Diesel Construction Heaters: Keep Cosy While You're On the Job

There's nothing worse than turning up at a construction site on a cold day and climbing into an unheated cabin. With stiff controls and your breath pluming in front of you even once the door is closed, you'd rather be anywhere in the world than freezing in that seat.

Of course, you don't need to resign yourself to shivering away in an ice-cold cabin - there are now many vehicle accessories that can bring warmth and cheer even in the most frigid conditions, and a diesel heater is one of the best options available. In this Buyers' Guide, we'll walk you through everything you need to know about diesel heaters so that you can stop freezing and start thawing the next time you're in the machine cabin.

What is a diesel heater?

Although they can be complex (like any machine) diesel heaters are in fact incredibly simple, and really rely on 4 components to operate: a fuel pump, a combustion chamber, a heat exchanger and fan.

The fuel pump moves diesel from a fuel tank into a combustion chamber, where it is combusted; at the same time, a fan draws in cold air and passes it through a heat exchanger, where the heat from the diesel's combustion warms it before the fan pushes the air out through a nozzle. It is this warm air that heats the cabin when you turn the diesel heater on.

What are the benefits of a diesel construction heater?

There are many great benefits to using a diesel heater in your machinery cabins, but the two most significant are cost and ease of use. Because they rely on diesel for fuel, diesel heaters are incredibly cheap to run and highly efficient, with low fuel consumption that uses only a few dollars worth of diesel to provide hours of heating.

Additionally, diesel's low combustion point makes them very safe to use, while any exhaust is can be safely vented outside the cabin. Once it is installed, a diesel heater only requires the push of a button to start heating and will bring the cabin up to temperature in just a few minutes.

With that said, modern diesel heaters are also very sophisticated and many, such as the Eberspacher D2L AS3, have built-in temperature sensors and controllers that will automatically adjust the heat output to maintain a constant temperature.

Where should I install a diesel heater?

Space is going to be limited in most machinery cabins, but wherever possible we recommend installing your diesel heater as close to the floor as possible. Doing so will not only allow heat to rise through the whole cabin but will keep the heater out of the way of any controls, while also allowing you to easily route the exhaust pipes outside and clean up any spills that might occur.

What is the best diesel heater for the construction industry?

Although there are many different manufacturers and models out there, if you are looking for unmatched quality and performance that you can rely on, we would recommend Eberspacher. Designed and manufactured in Germany, Eberspacher embody all the wonderful qualities of German engineering and have come to be known as the Mercedes-Benz of diesel heaters.

Here at Shop RV Parts, we stock two different models from Eberspacher, the D2L AS3 and the AX1 D2. Both models are 12V heaters that can be powered by any vehicle or piece of equipment that you may have on site. With easy, efficient operation and intelligent heating capabilities, you really can't go wrong with either model.

Want to know more about diesel heaters? Browse our selection today

If you're sick of freezing through winter and wondering if a diesel heater might be the key to keeping warm on the construction site, make sure you check out our selection. With models from Truma and Eberspacher, we've got everything you need to get set up and start heating up. For more information about diesel heaters and other great accessories for your car, truck, boat or caravan, don't forget to head to the Buyers' Guides section on our website.