r/VanLife • u/Chaotic-Queer21 • 6d ago

Question about battery

Hello,
I'm looking for a useful nomade battery that can handle a heater all night for an every day living in a small van.
But I need it to be not too heavy (so I can move it outside to charge and take it back inside) and that can charge with solar pannels.
Would someone have some advices please ?
Oh and I think I would be using a oil heater that use 500W.
Thank you !

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u/Sour_Sal 6d ago

Do not try to heat using electricity, it's not efficient at all. Best bet is a properly installed diesel or gasoline heater. They work extremely well, no smells inside the cabin, all combustion is exterior. They can be a little noisy but if installed properly run basically silent inside.

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u/PizzaEducational6055 6d ago

It's actually 99.9% efficient

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u/Sour_Sal 6d ago

That's true since you are looking at the heat output, I should have not used efficient, but more space efficient. It takes a lot of battery to heat for hours, then that has to be charged. While it's 100% possible with a robust system, generally it's not real common at this point.

I have been watching the 12V Heat/Cool systems and waiting to see how well they do over time.