Lower Radiator Hose Block Heater

[Joe Hickerson]

Sounds good Brian. Let us know the initial test results. By the way, where does the temp sensor connect? I should check my connection....

 

[CalG]

I've also used a heat gun to warm up the air going into the air filter/ intake. That is sort of a PIA but does work when the engine just needs to get going!

 

[Brian (with an i)]

I've also used a heat gun to warm up the air going into the air filter/ intake. That is sort of a PIA but does work when the engine just needs to get going!

That's not a bad idea. A heat gun and a shot of starting fluid should get things going on those extra cold days.

 

[Brian (with an i)]

Sounds good Brian. Let us know the initial test results. By the way, where does the temp sensor connect? I should check my connection....

On my 22, it's on the side of the thermostat housing at the front of the engine where the top radiator hose connects. I assume it's the same on the 25.

 

[ultrarunner]

I use block heaters 24/7 on the diesel generators.

OEM was a inexpensive freeze plug heater that averaged 2-3 years.

I went to in-line and only replaced once in 7 years.

Hospital standby generators start full throttle and must transfer load within 10 seconds… everything bad for longevity.

Having the block at temp makes a world of difference even where temps seldom drop to freezing.

 

[CalG]

I use block heaters 24/7 on the diesel generators.

OEM was a inexpensive freeze plug heater that averaged 2-3 years.

I went to in-line and only replaced once in 7 years.

Hospital standby generators start full throttle and must transfer load within 10 seconds… everything bad for longevity.

Having the block at temp makes a world of difference even where temps seldom drop to freezing.

Sounds like a great opportunity to use "waste heat" from heat pump systems to provide "ecology points". ;-)

 

[ultrarunner]

No heat pump systems here…

The exception would be new construction where all electric mandates exist.

Most homes/small offices here are not air conditioned and heat is natural gas.

At work we do have steam boilers but about as far away from the generators as possible… part of not having all critical infrastructure in one location…

Without the block heater the generators start just as quick but the governor hunts to achieve required speed…

 

[Brian (with an i)]

Sounds good Brian. Let us know the initial test results...

Ok, with an ambient temp of 22F in the shed and engine block temp of 18ish (it got down to 13F last night), I ran the Kats 16400 heater for 1.25 hours this morning and it raised the block temp to 45-50F as measured just above the freeze plugs and 90-100F at the water pump and thermostat housing. Only negative thing was it did warm things up enough for the coolant sensor to tell the ECU to not run the glow plugs, and the tractor still didn't want to start with just the heater alone. So after cranking for way too long, I unplugged the temp sensor which allowed the ECU to power the glow plugs and I cycled them two times and the engine fired right up and ran smooth like it was all warmed up.

Before using the heater, it would not start, or not start very easily at all in these cold temps with the glow plugs alone, so the inline heater definitely made a difference. I will still probably wire up a switch to disable the signal from the coolant temp sensor when using the heater so I can still cycle the glow plugs, but the moral of the story is (for my cold-blooded emax 22 anyway) the Kats heater in conjunction with the glow plugs works great! I didn't try using a heat gun on the intake air as suggested but wiring in a bypass switch will be much simpler for me overall. Being new to the diesel SCUT world, I was skeptical this little 400 watt heater (actually measured at only 368 watts) would do the job, but it does. Next time I'll leave it on a little longer and see if it lets the tractor start without the glow plugs, but for now it's a keeper.

 

[camshawn]

We have a 3616 that is about 7 or 8 yrs old. Glow plugs are a consumable and I changed out ours last winter after the tractor got harder to start. Disconnect the buss across the top of the glow plugs and measure the resistance between the top of the glow plug and the block. There should be some. Very high means the glow plug is done. They weren’t that expensive.

 

[mikester]

I've had both frost plug and lower rad hose heaters. Both have similar life spans. Both work effectively. Depending on access to the port the frost plug might be a little easier to install.

On the minus side rad hoses get brittle over time and the frost plug ones corrode. None of us are getting any younger either so pick whichever one appeals to you or is easier to install.