Cummins Cold Starts: How Long Before Cabin Heater Works?

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AzRamLover

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For the Cummins folks - how long do you have to sit in a cold truck before you can get warm air out of the HVAC system?

The 5.7 is really good at this - probably no more than 120 seconds before warm air comes out of the vents.

Assume it's been outside all night, around freezing but not cold enough to require the block heater. (I bet the block heater helps a lot.)
 

17CrewCab1500

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Diesel take a lot longer to get going. I know I sometimes got to work before the heat really worked.

But if you're in Arizona like me, unless in the high country, you don't need no stinking heat! :)
 

WilliamS

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depends on if it has the supplemental heater. If it does its 30 seconds, if not I would get remote start. The diesel has a high idle function to get it warmer faster but if you are driving I would say 3-5 minute till you start getting "warm" air.

If you are in a snow state, invest in remote start.
 
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AzRamLover

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Is there an option to get the supplemental heater? I'd spring for it bc I hate cold.
 
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AzRamLover

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Diesel take a lot longer to get going. I know I sometimes got to work before the heat really worked.

But if you're in Arizona like me, unless in the high country, you don't need no stinking heat! :)

I'm seriously wimpy when it comes to cold. Anything below 70 means the heat's on.
 

DannyMK2

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around freezing? its not too bad. i wouldnt let the thing sit there an idle until you get hot air but after a few minutes of driving you get warm air. the diesels do take longer to warm up then the gassers, but there newer diesels are much better then the old ones. i had an old 2nd gen that you could drive for 15-20 minutes in the winter before you got any heat. its not like that anymore.
 

polcat

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I'm currently living in Canada and made it through one winter. On those colder mornings (mid-30s F and above) I found that after idling for a few minutes, it'll start to clear my front window if there is moisture on it. It'll start throwing out some heat within 5 minutes of driving. Use the exhaust brake to aid with a quicker warm up. I also manually limit the gear on my auto to allow the engine to rev slightly higher as well on those cold mornings. When then engine comes up to temp, then I allow it to shift normal.
 

Devin1349

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1500's are faster??? it takes 6 minutes before my truck isn't cold inside and thats with full blast max heat and recirculation.
 
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AzRamLover

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1500's are faster??? it takes 6 minutes before my truck isn't cold inside and thats with full blast max heat and recirculation.

Eh, I think it depends on what ambient temps are. My 1500 starts to produce warm(er) air in like 2 minutes - it obviously takes longer than that to warm up the entire cab though.
 

mtofell

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If I get in and start the truck, and sit and wait for heat, it's 37 minutes. If I use the remote start it takes about 2 minutes :) :) The old, "watched pot never boils" idea, I think.

My old Duramax (2006) took forever and a day to get warm. I leave my house and have about a 6-8 minute drive before getting on the highway. I always remember I'd finally feel heat as I was merging on the highway. Hopefully, the newer diesels do better. The Hemi starts kicking out heat in about 1/2 the time... or maybe even less.
 

mikericci

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It’s a matter of efficiency. Diesel engines just don’t produce much heat, especially when idling and at low rpms. A gasser is less efficient, so more of the fuel consumed is lost as heat.
 

huntergreen

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My 04 5.9 Cummins took close to 10 minutes to start putting heat out. The heated seats helped.
 

pcschwenke

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This is one of the reason I bought a gas HD. My day to work is 7 minutes and my 6.4 is warm within 1 minute.
 

loveracing1988

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This is one of the reason I bought a gas HD. My day to work is 7 minutes and my 6.4 is warm within 1 minute.
I'd pay big money to get heat in one minute. I drive 18 miles one way and I don't start getting heat until probably the 5 mile mark and not full heat until about 15 miles. This is in 0 degree weather though.
 

Ratket

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^^ Grill bra and remote start my friend!!
 

loveracing1988

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^^ Grill bra and remote start my friend!!
I shouldn't need to block it off on a gas truck! That and I would love remote start but not for $400 or $500... If I could install it myself I would have done it 3 years ago but the fact you can install it yourself and still have to have the dealer program it for $100 is a big detriment to my plan.
 

MADDOG

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I remote start it and let it high idle for about 10 minutes.

At that point, given a 37 - 40 degree F ambient temp, engine coolant is at about 130 degrees and the warm air has just started to emerge from the vents.

If it gets colder, I can run the Remote Start for 15 minutes, then engage the Remote Start a second time for an additional 15 minutes.
 

loveracing1988

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I remote start it and let it high idle for about 10 minutes.

At that point, given a 37 - 40 degree F ambient temp, engine coolant is at about 130 degrees and the warm air has just started to emerge from the vents.

If it gets colder, I can run the Remote Start for 15 minutes, then engage the Remote Start a second time for an additional 15 minutes.
Lol, I'm too cheap to let my truck run for more than 5 minutes or so if it is just me. If my 3 year old is involved I'll let it run longer though.

Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk
 

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