 | Home > Maintenance & Modifications > Trying to beat the winter weather! |
 
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| JWL Member Since: 26 Oct 2011 Location: Hereford Posts: 3443   
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Now with the colder weather fast approaching and trying to save myself the effort of scraping the ice off the windows as I've nowhere to park the truck under cover, I was looking into buying a Webasto or the like. Having missed a few on teabay(didn't want to spend a fortune and a bit wary of ones that have been "ripped out" of motors) I've decided to give an electric tubular heater such as you find in greenhouses and conservatorys. For £22 it's worth a pop as there is mains close by, set up on a timer switch to come on before I need the truck or even left on overnight, should be enough to keep the windows clear and keep the inside dryer
There is allways the chance that if it does work, my inverter may run it away from any mains outlets You know how these TD5's keep you warm when they're just ticking over |
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10th Nov 2011 2:45pm |
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| T1G UP Member Since: 08 Dec 2009 Location: Bath Posts: 3101 
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not a bad idea |
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10th Nov 2011 2:47pm |
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| JWL Member Since: 26 Oct 2011 Location: Hereford Posts: 3443
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It's just trying to find a heater that's practical, didn't want the firey glow of one of those halogen ones even though they are low wattage(Neighbours would be constantly banging on the door telling me my motors on fire
 ) Not too keen on a fan heater, that has to be directed somewhere, so plumped for a radiator type but compact thus a tubular one. Going to try it on the floor in front of the second row seats, but have a look at making a better stand for it when it arrives(Not one to be found in our wonderful shopping choices in Hereford  ) |
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10th Nov 2011 3:24pm |
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| T1G UP Member Since: 08 Dec 2009 Location: Bath Posts: 3101
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thought about a sump heater? like a kettle element that plugs in and warms the engine oil. Used extensively in canada.
would allow very quick warm up of heater etc. tube heaters ok aswell though |
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10th Nov 2011 3:45pm |
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| Martin Site Admin Member Since: 02 Apr 2007 Location: Hook Norton Posts: 6664  
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Common in Scandinavia, they have a mains powered block heater and domestic fan heater in the passenger's footwell.
 1988 90 Td5 NAS soft top
2015 D90 XS SW |
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10th Nov 2011 3:52pm |
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 17755 
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Many years ago I owned a twin-wheel Transit minibus which I used as a caving trip vehicle (it had only five seats, a changing area, and room for lots of gear). With all the glass that it had, it was a nightmare to clear on a frosty morning, so I got in the habit of putting one of those mains-powered oi-filled radiators in it and either leaving it on low all night, or leaving it set to a moderate heat and plugging it in (from inside the house) an hour or so before going out to the van. It worked a treat and never caused any problems.
After I sold the tranny I bought my first Landrover (a Series 1 80" which I still have, but which needs a new chassis) and ran it as my only vehicle for about 6 years. In that time, I replaced the rather ropey 2L siamesed bore unit with a later 2L spread bore engine from an 86", which I bought second hand. The later engine had a mains-powered immersion heater in the block, fitted in one of the core plug apertures, and is the only Series 1 engine I have ever seen with this fitment. This was fantastic, since if you flicked the mains on an hour before starting, the Landrover would start without choke and was in effect at working temperature right from the start. Even the round heater (a Clayton, rather than the more normal Smiths, on that vehicle) was fully warm. The only downside came when my parents got the first electricity bill after I had ben doing this for three months; that was when I found out that it was something around the 3KW mark! There is however no doubt in my mind that a block heater is the best answer, but a good alternative is the Kenlowe Hotstart unit, assuming that it is still made. |
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10th Nov 2011 4:45pm |
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| leeds Member Since: 28 Dec 2009 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 8582
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One thing we found useful last winter was the application of Night before deicer/ice formation preventer or whatever it was called.
OK windscreens were not 100% ice free in the morning but they had a lot less ice on and what ice that was on seemed to come off easier. OK I did not carry out scientific tests spraying 50% of windscreen etc  but we will be buying some more from a rather well known motorist shop.
Brendan |
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10th Nov 2011 5:28pm |
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| T1G UP Member Since: 08 Dec 2009 Location: Bath Posts: 3101
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10th Nov 2011 5:41pm |
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| JWL Member Since: 26 Oct 2011 Location: Hereford Posts: 3443
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I am well aware of engine heaters, I'm just experimenting with an idea of just keeping the cabin above freezing in preperation for the school run in the morning(usually stressfull as a single parent
) There is a mains supply close by so why not?
Years ago as an agricultural student we would start at 4am for milking and have a 2hr break in the day, never enough time to go anywhere(even if you had the inclination) and was an ideal chance to catch up on a sleep but as it was in those early 80's winters I used to put a electric fire in the back of my Volvo estate and kip in there  When I parked up at home at night i used to leave a lead out and switch it on when I was making my flask and hey presto a frost free car |
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10th Nov 2011 7:12pm |
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| bpman Member Since: 21 May 2008 Location: Oslo Posts: 8069 
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I've seen that too. If you do a little research, you will find there are 2 types of heaters, diesel and electric. if you are able to plug into the mains, electric ones are much easier to install and use. I'll ping my Norwegian mates and get some details.. |
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10th Nov 2011 7:37pm |
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| big steve Member Since: 24 Dec 2009 Location: hertfordshire Posts: 2456 
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Long ago when my dad was still alive he had a blue 240 socket under the roof rack which inturn powered a 240 socket behind the seat in his then 90 Csw j reg which he had s timer on and a heater plugged into so all you did was on the way into your truck you would just unplug on the outside and in you get and off you go worked really well he was leaving the house at 3am most every morning so worked for him in all weather
Steve 2015 2.2 tdci hardtop xs 3.2 conversion DONE 238bhp and 707nm torque and thats just the start ;-P hybrid turbo in build -done ready to fit ashcroft atb in transfer box 6 speed auto in build |
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10th Nov 2011 7:59pm |
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| tatra805 Member Since: 16 Aug 2011 Location: Dolany Posts: 436  
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Has anyone real-life experiences with these?
I have my doubts about them because of the following; My MB has a 5kW webasto and it heats the Engine water in 30min at -10°C to about 45°C BUT as the thermostat is then still closed to the water in the radiator this temp drops drastic when starting the engine, resulting in a warm up time which is still considerable as "long" and with big fluctuations. At -20°C the webasto is not able to heat the water to operation temperature at all, even if i keep it turned on. This is quite logic as the whole cooling system of a car is constructed for optimal heat loss. So every time the thermostat opens, the radiator side brings the temp that much down that the webasto can't keep up. Now, these electric heaters have typically 2kW spirals and i really wonder how long it will take them to heat up the engine. If you will need to switch them on 8 hours in advance..... you'll quickly pay back your webasto cost (with benefit of being grid independent) I do know that in countries where these are used the point is to keep your engine temp constant. eg you arrive at the shop, plug in and when you are ready shopping your engine is still at operation temp. So 2kW may suffice to compensate for heat losses of a turned off engine. (and consumption considerably less as it only cycles on-off within a 5°C range). Worse, if the heat loss is 2kW you will never raise the temp of the water, only conserve its temp. meaning you'll need to plug in in the evening when coming home and keep it plugged in till morning to maintain operation temp. With these efficient cooling systems of today even small diesel engines have electrical spirals for helping the initial heat-up phase and the bigger engines resort to webasto type heaters even if the programmability is most of the time still a paid option. (eg D3) With the aim of heating your cabin only (I personally am more worried about wear on a cold engine than a cabin) the electrical heaters do have an electrical interior heater which is plugged into the system or used stand alone. Have look at www.defa.com for more details. just my 2cents  |
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10th Nov 2011 8:02pm |
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| Denis Member Since: 28 Dec 2010 Location: prairie Posts: 58  
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using this one http://wup.defa.com/en/wup_products_wupkits.html
not a cheap solution but very good. you can choose units (ie charger, cabin heater etc) and build from them your own system. I know other people use defa and all of them very happy with it  Puma 110 |
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10th Nov 2011 8:05pm |
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| T1G UP Member Since: 08 Dec 2009 Location: Bath Posts: 3101
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most stats open around 82 degs not 45.so everything will be toasty before the stat opens. and when it does it'll soon close again! @ - 20 heres a link to a webasto @ - 16 working well! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9D5btyUS2o |
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10th Nov 2011 8:09pm |
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