Diesel heater vs. coolant heater

[ccequipment]

Hey guys, wanted to pick your brain if you guys had any experince with the diesel fired heater in the M35. I am bobbing a personal truck for myself, and it has no heat. I have many trucks with the coolant type heat, and they work decent, but it is -15 out right now, very cold. Anyway I have a diesel heater in a truck, and have not had any experince with it. I thought about putting it in my truck if they work good, and put out some serious heat, or should I just stick with the coolant. Any info would be great, Thanks

 

[cranetruck]

If you want instant heat, the diesel fired unit is the way to go.
It's a complete system in itself and you need to familiarize yourself with it to really appreciate it.
Many posts in the past.....the multifuel engine won't be putting out much heat at idle, so the wait for warm air could be a long one with a "coolant" heater.

 

[BKubu]

No comparison...fuel burning heater all the way. A friend who lives in MT recently told me he had it on low and was driving around in a t-shirt and jeans with the window cracked 6"...and it was below zero! They rock! Nothing else compares. The hot water heaters are decent, but they really only take the edge off when it is really cold.

 

[mangus580]

I dunno.... the fuel burner in my 1009 has a problem... I have to keep turning it off. Even on low... and the window open... I roast when snowplowing!!!



Hands down... Fuel Burner!! Now that I have it working... I wish I had one for the wifes suburban!!

 

[gimpyrobb]

You could mount the fuel fired heater on the fender and duct it into the cab. That would keep the space consumed to a minimum and get you LOTS of heat. .02

 

[steelsoldiers]

Mike, that would be awesome. I would love to see the look on your wife's face when you fire that thing up for the first time. It would be even better if you could wire it into the remote-start system

I concur, there is no comparison between the hot-water heaters and the fuel-fired heaters. Drying out my soggy clothes and warming up in Bkubu's truck at Aberdeen 2008 sold me on it. It was one of the selling points for my current M925A2. I really like the idea of being able to start the heater without running the truck, go back in the house, and come back in 5 minutes to a toasty cab.

 

[mangus580]

It would be even better if you could wire it into the remote-start system

Thats actually a ton easier than you think

 

[M543A2]

I bought a couple of them, but have not got them in the trucks yet. The hot water heater on my M543A2 just takes the edge off as was mentioned. I intended to do it last summer, but never got a "round tuit" as it goes. I think it will fit in where the present hot water heater is. I am definitely encouraged by the comments of others here!
I have one of the Southwind diesel fired coolant heaters on the engine in the truck. I like it; in about 15 to 20 minutes it has the snow melting on the hood.
BRRRRRR -18 here this morning! Good day to talk about heaters, bad day to say I did not get one of the diesel fired ones installed!!
Regards Marti

 

[gimpyrobb]

Hey Marti, If you could snap a few pics of your coolant heater installed and post them up, that would be great. I have one that I am going to be installing this summer and would like to see what others have done. My next big problem is, which truck gets it?!

 

[dougsampsel]

dougsampsel

I bought a couple of them, but have not got them in the trucks yet. The hot water heater on my M543A2 just takes the edge off as was mentioned. I intended to do it last summer, but never got a "round tuit" as it goes. I think it will fit in where the present hot water heater is. I am definitely encouraged by the comments of others here!
I have one of the Southwind diesel fired coolant heaters on the engine in the truck. I like it; in about 15 to 20 minutes it has the snow melting on the hood.
BRRRRRR -18 here this morning! Good day to talk about heaters, bad day to say I did not get one of the diesel fired ones installed!!
Regards Marti

My son and I just bought 5 deuces,need plenty of help.We picked the first one last week,what a toy for us to play.Live in Rochester,In.We need heaters,where and what kind.Thanks Doug.

 

[BKubu]

Try to find fuel burning heaters. Unfortunately, they are almost non-existant. You will almost certainly end up installing hot water heaters, which, as you can see above, are only barely adequate in colder areas. Better than nothing.

 

[Rolling_Eudaimonia]

I would like any heat at all in my Truck... where can you purchase a Diesel Fired Heating unit for the truck? Does it come with the standard winterization kits or is for the Arctic kit only? How warm does get the truck under the hood as well? that would be another consideration for me.

Let's face it the LDT or any diesel engine be a bit troublesome in the winter... Mine wouldn't start last night even with an spray start, admittedly the spray in the can is not as big a shot or direct as the injection unit supplies but it was a pain. All week it has been starting no problem in 14-22F but last night it was 0F and not a chance in hell would she start.

 

[ccequipment]

Thanks guys for all the info, I may just put the fuel heater in it, I guess I will see what happens tommrow.

 

[elkhunter]

diesel heater vs coolant heater

My M35a2 ,a 1972 AM General ccame from Alaska with a diesel heater installed under the hood on drivers side above fender wall. The truck is missing the switch!! Have not been able to use it but when I was stationed in Alaska with the 19th Avn Bn the heaters worked great!!

 

[ccequipment]

Guys, I put the diesel heater in today, and it works sweet. I will never go back to a coolant heater. The amount of heat it puts out is amazing. Its really pretty simple. I will get some pics up of my finshed truck for you guys to take a look at.

 

[elkhunter]

Hope the info I sent helps on cold weather starting

 

[cranetruck]

Guys, I put the diesel heater in today, and it works sweet. I will never go back to a coolant heater. The amount of heat it puts out is amazing. Its really pretty simple. I will get some pics up of my finshed truck for you guys to take a look at.

Good work!
Which unit do you have, or did I miss that .....?

 

[elkhunter]

Southwind

 

[cranetruck]

Could be Benmar. The Benmar doesn't use a cotton wick and may be more reliable after decades of non-use....

 

[atankersdad]

I love the fuel heater when I start up the truck and I have heat instantly. However, it will chase you out of the truck on low. In fact I have never had mine on high. When I bought the truck and checked the glove box, I found tha gasket was melted, and thought that it must get awful hot in this in the summer. WRONG. It's does what it says, ARTIC HEATER!!!. Secondly, and maybe it is just mine, but when I shut it off due to a 95 degree cab temp, and then try to start it while moving, it will not start. I stop and it starts right up. I suspect the air blows out the fire on the wick or prevents the sensor from picking up that it is lit. So I need to find a middle ground. I am going to install a secondary 24V heater to run once the cab gets to 95 and I must shut it off. Yesterday it was 5 degrees out, and Oldchevy4x4 and I were roasting, coatless, and actually had a window down to cool this puppy off.
To summarize. Go with fuel, its great for thawing you, the cab and the everything else within 5' of it. For those semi cold days, or when you are riding the kids, use the 24V heater.