LP-fired Coolant Heater Idea!!!

[wired1000]

Hey all,

Was just looking a month or two into the future... at the certainty that one of these Chicago winter days will leave me out in the cold... way-below zero... and my M1009 will just not start. I bought an electric freeze-plug type block heater which I'll install soon, but I have a new job at a Fortune 500 company (let's say it rhymes with "Hee Hee") research lab and I have a feeling that it's too corporate a place for me to run an extension cord out to the parking lot without arousing the ire of some up-tight manager...

So, for sure, I'll get stuck *there* about 45 minutes from home. Ugh. Sadly my truck did not come with a military fuel-fired coolant heater.

BUT!!! What if I installed one of these camping-style Liquid Propane Tankless Water heaters?

I could hook it to one of those little camping Propane tanks and mount it somewhere under the hood... (the heater, not the propane tank) maybe hook up an electric pump to circulate the coolant through it and the engine. There are a few similar types of heater all for $100-150. I really think this could work!

Has anyone done this or have some thoughts?

 

[wired1000]

Probably would also have to install switches in the coolant lines so the Tankless Heater could be taken out of the loop when the engine is warm or it's summer outside... Maybe solenoid/electric switches so that could be done from in the cab.

 

[wired1000]

I was thinking this type of pump could be used to circulate coolant through the engine.

Still looking for a good solenoid valve to isolate this coolant loop when the coolant is hot

 

[choll]

wired100 what type of plug in unit did you get and where did you get it

 

[ODdave]

I like the idea, Would be nice to find something a little more durable , But still the idea. Subscribing to see where this goes.

Many civi cars & trucks had vacum operated heater line shut of valves. You could simply tap into the main vacum line off the pump so when the truck starts they draw vacum and close. Put a small hole in the line (plastic barb fitting with a hole drilled in it) to bleed of vacum after the truck is shut off......

 

[craters]

Hi, All
I have used small tankless on diesels before. A RV type pump on the cold side of the heater. On a 6.2 you could cut into the heater hose, but a better deal is to make two fittings for the water passage covers on the rear of the heads located on the intake surface.In rear of one head cross the thermostat housing and out the rear of the other head. No valve needed, fires on pump pressure, instant defrost. Can use remote start technology to start on command (pump). About 40000 BTUs. I you run the coolant lines along the fuel line you can warm the fuel on cold days.

 

[blackhueys]

My arctic heaters work great can be pulled off line as they have quick connects for the coolant lines. If you do use the heater from above make sure it is rated to handle coolant and not just fresh water. I converted my arctic heaters to kero as the diesel plugs the filters quick was told that its because of additives and what not but no issues with the kero just mounted the Jerry can in the stock m1009 location and ran a vent line outside and a delivery line to the front. PM me if you want more info on where to get the complete well 85 percent complete kits. Or I can at least give you the install manual so you can get an idea where they tap into the lines for the military coolant heater.

 

[greenjeepster]

Awlsome Idea.

You would need a circulation pump though, these usually don't heat the water unless it is flowing in order to keep it from kicking on and off all the time.

 

[Darwin T]

i have the L10 perminate mount one on that page and i love it for my outdoor shower. i have a hose straight off my well to the heater and then to a shower head over a 300 watering trough. BUT, do some more research because thepropane on mine shuts off after 17 minutes and you have to turn off the water for a few seconds then turn it back on and it fires off again for 17 minutes. this is incase the line breaks you don't waite the propane (i think thats why). i like the idea (thinking outside the box) i am looking for the right 12 volt pump to put in my system so i won't have to run my generator.

 

[Darwin T]

i live on the Texas Gulf Coast and it does not get that cold here (but we get hurricanes). just thinking outloud, if you ran a seperate battery you put a 12 volt ceramic heater under the hood while at work then either have it charge while yo drive or put a onboard boat battery charger to it for when you get home. if under the hood stays above freezing you should be ok, right. put some of that silver insulation under the hood or a tarp over it while it is cold. thats how an igloo works, right?

 

[Darwin T]

extra battery (cheapest deep cycle) to a 12 volt plug in wth a all weater cap like in a boat, so you can remove the heater before driving driving. i don't think the heaters are weather proof. lift the hood and plug in the heater while the engine is alrady hot, that way the heater just has to keep it warm and not defrost it.

 

[rosco]

LP fired engine tank heaters have been availiable for years. I was using them 40 years ago for remote starts. Keep in mind that when it gets cold propane ceases to vaporize at about -40F. One can overcome that by heating the propane feul tank - or - as with a 20# propane tank, just bury it under the snow. It is alway above -40F there.

 

[wired1000]

Hi, All
I have used small tankless on diesels before. A RV type pump on the cold side of the heater.

craters, Can you link to a specific pump that has worked for you? The Eccotemp L5 and Marey L5 both have a 5 liter/min capacity, so a pump that does about that or maybe a bit more would be best. They list in their specs that they need 20-80 psi of water pressure, so the pump would need to operate in that range. Knowing what I know about Ethylene Glycol and Propylene Glycol, they would be no more corrosive than water to most types of plastic / metal. I'm willing to take a gamble that the tankless heater would work OK.


I like ODdave's idea of using a vacuum-powered valve to cut the tankless heater out of the loop once the engine fires. This idea is taking shape and I'm so excited!

 

[Darwin T]

if you read the Eccotemp web site the L5 has a "> 20 minute auto safety shut off timer". it is the last line of the product discription. after that you have to turn off the water (or collant) for a few seconds then turn it back on. rosco may can tell you what brand of "LP fired engine tank heater" he has used but the L5 will require a timer to shutdown the pump every 20 minutes all day. if you can find a system that is already designed to do this it would be alot easier.

 

[wired1000]

if you read the Eccotemp web site the L5 has a "> 20 minute auto safety shut off timer". it is the last line of the product discription. after that you have to turn off the water (or collant) for a few seconds then turn it back on. rosco may can tell you what brand of "LP fired engine tank heater" he has used but the L5 will require a timer to shutdown the pump every 20 minutes all day. if you can find a system that is already designed to do this it would be alot easier.

I think after 5 minutes of running 140 deg coolant (25 liters or about 9 gal) into the engine it would be warm enough to start. Once its running I'd want to cut that coolant loop off and shut down the heater/pump. I can't think of any reason it would need to be running all the time...

 

[Darwin T]

sorry, OK i work 12 hour shifts and think like that. 12 hours of sub freezing temp would be hard to overcome in a few minutes. my eccotemp L10 warms my 70 degree well water to around 93 degrees at best. i can fill a 300 gallon watering trough with the 93 degree water if i adjust it right but have never got any better. if you antifreeze is 30 degrees it will take longer than 5 minutes.

i do understend the well water stays 70 all the time and as you circulate collant it will get warmer with each pass.

 

[wired1000]

hopefully I'd only need to heat the coolant from, say, -10 to 30 before the engine would be able to start. I can't imagine that would take longer than 20 minutes.

I'm working on finding a suitable water pump right now. Would need to be electric and capable of 20-80psi. Also it'd need to be operable at very low temperatures and preferably it would be non-sparking.

 

[ODdave]

why 20-80 psi? Your cooling system will not handle that.

 

[quickfarms]

All this talk is making me remember why I live in Southern California and not in the north or where I grew up in the northeast.

I might have to put a log on the fireplace becuase it is getting below 60 at night now.

 

[MakersTeleMark]

It's going to be single digits tonight, and it's only October. You get used to it. I freak out if it gets anywhere near 80.

It does make it a bit hard on the CUCV. Been watching this thread with interest.