Hi All,
My son told me about this diesel engine heater that runs on fuel from your vehicle's fuel tank and will keep your coolant and oil warm and can also be tapped into your vehicle cab heating system. This will allow you to keep your engine and cab warm without plugging in at extreme cold temps (which we have had plenty of here in Alaska recently!)
Does anyone know anything about these? What are they called, who makes them and how good are they? Any problems? My poor truck just doesn't like these -45F temps and anything I can do to give the old girl a little help is of interest to me.
Look up Webasco's website, they make diesel powered heaters which can be used to heat your engine coolant, the cab ect. They use them on highway trucks to keep them warm during winter instead of running the truck while sleeping. I beleive they make smaller units for RVs and auto's but they are expensive. They use about a litre of fuel per hour. I would think the solution for a pick up is using the block heater and possibly an oil pan heater for both transmission and engine, which would really help your truck for startups and faster warm up and be more cost effective. If you search this site, you will find references for these oil pan heaters and you can wire it and hte coolant heater to a single 20 amp Marinco plug you can plug in your truck and both will be heated. We have some of these temps at times too and the solution is plugging in. But I have been entertaining the addition of oil pan heaters and the Marinco plug. My truck has been started at these temps many times but it sure seems hard on it. Heating the oil, using synthetic oil, haveing a good winter front on the truck also help for sure.
__________________
Mike
2005 F350 CC 6.0/5 sp/3.73 LS Auto Lariat
Bullydog Outlook Monitor, Tonneau, Toolbox, High Idle Mod, iPod Mod, dfuser Coolant Filtration Kit
27 ' Jayco Jayflight TT
(old Truck, sold at 132,000 Km, 2000 F350 S/C 5.4/4 sp Auto XLT 4.10s )
I've seen these - they're some sort of military surplus oil fired miniature boiler. Output is about 30K BTU/hr and as far as I can tell they haven't been made new in years, but come up on eBay every so often and go for $200-$500. They use 12V power for the ignitor, fuel pump, and burner blower.
__________________
1990 F350 7.3IDI 4x4 ZF5
1962 F250 flatbed 4x4 Detroit Diesel 453, Clark 5spd OD
Used to have:
1989 F150 300I6 M5OD 2wd
1988 F250 7.3IDI 4x4 ZF5
1989 F350 7.3IDI 4x4 ZF5 (parted out)
Cheventstein, webasto are not surplus and are not old. They are on heavy heavy truck practically that runs up here in Canada. They come in several sizes, large enough to heat a 18 litre highway truck and cab, large enough to heat a container, small enough to heat a small RV or Boat. Not cheap but a great solution. There are other makes, I saw a web posting on this site just recently but can't remember the name. I think buying and installing on a F350 might be a pretty tricky and costly job. But I am sure a price at a heavy truck shop could be written down if you asked. Probably $2 grand in total I would bet.
__________________
Mike
2005 F350 CC 6.0/5 sp/3.73 LS Auto Lariat
Bullydog Outlook Monitor, Tonneau, Toolbox, High Idle Mod, iPod Mod, dfuser Coolant Filtration Kit
27 ' Jayco Jayflight TT
(old Truck, sold at 132,000 Km, 2000 F350 S/C 5.4/4 sp Auto XLT 4.10s )
Cheventstein, webasto are not surplus and are not old. They are on heavy heavy truck practically that runs up here in Canada. They come in several sizes, large enough to heat a 18 litre highway truck and cab, large enough to heat a container, small enough to heat a small RV or Boat. Not cheap but a great solution. There are other makes, I saw a web posting on this site just recently but can't remember the name. I think buying and installing on a F350 might be a pretty tricky and costly job. But I am sure a price at a heavy truck shop could be written down if you asked. Probably $2 grand in total I would bet.
I didn't know someone still made these, the ones I'm thinking of are literally as I described - metal drums painted olive drab with water, fuel, and electrical connections and US Army markings. They basically miniature fire tube boilers with 12 volt controls and every so often someone will list some on eBay.
Either way, it's a neat idea.
My bigger problem is running out of power - when it gets really cold (< 0) my batteries will need to be charged or heated to get the truck running. Forget about it if it's gelled up. I've been contemplating putting a PTO box on the transfer case with a hydraulic motor on it driven by a small bed mounted gas engine - virtually unlimited cranking capability without having to worry about overheating the starter or killing the batteries.
__________________
1990 F350 7.3IDI 4x4 ZF5
1962 F250 flatbed 4x4 Detroit Diesel 453, Clark 5spd OD
Used to have:
1989 F150 300I6 M5OD 2wd
1988 F250 7.3IDI 4x4 ZF5
1989 F350 7.3IDI 4x4 ZF5 (parted out)
Im a truck driver for a living and I have a Webasto in my Peterbilt.
The webasto only heats your coolant not your oil.
It heats the coolant in your block only so the block is warm and easier to start the motor in the cold. It will not make your heating in your cab warm when you first turn your truck on and your coolant temp will still be at zero. The webasto is only a starting aid.
Some of you were talking about the webasto cab heater above. Thats a different unit itself, its called a bunk heater. It will keep your sleeper warm but it is a seperate unit form the coolant heater. Both work off the diesel from the tanks.
They are not just for big trucks.
They are not government surplus.
And they work great.
Takes about 6-8 hours to install.
Keeps coolant at 150'F.
circulates the coolant and keeps windows defrosted.
__________________ 06 F-350, North Pole, Alaska
Brush Guard w/4 moose lites
Mobil-1 Turbo diesel truck oil
fuel filters every 10,000 miles
AstroStart auto start
98 gal Transfer flow tank
Rhino liner on the rockers
Wabasto-Blue heat
MBRP turbo back duels w/ no CAT
A buddy of mine who was stationed in Alaska for a while claims he brought a small metal bucket of sand and would pour a few cups of diesel in it and would light it, then he had some kind of vent lid on it, and would set it right under his oil pan, and it could keep it warm for a few hours.
My bigger problem is running out of power - when it gets really cold (< 0) my batteries will need to be charged or heated to get the truck running. Forget about it if it's gelled up. I've been contemplating putting a PTO box on the transfer case with a hydraulic motor on it driven by a small bed mounted gas engine - virtually unlimited cranking capability without having to worry about overheating the starter or killing the batteries.
Why don't You jsut buy some new batteries?
Much cheaper.
I've started My trucks in -35*F without any starting aids.
__________________
93 F One Fiddy- 5.0/AOD/3.55 230K OEM
93 F Two Fiddy Scab- 7.3/ZF5/3.55/Sidewinder II,94 Turbo pump,G Inj's, Velvet Ride, Ride Rite Rear, Turbo Bumper, Alcoa's
85 F Two Fiddy-6.9/C6/3.54/ Holley Red, Racor, Soup Bowl,AutoJet 3",Ride Rite Rear
A buddy of mine who was stationed in Alaska for a while claims he brought a small metal bucket of sand and would pour a few cups of diesel in it and would light it, then he had some kind of vent lid on it, and would set it right under his oil pan, and it could keep it warm for a few hours.
i know a guy that used to do that with his ford diesel backhoe.
until a fuel line broke and the fuel leak dripped into the firepot, and the fire got larger, and burnt the backhoe to a crispy critter!!
__________________
Tom
JOIN THE NEW JERSEY CHAPTER CLICK HERE
I've started My trucks in -35*F without any starting aids.
My batteries are less than two months old and tested to over 1100 cranking amps each when I installed them. Good suggestion though. I've also cleaned the connections a replaced some terminals. The only thing I haven't done is replace the starter (it's not that old), but maybe that's what I need to do.
__________________
1990 F350 7.3IDI 4x4 ZF5
1962 F250 flatbed 4x4 Detroit Diesel 453, Clark 5spd OD
Used to have:
1989 F150 300I6 M5OD 2wd
1988 F250 7.3IDI 4x4 ZF5
1989 F350 7.3IDI 4x4 ZF5 (parted out)
The Blue heat from Wabasto is really neat. When I go snowmachining and there is noplace to plug in I still get into a warm truck.
__________________ 06 F-350, North Pole, Alaska
Brush Guard w/4 moose lites
Mobil-1 Turbo diesel truck oil
fuel filters every 10,000 miles
AstroStart auto start
98 gal Transfer flow tank
Rhino liner on the rockers
Wabasto-Blue heat
MBRP turbo back duels w/ no CAT
Average battery output at 0 degrees F is below 50%. More like 40%. This is why it's so important to have your batts fully charged and in good condition at these temperatures.
Average battery output at 0 degrees F is below 50%. More like 40%. This is why it's so important to have your batts fully charged and in good condition at these temperatures.
Batt warmer's also do wonders as well...
And that makes a good point towards buying above average batteries. I am using the Sears Platnum Batteries which are a Gell Cells.
__________________ 06 F-350, North Pole, Alaska
Brush Guard w/4 moose lites
Mobil-1 Turbo diesel truck oil
fuel filters every 10,000 miles
AstroStart auto start
98 gal Transfer flow tank
Rhino liner on the rockers
Wabasto-Blue heat
MBRP turbo back duels w/ no CAT
This forum is owned and operated by Internet Brands, Inc., a Delaware corporation. It is not authorized or endorsed by the Ford Motor Company and is not affiliated with the Ford Motor Company or its related companies in any way. Ford® is a registered trademark of the Ford Motor Company.
06 F-350, North Pole, Alaska
