diesel heaters on a car battery??

so in a couple weeks I'm driving to Northeast Utah and I'm going to camp somewhere in the uintah basin. not at a campground that's dumb... I'm going to drive in the middle of nowhere till I find a nice spot. anyways...

I ordered a 5 kilowatt hour heater and I know the proper way to set these up is with like a power pack and such. I do not have such things and I do not have money for such things however for this trip at least I do have an almost brand new car battery in my Chevy I'm going to rob. have you guys ran these wired to a car battery? if so will it run all night or will the battery die? I understand it's very bad for the battery but just as a quick solution I would like to do it this trip for one night of camping.

 

I have a 8 kw and when I tried to run it off a deep cell it kept giving me an inconsistent voltage error. I use a Jackery 280 Explorer instead which lasts me for about 16 hours and charge it with my 80 watt solar panel.

 

Homie, you dont wanna get stuck in the middle of the Uintah Basin, especially in January…

There are some amazing rock shelters and rock art out there, heart of the Fremont Culture.

Here’s a fascinating lecture about the archaeology out there if you are interested. I watched this whole thing a few months back.

https://youtu.be/bacTFpw5Npg?si=Xa3xHxKbJzHCu9O0

This video is even more interesting, shows incredibly preserved artifacts from Fremont rock shelter sites extending in NW Colorado.

https://youtu.be/ed4I-xh-GWM?si=wcGFet22KBwNeTBA

Just one night out there? As for staying warm I would recommend filling a nalgene bottle with a liter of boiling water right before it’s time for bed. That thing in your sleeping bag will keep you warm through most of the night. Could do one at the feet and one by the torso of it’s really cold…
Double sock it too.

 

I used to run mine off a spare deep cycle battery and never had a problem over a few nights.

 

Worst case you spend the night in the cab with the heat on

Try it before you go, they use a bunch of energy on startup but then not so much

 

lol well I'm driving through to Nevada I just wanted to spend the night in that area. Don't know that area at all except for skinwalker ranch. figured I could go up somewhere and find a spot to make a little camp unless there's too much snow of course.

 

I figured in a pinch the battery idea would work fine. I got the connections that I need now I'm just waiting for the heater in the mail... Make a cozy nest in the bed of my truck!

 

I'd like to get one of those jackerys or a bluetti but they are spendy... I'll invest the capital eventually but for now I am ghetto fabulous

 

The car battery will work just fine, done that a few times. When you get ready to buy a power station, check out the ecoflow store on eBay and buy refurbished. They have amazing deals, great warranty, and everything I have from them is absolutely like new.

 

sweet! I'll have to check that out thanks!

 

Look no further

$39 MECCANIXITY DC 8-40V to DC 13.8V Power Converter 15A 207W Voltage Regulator IP67 Waterproof Transformer Power Supply Module Power Adapter for Car Truck Solar System

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DG57GL4N
These heaters may say 12v but what they really want is the 14v your alternator puts out, the pre programmed cutoff is based on it.
I had 300ah at 12.8v lifepo setup directly connected to the heater...womp womp...voltage drop once the first fan turns on and heater shuts off.
300ah 12.8v with a lithium jump starter.. sorta worked, but sometimes it would cut out right after ignition and belch white smoke.
same batteries, a couple anderson connectors in between this boost converter and the heater, voila 'glow plug voltage' never drops below 10v, no smoke, even if the battery is 50%

 

Good to know... I don't know the specs of my battery off hand (it's for a '92 chevy 1500, nothing special) but I used it over night camping at it worked just fine! too well I would say... I had both windows of my shell open while it was below freezing and blizzarding out.