solar powered system for block heater

[jedjoe]

I'm wondering if anyone out there has built a solar power supply for a tractor's block heater. I'm planning on storing my tractor in a storage building that has no ac power. All I would need for power in the building is something that could run a 120 volt 150 watt block heater for winter use. So I am thinking solar panels with battery system and inverter. The battery capacity would need to be sufficient to run that 150 watt block heater for a 24 hour period at most and more likely only need to run it for 12-15 hours. Any ideas welcome. Thanks

 

[4570Man]

Most block heaters are more like 1500 watts not 150 and 1500 watts is a lot to do with solar especially when it’s dark.

 

[RjCorazza]

Block heaters on my last 2 tractors were 400 watts, but that still is a big ask for a solar system unless it's a large one.
I run my block heater on a timer for 3-4 hours prior to expected use.

 

[LittleBill21]

whats the budget, you need to know the watts of the heater, how long your going to run it and the recovery time needed.

 

[Rustyiron]

Block heaters on my last 2 tractors were 400 watts, but that still is a big ask for a solar system unless it's a large one.
I run my block heater on a timer for 3-4 hours prior to expected use.

That's what I find also. 2-3 hours ahead of use on a simple plug in timer (rated for the heater wattage) is all that's necessary for an easy start.
Then it's warming time for the transmission.

 

[thebmrust]

Look at the cost of batteries to store the power overnight.

 

[nyone]

Look at the cost of batteries to store the power overnight.

He will then think it's time to fix his glow plugs.

 

[oldnslo]

He will then think it's time to fix his glow plugs.

Glow plugs may not be enough to start his tractor if in a really cold climate. I know at -10 F my Branson struggles to turn over with out block heater plugged in for awhile.

 

[dodge man]

I think it’s doable but you’d need someway to turn it on remotely or actually go turn it on yourself a couple hours ahead of time. It could be a car battery setup and a modest sized panel. If you need it every day you might not get by that cheap.

 

[BlueKnife]

I'm wondering if anyone out there has built a solar power supply for a tractor's block heater. I'm planning on storing my tractor in a storage building that has no ac power. All I would need for power in the building is something that could run a 120 volt 150 watt block heater for winter use. So I am thinking solar panels with battery system and inverter. The battery capacity would need to be sufficient to run that 150 watt block heater for a 24 hour period at most and more likely only need to run it for 12-15 hours. Any ideas welcome. Thanks

I've never heard of a block heater that small. That's only 1.25 Amps. Not going to produce much heat. Like @4570Man, I'm wondering if a zero got left off of that number? Or perhaps an extra zero was added and you meant 15 amps, not watts? I'm going to assume so for calculation purposes.

I live off grid and use solar for our electricity. I installed our system as well as several others in the area. In a nutshell, it's not realistic to use solar to run a block heater in the northeastern US. That might be a viable option, some of the time, in a high desert area where it's common to have full sun and intense cold at the same time. It could be done in the northeast, but it would take a huge (expensive) system, as in many thousands of dollars worth. To run a 1500-1800 watt block heater for 3 hours a day with no charging happening (the most likely time to need it is at night) you'd need roughly 3-4000 amp hours worth of batteries, so around $4000. That's just batteries. Haven't even started calculating the panels, panel stand, charge controller, cables, wire, fuse box, breakers, inverter etc. etc. Rough guess is you're going to be in the $10,000 ballpark. That's a lot of money to run a block heater. Much simpler and far less expensive to either run power to the building or, if that's not possible for some reason, get an inverter generator and use that.

I use a Honda 2200 inverter generator to charge our batteries in the winter when we don't have enough sun. I use the same generator to power a block heater when I need one. Set it up so that the exhaust is blowing underneath the engine being warmed and ideally cover the machine with a tarp to help keep the heat in. Run it for 2-3 hours, ideally, although even just a half hour helps and can be enough if it's not too cold.