I need electric heat for my Skoolie

IWC Bus

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2017
Posts
153
Location
Staten Island, NY
Greetings everyone,

Once again wifey put her foot down and there will be NO propane on this Skoolie. With that said do anyone have any suggestion? :hide:
 
Your subject and text leave me guessing but some options might include the following. Of course, it varies depending on how much heat you need, what power sources you have available, and so forth...

Diesel fired air heater
Diesel fired coolant heater (then radiant floor heat and/or heat exchangers)
Electric baseboards
Ceramic heaters
Wood heat
Oil filled radiator type heater, electric powered
Roof mounted heat pump
 
My mini split ac units are also heat pumps and work great for heat down to the 20s or 30s. Very energy efficient compared to most electric heat options.
 
the price of a diesel heater has dropped to a fraction of what i paid for mine. made in China now. i'm going to pick another one up as an add on.
 
the price of a diesel heater has dropped to a fraction of what i paid for mine. made in China now. i'm going to pick another one up as an add on.

So for someone completely new to the idea of diesel heat, can you share a link to the unit you're considering adding? You said the magic words "price", "drop" and "fraction"!
 
For those interested in diesel heaters, I googled "diesel furnaces" and got a whack of sites for info. From Webasto to everything else in the market.
New prices seem decent to me and so many to choose from.
Enjoy.


John
 
I am putting in 2 mini splits 1 fore 1 aft and I am also putting in carbon film floor heat as an experiment. mini splits are 9000 btu one will be run on a 3500 watt pure sine.
 
FWIW: used Webasto heaters show up on EBay from time to time.

I found a Scholastic 45k Btu heater for $495+$125 shipping.
 
my Planar Diesel Air Heater was a Russian made brand. i have their 8DM Model that puts out 21k btus or about 6KW.

this model:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Autoterm-PLANAR-8DM-12-TM-6KW-Diesel-Air-Heater-12V-with-PU-22-controller/302562559609?hash=item4672224679%3Ag%3Av2gAAOSwn35aqiTf&_sacat=0&_nkw=diesel+air+heater+planar+8dm&_from=R40&rt=nc&_trksid=m570.l1313&LH_TitleDesc=0%7C0

but if you just search on Planar diesel air heater

here is a bigger one:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/8KW-12V-Air-diesel-Heater-Planar-2-Holes-Car-Bus-Truck-Motor-Homes-Boat-8000W/292483826306?epid=23016584076&hash=item4419650282%3Ag%3AC9oAAOSw~jJaqcha&_sacat=0&_nkw=diesel+air+heater+planar&_from=R40&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1312.R1.TR0.TRC0.A0.H0.TRS5

you can find them on alibaba for about the same price. Apparently the Russians started getting them from China now. :facepalm:

Diesel heater takes a bit getting used to.... outside the bus, it sounds jet engine-ish.

inside is nice and warm
 
Last edited:
home oil furnace is another option, they make small ones for rv's. An oil furnace uses no. 2 diesel.
 
you can find them on alibaba for about the same price. Apparently the Russians started getting them from China now. :facepalm:

Diesel heater takes a bit getting used to.... outside the bus, it sounds jet engine-ish.

inside is nice and warm

Thanks man that got me started!
 
We have an EnviHeat in both the front and back of our Skoolie. Quiet, take up minimal space, and EFFECTIVE.

WanderingLass, could you show me how you utilized your EnviHeat? It seems super inexpensive and maybe too good to be true. Lol. How does it work with your electrics?
 
WanderingLass, could you show me how you utilized your EnviHeat? It seems super inexpensive and maybe too good to be true. Lol. How does it work with your electrics?

The front one is mounted beside the steps, on the wall. The rear one is beside the bed. It's actually mounted on a cabinet door! The cord is zip-tied in place so we don't have to worry about it.

We are 95% A/C on Wanda so we're pretty much shoreline dependent with a household breaker panel under a dining room bench. The draw is only 475 watts per heater so we can go solar quite easily. It's not a fast heat so it takes a bit to feel the heat if they're turned off. But WanderingJuggler was able to hit the edge with a kero heater then run just the Envis last winter in South Dakota while working on her (we couldn't leave the skoolie plugged in during the week when we weren't working on her).
 

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