Engine Heaters

[Stephen Blair]

My patrol has an extra heater switch, i have been using it and it has been starting much better, when it starts the engine runs a lot faster, thats when i just turn it off. Am i doing the right thing or should i leave it on a for a bit?

[Xerxses]

This time of the year i quite enjoy my webasto radio-remote-controlled heater...

Just press a button on my keyring and the heater starts, toasty car within 15 min. If its really cold, as it is today, (-22C), I just let it run for 30 min. Works from a long distance. Used it on top of a skislope to start the car at the parkinglot a mile away!

[gensetsteve]

My patrol has an extra heater switch, i have been using it and it has been starting much better, when it starts the engine runs a lot faster, thats when i just turn it off. Am i doing the right thing or should i leave it on a for a bit?

 

Not sure on the patrol it could just be just a high idle switch operating a solinoid on the inj pump. On our Landcruiser it has a power heater which operates two halves of a grapefruit which heats the water. The speed increases so does the fuel consumption but the heat does not seem to increase I tend not to use it. You could get some one to push your switch while you look for a pump cutting in and out.

 

I fit hot start heaters to big gensets so have a trade acct with hotstart. Good kit but works better if you have room for a bottle heater especially if you live in a chalky area.

[Paul Smith]

This time of the year i quite enjoy my webasto radio-remote-controlled heater...

Just press a button on my keyring and the heater starts, toasty car within 15 min. If its really cold, as it is today, (-22C), I just let it run for 30 min. Works from a long distance. Used it on top of a skislope to start the car at the parkinglot a mile away!

 

 

Eyberspecher do these, most HGV's are fitted with them as night heaters. They run of the fuel tank and have a safety cut out for low volts etc. Very good bit of kit but you need to be on pop stars wages!

 

You can often find them on a certain auction site but they are normaly just the heater and thermostat.

 

Do not tell your insurance you have a method of auto start!

[ad15]

D3 has fuel burning heater which does the trick,

 

incidentally when i owned a few Sj's as a lad i used to put a small lantern under the bonnet, used to just keep it all from freezing..

 

webasto are great TCD,, we fit the timers to the FBH's on D3's

[Treewolf]

I have a Series 1 80" Land-Rover (with the 2L engine) which has a mains electric block heater fitted. Brilliant bit of kit for getting the engine warm - even in the bitterly cold winter back in '78 or so it would start without choke and the fug-stirrer heater would blast out hot air immediately.

 

The only worrying thing was the effect on the electrickery meter - you could quite literally see the little disk thingy speed up and whizz round when you plugged it in!

 

The LR is off the road now awaiting a new chassis, but I still have it. A project for when I retire, I think.

[Quickthorn]

I've been using a lower tech method this last week or so - like my dad in the 70s, I've been putting an old coat over the engine as soon as I get in. It's a LR with the normally aspirated engine, and difficult to get going below -5 or so, but the coat trick's made a difference, I think.

 

Having said that, it wasn't having it yesterday morning. It was -17 or so, and I'm pretty sure the diesel had waxed up.

[TRADITIONAL LOGGERS]

Clio diesel starts on the button at -14.6C no problems without a block heat source. The electric cost is expensive and a waste if on for more than a couple of hours. Good servicing including a change of oils before cold weather is ideal to keep going.

 

The truck has good starting as well and a Mercedes approved cold fluid start if needed at -30C

 

There are battery box heaters to keep the charge alternative is to use some hessian sacks.