Me too.
Those of us trying to heat a very small space face the problem that most commercial heaters just aren't small enough. A diesel heater is about the only thing available with a low enough output. In a car, aside from the problem of finding a safe space, a few minutes of many heaters will melt the skin off your face while ignoring the inch of ice on the floor.
What we need, after that first blast, is a slow and steady source of heat. The smallest diesel heater I've seen seen is 2000 btu. Propane heaters usually start around 5000 btu. I think I could be quite comfortable with a little more insulation and a heat source of 1000 -1500 btu and a means to distribute the heat that is easy on both space and power.
Without DIY lectures I built a heater out of a single burner propane stove. It is safely and securely mounted away from anything that could be damaged by the heat. While it is still a work in progress, the part that makes it at all functional is what others have already referred to, the heat battery. The burner and the area above and around it is very heavy because it is enclosed in fairly heavy steel.
I let the heater run at the very lowest setting until things start to turn red. Then I turn it off. Another part is the distribution system. A fan pulls air from under the driver seat and blows it up past the steering wheel. I sit behind that seat with my feet on 1 inch styro-foam. Pulling cold air from under the seat, eventually, pulls the warmer air down toward my feet. The circulation and distribution are very difficult when you have limited space and power.
I think that the jury is still out on the best source of heat. We need to consider cost, space, safety, smell, etc. As we keep searching for those, I think that insulation, heat storage and distribution are accessible challenges. Tomorrow I'm going to get some more steel to shroud my heater in. I'm also thinking that I might get some plant pots with granite chips in them and make wire plants to put in them.
MG
Those of us trying to heat a very small space face the problem that most commercial heaters just aren't small enough. A diesel heater is about the only thing available with a low enough output. In a car, aside from the problem of finding a safe space, a few minutes of many heaters will melt the skin off your face while ignoring the inch of ice on the floor.
What we need, after that first blast, is a slow and steady source of heat. The smallest diesel heater I've seen seen is 2000 btu. Propane heaters usually start around 5000 btu. I think I could be quite comfortable with a little more insulation and a heat source of 1000 -1500 btu and a means to distribute the heat that is easy on both space and power.
Without DIY lectures I built a heater out of a single burner propane stove. It is safely and securely mounted away from anything that could be damaged by the heat. While it is still a work in progress, the part that makes it at all functional is what others have already referred to, the heat battery. The burner and the area above and around it is very heavy because it is enclosed in fairly heavy steel.
I let the heater run at the very lowest setting until things start to turn red. Then I turn it off. Another part is the distribution system. A fan pulls air from under the driver seat and blows it up past the steering wheel. I sit behind that seat with my feet on 1 inch styro-foam. Pulling cold air from under the seat, eventually, pulls the warmer air down toward my feet. The circulation and distribution are very difficult when you have limited space and power.
I think that the jury is still out on the best source of heat. We need to consider cost, space, safety, smell, etc. As we keep searching for those, I think that insulation, heat storage and distribution are accessible challenges. Tomorrow I'm going to get some more steel to shroud my heater in. I'm also thinking that I might get some plant pots with granite chips in them and make wire plants to put in them.
MG
