Circulating Heater

[TracyinLangdon]

Hello there everyone,
I have a 2016 Siverado 2500HD with the Duramax oprion

Has anyone here installed a circulating coolant heater before?
If so what type did you use & where did you install it?

I see one can install one that would tie into the heater lines or the other option is the lower radiator hose.

I have asked at several places, but 99% of the dummies have never even heard of them & have no clue WTF I am talking about!
They usually ask, "Never even heard of them. What is that" ????
One did though....& figured it would not work because the controls for the heater are electronically controlled & close when the ignition is off....therefor would not allow the coolant to pass / flow freely through
For this reason I was thinking perhaps a LOWER radiator one would work.

Anyhow, anyone know about them or what would work here?
Sure my block heater works etc....& oil pan heaters too....but heating the coolant & having it travel / move is way easier starts & engine warms up a lot faster!

TNX all!

 

[Woody35]

Welcome to the site. Seems like a lot of time and money for not much of an issue. It was 20 deg yesterday. My truck was in Hi-Idle for 5 mins. Drove down the road for a minute and it was blowing hot air out the vents. You could theoretically add some sort of bypass line into the lower radiator hose and install a in-line heater and pump assembly controller with temperature relays. Do you live near the Arctic Circle?

 

[2004LB7]

Can't say I've ever heard of anyone installing a coolant heater other then the diesel fired Webasto ones. I think there is several threads on here about those. On some of the standby generators I used to service they used coolant heaters to keep the engine warm so it was ready to go full blast the moment it started. The heaters were installed on the lower portion of the coolant lines to allow natural convection to circulate the coolant. No pumps

I know some VW models use glow plugs in the coolant line to speed up warming of the engine.

I wonder how well something like this would work

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/KAT16700?cid=paidsearch_shopping_dcoe_google

 

[TracyinLangdon]

Welcome to the site. Seems like a lot of time and money for not much of an issue. It was 20 deg yesterday. My truck was in Hi-Idle for 5 mins. Drove down the road for a minute and it was blowing hot air out the vents. You could theoretically add some sort of bypass line into the lower radiator hose and install a in-line heater and pump assembly controller with temperature relays. Do you live near the Arctic Circle?

Nope live in Canada where is -35 celsius in the winter for weeks on end. TNX

 

[TracyinLangdon]

Can't say I've ever heard of anyone installing a coolant heater other then the diesel fired Webasto ones. I think there is several threads on here about those. On some of the standby generators I used to service they used coolant heaters to keep the engine warm so it was ready to go full blast the moment it started. The heaters were installed on the lower portion of the coolant lines to allow natural convection to circulate the coolant. No pumps

I know some VW models use glow plugs in the coolant line to speed up warming of the engine.

I wonder how well something like this would work

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/KAT16700?cid=paidsearch_shopping_dcoe_google

That is exactly what I was looking at....except I do not know the hose size of the lower radiator. Suppose I could easily phone the parts dept of a dealership & they could tell me

 

[TracyinLangdon]

I also am considering a Webasto
Then when I am working out of a camp or hotel
No maddddddd rush to get back first to plug in...or some loser stealing your cord if you forget to park your tire on it to anchor it in place!
LOL

 

[2004LB7]

That is exactly what I was looking at....except I do not know the hose size of the lower radiator. Suppose I could easily phone the parts dept of a dealership & they could tell me

I believe the hose is 1.75"

 

[TracyinLangdon]

1.75" lower hose inside ID hey....THANK YOU!

 

[TheBac]

Back in the day there were a lot of people up north adding that webasto unit to their trucks. Many a thread over on diesel place about it.

Moved to Hard Parts.

 

[TracyinLangdon]

Back in the day there were a lot of people up north adding that webasto unit to their trucks. Many a thread over on diesel place about it.

Moved to Hard Parts.

Moved to Hard Parts....???? What?

 

[2004LB7]

Moved to Hard Parts....???? What?

Forum thread location. Tom is the forum librarian, or maybe a curator?, and puts the individual threads in there correct location. In other words, he moved your thread to the "hard parts" sub category

 

[TheBac]

Moved to Hard Parts....???? What?

We dont encourage use of the Intro section for tech discussion. Since we dont have a specific area for cooling system threads, I put it in the non-engine-specific area of the Hard Parts section.

Good luck to you with your aux heater install.

Jason, Im a librarian/curator now?

 

[Bdsankey]

Personally I vote for a Webasto. They're insanely proven and do exactly what you're after. Sure, it's not ran by electricity from the grid/external source but they don't take much power.

The Thermo Top Evo 5/5+ or Evo 5 HD Diesel take 33w and 0.62 l/hr (0.16 gal/hr) under full load. Slap a solar panel on the roof if you're worried walk away. That fuel consumption is so low I wouldn't be concerned in the least.

Thermo Top Evo: Compact and efficient parking heater

The parking heater for cars & recreational vehicles from Webasto. Fast heating of the interior and defrosting of windows. Easy installation and retrofitting.

www.webasto.com

Thermo Pro 90: Compact coolant heater for large vehicles

Very robust and highly efficient Thermo Pro 90 from Webasto, with altitude adjustment and "Arctic Start". For minibuses, large commercial & specialty vehicles.

www.webasto.com

 

[malibu795]

Personally I vote for a Webasto. They're insanely proven and do exactly what you're after. Sure, it's not ran by electricity from the grid/external source but they don't take much power.

The Thermo Top Evo 5/5+ or Evo 5 HD Diesel take 33w and 0.62 l/hr (0.16 gal/hr) under full load. Slap a solar panel on the roof if you're worried walk away. That fuel consumption is so low I wouldn't be concerned in the least.

Thermo Top Evo: Compact and efficient parking heater

The parking heater for cars & recreational vehicles from Webasto. Fast heating of the interior and defrosting of windows. Easy installation and retrofitting.

www.webasto.com

Thermo Pro 90: Compact coolant heater for large vehicles

Very robust and highly efficient Thermo Pro 90 from Webasto, with altitude adjustment and "Arctic Start". For minibuses, large commercial & specialty vehicles.

www.webasto.com

I've used these on semis both with bunk heater and just engine coolant heater it's an investment on the buy in for sure.

 

[Bdsankey]

I've used these on semis both with bunk heater and just engine coolant heater it's an investment on the buy in for sure.

We've used them a TON up here in the frozen north on equipment. Or operators will do the old "spit swap" method where the truck and equipment has quick connect heater lines that they hook up to heat the unit up.

Not cheap but I don't think I've had to replace one that wasn't damaged by stupidity.