16' Series Diesel heater tank and gas bottles

[garfield28]

Hi everyone,

Have a diesel heater that I want to install in my 2010 16.49-2HL, after ideas for a good place to store the 15l tank. If also like to add another 9kg gas bottle holder and looking for ideas for that also. Was thinking I could maybe move the gas bottle holder that is factory fitted and maybe put 2 new ones in that incorporates a diesel tank holder/mount also. Anyone done something similar? Would love some pics, inspiration and ideas.

Thanks
Geoff

 

[Drover]

Doable and done by many, get a bottle rack that is adjustable not the cheap one size fits one size type, if you already have a cross bar on the draw bar then weld to it but if not it may be wiser to mount them on a frame which you bolt to draw bar with U bolts, extra welding to draw bars is not a great idea really, I have seen horrible jobs which would lead to stress fractures ......
Mine have adjustable straps so I don't care what shape the bottle is, adding 2 bottles just means a 2 way valve/tap fitted with 2 hoses for the bottles, technically a gas fitters jobby....... do not try to change to shape of the gas pipe....... Since the diesel heater likes the pump close to the tank I would be putting it as far from my bed as possible, as the tick of the pump drives a lot of folk batty.... even with the fuel lines insulated and pump as well........ diesel tank will add 17kgs and another gas bottle about 28kgs with rack.....

 

[Boots in Action]

Doable and done by many, get a bottle rack that is adjustable not the cheap one size fits one size type, if you already have a cross bar on the draw bar then weld to it but if not it may be wiser to mount them on a frame which you bolt to draw bar with U bolts, extra welding to draw bars is not a great idea really, I have seen horrible jobs which would lead to stress fractures ......
Mine have adjustable straps so I don't care what shape the bottle is, adding 2 bottles just means a 2 way valve/tap fitted with 2 hoses for the bottles, technically a gas fitters jobby....... do not try to change to shape of the gas pipe....... Since the diesel heater likes the pump close to the tank I would be putting it as far from my bed as possible, as the tick of the pump drives a lot of folk batty.... even with the fuel lines insulated and pump as well........ diesel tank will add 17kgs and another gas bottle about 28kgs with rack.....

Good advice @Drover . Never a good idea to weld anything to drawbar. Always use u-bolts.
@garfield28 , note the extra weight on drawbar mentioned by @Drover. It all keeps pushing up the ball weight and the load on rear of your tug.

 

[Drover]

I should have added a 2 way tap is fitted between gas reg and bottles, I use flexy hoses myself and just replace them about every 5 yrs, better than copper pig tail jobs..

 

[jazzeddie1234]

Some heater installs swap the original tank for a small jerry and a jerry can holder. They often use a quick connect that so it's easy to fill. And if possible, get a pick-up tube that can be installed in the top of the tank rather than in the base - to reduce the risk of leaks

 

[garfield28]

Thanks for the replies. So would the general consensus be not to add another gas bottle to the draw bar then? I don't have to as I don't have a hot water service, but I want to do a lot more free camping spots into next year if possible so I want to designate one bottle for my stove and to run the fridge, and the other bottle for my Webber BBQ, and also thinking of buying a Jolca hot tap for an outside shower so the extra gas would come in handy for that.

I don't know how much it would cost but would be good to be able to run the fridge, stove and BBQ all off the one bottle but would need to split the line and add a bayonet to the line for the BBQ and one in the other side for a Jolca hot tap.

 

[Drover]

2 bottlles independant of each other would mean seperate plumbing ..... where tapping in to the line to put a bayonet fitting is a lot cheaper.....
I have a line for the weber to run but I found carrying a 4.5kg bottle for the weber was far better than using the bayonet and overly expensive extension lead, I could then position the Weber wherever I liked and not be constrained by a lead...

On your fridge the label will show how many joules it burns per hour using a calculator you can work out roughly how long a gas bottle will run off grid with your fridge sucking off it, my big fridge will eat a 8.5 in about 10 or 11 days so work on 8 days to allow for stove/HWS/barbie smaller fridges they last longer..

 

[Jaybird]

This is how I set up mine in the front boot of my Discovery. It has a quick release (the white bit in the top of the pic) the green tube is the breather exiting through the boot floor I used the fitting that came with the original tanks for this and it has the standup fuel pipe fitted in the top. The tank is a 15ltr diesel tank from Bunnings. The tank is contained in a box I made and is attached to the divider between the boot and the gas bottle area.