Truck heat

Glen

and must ask - has anyone used a panel rad (runtal/stelrad etc)in the back of their work truck to keep it warm. I use a 3/4 T dodge with spacekap - lots of room, I can stand fully erect & and it is amazing as to its capacity for parts. But cold - really cold. So using the 5.9 cummins as the boiler seems to me a doable solution - I don't think the rad will seriously affect water temps back to the engine (which already runs cool).

m dewolfe

truck heat

Go to a local NAPA or Pepboys and but an aux heater kit. Just a small heater core and a fan but it will make a huge difference back there. Be sure to add a line voltage thermostat and wire it up thru a relay to the trucks ignition circut or you will have a dead battery in the morning. I have put several of these in our service trucks with great success. You could also use a shroud around the grill to reduce the air thru the radiator this will run up the engine temp abit and increase your fuel economy also.

Mike D_7

Aux Heaters & covering/shrouding radiator

Check out this link for some easy to install aux. heaters.
ftp://www.rustrepair.com:24/stepvanpdf/htraux.pdf
They're on pg 115 of Mill Supply's catalog.

This page has heaters, hose kits, and switches for the aux heater's fan.

Mill Supply is a great resourtce for all sorts of van & walk-in van parts. I used them for years when I worked for Fedex as a fleet mechanic.

Covering your radiator is a good way to keep the engine temp in very cold weather. But three important points.

First, if your truck runs cool, the thermostat is N.G. Partial failure is VERY common on Cummins T-stats. They fail to completly seal when clolsed, and as you all know, even very little flow delivers a lot of Btu's from the boiler (engine) to the radiator. A good thermostat will allow an engine to reach full operating temperature at idle, in the coldest weather. No exceptions.

Second, and very important, when blocking air to the fan, make it's cover SYMETRICAL. Cover the whole radiator, then experiment with a round hole cut out that's CENTERED on the Fan hub. This is important because it takes up to 10 HP to drive the fan at max engine RPM, IF THERE IS A LOAD (free air) on it. If you block one side, you risk a fan hub or water pump failure from uneven bearing loading. This isn't just a theory, I've seen it.

And last, please avoid cardboard as a radiator cover. If it gets wet, it will plug up the exterior of the radiator.

Douglas Hicks

Espar heaters run on diesel fuel. I have one in my Sprinter and it helps. They are not cheap, mine was $900.00 and we installed it. Propane heater also work, I have one in my Step Van.

Tom Hopkins

I second the propane heater idea... They put these in our vans at work because we kept leaving the vans running all day at jobs to keep the back warm, with diesel running 3.60 a gallon that was getting expensive... A little propane heater will keep the whole thing warm for very little $$$ compared to idling the engine all day... Also handy because we can pull them out of the van and use them as little portable units when we're in cold-**** crawlspaces or working in unheated new construction in the winter...

Maine Doug_68

Cool running engine needs to

be addressed first. We have trouble with the Cat in the boat in the winter when idling waiting for diver to come up. Supplemental heat from the Espar helps.

Do you have a small propane tankless heater sitting in the shop? With a deep cycle battery, an efficient off-grid 12v circ and panel rad and 3 way. On cold mornings the 3 way is turned to heat the engine from the tankless. Then the 3 way is turned to have engine heat the panel and the tankless is off.

When heat is needed in the back, the tankless fires up to heat the panel rad. All on the engines glycol mix. Maybe it needs more than a 3-way, one circuit is lost in my head.

A battery combiner (Yandina.com) automatically adds the deep cycle to the truck charging circuit after the truck batteries are charged by the engine. A diode isolator is not recommended.

I'd put in a remote key fob control so I would not have a cold engine when I had to get going in the morning. Hit the button- tankless and circ now heat engine. Arrive at truck and start engine and cab heater works immediately. Toggle switch and valve turns to add panel rad to heater circuit from diesel engine and turn off tankless.

By now start batteries are charged and deep cycle is charging. Arrive at job and decide if tankless and panel rad needed to be running. Remove thermos and breakfast from top of panel rad, smile.

Oh, very important--- add radiant piping in seat bottom cushion and seat back. Now you can demo radiant to prospective customers.

With the right burner, you could run on french fry oil, waste motor oil, so you would be Eco-rated too. Or how about a LPG fireplace with outside combustion air.

Glen

I am familiar with the espar -

and that may be the way to go both front and back - hydronic unit for the engine and an air unit for the spacekap.
http://www.spacekap.net/spacekap-plus.htm

Bob Gagnon plumbing and heating

I ran 8' of high output baseboard

in the back of a 63 chevy van and it worked good. I just tied it in to the existing heater hose. My boss and plumber friends thought it was pretty cool. That was back in the 70's, I had a lot of fun in that van. Bob Gagnon

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