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Block heater or not?

Started by Firewoodjoe, January 26, 2019, 07:54:24 AM

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Firewoodjoe

It's been bitter cold here lately -10 this morning. I will be cutting logs soon. It will most likely not be an issue this year but this cold has me thinking about my forwarder and starting next winter. It has no type of engine heat now. Should I use the quick attach to my pickup, generator and standard block heater, inverter and a torpedo type heater or just get a espar fuel burning heater? I don't think I will need it to run everyday so I'm leaning away from the espar heater. Just thinking thanks.

mike_belben

Your service truck has coolant quick connects and a filtration system?   I would use that just to give the coolant a periodic rinse.  The block and liners will last longer that way.  

Plus thats a much more evenly dispersed and quicker warming via the circulating action of your truck connects than to just have one little electric element sitting in one side of the block and waiting for the temp rise to spead by radiation.  
Praise The Lord

Cub

I have the quick connects on mine. Have to start using them around 30 degrees because my mule won't start on its own after that without the ether bunny. Quick connects work good. 0 degrees 15 minutes hooked to the truck and starts like its July. On a side note I have an old truck with cast iron heads and block not sure if I would be using them if I had a newer truck with aluminum parts. Although my buddy has a newer ford and uses quick connects on his mule and hasn't had an issue yet. I think for another cheaper way to do it would be in line or block heater and generator if you already have a generator. Plug it in go cut for a few hours and she should go. My operation quick connects is the way I go. Faster and easier for me. Just my opinions. 

mike_belben

i snort every time i read the ether bunny.  

The N14 international i troubleshot the other day had 9 empty cans of ether next to it.  "She wont pull fuel from the tank, were trying to get her to siphon."   This guy fogged whole cans at a time into the intake and it drained the fuel filter each time so theyd refill.   When they ran out of diesel it was ATF.  When they ran out that it was a pail of used UTF.  I could see the water droplets floating over into the filter.  

I called the boss and said it wasnt even a good parts truck, do not buy it!
Praise The Lord

Firewoodjoe

I don't have quick connects yet. Should be easy to install and it's a 1996 with cast heads. No worries there. And I have a portable welder/generator. That will require no wrenching. Just go use it. The quick connects would be really nice I think.

Cub

1996. Still a simple truck yet!! Mines a 70. Haha!! Yes super simple to plumb in the lines. What engine do you have in your mule? N very simple to plumb your truck n fittings are relatively cheap. 

Firewoodjoe


Firewoodjoe

What about using exhaust hose and putting your pickup exhaust into the bottom of engine compartment? Read it on internet claims it works.

Cub

4 cyl ford. Ok. I have same engine in mine. Mines a turbo but will be the same. I can take a few pics of mine if you'd like next time I'm out there by it. Like I said really simple. 
Piping your exhaust in by the engine would probably work. But I'm thinking you'd have to tarp around it to keep the heat in. Plus you'd have lots of condensation going in there which I'm not sure if it would affect anything. Probably not. I'm thinking it would take quite awhile to warm thing up that way at -10 degrees. I think you would get faster results with the quick connects. Just my thoughts though. Most guys around here that log for a living all have newer equipment with espar heaters or pro heats. This is my side gig. So I use quick connects. 

Dave Shepard

Go to the junkyard and buy a 3 cylinder gas engine out of a Geo or something. Bolt it somewhere on the forwarder and plumb the coolant lines into it. Self contained, no electricity needed pre-heater. :D
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

Firewoodjoe

Cub mine is turbo also. It should be basically the same as a 5510 but the next "body" style older. And I'm also leaning towards the quick connects. I think your right in all aspects. This will be full time but hand cutting I don't "have" to run the mule everyday. And Dave that's actually not a bad idea lol I am a red neck! 😂

Cub

Most likely we have the same engine then. I have a 5310. Not much different than a 5510. I might as well say I'm full time also. I work 40 hours a week in town n close to 40 hours a week in the woods. Yes hand cutting a guy don't have run run forwarder every day. I was more speaking of the guys that run harvester and forwarder. I will get a few pics tomorrow if I'm out there. Not doing much due to the cold. 

Firewoodjoe


Cub


whatwas

I'm a big fan of the esbar heaters.
I parked my machine last Wed and had to attend some training on Thurs-Fri but I know when I pull up to my machine tomorrow at 5:30 AM(-20 C again tonight) it will start and be blowing warm air within 2 minutes. 
life is good

Firewoodjoe

What was. That burns fuel? I don't think I'd want that. I'd rather use a generator. I'm hand cutting so there's work to be done if I need to wait.

Cub

Typically Espars run on diesel fuel. Plumbed into your fuel system. I'm not sure how much they use. But can't be much. I thought about going that route too. But I never really know from 1 day to the next if I'm cutting or forwarding or if I'll even make it out there after work in the evening on such n such a day like I planed. Sometimes I plan on forwarding and once I'm out there cutting something comes up where I need the machine. Hung up tree I need to pull down or something. Sometimes when I'm out just cutting I get tired sooner than usual so I just in the machine. To many variables for me. So I use quick connects. 15-20 minutes n it's running. 

chevytaHOE5674

Some of the espar/webasto style heaters have there own built in fuel tanks that aren't much more that a half gallon or so and will run many hours on that. If installed correctly they can heat your hydraulic oil as well. If you need your machine to be warm and almost ready to work every morning so you can produce then they are the only way to go.

Back in the day many guys including myself used "spit swap" hoses when everything ran the same coolant and nothing was aluminum, no computers, etc. Not many doing it anymore as most pickups use different coolant than the equipment, trucks and equip have sensors and what not that don't like the hot/cold cycle, aluminum parts that dont like going from -30 to 180 in a split second. 

I know one guy that keeps a small 3cyl gas engine in his job trailer with quick connects in place of a radiator, he plugs into the skidder coolant then starts the little motor and runs it at high idle. Runs the same coolant and additive that way and if something were to go wrong it's just a $100 junkyard motor not his expensive pickup that he needs to make it home at night.

barbender

I was just visiting with a guy the other day, who had seen a set up where a guy put a 12 volt circulating pump and a small "heat exchanger" he cobbled together. He would put a hog burner in the heat exchanger, hook up the electrical leads for the pump to his pickup, and it took 20-30 minutes to see the frost disappear off the windshield of the skidder.
Too many irons in the fire

Firewoodjoe

I think the quick couplers would be good for me. And using hydraulic couplers the flow is already restricted and just open the valve half way come back and open it all the way. If a head crack was a worry. That's got to be faster than waiting for something to heat all of it vs have half (the pickup) already at full temp.

chevytaHOE5674

Just make sure you maintain the coolant. Ford tractor blocks are famous for having major cavitation problems when the coolant isn't taken care of,  and some when it is taken care of. That becomes harder to do when your constantly changing coolant with your truck.

Firewoodjoe

Maintain the coolant? Well using new coolant with distilled water should be fine right?

chevytaHOE5674

You should be checking the sca levels in the coolant periodically and adding additive if necessary. A proper coolant filer setup with the additives in it like used on later ford tractors is a major plus.

Firewoodjoe

Yes I've used filters. Most all semis ived serviced have them. I'm going to work on it the coming weekend. The weather is supposed to be a tad warmer😬

Al_Smith

Quote from: Dave Shepard on January 26, 2019, 01:50:24 PM
Go to the junkyard and buy a 3 cylinder gas engine out of a Geo or something. Bolt it somewhere on the forwarder and plumb the coolant lines into it. Self contained, no electricity needed pre-heater. :D
That was kind of like the truck drivers did with a little Simca engine .Kept the battery charged and the water warm just idling on about a gallon of gasoline back in the day .15 below zero those old diesels would start right up in the morning . 

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