Just prior to my current condition, as my abilities began to deteriorate, I was in the midst of converting from a bush-centric outdoor experience to something approaching overlanding... Which by definition is using a four wheel drive rig with a camper of some kind to get into the bush.
One of the things I have been messing with in that regard is portable power/solar generator ideas, and another, using diesel heat.
Propane is notoriously suspect as a heat source in really cold weather. And while I have not divorced myself from propane, at least in theory on the rig itself, I have been working on making a secondary source, which to my surprise, will probably surpass propane for heat. And that is those crappy Chinese heaters that are all the rage up here in the north.
You can get them all over Amazon - Doesn't really matter how you choose, they are all about the same... A hundred and fifty to two hundred bucks will get you a pretty self contained unit. Now, it ain't for the uninitiated... And is not recommended for joe-homeowner... But if you are handy...
Anyhow, jt's primo heat for out back, easily able to keep a 1 car garage space warm, and might keep a 2-car. Needless to say, it will run away with a camper, hot tent, or ice shack, which is why they are going crazy for em up here..
The object of the exercise in my case is to build a portable or modular system, capable of being thrown as a unit or two on a sled behind a snowmachine, and which would be a secondary heat source in case of need for the camper.
A couple problems, pretty easily surmounted... They need a big 12v batt pack to run, because during the glow plug cycle, they're burning close to 15 amps... Not for long now, but the startup draws hard. That's the problem I am addressing here.
I have a home made 1000 amp hr batt pack that suffices, though initially that was a bother, because the easy 12v was the cigarette lighter, which could not handle the amp load... but I got it handled going direct to the battery. If I was using an off-the-shelf 'solar generator' I think that could have been trouble... But I am alright... and if I bring the batt pack along, I can run the heater for a long time. So none of this is critical. I can make do.
But I started with a motorcycle battery that I built into the diesel unit... Later a garden tractor battery... That might last a day without input. Went dead out on the lake last winter... Ran out of juice.
But here's the thing... I would like it to be self-contained, and I would like it to run on a small battery indefinitely. What I am wondering about is the energy lost as heat to the exhaust (which is substantial). You can't touch that exhaust pipe. It would easily make steam. Now I am not thinking about a steam generator.... I am just saying, that's a lot of waste.
I wonder if that lost energy could be converted somehow (radiant heat to electricity) to run the machine and trickle charge the battery to replace the substantial loss at startup... it takes about 4amps (12v) to run it outside of the glow plug. if I could get that and say 2 extra amps...
Like I said, I have it handled with a portable battery setup, and I can regenerate that with solar or jenny. It's the idea of it that won't leave my head.
