ndtguy1

Hi Everyone,

New to the website and I'm looking for some ideas to get
some more HEAT!!! out of the DCD in the the great white
north during the cold times (where -45C is still a work day)
while working out on the pipeline.

The units I have are 98-00 3500 cab & chassis equipped with
a flat deck on which a mobile darkroom is mounted. These
labs are outfitted with 12 volt bus/auxillary heaters tied
into the trucks coolant system. We use winter fronts, have
installed the 85C thermostats from Dodge, installed manual
idle controls, etc. When driving out to the worksite, the
cab gets just warm enough that you might unbutton your
coat but, when you start working on the line (where the
truck is idling all day to provide power & heat to the lab
as we move along behind the welding crews) it can get
cold enough that ice starts forming on the walls inside of
the lab!!! In comparison, I also have some other units
built on Ford (Yes, I know I used a bad word!!!) SD F350's
with the 7.3L Powerstrokes and it gets warm enough that
you could strip down to your skivvies!!!

Any ideas /feedback would be greatly appreciated as we
are expanding the fleet soon and the boss is leaning towards
those clumsy, fuel hungry Fords because of the heat issue
Ibut I'd rather go Dodge

wannadiesel

Get an exhaust brake with a "warm up" feature that allows a fast idle with the exhaust brake applied. Puts a load on the engine and makes it run hotter. The work truck in my signature has one, in winter it will take it from cold start to 200 F in less than 10 minutes at 1100 RPM. Also works nice to keep me toasty when I stop for lunch.

BTW, welcome to DTR.

Dr. Evil

Basically, what you need to do is to use a high idle, either electronic, mechanical, or simply a stick jammed beteen the seat and the go pedal....something that will bring the RPM's up to the 1300-1400 range. This will provide some extra heat and I imagine that you are already doing this.

Have you seen the Espar or Wabasta hydronic water heaters??? They are mainly used to assist in starting a cold truck but can provide extra heat. Being that you want/need lots of extra heat you may want to look into one of the larger models that are for the semi's....they are not cheap.......but work very well and are well worth every penny, especially in Northern Alberta. Talk to some of the larger truck places in Edmonton, ie Kenworth etc.....they will have them or will be able to point you in the right direction.

An exhaust break may work for some extra heat, but I dont know if it will give you the heat you are looking for.

Make sure you keep those RPM's up, and change oil often......idelling all day (especially in the cold) is HARD on a diesel (or on any engine for that matter)

BTW, I have an ESPAR, exhaust brake and hi idle....

Good to see another Edmonton guy on here....welcome.

dodgeram

even when idling at 1300 rpm my egt's don't go over 300 degrees .........

mark showed me that when you put an exuast brake on the egt's go from 300 to 700 degrees just like when cruising on the highway

so I'd say get an ebrake and leave it on when idling at 1200+ rpm

as for heat on the highway?? ........ mine gets plenty warm on the road even in -40

Dr. Evil

With the hydronic heater, they could pipe extra heat into the back of the truck....large trucks uses these heaters to provide extra heat in the sleepers....

Haulin_in_Dixie

There are fuel powered jet heaters for trucks. Back when Volkswagen's were air cooled, they had them for them also. They use a little 12 volts and burn fuel or gas as needed.

Dr. Evil

[quote author=Haulin in Dixie link=board=4;threadid=22016;start=0#msg205878 date=1068007815]
There are fuel powered jet heaters for trucks. Back when Volkswagen's were air cooled, they had them for them also. They use a little 12 volts and burn fuel or gas as needed.
[/quote]

Thats what Im talking about.....

Ive been told that virtually all production cars in Germany have what is called a parking heater which simply heats and circulates coolant throughout the entire cooling/heating system.

http://www.espar.com/

http://www.paccar.com/TruckAccessori...lt/slprhtr.htm