Possible water heater idea

[Firorth]

Have you tried a cover over the front grill opening to slow the flow of cold air through the radiator. I used to have to do this with one or two vehicles in the past when I was in far Upstate NY, not far from Canada. Helped increase the heat coming to the heater inside.

I'll admit, i was to far gone thinking of the elaborate/excessive solution to think of something so simple

I’m confused. Can you not install a block heater and accomplish the same thing?

I do run the block heater in the winter but that doesn't help me when I'm on the move.

sadly while this might prove a minor help I don't think it'll work. i had an espar coolant heater in a previous truck, and it would hit 1200 watts on low and 4500 watts on high, and while I've run them while i was driving for an added boost in heat, even then it wasn't that hot.

for now I'll try getting a grill cover and go from there

 

[ibike]

I do run the block heater in the winter but that doesn't help me when I'm on the move.

Aha. Now I gotcha. It doesn’t get cold here. Supposed to be in the low 30°’s next week. That’s cold for us

 

[tron67j]

Aha. Now I gotcha. It doesn’t get cold here. Supposed to be in the low 30°’s next week. That’s cold for us

My wife is nothing but annoyed with the cold here. Down to the teens at some points this week and up to 10 inches of snow starting tonight. I have to admit the cold is unusually strong right now, about 15 degrees below average for about 3 weeks give it take a couple days. And some winters we get no snow, or maybe a couple inches.

Wish we were also saying, brrrr, low 30s coming.

 

[zrock]

Living up in the north i have not seen the need for a additional heater my truck gets up to temp just may take a little longer. I was going to put a winter front on but could not find a snap in for the type of grill in my truck and i do not want one of those ugly snap on ones, cardboard always done the trick in the past.

 

[ibike]

The roads will freeze tonight making it a slow commute for those poor souls going to work. Retirement has its benefits. The schools will all close after their two week Christmas vacation. Won’t be any toilet paper, milk, or bread in the stores. We bought ours yesterday life is tough in Tennessee COLD weather

 

[Wild one]

Living up in the north i have not seen the need for a additional heater my truck gets up to temp just may take a little longer. I was going to put a winter front on but could not find a snap in for the type of grill in my truck and i do not want one of those ugly snap on ones, cardboard always done the trick in the past.

You need to check avatars more often,he has an 07 with the 5.9 Cummins. A diesal isn't the same as a gas engine in the winter for generating engine heat ,if it's not working.

 

[tron67j]

The roads will freeze tonight making it a slow commute for those poor souls going to work. Retirement has its benefits. The schools will all close after their two week Christmas vacation. Won’t be any toilet paper, milk, or bread in the stores. We bought ours yesterday life is tough in Tennessee COLD weather

Eggs. Eggs are a thing around here for storm preparedness I guess. Storm today, stopped in grocery store yesterday as we were making something and needed eggs. Store totally empty of eggs. Ran into a friend who said Costco was also wiped out yesterday.

People are just crazy.

 

[4xdad]

That’s why I told the missus that her next pet has to poop breakfast

 

[4xdad]

It’s true that diesel trucks need heat to run properly. But the rads are huge thats why big trucks and some heavy machinery have shutters on their rads. I have used the old beer case on the grill since I was a kid. In Alberta in the winter it gets a little chilly Nothing likes-40 machine or man so you learn to do what you have to do

 

[nlambert182]

I saw a patch of ice on the interstate on my way in to work this morning. Police had the right lane shut completely down and diverting traffic (that particular spot of road always has water on it). Traffic was backed up everywhere because folks were afraid the roads were iced. I didn't see another patch anywhere on my 24 mile trek to work.

Can't wait for Friday when it's supposed to freeze over for real. We may see everything shut down for this year's apocalypse. The wife and I are looking forward to working from the hot tub on Friday. The Cummins will probably get called out for ditch duty.

Folks will be eating those expired milk sandwiches for the next three weeks here in North Alabama.

 

[Wild one]

I saw a patch of ice on the interstate on my way in to work this morning. Police had the right lane shut completely down and diverting traffic (that particular spot of road always has water on it). Traffic was backed up everywhere because folks were afraid the roads were iced. I didn't see another patch anywhere on my 24 mile trek to work.

Can't wait for Friday when it's supposed to freeze over for real. We may see everything shut down for this year's apocalypse. The wife and I are looking forward to working from the hot tub on Friday. The Cummins will probably get called out for ditch duty.

Folks will be eating those expired milk sandwiches for the next three weeks here in North Alabama.




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I got neighbours who would be walking around in shorts and Tee shirts at those temps,and my buddy would have his flip-flops on

 

[Marshall]

We hit +2 c today and it rained again, PITA as it will freeze , we had this 2 weeks ago and a foot of snow that is iced over.
-10 is a good temp for this time of yr in central Canada

My daughter was on milt. maneuvers 25+yrs ago at Wainwright Alt in tents at -45, She said it was not nice, all the officers took off back to base.

Back in the day I always had cardboard with a 8-10" hole in the center on the rad, and it would not overheat.
Had a heavy truck with a 855 in it, it would not warm up unless you where on the road, sitting in the yard it would never warm up, and it did have air shutters on it

I had a fellow walking the dog about 2 weeks ago, in a kilt, it was nice out, about -10C
Use to be a fellow always wore shorts with a heavy parka in the winter , but been a few yrs since I have seen him. As long as my hands are warm, I make out OK.

I think the 12v heater in the water line will do nothing and just be a battery killer.

 

[Cham]

Might want to replace your engine thermostat if it hasn't been done before. They can get weak after a while and not close completely, causing slow warm-up and poor heat. Not good for your engine running it cold either. You can do it yourself if you have a heated shop/garage, otherwise take it somewhere, most shops should be able to help you out.

A "winter front" is almost a requirement up north. Mine has shutters which do work well, otherwise I would add cardboard or carpet between the rad and grille too.

 

[Sherman Bird]

Have you tried a cover over the front grill opening to slow the flow of cold air through the radiator. I used to have to do this with one or two vehicles in the past when I was in far Upstate NY, not far from Canada. Helped increase the heat coming to the heater inside.

We seldom have ant really cold weather here in SE TEXAS. That said, I did have to deal with a 10F degree freeze at the end of 1983. I had a little Chevy LUV truck (actually an Isuzu)! I could not get any more than slightly tepid temp from the heater. I then had a brainstorm.. I cut out a piece of heavy cardboard from a shipping crate that I could slide down in between the radiator and A/C condenser, and cut a 10 inch square out of the center. Problem was solved! When our normal 40-ish degree temps returned, I removed the partition, and saved it for future need. Simple solution!

 

[turkeybird56]

We seldom have ant really cold weather here in SE TEXAS. That said, I did have to deal with a 10F degree freeze at the end of 1983. I had a little Chevy LUV truck (actually an Isuzu)! I could not get any more than slightly tepid temp from the heater. I then had a brainstorm.. I cut out a piece of heavy cardboard from a shipping crate that I could slide down in between the radiator and A/C condenser, and cut a 10 inch square out of the center. Problem was solved! When our normal 40-ish degree temps returned, I removed the partition, and saved it for future need. Simple solution!

We used our wooden grid maps when we deployed to Canada, in front of the rads of our 74 RCSB Chevy's with 350 motor.

 

[Dean2]

So as many people know, when we are running these trucks light in the winter, the engine doesnt work hard enough to build up any real heat.
So I've been looking at 12v heaters that i can throw in the cab to help out, after looking at what was available and wanting the added heater to plumb into the current hvac system i had an odd idea.
Would it be possible to run a 12v immersion heater in the coolant line that goes to the heater core?
Near as I can tell I'd need a 60 amp relay to go to an immersion heater, say a 700 watt one, control switch inside the cab, no messing around under the dash, just one extra pipe and some wire added to the engine bay.

So I guess the questions are
Is this a bad idea?
Will this ruin my coolant?
will the heater not be able to heat the coolant at its current flow rate any meaningful amount?

possible immersion heater
Dernord Immersion Heater

So OP, what did you land on for a solution and do you have heat now?

 

[tron67j]

We seldom have ant really cold weather here in SE TEXAS. That said, I did have to deal with a 10F degree freeze at the end of 1983. I had a little Chevy LUV truck (actually an Isuzu)! I could not get any more than slightly tepid temp from the heater. I then had a brainstorm.. I cut out a piece of heavy cardboard from a shipping crate that I could slide down in between the radiator and A/C condenser, and cut a 10 inch square out of the center. Problem was solved! When our normal 40-ish degree temps returned, I removed the partition, and saved it for future need. Simple solution!

The worst for me was a Porsche I had back in the day with air cooled engine. So any heat was solely from heat exchangers surrounding the exhaust. I got just enough heat to have a dinner plate-sized clearing on my windshield. I had to dress warm to drive it in the cold, felt like I was on my snowmobile.

 

[Sherman Bird]

The worst for me was a Porsche I had back in the day with air cooled engine. So any heat was solely from heat exchangers surrounding the exhaust. I got just enough heat to have a dinner plate-sized clearing on my windshield. I had to dress warm to drive it in the cold, felt like I was on my snowmobile.

Considering how darned cold Germany gets, and the origin of the car, that's surprising!

 

[tron67j]

Yeah, surprised me also. But after 1 winter I sold it, bought a Z-28 and went back to college.

 

[GTyankee]

I think cardboard restricting cold air into the radiator, is a good thing

then set the Cab Heater controls to ReCirculate, will shut out the fresh Air from under the hood.
That should heat up the cab much quicker

it still gets up to 55°F during the day, 34°F at night
so i feel lucky compared to many of you

I still set my Recirculation to door closed, in the early morning