bkrukow

I goofed up the thread title on my last thread and it got no attention so I will try it again.
I bought a KATS tank heater to put on my truck and I am suposed to get coolant from some place down low and return it to somplace up high but I dont know where to get it from. I figure I could dump it back into the top of the head in one of the NPT plugs on top but I dont have anywhere to get it from down low. So I am wondering if I can just put it inline in the heater hose like most people do on other engines. My question is what is the "hot" side of the heater core. I asume that the coolant comes from the metal line that comes off the watter pump and feeds the trany cooler then dumps back into the top of the head. Is this correct? I would not be able to mount the heater higher than the intake though and there is no pump persay in the heater it just circulates coolant via the hot coolant rising and drawing in cold coolant from the bottome. Would mounting it lower than the intake cause isues as far as getting coolant to circulate?

This is what I bought from a local farm suply store.
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...9137_200339137

Haulin_in_Dixie

Thje water pump circulates the coolant in the heater, use one of the head plugs for one side and tee off or find a plug where the heater comes from. Matters not where you mount it.

dott

Just to clarify, this unit is intended to be used while the engine is running?

dott

OK, searched. It circulates by heating the fluid which rises and pulls in the cooler fluid at the bottom. Placement and orientation would be important.

Here's a link to a PDF of the different models.

http://www.warehouseautoparts.com/Sp...ank_heater.pdf

Haulin_in_Dixie

My bad, I mistook what you are hooking up. Wonder why you would do that? The block heater would do as well or better.

NickBeek

The coolant normally flows from the head into the heater core then from the heater core to the water pump.

I have to ask the same question as above, why not just use the block heater that is already on the truck?

bkrukow

The block heater works ok but no where near as good as one of these. The block heater is only 750 watt and this is 1500. When its below zero for a high durring the day and a 20-40 mph wind and you have no choise but to park facing north(into the wind) the block heater just dont cut it. Its not a matter of the truck starting or not, it will start in those conditions without pluging it in at all. Its a matter of getting heat sooner after starting it. I have to pick my 2 year old son up after work and its only 1 mile from work to my inlaws where hes at durring the day. I want heat in the truck by time I bring him out to it. To give ya an idea of how well those heaters work, my dad had a 2000 watt version on his old Oliver diesel tractor that was used primaraly for blowing snow. It sat on the north west side of the corn crib out in the wind. When we needed it for blowing snow we would go plug it in and then go do chores or something for a while. If it was below zero or close to it and windy you could come back to the tractor in 30-60 minutes and take your gloves off and warm your hands on the block before you even started it.

So the coolant flowes from the top of the head threw the heater core and back into the mettal line going to the pump and trannie cooler??

Haulin_in_Dixie

Hmmmmm, a second block heater? As long as your heater connects the top of the engine to the input of the water pump area it would circulate. I guess either direction would work, would it not? If it were mine I would probably just install another block heater in a freeze plug and have direct heat in the engine.

han solo

There is plugs on the right side of the block or passenger side of the truck. Think there is about 3 or 4. Best 1 to get @ is right ahead of turbo or behind the oil filter. Its an allen head plug, when you remove it, coolant will come out. It is metric orb fitting, with an oring. The fitting that you will get will come with a washer with rubber as part of it. It would be the best way to plumb in the big coolant heater, mount the heater lowest possible. It might take you abit of time to find a partsman bright enough to find that fitting. I suggest a hyd shop, I got my locally. Its from a Eaton/Aeroquip hose center. They called it on the bill, male metric-female nptf, part # llo amp2212lo8, then metric bonded seal, llo m102-18. About $12cdn for the part. Way better than using heater core.

bkrukow

Then I have 2 cords to deal with.

I wish I had the money to put a Espar heater on it and be done with it.

bkrukow

Awsome. Thanks for the info. I hapen to work for the largest hydralic cylinder manufacturer in the US as a CNC machinist so finding oddball fittings isint a problem. Do you have a tank heater on your truck?? How well does it work??

han solo

No I have a Webasto, its pretty much the same thing as espar, the other brand of diesel fired coolant heaters. It works awesome, wont owe a diesel engine without one, whenever I lived. The heater your putting on works very well, does a way better job then the block heater ever could. Being a machinst you likely could build a better fitting then could buy, but like time would eat up more $ than its worth. If you pm your e@mail, I can sent you a pic of what Im taking about.

bkrukow

Apearently there is a valve of some sort in the heater core loop that is only open when the truck is running. Due to not having time to find the block plug adaptor I just put it in the heater core line and it gets the hose going into the heater core dang hot to the point you cant even touch it but the line coming out of the heater core is still cold. I parked the truck with the heater on but apearently the valve thats in front of the heater core is only open if the trucks running. I know when I put one of these heaters on a truck 10 years ago the instructions said to make sure the heater was on when you parked it because there was a valve in the heater core line that was closed when you dident want heat so as to keep any unwanted heat out of the cab. I asume there is a valve of some sort on these trucks as well but it must only be open if the truck is running. So tommarow I am gona rout the heater back into one of the ports on the top of the head.

han solo

Pics are sent to your e@mail. I can get the fitting locally & have it sent to you, it cost less than $12cdn. Probaly not the best idea to plumb it thru the heater core.

bkrukow

Tanks for the pics. I should be able to find a plug adaptor I just dident have time yesterday and thought that it should work to plumb it threw the heater core but apearently not. I am in BFE but am headed to a larger city this afternoon so hopefully I can find a parts store or hardware store of some sort with the proper fitting for the block plug.

After looking at the pics it looks to me like those are BSPP threads. We make some cylinders at work that go to Europ and they all have the BSPP ports on them. Probobly a metric vesion of them but looks exactly like it.

Dont supose you know off the top of your head the thread size of the metric end do ya?