24 Volt Heater

[tomtastic]

Hi, looking at purchasing a M35a2 real soon and wanted to know if the generator is enough to power a 24 volt heater. I'm looking at one that is 45 amp 1080 watt. Or is this going to draw too much current? Thanks.

 

[Jeepsinker]

You should look at the hot water heaters. They actually work fairly well if operating correctly.

 

[m-35tom]

that is only 3600 btu, you will be very cold

 

[tomtastic]

Specs say 18,000 btu for the 45 amp heater. No bigger than the cab it I'd say that's plenty. Well, having to overcompensate for no insulation, still it might be enough.

 

[porkysplace]

I would say 45 amp steady draw on a stock 60 amp altenator isn't going to workout real well .

 

[tomtastic]

Any idea what a Deuce draws on a typical load with lights on and air compressor running? Hopefully not 60 amp.

They have a 35 amp heater that puts out 14k btu.

Looking at these:

http://www.sportsimportsltd.com/usa-made-24-volt-ducted-electric-heater.html

 

[porkysplace]

Any idea what a Deuce draws on a typical load with lights on and air compressor running? Hopefully not 60 amp.

They have a 35 amp heater that puts out 14k btu.

Looking at these:

http://www.sportsimportsltd.com/usa-made-24-volt-ducted-electric-heater.html

The air compressor runs off a belt not electric . It will probably run it ,but you better have a pile of replacement altenators and batteries around , because they won't last.

 

[tomtastic]

So you'd have to go to a bigger alternator which is a pile of money. No way to get cheap heat I guess. Not really wanting to run the coolant lines and all that. I typically just run my heaters on low in what I drive, so on a 35 amp it'd probably be half that. But with lights on and everything else yeah might not work out too well.

 

[m-35tom]

if you don't want to run the coolant lines, this is really, really, the wrong truck for you.

 

[tomtastic]

I wouldn't say that. An alternator swap might be less work, is all. Plus I was thinking about adding some backup lights and off road lights to front anyway. Upgrading alternator might be my best option.

 

[steelandcanvas]

I believe the Military water heated units produce about 30 KBTU, and that barely gets the job done some days. They are available and spendy, civilian units are not quite as spendy. I agree with the others, look into something else and stay clear of electric units.

 

[gimpyrobb]

Just convert to all led lights and upgrade the alt to a 100a single wire, You can then charge your batterys while running your electric heater.

 

[tomtastic]

Wow, 30k btu? My wood heater in my living room right now is putting out 30k btu and it keeps up with half the house. I wouldn't have thought that much would be needed. Thanks for the info though. I'd read, and I can't remember where but these were made specifically for the m35 and 5 ton trucks, so I wasn't expecting a problem but this answers my question, not a good idea on a stock alternator.

 

[clinto]

I believe the Military water heated units produce about 30 KBTU, and that barely gets the job done some days. They are available and spendy, civilian units are not quite as spendy. I agree with the others, look into something else and stay clear of electric units.

30K btu:

Wow, 30k btu? My wood heater in my living room right now is putting out 30k btu and it keeps up with half the house. I wouldn't have thought that much would be needed. Thanks for the info though. I'd read, and I can't remember where but these were made specifically for the m35 and 5 ton trucks, so I wasn't expecting a problem but this answers my question, not a good idea on a stock alternator.

Your house is insulated 10K times better than a deuce. Some deuces have window gaps big enough to stick your finger through. Dried up weatherstripping that didn't work great when it was new. Multiple holes in the firewall, floor and tub. No insulation. So 30K btu heaters in your living room go a lot farther than a deuce going 50 mph with multiple drafts going through the cab.

If you use the factory heater, you aren't running coolant hoses into the cab, you're running them 3' over the engine to the drivers fender where the core is mounted.

If you use the factory heater, you get a defroster, which is very helpful in these trucks. They'll fog the windshields in rainy weather fast.

 

[73m819]

There is just a slight difference in insulation, draft, and air leak between a deuce and a house.

 

[tomtastic]

Right, overcompensation just to get a comfortable level in the deuce. How bad are the stock heaters? If you were to put a BTU rating on them? I haven't read much about the water heater units, how do the stock heaters work? Are they electric or water? Of course where I'm at the average temperature in the winter is probably 32. It does get down to 0 once or twice but not that bad usually. This year's been a little colder.

 

[Kasper31]

Yesterday with an outside temp of 16deg. my Deuce with its stock heater AND a 35K btu gas heater would keep me warm and the windows defrosted. The Deuce is as stock n standard as they come and without the gas heater it won't keep up.

 

[tomtastic]

Yeah, 18k won't do it then. I found one with 20k btu through Boyce, can't find anything higher. Water heater might be the only option. As I understand the stock heaters if you have one don't do much. Well, glad I asked instead of wasting my time and money on one!

Kasper31, -the gas heater is that the arctic heater?

 

[gimpyrobb]

If you put the hot water heater in the cab so it re-circulates the cab air, it does fine.

 

[m-35tom]

Specs say 18,000 btu for the 45 amp heater. No bigger than the cab it I'd say that's plenty. Well, having to overcompensate for no insulation, still it might be enough.

don't care what your heater says, 1080 watts, 24 volt x 45 amps, is 3685 btu/hr. you will be very cold. for the electric heater to be 18,000 btu at 24 volt, it would have to draw 219 amps.

for your heater to be 18,000 btu it would have to be 5274 watts and that is 24 volts x 219 amps approx