Canadian here,, First, more then double up on blankets you have and winter clothing, Your first line of defence should not require any power, With a power bank a heating pad or blanket is the most power efficient way for longest heating option, Also consider a Big Buddy propane heater, And last is that the diesel heaters are very cheap you should have a new one as backup,,,, Old saying , One is none and two is one. All the best .
2 clay plant pots, get a small one and put it inside a larger one. Turn them up side down and light a lea light underneath. Tested out my diesel heater a couple of nights ago, started leaking feul out of the tank at 2am and -3 outside.
Hi you can get a plug and wire and plug those heaters straight into a ev power station or charge the power staion in your van from ev charger and you can run the heater it only costs say 40 p a night something like that
Hi Rob, yes I too had a hot day here in Wagga N.S.W Australia .39c very hot,as long as you are warm in bed you should sleep alright mate,stay warm my friend,cheers David.
hey man i hope you keep yourself warm however you do it ! have you thought about getting some of those thick foil type thermal blinds ? i use those in my van when i'm out in it, and they seem to really help with keeping heat in - even though my van is insulated, the blinds make a bid difference
@@BikerVanLife they will make a massive difference in my opinion, if you put your hand up to the glass with out them, you can always feel the heat transfer going on
Do not even think about an electric heater. They murder batteries very quick. The only viable electric heat source is maybe a heated under blanket but even they pull about 60 watts on medium. The diesel heater pulls a bit more on startup, but only pulls about 20 watts when running, 40 watts on high. You can also run diesel heaters on green diesel. You don’t have much solar in winter so keeping the batteries topped up is hard enough without adding a power hungry heater. Seriously, don’t do it. The only use for these heaters is maybe on a campsite but they will struggle to heat the van in really cold weather so for campsites i would still use diesel heater. They are just way more efficient.
@@Finchbrett I spent 3 years thinking and researching before buying a van. The best advice I can give you is to cross check every piece of “good” advice you receive. You can’t rely on a single source (including myself), but if you do your research thoroughly and take your time, you will find the perfect setup for you. Everyone is different and their power requirements are different, so really take the time to understand what you NEED as opposed to just copying what others do. What works for them might not work for you and vice versa.
Hi Rob Thanks for this video. I enjoy the look of the coziness look of your van. I was wondering if it wouldn't pay you to replace your diesel heater with a new one? I found them to be quite reasonably priced and usually thy are quite easy to replace . Thanks again for the great video and please keep warm. God Bless
I have a caddy that is used occasionally for weekend away trips. Any tips to prevent condensation? Im using a domestic moisture catcher from B&M but im not sure if its effective tbh.
Leave the window a jar either side and get wind deflectors. That helps keep it ventilated. You find the more people are in the van the more condensation. But also the more heat.
Morning mate Great video. Can you take your power bank to work and charge it on a daily basis so it’s always on 100% for that evening? Also for hints & tips on staying hot and warm in Van Life if you follow Chad on living the Van Life on UA-cam he’s got some amazing hints and tips
Bless you, and are you a fair weather Biker?;) if you are you might feel that a bit. Now is not the time to add the Wim Hof method to the martial arts stack if you haven't imho but you can do that when/if it thaws.
Is the diesel heater showing an error code or anything? Also have you tried starting it with the van running? Maybe not enough in your leisure battery for it to start up. Glad you picked up a heater though, it’s very chilly at night 👍🏻
Electric heaters are not good. They pull far too much power. The best thing you can buy as a backup heater is a mr heater buddy. Heater buddy uses no power but you do need a specific hose and extra bottle of gas to run it all night, or you can just get the 1lb bottles without the hose, but they only last about 5 hours. But seriously mate, get that diesel heater up and running. What is the actual problem with it? Are you getting a fault code?
Thank you for the comments :) I really don’t feel like I’ve made a fuss though. I’ve spent the last 6 months in a Caddy with nothing and I’ve been real positive all the way through
Canadian here,, First, more then double up on blankets you have and winter clothing, Your first line of defence should not require any power, With a power bank a heating pad or blanket is the most power efficient way for longest heating option, Also consider a Big Buddy propane heater, And last is that the diesel heaters are very cheap you should have a new one as backup,,,, Old saying , One is none and two is one. All the best .
Some great advice there. Thank you so much ☺️
Hehe I love how excited you got when it started working, Rob. Hope it was an ok night's sleep, brother?
Yeah I was very toasty in bed mate. Thank you ☺️
2 clay plant pots, get a small one and put it inside a larger one. Turn them up side down and light a lea light underneath. Tested out my diesel heater a couple of nights ago, started leaking feul out of the tank at 2am and -3 outside.
Hi you can get a plug and wire and plug those heaters straight into a ev power station or charge the power staion in your van from ev charger and you can run the heater it only costs say 40 p a night something like that
Thanks for the tips there buddy 💪
You could always beg your ex to take you back lol.
That mini heater will last about 40min on that battery
The best way to combat the cold is to go abroad for the winter, that's what I do, best wishes from Thailand
Oh awesome mate 🔥💪
Hi Rob, yes I too had a hot day here in Wagga N.S.W Australia .39c very hot,as long as you are warm in bed you should sleep alright mate,stay warm my friend,cheers David.
Thanks David. Bring on the summer lol
Hot water bottles and a catylitic gas heater is the way to go me ewd.....take care Dave.
I have a hot water bottle, but those catalytic gas heaters are quite expensive I think?
@@BikerVanLifeblack cat cabinet heaters circa 180 15kg bottle abt 40 quid to fill but lasts for ages on low setting
@ I’ll check it out
I slept in Bristol last night in the caddy. Duvet and a faux fur throw...on an air bed. Toasty warm.....eventually
@@Sapper-EOD love that
Wow what a contrast Rob, we had 40 degrees Celsius here in Melbourne today. Happy New Year 🎊
Happy New Year to you x
hey man i hope you keep yourself warm however you do it ! have you thought about getting some of those thick foil type thermal blinds ? i use those in my van when i'm out in it, and they seem to really help with keeping heat in - even though my van is insulated, the blinds make a bid difference
I have got some actually. I’ll have to use them 👍💪
@@BikerVanLife they will make a massive difference in my opinion, if you put your hand up to the glass with out them, you can always feel the heat transfer going on
I’ve been looking into diesel heaters but i might look at electric heaters instead thanks for the idea. Happy new year mate
Happy new year buddy
Do not even think about an electric heater. They murder batteries very quick. The only viable electric heat source is maybe a heated under blanket but even they pull about 60 watts on medium. The diesel heater pulls a bit more on startup, but only pulls about 20 watts when running, 40 watts on high. You can also run diesel heaters on green diesel. You don’t have much solar in winter so keeping the batteries topped up is hard enough without adding a power hungry heater. Seriously, don’t do it. The only use for these heaters is maybe on a campsite but they will struggle to heat the van in really cold weather so for campsites i would still use diesel heater. They are just way more efficient.
@@NoelG-IRE thanks for the advice as I am just starting to learn about van life before
@@Finchbrett I spent 3 years thinking and researching before buying a van. The best advice I can give you is to cross check every piece of “good” advice you receive. You can’t rely on a single source (including myself), but if you do your research thoroughly and take your time, you will find the perfect setup for you. Everyone is different and their power requirements are different, so really take the time to understand what you NEED as opposed to just copying what others do. What works for them might not work for you and vice versa.
Happy 2025 buddy 💙
Hope you get your diesel heater back working soon
So do I lol thanks mate
Hi Rob Thanks for this video. I enjoy the look of the coziness look of your van. I was wondering if it wouldn't pay you to replace your diesel heater with a new one? I found them to be quite reasonably priced and usually thy are quite easy to replace . Thanks again for the great video and please keep warm. God Bless
Yeah a few have said this. May be the way forward
I have a caddy that is used occasionally for weekend away trips. Any tips to prevent condensation? Im using a domestic moisture catcher from B&M but im not sure if its effective tbh.
Leave the window a jar either side and get wind deflectors. That helps keep it ventilated. You find the more people are in the van the more condensation. But also the more heat.
@@BikerVanLife just ordered wind deflectors.
@ nice mate. You can leave a gap and it doesn’t look like they are open
Morning mate
Great video. Can you take your power bank to work and charge it on a daily basis so it’s always on 100% for that evening?
Also for hints & tips on staying hot and warm in Van Life if you follow Chad on living the Van Life on UA-cam he’s got some amazing hints and tips
I can yeah. Fully charged now. I’ll check him out mate
@
youtube.com/@livingthevanlife?si=kW4gSZ6UI4NZ3kGZ
Face book grounp Chinese diesel heaters they now every thing about diesel heaters and very helpful
I’ll check it out
I would just get another 2kw diesel heater, then repair that one at your leisure. For the sake of 100 quid it's not worth messing about mate.
That’s a good point 👍
Bless you, and are you a fair weather Biker?;) if you are you might feel that a bit. Now is not the time to add the Wim Hof method to the martial arts stack if you haven't imho but you can do that when/if it thaws.
I may consider that! It’s cold enough lol
@@BikerVanLife Now is not the time fella..stop being quite so impetuous! ;)
Is the diesel heater showing an error code or anything? Also have you tried starting it with the van running? Maybe not enough in your leisure battery for it to start up. Glad you picked up a heater though, it’s very chilly at night 👍🏻
@@Maggiethecaddy1 it’s not getting power to it.
Electric heaters are not good. They pull far too much power. The best thing you can buy as a backup heater is a mr heater buddy. Heater buddy uses no power but you do need a specific hose and extra bottle of gas to run it all night, or you can just get the 1lb bottles without the hose, but they only last about 5 hours. But seriously mate, get that diesel heater up and running. What is the actual problem with it? Are you getting a fault code?
@@NoelG-IRE it has no power going to it. There must be a break in the wire somewhere
@ get yourself a cheap multimeter and do a con check on the wire. I’m assuming you checked the fuse?
Just go and get another heat your making alot of fuss over nothing. Get real.
Thank you for the comments :) I really don’t feel like I’ve made a fuss though. I’ve spent the last 6 months in a Caddy with nothing and I’ve been real positive all the way through