Brilliant idea. They have done gas tumble driers for many years but this is a great new take on that. Kerosene being approx 1/4 the price of electric it makes perfect sense!
Cracking idea for people living off grid. Where they may be able to power the motor, but not the heater. And I expect more efficiently than running a generator set.
Back in the late 1970's and through the mid 1980's I sold and repaired major appliances, mostly laundry. Very old dryers did not have a cool-down on the timers. The old Norge dryers had a spring wound timer, and did not cool the clothes down. For a simple timer, a spring wound timer that is used for fans and heaters could be used on the dryer. One is the Intermatic FF60MH which is about $20 in the US. It has a maximum time of 60 minutes. It might be difficult to use a 12 volt motor in the dryer. The motors that most dryers use, including the one in the video, has the armature shaft coming out of both ends of the motor. Usually, one end is threaded to hold the blower wheel on, and the other end has a flat to hold the belt pully on. I can't think of any 12 volt DC motors that are like this or could be machined to fit. A reasonable alternative would be to use an inverter to convert 12 VDC to what ever the main voltage is, and just run the electrical part of the dryer that way. Another alternative would be to convert a gas dryer to propane and use a 5 gallon propane tank for the dryer heat, and an inverter for the electrical part. By the way, some common drying temperatures are: 52°C to 57°C (125°F to 135°F) for a delicate cycle, and about 66°C (150°F) for a regular cycle. Also, most blowers are designed to withstand these temperatures.
This is fantastic David, I don't know how you come up with these ideas but they certainly are ground breaking plus these days it will be energy saving. I'm sure I read in the instructions for the Afterburner it can also control external devices like lights so I suppose it could also swich a motor on and off.
I love this! I can see how this would be perfect for off-grid/camper living by powering the dryer with a 12v supply, having a diesel heater with a 'divertable' Y connection and using the coding you discussed. How about a similar setup with the diesel water heater for an "off-grid" washing machine? Any reason that wouldn't work?
My recently bought "Webastardo" unit was salvaged from an Audi Q7 as the pre-heater for the engine's coolant circuit. Effectively, it is a diesel-powdered water heater. My own aim is to use this for my planned under-floor heating in my house; and I expect, yes, it could also heat the water for a washing machine too
Once upon a time they used to run washing machines with two-stroke engines (have a look for the Maytag "gasoline" washing machines), a small engine and a pulley would get the drum turning over nicely, would be a bit noisy though I guess... :P
I think the 2kw diesel heater would be the perfect match for the electric heating element as they're about 2kw also. As for a 12v motor, maybe a car blower motor with the fan attached might be useable? If you could get one of the old old 70's tumble driers with fold down door front (I still use a Creda 300rs), apart from being half the size of a modern, they use a twist clock work timer that has cool down part before stopping... Maybe a useable feature to turn off the diesel heater with out coding and electronics. I.e KISS
One thing I noticed that might be an issue. The fan and motor on the dryer is designed to pass cold air which is then heated downstream. Piping hot air into the cold air intake may overheat the motor and or damage the plastic fan.
Yep that's right.. he's getting the vents / intake wrong the air in the drum never leaves in a condenser.... what he thinks is the vent is the cold air in and the side is warm out... I work on this stuff so if you need to know out msg me...
Great prototype and proof of concept. You may even be able to use the thermostat control unit to just open a flap that allows more cool air in at over temperature events. Perhaps assisted by a 12 volt computer fan or car radiator fan.
Cooking oven or firing things oven? If a firing things oven you can remove the heat exchanger from the diesel heater, move the temperature sensor. And then you've got full burn chamber output into whatever you want.
@@DavidMcLuckie many thanks for your reply. My question to Robert was also open but primarily I was thinking about a cooking oven, possibly by extension a hot plate. Just in the last few days, I've gotten myself a "Webastardo" heater from an Audi Q7, originally used to pre-heat the engine's coolant circuit. Over the next few months, I intend on experimenting with this to provide under-floor heating in my house! Possibly I might need to parallel a few of these, but as my first 1 was reclaimed salvage for £80 including the water pump, but minus fuel pump, I'm happy to experiment. Your advice is NOT to run these on used and/or virgin cooking oil. Following Robert's videos on how to esterify cooking oil into a biodiesel, would that reduce the sooting/coking issues? My questions aren't meant to be personally answered by your good self, I would very much welcome further discussions from other viewers on these issues.
I’m currently trying to rig up a diesel heater to heat up a hot tub. I’ve got an old gas combi boiler and piped the air and exhaust into the burn chamber need to set up some water containers and give it a run to see how good the heat transfer is. It’s just to expensive for me to keep it hot with electric now and I use kerosene for the house already. I was looking at the direct water heating style of heater but I already had an all in one style I use in the garage and buying another is a bit pricey.
Nice project!! - Would it not be better (more efficient!) to insert the diesel heater in the loop at the back, basically replacing the fan (as the diesel heater has one) and electric heater, so it would then retain the condenser part, and use less diesel? Maybe that could work if the controller could just take a signal from the existing controller, so when that calls for heat, it then turns the diesel heater on, and when it is not calling, it puts the diesel heater on minimum, unless the humidistat is also satisfied. then it jsut blows cold air? If the original heater has more then one element, then the controller could be set to see what it is being asked to provide, and set the Hz appropriately too?
I wasn't confident the diesel heaters fan had enough push to go through the perforations of the drum, then the dust filter. But it's something else to try.
I have this idea that I would love for you to try. Making a homemade calorifier with two copper coils inside and two electric elements both 12 volt and ac. One input to the copper coil would be a hydronic diesel heat with glycol and the other copper coil would be from an on demand propane heater. All this would output through a heat exchanger. The idea would be to have several sources of heat (in an rv) . Also the calorifier would have a glycol mix inside running to one side of the heat exchanger. I have a drawing that I could send that might help. Not sure how to do that.
Being a full time van Dweller I’m interested in this deffinately. Maybe the heat from the diesel heater could be split 50/50 dryer and heater in my case that would be perfect.
Wonder what other appliances diesel heaters could be pipe into? Airfryer perhaps🤔. Also cotton fires suck. They've started harvesting a lot of cotton in the past few years where I am. They often want us to extinguish the bale or module fires. Which means you have to completely disassemble them. Surprising amount of farmers want us just to soak the bale or module. But that only puts out the fire out temporarily. Best thing to do is let them burn for a week.
You could use the dryers electronic control to do everything you want to use an arduino for... its 'made for the job' so to speak.. the 2 stats at the back are needed so don't loose em then what was the heater power can control the diesel heater...
Would using a diesel water heater and replacing the heating element with a heat exchanger be a better idea? The rest of the drying mechanism would be unchanged. I think the motor used on tumble driers are universal motors, so there's a chance they could be used on 12v, but the current draw might cause it to get a bit warm. The motors tend to have a shaft that has a fan one end and a shaft on the inside that runs a belt for the drum. The fan pulls air past the motor then over the heating elements, with your setup I think the motor could get a bit hot. Not much of an issue when its in a metal box with a hot drum right next to it though. Check how much power your now modified tumble drier uses from the wall, might be easier to use a cheap inverter to run it rather than changing the motor or running it off 12v directly. Also easy enough to test if you have an inverter around. Might be possible to hack a controller for a diesel heater by connecting wires from the PCB that go to the on/off button on it and using the output from the drier to trigger that somehow.
1. Get a 12v geared motor, car wiper motor might do. 2. CHD hot air directly to the drum without using t. dryer fan. 3. Remove fluff collector/filter so less restriction on CHD air flow. 4. Get cheap humidity sensor and temperature sensor off ebay. 5. Connect t.dryer 12v motor to arduino output through a 12v relay. 6. Connect humidity and temp sensor to arduino input. 7. Program arduino to communicate with CHD controller. 8. Code arduino to turn off heat output to t.dryer following cool down cycle based on sensor inputs.
@A Mercer geared high enough would never spin 7kg of wet jeans an stuff. but there are tons of tourquey brushless motors for 3/4S LiPo usage and flightcontrollers that wonderfully take PWM signals from an arduino.
@A Mercer compare the size of the OEM motor with an wiper motor. there is quite a difference. both use brushes and kiiiind of the same way they work. so similar torque and power per volume. it aint gonna work with a wiper motor. on top (not part of this discussion tho...) is low lifetime. washing machine and tumble dryer motor have extra long brushes for the many hours they're in service. maybe if you connect 2 wiper motors with a toothbelt (if that is the correct term for timing belts, but in small). a brushless outrunner was still the better option for off grid stuff over the way better efficiency. but also wayyyy more pricey thn some scrapyard stuff.
Technically it should be possible with an afterburner (genuine one) because it has the humidistat and it also has controllable outputs for switching relays (2 channels) so in theory you could set it to trigger a shutdown of the motor and using a delay relay you could leave it running to cool down while the heater is stopped. I think with a bit of clever thinking it probably has enough functions as standard. Theres also a pwm output which could drive a speed controller
That is a brilliant idea. Sadly the tumble drier came from the scrap pile, and has now returned. Perhaps if I get another one day I could try using the Afterburner to control it.
@DavidMcLuckie ah ok, your idea is a great one though, i spend a huge amount of time on my boat and for years i have looked at the mini 240v tumbledryer (which flattens the batteries in a few hours) and the hot air coming out the vent near the floor from the heater and wondered how nobody has put two and two together and made a cheap mini dryer with a flexible hose and a selection of fittings to push onto common heater vent outlets in vans and boats, and a 12v brushless driven drum. A booster fan would be good too just as your video since the heater blowers are weak. Since the dryer would have no control over the heater in my example they could use a mixer flap to shuttle fresh air in to regulate temp and another to direct it all out on a cool down program. Also as far as a 12v motor goes to drive the drum, i wonder if the blower motor from a heater could drive it with sufficient gearing, although they dont have much torque they are pretty well made and the brushes seem to last a long time, they are also rebuildable. Gearing it to rune at 5000rpm and the drum at much lower might be good enough. Another way to do it would be to hack the rf remote and control the heater using wireless commands it could then be plug in hose and a cigarette socket and wireless temp control, perhapse with flaps as well for better control.
With regard to the Cooling down period. Use a relay in line with the fuel pump controlled by the original heater feed. Tumble drier does the rest. Simple, or not maybe.
Could go even simpler. Assuming still using tumble drier fan, set tumble drier for 75 minutes. Then set the diesel heater timer for 60 minutes. Bingo, 15 minute cool down. :)
I’m already worried as I have the same model of tumble drier as you’ve used. Is the writing on the wall? Will I convert it to diesel heat when it imminently fails? I agree that I think a 2kw heater would be a better match. Great subject matter and more food for thought.
So this tumble drier was fully working when I got it. But I think the bearings might be on the way out, as the drum didn't really want to spin when I got it. So I sprayed everything with WD40.
@@DavidMcLuckie that’s put my mind at rest! I think this is actually our longest serving tumble drier so I’m not holding my breath but so far so good 😂 Keep up the excellent videos 👍
@@nexpro6985 put the full 12v to a wiper motor and it'd be too fast...put your wipers on full speed, look at the wipers as a full circle instead of oscillating through the linkage and they'd be getting spun dried alright...just not sure if it'd have the poke with a full drum.
@@fzr400rr100 I know. It is a few weeks since I installed a wiper motor. I still say not up to the job. Replacing a big 240volt motor with a small 12v motor is probably a bad idea. The motor of a tumble dryer spins much faster than a wiper motor on full speed. I have messed with both.
12:30 That's the dream! Lol. Other funny moment "Yeah, it probably didn't need to be that hot." Probably was a good idea to do outside, and not mention that one to other residents.
Question, what torque load will it be for a motor to spin 7kg of wet clothing, at 12v that would be a lot of amps or a lot of gears, you could perhaps use the old style of automatic gearbox of the two spinning wheels that move up and down their shafts for different speed and loads, however to KISS moment you could use a bicycle idea, however as the load changed weight the speed too will increase and this probably stop the "tumble" action and turn it into a spin dryer lol
Nice video, as always! I didn't know about that property of cotton to set on fire so easily. Good to know something new. You know, there is a device called de-humidifier who does what you want to do with this machine. If you really need to dry your stuff, it's easier to use it. Of course, you don't have this need but the need to do something interesting with an existing machine. And this is appreciated! Cheers!
Electric Dryers do not have an "Intake" on the back, that is for heat exhaust, if you plug that up with heat input from the diesel heater you are up for a bad day. since there is no place for the air to escape.
@@27kilofoxtrot Usually there are vent slits in the back or sides (depending on model) that just allow fresh air into the space under the drum. The blower sucks from that empty space. Ducting the hot air right into the fan can cause heat issues with the motor, but in theory you could get the hot air anywhere underneath the drum and it would get into the clothes.
Mine does. I mean the one in the house. Draws air in vents on the back and exits outside via a hose. The one in the video draws in from the side and vents out the front as it's a condenser type.
Interesting idea, I like it 👍 .Now if there was a way to turn some of that thermal energy back into electricity for the battery etc that'd be cool. The only issue I'd have is that with my brand new Hcalory diesel heater ,I'm getting a whiff or two of diesel coming from the blower on startup and shutdown which I'd rather not have on my clothing . Not exactly sure what's causing it but considering it's a "new" heater , I'm not exactly happy about it . I've asked a few people about it and so far no takers for the advice that's been asked . All I've run in it is diesel only , nothing else and only two full tanks which isn't much .I have the one with the red metal case AKA the 5-8k model ,so the tank isn't that big . Otherwise I really like it . I'm using it to offset two electric heaters in my shop which is 3k square feet and so far so good . For $150 USD delivered,free shipping and a really fast delivery I'm definitely not complaining but I'd definitely like to get that fuel vapor issue resolved . It's probably something simple but not sure at this point .Ideas anyone ?
The heated air & combustion air paths should be completely isolated in the heater. Are you sure it's not exhaust being drawn in to your shop through a vent / window / mousehole? I heat my shop with a webasto water heater & radiator. The webasto is outside & only the hot water comes inside - but occasionally I get a whiff of diesel inside when the wind carries it.
The only points where there is a possibilty of mixing are the rubber glowplug seal, the rubber fuel pipe seal, and the gasket that seals the blower onto the combustion end. If there is any sort of gap it'll be when the heater is cold and you might get the fumes then, once it's warm and the gap closes the smell would go away.
A heatpump dryer would be easier to convert since you just remove the condense/compressor as one unit and you have the ideas space at the bottom for the diesel heater, the water tank could be use to store the fuel, another thing, if the motor has brushes then its universal so may run on dc current
@@rednecktek2873 It depends on how much is expensive, I have 3, the last one I bought last year for £30, most people dont understand them so when they do have a fault they are deem to be too expensive to repair so they either get sold very cheaply or someone who knows a bit about them (me) snap them up at a good price
I'd be interested in a cost comparison of drying the same item on electric & diesel (+ a little electric). An entirely 12V drier is a good plan - opens up the potential for having a drier in a camper van! Happy to help with electrickery / coding if needed.
The big question really is,,,, What's cheaper, buying a diesel heater and converting "something" to run off it or just carry on using mains electric 🤔 I get the whole trying stuff out but is it saving you money ??
Good question. In the home probably not. Off grid more likely. As you are now only consuming maybe 300W of electrical power and not 3000W. Now you are into the realms of using less batteries which have a finite life etc so that is a benefit.
Wow, US clothes dryers are a lot different. For one thing they suck air in through the heater (gas or electric), then the drum, the screen, and out through the blower. I don't think a condenser is a thing here. They blow directly outside. So a conversion of a US spec one would be more easy. direct the heater out hose into the air intake, kill the onboard heater and Bobs ur uncle.
Find an older tumble dryer with a mechanical timer switch and with it being older it should have a universal motor so just a little tinkering and it would easily run on 12v.
Another great Video! You seem to be pretty knowledgable and inventive on diesel heaters all round. I just fitted one yesterday in a weatherproof housing outside and have just the warm air piped in so far. Trouble is it stinks of hot plastic even after a few hours running. I’ve taken it to bits and the smell is definitely the same as the plastic housing even when cool. Have you come across this? Does it go away or is that just bad luck - a housing that just smells? Could it work without the housing with maybe a suitable end to direct the heat as well as heat shields where necessary?
it usually is from the dirt cheap plastic and goes away after serval hours at full bllast. but the full aluminium body version (not as cheap as the cheapest shit ones) is the best solution to this problem.
@@casemodder89 Great help . Thanks, I will give it a bit more of a blast and hopefully that will do it. Otherwise, I already have some aluminium sheet in the garage, ready for plan C. Plan B is to seal the present case with Aluminium foil tape. i read that some chap tried this but it still stank, but maybe he didn’t completely seal it so might be worth a go. anyway, keeps us busy! thanks for reply anyway.
no... barely blows enough for a longer run of hose and a few Y pieces. definitly not going to make the static pressure required for the drum... not remotely designed for that much resistance.
Got to laugh at the timing. Just had to buy a new washing machine, my mate said "i bet you've already pulled it to pieces" i replied, "yes and to get it to run on waste oil"
why not remove the electric heater from the tumble drier and cut a 24mm hole on either side of the metal cover on the back of the machine. Pass the exhaust through both holes and the tumble driers fan will blow air over the outside of the exhaust. Diesel heater can heat your room and tumble drier next to it will dry your clothes for free via the wasted exhaust heat.
Excellent video again. Just a thought, for the sake of simplicity wouldn't it be easier to use an inverter. The rig is still running on 12v? Keep up the good work 👍
There probably is some merit in keeping the tumble drier side mains powered and also just run the heater off an inverter. I have a feeling a 12V motor is going to need the same power as the mains motor would.
@@DavidMcLuckie I think the diesel heater idea is good. Just run the motor and controls off the inverter. A heat recovery system on the wet air would be useful but I suspect the fluff issue would be too problematic. That's why the air was not reused from the condenser. Too many fires on the electrical heater element? Thanks for the video. I'm off the the tip, regretting every old dryer I chucked out!
I admire your creativity with these devices David :) Have you seen the guy who is heating a 5-bed, 1920's, uninsulated house with just one heater, and running it on hydraulic oil but starting and ending the daily 8-hour burn with diesel ? ua-cam.com/video/HUC2hPcTnp0/v-deo.html
Hi Dave. Hoover/candy dryers. Are an absolute bitch to get into. Make your life a lot easy by getting a hotpoint/indeshit/creda where you can remove the side panel. I moaned every time I got a call to fix s hoover/candy one
How about just hanging the clothes on a clothesline OUTSIDE? Just saying SOLAR POWER! Cool, but! I am only having a little fun, and I do like David's stuff and projects. Relax people!
Wet kitchen towels!! I was expecting a pair of wet bright orange overalls. Nice video David.
I want to see the damp cotton fireball experiment.
Lol I do too
Interesting way to heat the shed.
yes! definitely! do it, do it, do it!!!!! 😅
Brilliant idea. They have done gas tumble driers for many years but this is a great new take on that. Kerosene being approx 1/4 the price of electric it makes perfect sense!
Cracking idea for people living off grid. Where they may be able to power the motor, but not the heater. And I expect more efficiently than running a generator set.
Hi David. Your a thinking man after my own heart. Love the concept, solar powered 12 volt tumble drier. If only we could get free diesel. Cheers, Jim.
I am so building this for my boat…… I love this man’s ideas …….
Fantastic. And recycling of an old dryer . Excellent
Back in the late 1970's and through the mid 1980's I sold and repaired major appliances, mostly laundry. Very old dryers did not have a cool-down on the timers. The old Norge dryers had a spring wound timer, and did not cool the clothes down. For a simple timer, a spring wound timer that is used for fans and heaters could be used on the dryer. One is the Intermatic FF60MH which is about $20 in the US. It has a maximum time of 60 minutes. It might be difficult to use a 12 volt motor in the dryer. The motors that most dryers use, including the one in the video, has the armature shaft coming out of both ends of the motor. Usually, one end is threaded to hold the blower wheel on, and the other end has a flat to hold the belt pully on. I can't think of any 12 volt DC motors that are like this or could be machined to fit. A reasonable alternative would be to use an inverter to convert 12 VDC to what ever the main voltage is, and just run the electrical part of the dryer that way. Another alternative would be to convert a gas dryer to propane and use a 5 gallon propane tank for the dryer heat, and an inverter for the electrical part. By the way, some common drying temperatures are: 52°C to 57°C (125°F to 135°F) for a delicate cycle, and about 66°C (150°F) for a regular cycle. Also, most blowers are designed to withstand these temperatures.
That's a really good idea
This is fantastic David, I don't know how you come up with these ideas but they certainly are ground breaking plus these days it will be energy saving.
I'm sure I read in the instructions for the Afterburner it can also control external devices like lights so I suppose it could also swich a motor on and off.
I love this! I can see how this would be perfect for off-grid/camper living by powering the dryer with a 12v supply, having a diesel heater with a 'divertable' Y connection and using the coding you discussed. How about a similar setup with the diesel water heater for an "off-grid" washing machine? Any reason that wouldn't work?
My recently bought "Webastardo" unit was salvaged from an Audi Q7 as the pre-heater for the engine's coolant circuit. Effectively, it is a diesel-powdered water heater. My own aim is to use this for my planned under-floor heating in my house; and I expect, yes, it could also heat the water for a washing machine too
I knew you couldn't resist that little idea❤️
Lol, dude sounds like Scott Manley. Seriously though, I like your video. Very informative.
Once upon a time they used to run washing machines with two-stroke engines (have a look for the Maytag "gasoline" washing machines), a small engine and a pulley would get the drum turning over nicely, would be a bit noisy though I guess... :P
Man, I've heard of condensing furnaces but never condensing dryers LMAO. In all seriousness though, this is genius.
I think the 2kw diesel heater would be the perfect match for the electric heating element as they're about 2kw also. As for a 12v motor, maybe a car blower motor with the fan attached might be useable? If you could get one of the old old 70's tumble driers with fold down door front (I still use a Creda 300rs), apart from being half the size of a modern, they use a twist clock work timer that has cool down part before stopping... Maybe a useable feature to turn off the diesel heater with out coding and electronics. I.e KISS
We need a comparison of the older style muffler vs that new aluminum one i see you have..... keep the vids comin haha
One thing I noticed that might be an issue. The fan and motor on the dryer is designed to pass cold air which is then heated downstream. Piping hot air into the cold air intake may overheat the motor and or damage the plastic fan.
What he said .
it is a recirc dryer, the warm air is cycled and it relies on the aluminium plates to condense the water.
@@amojak What he said 🙂
Yep that's right.. he's getting the vents / intake wrong the air in the drum never leaves in a condenser.... what he thinks is the vent is the cold air in and the side is warm out... I work on this stuff so if you need to know out msg me...
Great prototype and proof of concept.
You may even be able to use the thermostat control unit to just open a flap that allows more cool air in at over temperature events. Perhaps assisted by a 12 volt computer fan or car radiator fan.
I thought about this! Nice to see us Scotts still have the genius gene 🤣
Love your videos David, Thankyou for taking your time to do them, You keep me grounded in this crazy world, All the very best to you :)
Wow branching out I like it !!
Awesome concept experiment can't wait for the next video 👍
My off-grid juices are flowing...
Thumbs up for the safety crocs.
i’ve actually been wondering about this. thanks for the video
Ah this is great! A few weeks ago I asked Robert Murray-Smith how viable it might be to use a diesel-powered heater as the heat source for an oven!
Cooking oven or firing things oven? If a firing things oven you can remove the heat exchanger from the diesel heater, move the temperature sensor. And then you've got full burn chamber output into whatever you want.
@@DavidMcLuckie many thanks for your reply. My question to Robert was also open but primarily I was thinking about a cooking oven, possibly by extension a hot plate.
Just in the last few days, I've gotten myself a "Webastardo" heater from an Audi Q7, originally used to pre-heat the engine's coolant circuit. Over the next few months, I intend on experimenting with this to provide under-floor heating in my house! Possibly I might need to parallel a few of these, but as my first 1 was reclaimed salvage for £80 including the water pump, but minus fuel pump, I'm happy to experiment.
Your advice is NOT to run these on used and/or virgin cooking oil. Following Robert's videos on how to esterify cooking oil into a biodiesel, would that reduce the sooting/coking issues?
My questions aren't meant to be personally answered by your good self, I would very much welcome further discussions from other viewers on these issues.
@@RiverMersey question does the gelatin method remove the glycerides etc without having to use methanol and lye?
Webasto make a diesel fired hob 👍 but it's foooooking expensive 😮
Great idea for my off grid cabin
Brilliant just what I was thinking about doing 😊
I’m currently trying to rig up a diesel heater to heat up a hot tub. I’ve got an old gas combi boiler and piped the air and exhaust into the burn chamber need to set up some water containers and give it a run to see how good the heat transfer is.
It’s just to expensive for me to keep it hot with electric now and I use kerosene for the house already. I was looking at the direct water heating style of heater but I already had an all in one style I use in the garage and buying another is a bit pricey.
Have a look at the Bobil Vans water heater for some 'inspiration'.
Nice project!! - Would it not be better (more efficient!) to insert the diesel heater in the loop at the back, basically replacing the fan (as the diesel heater has one) and electric heater, so it would then retain the condenser part, and use less diesel? Maybe that could work if the controller could just take a signal from the existing controller, so when that calls for heat, it then turns the diesel heater on, and when it is not calling, it puts the diesel heater on minimum, unless the humidistat is also satisfied. then it jsut blows cold air? If the original heater has more then one element, then the controller could be set to see what it is being asked to provide, and set the Hz appropriately too?
I wasn't confident the diesel heaters fan had enough push to go through the perforations of the drum, then the dust filter. But it's something else to try.
I have this idea that I would love for you to try. Making a homemade calorifier with two copper coils inside and two electric elements both 12 volt and ac. One input to the copper coil would be a hydronic diesel heat with glycol and the other copper coil would be from an on demand propane heater. All this would output through a heat exchanger. The idea would be to have several sources of heat (in an rv) . Also the calorifier would have a glycol mix inside running to one side of the heat exchanger. I have a drawing that I could send that might help. Not sure how to do that.
Being a full time van Dweller I’m interested in this deffinately.
Maybe the heat from the diesel heater could be split 50/50 dryer and heater in my case that would be perfect.
Have you seen Robert Murray Smiths Biodiesel video would be great to see some tests 👍
Absolutely great👌
What a great idea👍Just a thought could you utilise the timer on the diesel heater🤔
Had I used a different heater I could have set a timer. Couldn't find one on the Hcalory controller.
The arduino has enough IO pins to also control the motor. Will need some other components to switch the loads.
... and thanks for being creative!
Wonder what other appliances diesel heaters could be pipe into? Airfryer perhaps🤔. Also cotton fires suck. They've started harvesting a lot of cotton in the past few years where I am. They often want us to extinguish the bale or module fires. Which means you have to completely disassemble them. Surprising amount of farmers want us just to soak the bale or module. But that only puts out the fire out temporarily. Best thing to do is let them burn for a week.
Hey thats a great job!
You could use the dryers electronic control to do everything you want to use an arduino for... its 'made for the job' so to speak.. the 2 stats at the back are needed so don't loose em then what was the heater power can control the diesel heater...
Would using a diesel water heater and replacing the heating element with a heat exchanger be a better idea? The rest of the drying mechanism would be unchanged.
I think the motor used on tumble driers are universal motors, so there's a chance they could be used on 12v, but the current draw might cause it to get a bit warm. The motors tend to have a shaft that has a fan one end and a shaft on the inside that runs a belt for the drum. The fan pulls air past the motor then over the heating elements, with your setup I think the motor could get a bit hot. Not much of an issue when its in a metal box with a hot drum right next to it though.
Check how much power your now modified tumble drier uses from the wall, might be easier to use a cheap inverter to run it rather than changing the motor or running it off 12v directly. Also easy enough to test if you have an inverter around.
Might be possible to hack a controller for a diesel heater by connecting wires from the PCB that go to the on/off button on it and using the output from the drier to trigger that somehow.
You'd take an efficiency hit converting from hot air to water heat to warm up air. Skipping the middleman would be a great benefit.
1. Get a 12v geared motor, car wiper motor might do.
2. CHD hot air directly to the drum without using t. dryer fan.
3. Remove fluff collector/filter so less restriction on CHD air flow.
4. Get cheap humidity sensor and temperature sensor off ebay.
5. Connect t.dryer 12v motor to arduino output through a 12v relay.
6. Connect humidity and temp sensor to arduino input.
7. Program arduino to communicate with CHD controller.
8. Code arduino to turn off heat output to t.dryer following cool down cycle based on sensor inputs.
Wiper motor would be way too slow.
@A Mercer geared high enough would never spin 7kg of wet jeans an stuff.
but there are tons of tourquey brushless motors for 3/4S LiPo usage and flightcontrollers that wonderfully take PWM signals from an arduino.
@A Mercer compare the size of the OEM motor with an wiper motor. there is quite a difference. both use brushes and kiiiind of the same way they work. so similar torque and power per volume.
it aint gonna work with a wiper motor. on top (not part of this discussion tho...) is low lifetime. washing machine and tumble dryer motor have extra long brushes for the many hours they're in service.
maybe if you connect 2 wiper motors with a toothbelt (if that is the correct term for timing belts, but in small).
a brushless outrunner was still the better option for off grid stuff over the way better efficiency. but also wayyyy more pricey thn some scrapyard stuff.
Technically it should be possible with an afterburner (genuine one) because it has the humidistat and it also has controllable outputs for switching relays (2 channels) so in theory you could set it to trigger a shutdown of the motor and using a delay relay you could leave it running to cool down while the heater is stopped.
I think with a bit of clever thinking it probably has enough functions as standard.
Theres also a pwm output which could drive a speed controller
That is a brilliant idea. Sadly the tumble drier came from the scrap pile, and has now returned. Perhaps if I get another one day I could try using the Afterburner to control it.
@DavidMcLuckie ah ok, your idea is a great one though, i spend a huge amount of time on my boat and for years i have looked at the mini 240v tumbledryer (which flattens the batteries in a few hours) and the hot air coming out the vent near the floor from the heater and wondered how nobody has put two and two together and made a cheap mini dryer with a flexible hose and a selection of fittings to push onto common heater vent outlets in vans and boats, and a 12v brushless driven drum.
A booster fan would be good too just as your video since the heater blowers are weak.
Since the dryer would have no control over the heater in my example they could use a mixer flap to shuttle fresh air in to regulate temp and another to direct it all out on a cool down program.
Also as far as a 12v motor goes to drive the drum, i wonder if the blower motor from a heater could drive it with sufficient gearing, although they dont have much torque they are pretty well made and the brushes seem to last a long time, they are also rebuildable.
Gearing it to rune at 5000rpm and the drum at much lower might be good enough.
Another way to do it would be to hack the rf remote and control the heater using wireless commands it could then be plug in hose and a cigarette socket and wireless temp control, perhapse with flaps as well for better control.
I am sure they were full size bath towels when you put them in?!! came out the size of facecloths 😂
Ha Ha. Yes, one of the reasons i stopped using a tumble dryer years ago, they also seem to wear out cloths quickly
With regard to the Cooling down period. Use a relay in line with the fuel pump controlled by the original heater feed. Tumble drier does the rest. Simple, or not maybe.
Could go even simpler. Assuming still using tumble drier fan, set tumble drier for 75 minutes. Then set the diesel heater timer for 60 minutes. Bingo, 15 minute cool down. :)
I’m already worried as I have the same model of tumble drier as you’ve used. Is the writing on the wall? Will I convert it to diesel heat when it imminently fails? I agree that I think a 2kw heater would be a better match. Great subject matter and more food for thought.
So this tumble drier was fully working when I got it. But I think the bearings might be on the way out, as the drum didn't really want to spin when I got it. So I sprayed everything with WD40.
@@DavidMcLuckie that’s put my mind at rest! I think this is actually our longest serving tumble drier so I’m not holding my breath but so far so good 😂
Keep up the excellent videos 👍
12v wiper motor. Plenty powerful enough, well geared down and reversible.
Wiper motor would be way too slow probably.
@@nexpro6985 it should work unless you want it spun dried. It just needs agitation to get the heated air around the clothes
@@nexpro6985 put the full 12v to a wiper motor and it'd be too fast...put your wipers on full speed, look at the wipers as a full circle instead of oscillating through the linkage and they'd be getting spun dried alright...just not sure if it'd have the poke with a full drum.
@@fzr400rr100 I know. It is a few weeks since I installed a wiper motor. I still say not up to the job. Replacing a big 240volt motor with a small 12v motor is probably a bad idea. The motor of a tumble dryer spins much faster than a wiper motor on full speed. I have messed with both.
Those wiper motors wouldn't have near enough torque to spin a load of wet clothes.
12:30 That's the dream!
Lol. Other funny moment "Yeah, it probably didn't need to be that hot." Probably was a good idea to do outside, and not mention that one to other residents.
i can see that the late aussie50 would have totally been into this sorta jerry rig
Now I have the sad. :(
Question, what torque load will it be for a motor to spin 7kg of wet clothing, at 12v that would be a lot of amps or a lot of gears, you could perhaps use the old style of automatic gearbox of the two spinning wheels that move up and down their shafts for different speed and loads, however to KISS moment you could use a bicycle idea, however as the load changed weight the speed too will increase and this probably stop the "tumble" action and turn it into a spin dryer lol
Thanks for that David. I'm glad we didn't have to witness your underdugs tumbling in the dryer. 🤣🤣
That would absolutely put me in the Not For Kids section. :)
You wouldnt need the fan you can block off the intake side and use a direct connection to the inside and use the normal discharge side
Brilliant 👏
How or what did you do to just get motor drum running ?? As missed that bit out .. ? Cheers
Very nice
Just watched one of your old heater videos,the one with the water syringe into the fuel, just wondering could you put redex in the fuel like on cars?
Nice video, as always!
I didn't know about that property of cotton to set on fire so easily. Good to know something new.
You know, there is a device called de-humidifier who does what you want to do with this machine. If you really need to dry your stuff, it's easier to use it. Of course, you don't have this need but the need to do something interesting with an existing machine. And this is appreciated!
Cheers!
Love it 👌
Electric Dryers do not have an "Intake" on the back, that is for heat exhaust, if you plug that up with heat input from the diesel heater you are up for a bad day. since there is no place for the air to escape.
Well if air comes out in one place, it must go in someplace else.
@@27kilofoxtrot Usually there are vent slits in the back or sides (depending on model) that just allow fresh air into the space under the drum. The blower sucks from that empty space. Ducting the hot air right into the fan can cause heat issues with the motor, but in theory you could get the hot air anywhere underneath the drum and it would get into the clothes.
Mine does. I mean the one in the house. Draws air in vents on the back and exits outside via a hose.
The one in the video draws in from the side and vents out the front as it's a condenser type.
Interesting idea, I like it 👍 .Now if there was a way to turn some of that thermal energy back into electricity for the battery etc that'd be cool.
The only issue I'd have is that with my brand new Hcalory diesel heater ,I'm getting a whiff or two of diesel coming from the blower on startup and shutdown which I'd rather not have on my clothing . Not exactly sure what's causing it but considering it's a "new" heater , I'm not exactly happy about it . I've asked a few people about it and so far no takers for the advice that's been asked .
All I've run in it is diesel only , nothing else and only two full tanks which isn't much .I have the one with the red metal case AKA the 5-8k model ,so the tank isn't that big .
Otherwise I really like it . I'm using it to offset two electric heaters in my shop which is 3k square feet and so far so good . For $150 USD delivered,free shipping and a really fast delivery I'm definitely not complaining but I'd definitely like to get that fuel vapor issue resolved . It's probably something simple but not sure at this point .Ideas anyone ?
The heated air & combustion air paths should be completely isolated in the heater. Are you sure it's not exhaust being drawn in to your shop through a vent / window / mousehole?
I heat my shop with a webasto water heater & radiator. The webasto is outside & only the hot water comes inside - but occasionally I get a whiff of diesel inside when the wind carries it.
The only points where there is a possibilty of mixing are the rubber glowplug seal, the rubber fuel pipe seal, and the gasket that seals the blower onto the combustion end. If there is any sort of gap it'll be when the heater is cold and you might get the fumes then, once it's warm and the gap closes the smell would go away.
What about making an oven using the heater? Could you use an EGR or something in a similar way for a caravan cooker?
That's an interesting thought. I know people have modded them to heat boilers, but for an oven we'd want indirect heat.
A heatpump dryer would be easier to convert since you just remove the condense/compressor as one unit and you have the ideas space at the bottom for the diesel heater, the water tank could be use to store the fuel, another thing, if the motor has brushes then its universal so may run on dc current
True, but heat pump dryers are EXPENSIVE and old tumble dryers with a dead element are CHEAP!
@@rednecktek2873 It depends on how much is expensive, I have 3, the last one I bought last year for £30, most people dont understand them so when they do have a fault they are deem to be too expensive to repair so they either get sold very cheaply or someone who knows a bit about them (me) snap them up at a good price
I'd be interested in a cost comparison of drying the same item on electric & diesel (+ a little electric).
An entirely 12V drier is a good plan - opens up the potential for having a drier in a camper van!
Happy to help with electrickery / coding if needed.
The big question really is,,,,
What's cheaper, buying a diesel heater and converting "something" to run off it or just carry on using mains electric 🤔
I get the whole trying stuff out but is it saving you money ??
Good question. In the home probably not. Off grid more likely. As you are now only consuming maybe 300W of electrical power and not 3000W. Now you are into the realms of using less batteries which have a finite life etc so that is a benefit.
Ha ha you've started without me. It should be there soon.
Needed to make sure it actually still worked. :)
Wow, US clothes dryers are a lot different. For one thing they suck air in through the heater (gas or electric), then the drum, the screen, and out through the blower. I don't think a condenser is a thing here. They blow directly outside. So a conversion of a US spec one would be more easy. direct the heater out hose into the air intake, kill the onboard heater and Bobs ur uncle.
Find an older tumble dryer with a mechanical timer switch and with it being older it should have a universal motor so just a little tinkering and it would easily run on 12v.
Yes. That's what I wanted. But when you get offered a free one, you can't be too picky. :)
Another great Video! You seem to be pretty knowledgable and inventive on diesel heaters all round. I just fitted one yesterday in a weatherproof housing outside and have just the warm air piped in so far. Trouble is it stinks of hot plastic even after a few hours running. I’ve taken it to bits and the smell is definitely the same as the plastic housing even when cool. Have you come across this? Does it go away or is that just bad luck - a housing that just smells? Could it work without the housing with maybe a suitable end to direct the heat as well as heat shields where necessary?
it usually is from the dirt cheap plastic and goes away after serval hours at full bllast.
but the full aluminium body version (not as cheap as the cheapest shit ones) is the best solution to this problem.
@@casemodder89 Great help . Thanks, I will give it a bit more of a blast and hopefully that will do it. Otherwise, I already have some aluminium sheet in the garage, ready for plan C. Plan B is to seal the present case with Aluminium foil tape. i read that some chap tried this but it still stank, but maybe he didn’t completely seal it so might be worth a go. anyway, keeps us busy! thanks for reply anyway.
Genius
David... Are the rectangle exhausts any good? That you have on the diesel heater in this video... Cheers..
From my very initial testing yes. I'll have a full test coming at some point, with dB and stuff. :)
Ya legend 👍
Could you just lose the fan off the end of the motor. As the diesel heater has enough fannage for that.
That's something I'll be trying.
no... barely blows enough for a longer run of hose and a few Y pieces.
definitly not going to make the static pressure required for the drum... not remotely designed for that much resistance.
curios question... is it any less costly to use diesel to run this..... or electric?
Right now in the UK, I think that kerosene for the production of heat is cheaper than electricity.
class 🙂
Got to laugh at the timing.
Just had to buy a new washing machine, my mate said "i bet you've already pulled it to pieces"
i replied, "yes and to get it to run on waste oil"
why not remove the electric heater from the tumble drier and cut a 24mm hole on either side of the metal cover on the back of the machine. Pass the exhaust through both holes and the tumble driers fan will blow air over the outside of the exhaust. Diesel heater can heat your room and tumble drier next to it will dry your clothes for free via the wasted exhaust heat.
That's not a terrible idea.
Hi David, You have a good fix channel.
My name is Young from Kingbolen. Hope to work with you.
Excellent video again. Just a thought, for the sake of simplicity wouldn't it be easier to use an inverter. The rig is still running on 12v? Keep up the good work 👍
There probably is some merit in keeping the tumble drier side mains powered and also just run the heater off an inverter. I have a feeling a 12V motor is going to need the same power as the mains motor would.
@@DavidMcLuckie I think the diesel heater idea is good. Just run the motor and controls off the inverter. A heat recovery system on the wet air would be useful but I suspect the fluff issue would be too problematic. That's why the air was not reused from the condenser. Too many fires on the electrical heater element?
Thanks for the video. I'm off the the tip, regretting every old dryer I chucked out!
I don't think that plastic fan will last too long with that amount of heat. ,But overall great concept.
Probably not. But it will do for testing. :)
2 thumbs up
*That's what she said* ?
Did David McLuckie get an A appended to his first name? 😉
🥁
genius :)
Well thats certainly a novel concept.
Love your videos David, but the last few have audio issues with your mic, no longer can I hear hellooooooooooo
It’s just ooooooooooo now 😢
I still get a full Helloooo on UA-cam playback.
The problem I can see is your clothes will probably smell of diesel as my diesel heater even though it’s installed correctly has a bit of a smell
I admire your creativity with these devices David :) Have you seen the guy who is heating a 5-bed, 1920's, uninsulated house with just one heater, and running it on hydraulic oil but starting and ending the daily 8-hour burn with diesel ? ua-cam.com/video/HUC2hPcTnp0/v-deo.html
Hi Dave.
Hoover/candy dryers. Are an absolute bitch to get into.
Make your life a lot easy by getting a hotpoint/indeshit/creda where you can remove the side panel.
I moaned every time I got a call to fix s hoover/candy one
David I see a massive problem. It’s NOT 12v Come on man how am I going to run that in my motorhome
An inverter.
I retract my original comment lol
How about just hanging the clothes on a clothesline OUTSIDE? Just saying SOLAR POWER! Cool, but! I am only having a little fun, and I do like David's stuff and projects. Relax people!
Freezing temps, cloudy, rain...
@@mtn.lion_bait okay they stay out a little longer, or even inside. : ) Wouldn't that be freeze dry then?
@@mtn.lion_bait what is even better is your name Mountain lion bait! : )
Don't let Geta Thunberg see this! Hooooow Dare you! ; 0
It was literally raining the whole time I made the video. The rain was coming under the carport sideways in the wind. It's 5ºC outside.
I would have this engineer on my spacecraft