In the winter it takes my 2002 CTD Ram 2500 forever to warm up. I plug it in and cut the electric on one hour before I go to work. Is one hour long enough?

Also, does anyone with cold winters close off their grille? If so, what’s the best method to do this? I heard you have to be careful with your configuration when doing this, as you can throw the cooling fan balance off and potentially warp the blade(s). Don’t know if this is true. Just remember hearing it somewhere.

 

I use a heavy duty timer to start my block heater 3 hours before I leave in the AM.
I also use winter fronts that block off the grille openings, and when the temps get really cool, I have a piece of cardboard with a 8" hole cut in the middle to slip between the evap, and the radiator.

Toasty tootsies. ;D

 

Well, by plugging in, I don't think you're going to get appreciable amount of warmth to see a big difference on the temp. guage, and certainly not for 1 hour of operation. If you're looking for instant cab warmth, I don't think the block heater is going to provide it. I found 3 hours was sufficient down to 0[sup]o[/sup] for easy starts, then I have to bump up the timer to 4 hours for anythin below that. I'm fortunate to be 2 miles from the entrance to my interstate I travel every day, and I get lots of heat within 7 miles or so with no radiator covering. But I do notice that it takes a long time to warm up with stop and go driving when it's below zero. A lot of members here use Cold Fronts which attach to the grill. Someone should be able to provide a link for you.

 

I leave mine pluged in all night.

 

I have a heavy duty time as well, it give me a 3 hour warm up. Also an exhaust brake will help you warm your truck up faster!

KC

 

I also use a heavy duty timer and run it for 3 hours prior to my departure. I have winter fronts but only used them for about a month. I heard that it was not good to block off the front end like that. ??? Not sure, I might try them again this year...


Tony

 

What is and where can I find one of these "timers"

 

I bought mine at Home Depot.

Look in the electrical supplies section.

 

My rad is blocked off for about 5 months a year it can get as cold as -50 here. I have no problems with a warped fan or anything like that. Lots of places sell winter fronts, Lund sells a plastic grill insert but I have and perfer a stainless steal cold front. I beleive mine is a cloud rider brand. BTW mine takes about 10 miles to warm up.

 

I run my truck in this configuration about 5 months or so a year during winter no matter what the temp is outside. So far, I've never had a problem.

 

Here's an article I found on the subject of winter covers. It seems that it's not recommended to fully close off 100% of your grille area. I've decided that I'm just going to increase my engine block heater plug in duration.

Be Careful With Winter Fronts
Improper use shortens life of fans, fan clutches and charge air coolers.

With cold weather now on the scene in large parts of the country, winter fronts, sometimes referred to as radiator covers, are showing up on more and more rigs.

Many drivers seem to feel that when the temperature drops below freezing, the best way to keep the engine and cab warm is by blocking air flow through the radiator. What most drivers either don’t know or don’t care about is the costly damage and shortened life that improper blocking can cause.
From a technical view, winter fronts are not necessary except in extremely cold temperatures or with very light engine loads and with a high rate of engine idling. Today’s cooling systems, with vastly improved coolant circulation controls and thermostats, usually will keep coolant temperatures in the 160° to 180° range. Virtually all diesels, small or large, now have fan clutches or viscous fan drives as standard equipment. Fans are either disconnected or turning slowly when cooling isn’t required.

Today’s systems are a far cry from the “old days,” with fixed-drive fans that pulled the same air volumes through the radiator core, hot or cold. Old-timers like me remember automatic radiator shutters that were closed much of the time to keep cold air out of the engine compartment. Shutters are still available as special-order equipment for the rare situation of constant subzero operation.

Almost all diesels today have charge air coolers, which are air-to-air heat exchangers mounted on the front side of radiators to cool the hot pressurized turbocharged air before it enters the cylinders. It’s vitally important that a minimum amount of air, as specified by the engine manufacturer, pass through these coolers or turbo air will be too hot, in which case performance, fuel economy and emissions all suffer.

To protect your company’s trucks when winter fronts are being used, make sure they are the right size and shape so equal air flow is passing through from the top, bottom and each side. Here’s why this is important:

If air flow is blocked off unevenly, fan blades pass in and out of dead air and moving air so the load on the blades is constantly changing. This causes the blades to flex. The fan also needs sufficient ram air passing through the radiator core so the fan clutch isn’t engaging unnecessarily. Air must pass over the temperature sensors on viscous drive fans. If cool ram air is blocked from reaching the sensor, it sees hot air and engages the fan.

Another factor, now being studied by a new task force of The Maintenance Council, is the effect blocked air flow has on the life of the charge air cooler. There is a major change in the expansion rate of tubes in the cooler when they are blocked by winter fronts. The differential expansion rate, which is as high as 3-to-1 when ram air is blocked, causes joints in the cooler to fail prematurely.

Charge air cooler manufacturers report that upward of 100,000 coolers fail annually, and they think that air blockage from improper winter fronts is a major contributor to these failures.

Each engine manufacturer has a minimum air-flow requirement for the charge air cooler. All manufacturers of 10- to 14-liter truck diesels call for a minimum of 120 square inches; that’s equivalent to an 11-by-11 opening.

As a rule of thumb, drivers should be instructed to never close off an area less than 1 foot square, and that area should be centered in the middle of the radiator/charge air cooler. NEVER allow cardboard or other homemade covers to block air flow. If drivers complain about cold cabs, find the problem and correct it. Maybe it’s a stuck thermostat or air leakage through holes in the firewall or around the pedals.
Blocking off air flow through the radiator is not a solution.

 

Well stated, Bulldog. Thank you for the article.

 

Good article Bull Dog.

But I'll still be using the same winter fronts and piece of cardboard that I've been using for the last 5 years when the weather turns cooler.

I'll just have to keep an eye on the fan.

 

I woulld almost agree with this article but it does not take into account the extreme expansion factor of a -50F air charge cooler (air to air radiator) pulling into the cold wind and then encountering +100F pressurized air manufactured by a turbo charger. Top the hill in cold weather drop the manifold pressure to 0 and there it goes again right back down to -50F. If this does not produce cracking and failure then pre-warming the components with a winter front will not. Lets look at another factor - new rads of any type are now aluminum not brass which is lighter, cheaper and more brittle than brass which is placed in a work truck that twists and flexs continually on uneven surfaces but isolated with rubber mounts on the frame. 100,000 failures looks more like inadequate mounting and isolating solutions to me with a metal that is less versatile than previously used. My second issue with this article would be that the if the temperature does not exceed what a hot summer day would produce internally coming through the A-A cooler (excessive EGT's not produced) then total blockage of the radiators is inconsequential. However it would retain very important heat to help maintain engine compartment warmth therefore reducing expansion/contraction factors on all components as well as preheating the firewall to the passenger compartment= more efficient heating of the cab. We also never have seen a geographical failure chart produced nor do we see any more cooler failures in extreme cold than any where else where "winter front" usage is high vs not at all. Yet we do hear of more than average radiator failures of all types in the summer in extreme warms temps and areas most of which is generated by "blocked" and inadequate cooling systems and maintenance of such. This is of course is just my educated opinion based on personal observation and experience with the aforementioned cold conditions with watercooled diesels using air to air coolers- CAT, Cummins, Kenworth and Peterbilts. PK

 

Even with all the covers on mine there is a one inch gap between the bottom of the grill and the top of the bumper. this past week at 80 deg i had all but one upper cover on and the temp never went over 190 at 75 mph pullen hills. Unless the CTD is pullen a heavy load the cooling systems are way oversized and the extra heat not being lost seems to make it run a little better and more mpg's.