Chinese Diesel doesn’t come to temp

[TonyMinnesoti]

So I’m getting to new and exciting levels of frustration with my Chinese diesel heater. It refuses to ignite and just sits there blowing white smoke.

I’ve tried:
- A full cleaning
- New glow plug and screen
- Shortened wire run to battery, voltage measures above 12v
- Cleaned intake hose
- New exhaust, short as possible

My next guess is maybe the fuel pump? It ticks. I can see it moving fuel, while attempting other fixes I flooded the chamber so it’s obviously moving diesel.

I’d hate the extra expense to get and fit a new one of these just for it to not work either. Any ideas?

Or perhaps the hype is overrated and these are actually completely garbage?


[mod edit: removed an offensive reference. -tx2]

 

[hugemoth]

Is the little hole next to the glow plug clear? Is the atomizing screen inserted far enough so it's below the hole? What are your fan speed and pulse rate settings?

 

[Seajatt]

So I’m getting to new and exciting levels of frustration with my Chinese diesel heater. It refuses to ignite and just sits there blowing white smoke.

I’ve tried:
- A full cleaning
- New glow plug and screen
- Shortened wire run to battery, voltage measures above 12v
- Cleaned intake hose
- New exhaust, short as possible

My next guess is maybe the fuel pump? It ticks. I can see it moving fuel, while attempting other fixes I flooded the chamber so it’s obviously moving diesel.

I’d hate the extra expense to get and fit a new one of these just for it to not work either. Any ideas?

Or perhaps the hype is overrated and these are actually completely garbage?

Are you using diesel that's been treated for cold weather? If not, it may be too thick for the pump to move.

 

[afblangley]

I've no mechanical skills, so I can't offer any troubleshooting, but maybe some words of encouragement will help change your attitude and expectations. In my prepurchase research, it seems like the Chinese diesel heaters don't have the same quality control as those made by Esbar, Webasto, and Planar. The same is true with the availability of customer support.

My philosophy towards these heaters is the same as with replica cars compared to the vintage originals. The much lusted after Porsche 356 sells for upwards of $300k, while it's replica can be had for $40k. They exist for those for whom the real deal is unachievable. It's the choice between having a lookalike or nothing.

I have a Vivor all in one unit, with a couple of hundred hours usage. Fortunately, I haven't had any problems with it, but I'm fully prepared to junk it and would still think it was worth it. My choices were portable propane heater or professionally installed Esbar. The former is an inferior heat source in every way, the latter was cost prohibitive.

My expectations and attitude: when (not if) my heater fails, I won't troubleshoot it, I won't service it. I'll just log into my Amazon account and a new one will be delivered within a couple of days. I could do this every year for a decade and still have spent less than the German heaters.

 

[maki2]

You can try thinning the diesel fuel with some kerosene. That can help for very cold weather use. Of course do further reading on the subject for yourself on the subject of gelling in cold temperatures.

Also if your diesel is old and sat for months in really hot weather it might have gone bad. So if you are using last winter or last springs fuel do a cleaning of the fuel system and start over with a recently purchased fresh fuel supply.

Lots of little things are frequently found on troubleshooting trees! That is no different regarding the pricey or economy cost heaters. Bad fuel and gelling in fuel can happen to every make and brand.

 

[hugemoth]

Winterized diesel is delivered to gas stations starting Nov 1st here in Oregon, don't know about other locations. When diesel gelled in my heater it just flamed out and didn't smoke. I added a cup of gasoline to the tank and that took care of it. Later I added anti gell additive when needed which works fine.

 

[Camper]

Google..... diesel heater white smoke.

 

[LoupGarou]

To fix the white smoke, there's a small hole near the glow plug that can clog up with dust and lint. Make sure its clear.

 

[Camper]

Lots of YouTube video's on this issue:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=diesel+heater+white+smoke

 

[dov tayles]

I've had similar issues. I would suggest you take it apart. I suspect either the little air intake hole next to the glow plug is clogged, or else the burn chamber is sooted up. Either way, cleaning may fix the current problem. Going forward, you may have to adjust your fuel/fan speed settings for your altitude.

 

[BelgianPup]

Are you using diesel that's been treated for cold weather? If not, it may be too thick for the pump to move.

I don't know anything about those diesel heaters, but plan on getting one...

How do you know if diesel fuel has been treated?

 

[hugemoth]

I don't know anything about those diesel heaters, but plan on getting one...

How do you know if diesel fuel has been treated?

Ask the gas station attendant. The stations around here in Oregon start pumping winterized diesel Nov 1st. You can always add anti gell yourself if in doubt or add a little gasoline.

 

[tx2sturgis]

I don't know anything about those diesel heaters, but plan on getting one...

How do you know if diesel fuel has been treated?

Assuming you buy fresh diesel at a truck stop in an area that is currently experiencing cold winter weather, (such as buying diesel in Flagstaff Arizona or DesMoines Iowa in January) you will be buying Number 1 or 'winter blend' diesel.

If the diesel you are trying to burn in January, but it's from a fuel can that you filled in a truck stop near Tucson back in July, then you are trying to burn Number 2 or 'summer blend' diesel, and it WILL gel and clog up the filter and the pump if it gets below about 25-30 degrees farenheit.

No problem if the heater and the diesel tank are not exposed to sub-freezing temps, but if the tank or the lines from the tank to the heater are exposed to below 32f, then you are gonna have trouble.

The answer to your question is, you can't tell by looking at diesel if its been treated or if it's a summer or winter blend, but you can buy diesel additive at the major truck stops or Tractor Supply, NAPA, Autozone, etc, and add some of that to your tank. A quart of Power Service (in the white bottle) will treat 100 gallons of diesel so its not very expensive to use.

An alternative is K-1 water-clear Kerosene, but it's about $10 a gallon when bought in the 5 gallon cans.

 

[BelgianPup]

Okay, thank you, All!

I was wondering if they marked the tanks.