Thread: Can I co-locate a diesel heater with a gas hot water system?

To me it would make sense to locate them together, my only concern would be if there was a gas leak then starting the diesel heater might ignite it.
Bit of a what if scenario but the only downside i could think of.

Yes I've decided to locate the heater in the same cabinet with the HWS, I was concerned about the heater igniting any gas leak but if there was a gas leak the HWS would ignite it anyway. Probably put a floor vent in the cabinet.

LPG is heavier than air, so I'd say a vent is a must. Still, if you have a gas leak then the diesel heater would be the least of your worries. Or one of them. You could stick something like this in there. That one is mains powered, but I reckon there'll be 12 volt ones around.

I'm interested in how you do this. My OKA has a diesel heater located in the cab. Never been happy with that arrangement and also want hot water. These look good, if a little pricey. But maybe getting rid of the gas bottle altogether isn't such a bad idea.

Originally Posted by Tins

LPG is heavier than air, so I'd say a vent is a must. Still, if you have a gas leak then the diesel heater would be the least of your worries. Or one of them. You could stick something like this in there. That one is mains powered, but I reckon there'll be 12 volt ones around.

I'm interested in how you do this. My OKA has a diesel heater located in the cab. Never been happy with that arrangement and also want hot water. These look good, if a little pricey. But maybe getting rid of the gas bottle altogether isn't such a bad idea.

That diesel HWS is pretty pricey, but so is the Truma gas HWS that we currently have, around $950. The posh-pack Trayon campers come with a diesel heater that does both the hot water and the room heating, Apparently they are not available for private purchase as Trayon have some kind of licensing arrangement on them.
There are plenty of 12v gas sniffers on the market between about $60 and $200, but as mentioned there is already an ignition source in the cabinet if there were a gas leak. I'll probably stick with putting a vent in the floor of the cabinet. Or maybe in the door like the gas bottle cabinet. One complication compared to where I had the heater mounted before is that I'll need to route the diesel line from the RHF to the LHR of the camper; the previous arrangement had the heater in the adjacent locker to the fuel tank. Not an insurmountable problem.

Originally Posted by POD

One complication compared to where I had the heater mounted before is that I'll need to route the diesel line from the RHF to the LHR of the camper; the previous arrangement had the heater in the adjacent locker to the fuel tank. Not an insurmountable problem.

Or give it its own tank if you have the room. They don't use much.

You seen these?

Originally Posted by Tins

Or give it its own tank if you have the room. They don't use much.

It has it's own tank, i.e. a 5L jerry-can type container that lives in the locker with the gas cylinder. I think I'll re-mount it in the same place, it has the convenience of being on the bowser side of the Defender. I already have a boatload of the small-diameter plastic tubing for it. And yes, they are very economical to run.

Originally Posted by Tins

You seen these?

That's interesting. Trayon promote theirs as though it were the only show in town. There's a big advantage to the gas HWS and diesel heater that I already have though; I already have them! We run a gas stove too (with the same advantage) so it's no extra hassle to have the gas cylinder. The gas lasts ages, too.