instant cab heat
 

Well after last years -40 I said enuf. truck never warmed up and even cooled down idling. so today I put my plan into action and wanna share incase others don't have heated garages and r tired of freezing. lol its actually quite simple. bought a 1000w inverter, theyr about $80 online but I paid more here. and a 900/1500w heater at walmart type of store. wiring the inverter is simple....just a positive and negative. ill try to post pics of where I put it. after that u take ur heater put it on 900w (low) setting an bingo u got heat! :cool: will get a chance to check it out tomorrow cause its supposed to b -6 but any heat is nice up here. the alternative is paying 2500 for a espar heater and id rather buy go fast goodies [laugh]

Guess I can't post pics from my phone but u get the idea.....

Simple works best sometimes. Just make sure you don't burn down the truck, dunno how insurance handles spaceheater fires. [laugh]

Sounds like it gets much colder where you are then I, but even before it gets down to single F digits around here the temps go luke warm at idle for more then a minute. Covering up the radiator helps, but not much to do to fix a cold idling truck, besides wedging a block into the go pedal.

A word of caution, I have used the inverters to charge 2 way radios for work, I have had 1 catch fire while I was in luckily the truck and able to handle immediately. I quit using them for that reason. I recall seeing somewhere on the I-net of a similar story of an inverter starting a fire in a suburban parked in the garage and ended out torching most of the house. My opnion, be careful.

Well thanx for the word of caution guys. I only ever use it when in already inthe truck driving so hopefully I can stay on top of that. but it definitely worx. Not anything fancy but if I put it on Tue center seat I and my hands r warm :) it more for my trips to work and back....10 min drive and truck never gets a chance to warm up....dn feel like idling it for 25min for a 10 min drive lol. THE biggest reason I put it in is Ive been having a long standing issue with lots of frost on the INSIDE of my windshield and its either use the ice scraper or wait forever for the truck to warm and melt it. hopefully that'll take care of that issue anyways.

Sounds like a great idea and makes perfect since if there is a need. Living here In San Diego it occasionally will get all the way down to 32 degree but my Gawd who would be out in that weather anyway? [coffee]Have to keep the inverter in mind for other toys though. Good thread.

Ya here it doesn't get above 32F for about 4 straight months n last year was -35-40 for a couple weeks. any heat is appreciated lol ya I figure I guy can run a lotta other tools if necessary off it. maybe a nice compressor for on board air :)

I can totally relate though... Ilived in Iceland for a year... Coldest most miserable experience of my life. Hurried back to So Cal where the only thing still nice is the weather. LOL

I'd be spending my money on plane tickets out of there instead of inverters.....[laugh] Thats some cooooold weather.

But seriously, using an inverter is a great idea but you may want to do some research on this soon since I believe that you may be asking to much from your batteries as they are greatly needed to be in optimal condition for starting in that cold of weather. Dont want to find out one morning that you didn't drive far enough to give the charging system enough time to get the batteries up to snuff. Inverters draw a specific amount of power from the batteries based on their size and the wattage they're creating and we dont (shouldn't) have deep cell batteries in our trucks and deep cell/marine batteries are designed to take the pull from things like inverters. There is a mathematical equation to figure out inverter/battery reserve storage but I dont know it. [laugh]

Also, addressing the issue with your engine never reaching full operating temp and cooling off when idling. Have you made sure that the thermostat is the right temp (190*) and working correctly? If it is then you may just need a winter front. If you dont want to buy one then I've seen guys make ones out of things like duct tape over the front of the grill or cutting thin plastic pieces to fit on the back side and attaching with things like zipties.

I actually bought a Katz heater http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...5513_200395513
and wired it into my engine heater. I put a marine plug on my bumper and everything is on a timer, goes on 3.5 hours before I leave for work. Truck is warm and any frost is gone. Has worked great so far.

Well I measured the input current at full load and it was 72 amps so that'd not a problem. I got 2 1000 amp batteries and i think the alternator puts out 150 amps so I'm covered there. he k the grid heater pulls 90-100 amps lol
I looked into just putting in wiring and a heater that worx when u plug iy in but what I wanted was mobility. this way I got heat anywhere I go whether I got a plugin or not :)

Well I measured the input current at full load and it was 72 amps so that'd not a problem. I got 2 1000 amp batteries and i think the alternator puts out 150 amps so I'm covered there. he k the grid heater pulls 90-100 amps lol
I'm not sure about the tstat but it seems to work great in the summer. I also tried a cold front last year but it mighta only helped marginally? Maybe my truck is allergic to putting out heat

I looked into just putting in wiring and a heater that worx when u plug iy in but what I wanted was mobility. this way I got heat anywhere I go whether I got a plugin or not :)

That's true about the mobility, good job man.

^^^ had one burn up in one of the tool boxes in a utility box on a truck

You know it's cold when you let off the throttle and the temp drops as fast as the pedal comes up. Cover the entire grill with a piece of cardboard, drop it down behind the bumper even, and see what happens. Diesels also don't warm up real well unless there's a load on it as well.