Magnetic Engine Block Heater

   / Magnetic Engine Block Heater #31  
I lived in a very small town - Glenallen - half way between Anchorage and Fairbanks. Winters would go on forever - days would warm up to -25F and nights could drop to -45F. This would go on for weeks and then a break - up to +20F. The very best situation is to have a heated garage or building where the vehicle can be parked when not in use. Otherwise, we found that the in-line tank heaters - circulate the engine coolant - worked the very best. When a vehicle had to be parked outside the tank heater would be plugged in and remain on all the time. That is, IF you wanted the vehicle to start at a moments notice. The tank heaters we used would bypass the radiator and only heat & circulate the coolant in the engine. This is because the thermostat is between the tank heater and the radiator and the tank heater never got the coolant so hot that the thermostat opened and allowed passage into the radiator. They were very efficient and would raise engine coolant temps to +70F to +90F dependent on outside temps.

there used to be a heater for over the road trucks that burned diesel and was run when stopped to heat the sleeper and cab and could also heated the motor coolant. Don't remember the name of them but a friend put one in his Hummer H1 when he was making a trek up to Alaska a few years back.
 
   / Magnetic Engine Block Heater #32  
there used to be a heater for over the road trucks that burned diesel and was run when stopped to heat the sleeper and cab and could also heated the motor coolant. Don't remember the name of them but a friend put one in his Hummer H1 when he was making a trek up to Alaska a few years back.

Those are very common in the colder climates. :D
 
   / Magnetic Engine Block Heater #33  
Inline hose heaters work very well, thank you.:D

Egon, you're on the money as usual...
When I was working up north in Whitehorse, we'd install 1500 watt jacket-water re-circulating heaters and then also insulated the heater lines. That plus a battery blanket around the battery and another one around the starter sometimes did the trick at -45

Dan.
 
   / Magnetic Engine Block Heater #35  
there used to be a heater for over the road trucks that burned diesel and was run when stopped to heat the sleeper and cab and could also heated the motor coolant. Don't remember the name of them but a friend put one in his Hummer H1 when he was making a trek up to Alaska a few years back.

The 2 most often used are Webasto and Espar diesel fired coolant heaters. Both are electronic ignition (actually glow plugs) and also have significant water pumps built in. They are sold with 72 hour delay start timers... These are the ultimate for cold start solution and of course are out of my price range for home use. The both also make diesel fired space heaters, work great...

Dan
 
   / Magnetic Engine Block Heater #36  
We used to occasionally see a semi pulled over at a wide spot in the road and they used those diesel fired coolant heaters. Not very often though, to pull over at a wide spot was a great risk because if anything went wrong you had no help or utilities available to assist in restarting a big semi. It gets cold here where I live now, in the winter, but nothing like those tiny iceberg villages in Alaska and Northern Canada. I got so darn tired of spending half my waking time just checking, adjusting, fiddling & worrying to keep all the vehicles in a condition so they would start. And then some YAHOO would take one of the vehicles out and not plug it in overnight, where ever he was, and it was like retrieving a three ton block of marble.
 
   / Magnetic Engine Block Heater #37  
Seasons Greetings Folks

Relatively new to this forum and this is a great discussion. I am seeking more in-depth advice on cold weather starting (heating) on my two tractors.

My 1948 International C tractor has no frost plugs visible (Correct me if wrong), No Oil dip stick for heater stick and radiator hoses < 6 inches so tank heater not optional.

There is a 400 watt magnetic stick on block (oil pan) heater available on Amazon for $62.99.
Anyone have luck with a high wattage (> 400 watts) stick on heater? Sounds like the problems folks shared were with low wattage heaters.

My 1977 Yanmar twin-Cylinder diesel tractor has No frost plugs to my knowledge. Diameter of tank heater is smaller than the radiator hose diameters so not workable. Yanmar uses British Tapered Threads so threads for SAE heated dip stick does not match up.

No heater options until a Yanmar third-party parts supplier recently developed in-house a new water pump backing plate [$129.84] that comes with a port that is ï½½ NPT thread for a screw in 400 watt block engine heater [$47.83] (guess it looks like a frost plug heater).

Can anyone recommend by brand name a really high wattage block or Frost plug heater that uses ½ inch NPT thread they personally had success with in their tractor?

I am in Northern MN and last two weeks the high each day has been below zero and low as minus 22 and that is not wind chill.

Tractors are stored year round in unheated weatherproof buildings but no difference between inside and out side temps.

My dad left me these tractors but not the knowledge to maintain them so learning as I go from forums like this one


Thanx!

Ron
 
   / Magnetic Engine Block Heater #38  
Forget the dipstick heaters.

For simplicity and ease throw a tarp over the engine and use a small electric heater with fan. :)

Keeping the engine tuned up and using clean fuel also helps.
 
   / Magnetic Engine Block Heater #39  
Yes they do , actually better than core plug ..We have 30 odd pieces of equipment that has to start down to -35c . The 5 that have hose heaters are the fastest to warm up . Just throw magnets in the trash and same time .

Sometimes it's the only way :)



I like your picture, I did the same thing years ago starting cotton pickers in the dead of winter at work but we also added a generator running a big battery jump starter. Let everything "soak" for 30 or so minutes and it usually fired up, but it did a lot of "complaining" for a few minutes.
 
   / Magnetic Engine Block Heater #40  
Seasons Greetings Folks

Relatively new to this forum and this is a great discussion. I am seeking more in-depth advice on cold weather starting (heating) on my two tractors.

My 1948 International C tractor has no frost plugs visible (Correct me if wrong), No Oil dip stick for heater stick and radiator hoses < 6 inches so tank heater not optional.

There is a 400 watt magnetic stick on block (oil pan) heater available on Amazon for $62.99.
Anyone have luck with a high wattage (> 400 watts) stick on heater? Sounds like the problems folks shared were with low wattage heaters.

My 1977 Yanmar twin-Cylinder diesel tractor has No frost plugs to my knowledge. Diameter of tank heater is smaller than the radiator hose diameters so not workable. Yanmar uses British Tapered Threads so threads for SAE heated dip stick does not match up.

No heater options until a Yanmar third-party parts supplier recently developed in-house a new water pump backing plate [$129.84] that comes with a port that is ス NPT thread for a screw in 400 watt block engine heater [$47.83] (guess it looks like a frost plug heater).

Can anyone recommend


Thanx!

Ron

If you do a search on Amazon or just Google, check out Kat's hose heaters... They make a hose type heater all the way down to a 1" hose... and on up. Maybe you can find one that will fit your tractor. Kat's is also the manufacturer of a lot of the freeze plug type heaters... and has been around for a long time.. You can also use the mag units on a flat area on the block...
 

Tractor & Equipment Auctions

Three Point Hitch Finish Mower (A48837)
Three Point Hitch...
Headache Rack (A50860)
Headache Rack (A50860)
2023 Komatsu WA320-8 Articulated Wheel Loader (A49461)
2023 Komatsu...
2019 CATERPILLAR 308 CR EXCAVATOR (A50458)
2019 CATERPILLAR...
2017 Kenworth K370 New Way 16RLC 16Yd Rear Loader Garbage Truck (A48081)
2017 Kenworth K370...
2014 Chevrolet Impala Limited Sedan (A48082)
2014 Chevrolet...
 
Top