of fitting a very expensive lithium-ion battery that will accept very fast charging with temperatures above freezing. But this could mean some alternator modifications plus the cost of the heater.

A propex gas heater requires a minimal amount of current to start it but probably uses a similar amount as a diesel heater with the fan running.

One of the local lads has on street parking only. He drains his pumps down at night during the winter and brings his hose reels inside. But we don't get the cold on the North East coast some experience futher inland.
Another further north insulated his tank and lagged the pipe from his tank to the pumps. He added 12v heat tracing cable between the pipe and lagging. When he started the van in the morning he switched this heat tracing cable on and it warmed the pipe enough to melt an ice in the pipe.  He also drains his pumps down and at the same time pumps the water out of the pipe from his pump to his van port.

On a side note, I wonder if its a viable option to look into all these charging points for electric vehicles that are now becoming more widely available and make use of them.

i dont think a 9kw diesel heater that fires up for a few times over the course of a night would take THAT much out of the batteries if they are fully charged in the first place spruce.......i always have mine connected up to a "connect and forget" charger overnight though(2x 105ah numax batteries)plus i have my smart battery to battery charger when im driving about adding a bit of juice here and there....

Lee 's post was about 'heating' a van during the winter nights when the driver only has on street parking. If you didn't have the facility to charge your batteries every night, how long would it be before both of your batteries are flat? All you have to do is take a little more out of each battery each day than your alternator puts back in and sooner or later both batteries will be discharged.

I can't help thinking that Lee's post is a prelude to launching his heater. 

[Splash & dash]

Wabasto do diesel fired air heaters  very similar to the 9kw hydroheat system we have in our vans , these are used as air heaters in camper vans , they are cheap to run on fuel and not as heavy on batteries as the 9kw version . We just rely on the frost stat setting and on the coldest nights I have only ever Hurd it kick in about 3 times a night fir about 10 muinits at a time , if using decent batteries and charging them properly it’s not a problem I have 400 amp s of battery power and can go a couple of days without charging if needs be and working 8 hours a day with two or three pumps running and the wabasto flat out all the time .

[dazmond]

i always put my batteries on charge every night sean as a matter of course year round so it makes no difference......saves remembering to put a oil filled radiator in the back on really cold nights.......

this was one of the reason i opted for the heater so i dont have to faff about after work....

[Dave Willis]

I use hot air, collected from window cleaning forums.

[jonboywalton75]

i always put my batteries on charge every night sean as a matter of course year round so it makes no difference......saves remembering to put a oil filled radiator in the back on really cold nights.......

this was one of the reason i opted for the heater so i dont have to faff about after work....

Not much faffing with a duvet Daz😂😂😂

[deeege]

I can't help thinking that Lee's post is a prelude to launching his heater. 

Of course it is.

Bit of a niche market aiming for just the people that can’t run a cable to the van, narrows the market big time.

I use one of these, had it in the van a whopping 2 nights last winter, does the job perfectly.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/stanley-st-52-241-e-freestanding-space-heater-2000w/8020P?tc=JT7&ds_kid=92700020969710038&gclsrc=aw.ds&ds_rl=1241687&ds_rl=1245250&ds_rl=1249404&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhOGl_7LJ4wIVCbTtCh0VXgMyEAQYAyABEgKvDvD_BwE

[TomCrowther]

I am lucky enough to have a drive so can use a heater of one sort or another. I have two franchisees {one is my brother} and he has a first floor flat and parks the van round the corner.
On nights where the forecast is below -2/3 he takes the reel inside and covers the tank in polysterene and a duvet. The hose from tank to reel including the filter is lagged and the pump is wrapped in bubble wrap.
In the past four years he has only been unable to work twice.
In lee's position with 12? vans and growing, a prolonged cold snap of a week or two would be a major pain in the cashflow. One of my customers who sadly died last month used to have a nursery business {plants/flowers not kids.} I talked with him about keeping the van from freezing and he said a single 6o watt light bulb would do the job in a medium sized van. Maybe we are thinking we need more power/heat than we actually do.

[Jonny 87]

Surely, with the profit margins we’re talking about with a multi van business (10 and above) a bespoke unit where vans could park inside would be an option?

Parking them bumper to bumper and In a system, you wouldn’t need as much space as you’d think.

[Smudger]

thats what I currently do - its a ball ache because the first van back is not always the first van out - and yes they take up loads of room - I could save 2 thirds on rent if I parked outside

Darran

[P @ F]

Darren how many vans you got ?
I have a crazy idea that might work

[Pete Thompson]

If I was unable to run power to my vehicle overnight (and tbh I would never live somewhere that this was the case) but let’s say there was just no choice, and I had to somehow prevent freezing...

On the evening, I would fill the van’s tank with HOT water. I’d buy a nice huge DI vessel, and run hot water (from the tap) through it. Combi boilers will usually heat water to about 62 degrees C. It will lose around 10 degrees in the transfer, so you’ll end up with a tank full of water at about 52 degrees.

The tank will radiate that heat in the van, and prevent any of the hoses from freezing.

With a 10 or 15 degree heat loss overnight, you’ll still have nice warm water for use the next day. Even if you just have luke warm water the next day, still far better than cold.

Of course, if you live in a hard water area, the resin cost will go up, but if it’s a choice between buying more resin and having the van freeze up, I know which I would choose. Plus, this is only an emergency solution on the handful of nights where sub-zero temps are forecast.

[AuRavelling79]

Immersion heater is great for this.

[AuRavelling79]

Darren how many vans you got ?
I have a crazy idea that might work

Set fire to one of them?

[Splash & dash]

If I was unable to run power to my vehicle overnight (and tbh I would never live somewhere that this was the case) but let’s say there was just no choice, and I had to somehow prevent freezing...

On the evening, I would fill the van’s tank with HOT water. I’d buy a nice huge DI vessel, and run hot water (from the tap) through it. Combi boilers will usually heat water to about 62 degrees C. It will lose around 10 degrees in the transfer, so you’ll end up with a tank full of water at about 52 degrees.

The tank will radiate that heat in the van, and prevent any of the hoses from freezing.

With a 10 or 15 degree heat loss overnight, you’ll still have nice warm water for use the next day. Even if you just have luke warm water the next day, still far better than cold.

Of course, if you live in a hard water area, the resin cost will go up, but if it’s a choice between buying more resin and having the van freeze up, I know which I would choose. Plus, this is only an emergency solution on the handful of nights where sub-zero temps are forecast.

You cannot put hot water through resin it kills it

[Pete Thompson]

Immersion heater is great for this.

Yes , but how do you propose to operate an immersion heater without running a cable to the van (as per the original question)?

[Pete Thompson]

You cannot put hot water through resin it kills it

Sorry to be contrary, but yes you can, I have done it.

It uses the resin up faster, but it still purifies the water just fine.

Remember, this is not intended as a permanent solution, just as a way of preventing freezing for a couple of days.

[Smudger]

Darren how many vans you got ?
I have a crazy idea that might work

Set fire to one of them?

Oi!!!!!.

mind you I had to use the old Citroen dispatch today - no zircon ugh!