2024 test4 productsHome Appliances
Which Diesel Heaters Brand Wins?
A head-to-head test of 4 diesel heaters options with the measured results for each. See how they ranked and watch the full test video.
Budget pick
Silvel
Price shown in test: $95, the least expensive of the four heaters tested
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Specs | Warm up power draw | Steady state power draw | Sound level | Air speed | Temperatures | Warm up / cool down time | 35 minute room heating test (800 sq ft shop) | Full tank fuel run time | Combustion cleanliness on straight diesel | Alternative fuel test, vegetable oil | Alternative fuel test, used motor oil blended with diesel (about 1/2 cup each) | Alternative fuel test, straight used motor oil |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1LF Bros$250, the most expensive of the four heaters tested | described in the transcript as a 'nullin one' (likely a caption garble of 'all-in-one') 110V/12V/24V 5 kW diesel heater, rated lowest heat setting around 4,700 BTUs; transcript states the highest heat setting as '177,000' BTUs, which is implausible for a 5 kW heater and likely a dropped or duplicated digit (plausibly meant 17,700), kept verbatim and flagged rather than corrected. Includes remote control, LCD screen, AC to DC power adapter, exhaust already plumbed. Rated the heaviest at 19.23 lb | peaked at 116 W during warm-up, about 24 W less than the H Calory | about 54 W on highest fan speed (the most of the four heaters), about 13.6 W on lowest fan speed | just under 57 dB peak noise during warm-up; very close to 74 dB on highest fan speed (transcript shows a caption-split decimal '7 4 DB', read as 74); about 61.6 dB on lowest fan speed | close to 41 mph on highest fan speed, the fastest of the four heaters; transcript states '2343 mph' on the lowest fan speed calling it 'the fastest yet', which is physically implausible and almost certainly a garbled decimal (plausibly meant around 23.43 mph), kept verbatim and flagged rather than corrected | air outlet around 326.00 F on high fan speed, the hottest of the four; exhaust pipe around 240 F; on low fan speed, air outlet around 262 F | warmed up in close to 5 minutes, same as the other three; took right at 4 and 1/2 minutes to cool down and power off | best of the four heaters: increased the overall shop temperature by 9.2 F after a 5 minute warm-up plus 30 minutes of heating (final readings: 62.8 F at the vent, 60.6 F overall room temperature) | the only heater tested for this; ran for 9 hours 16 minutes on a full tank (about 5.5 quarts / 5 liters) on the highest heat setting before running out of fuel; narrator estimates a quarter tank provides almost 2 hours of heat | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 2HCalory$200 | claimed 8 kW, claimed to heat to 212 F within 10 minutes, claimed fuel consumption as low as 0.02 gallons per hour, includes both a 110V AC to DC power supply and a 12V DC power supply (the only one of the four with both built in), storage compartment for the remote, weighs just over 16 lb | peaked at about 140 W during warm-up, about the same as the Vevor | about 49 W on highest fan speed (2 W more than the Vevor), about 12 W on lowest fan speed | 69.4 dB on highest fan speed, the quietest of the four heaters at that setting; 62.4 dB on lowest fan speed, a little noisier than the Silvel and Vevor at that setting | about 39 mph on highest fan speed, the fastest recorded up to that point in the test; about 20 mph on lowest fan speed | air outlet around 300 F on high fan speed, around 315 F on low fan speed (the hottest low-fan-speed reading of the four); heating element around 430 F; exhaust pipe reading given only as 'around 209' with no unit stated in the transcript, kept verbatim and flagged as likely incomplete | warmed up in about 5 minutes, same as the Silvel and Vevor; took just over 4 minutes to cool down and power off | overall shop temperature increased by 7.3 F, barely edging out the Vevor's 7.1 F by only 0.2 F; tracked essentially tied with the Vevor at the vent through the 30 minute mark (60.6 F each) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 3Vevor$118 | claimed 8 kW (8,000 watts), claimed to warm up in under 10 minutes, Bluetooth app control, claimed to provide 8 hours of continuous heat on 1.3 gallons of fuel, weighs 17.43 lb | peaked at about 137 W during warm-up | close to 44 W on highest fan speed, a little less than the Silvel; about 10 W on lowest fan speed | about 74 dB on highest fan speed, about the same as the Silvel; 61 dB on lowest fan speed, about the same as the Silvel | about 34 mph on highest fan speed, the same as the Silvel; about 19 mph (8.5 m/s) on lowest fan speed | exhaust pipe around 300 F, heating element around 375 F, vent air around 240 F on highest fan speed | warmed up in about 5 minutes; had a much easier start sequence than the Silvel, powering on and beginning to warm up immediately with one button press; cool down cycle took very close to 5 minutes | best at-vent reading of the four heaters at 10.8 F increase; overall shop temperature increased by 7.1 F | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 4Silvel$95, the least expensive of the four heaters tested | transcript states the heater is 'supposed to deliver 8,000 KW which works out to just over 27,000 BTUs'; the BTU math (8 kW times roughly 3,412 BTU per kWh equals about 27,300 BTU) is consistent with an actual rating of 8 kW / 8,000 W, so '8,000 KW' as stated is almost certainly a caption unit error, kept verbatim and flagged rather than silently corrected. Includes remote control, 12V LCD display, silencer; weighs just over 15 lb | climbed to around 100 W before the test power source (a solar power station) could not keep up, throwing an E-01 low voltage code; after switching to a 120V AC to 12V DC converter rated for 200 W, the unit ran normally | holds steady around 47 W on highest fan speed once fully warmed up | around 74 dB on highest fan speed; close to 60 dB on lowest fan speed | very close to 34 mph on highest fan speed; around 16 mph on lowest fan speed | exhaust around 350 F, heating element just inside the air outlet around 375 F, air temperature out in front of the vent around 280 F on highest heat setting; around 277 F at the outlet on lowest heat setting | fully warmed up in only about 5 minutes; took just over 4 minutes to run its cool down cycle and power off | weakest of the four heaters: at-vent temperature increased by 7.9 F, overall shop temperature increased by only 4.3 F | not tested | less than 100 parts per million combustible gases, described as burning pretty clean | ran for about 35 minutes on just 1 cup of vegetable oil; produced visible 'french fry' smoke initially but burned clean with no unburned combustible gases once fully warmed up | ran for close to 50 minutes on just over a cup of blended fuel; no visible exhaust smoke, took a couple of extra minutes to warm up, burned about as clean as straight diesel at less than 100 parts per million | struggled to ignite; combustible gas readings climbed to close to 1,000 parts per million and the heater powered itself down with a fuel-related fault code; ran normally again once diesel was mixed back into the tank |
How it was tested
- warm-up time and peak/steady-state 12V power draw
- sound level (dB) on highest and lowest fan speed
- air speed (mph) on highest and lowest fan speed
- air outlet, heating element, and exhaust temperature on highest and lowest fan speed
- cool-down cycle time
- 35 minute room heating test in an 800 square foot shop, measuring temperature 12 ft in front of the vent and overall shop temperature
- full tank fuel run time on the top-performing heater (LF Bros only)
- combustion cleanliness on straight diesel (combustible gas meter, parts per million)
- alternative fuel test on the least expensive heater (Silvel only): vegetable oil, a used-motor-oil/diesel blend, and straight used motor oil
- teardown and internal build comparison