i am not!!

 

When it gets real cold (below zero) As I plug the truck in I also plug in a little ceramic heater and set it on the floor of the truck, passenger side. clear the windows & gets the inside toasty.

 

Agreed on the Dieselville.

Bought a TDI Golf last year so I've gotten used to this. Added a coolant heater to that which works great. Suposedly the TDI never warms by idling because of the efficiency.

Has any one here added a coolant heater to thier CTD? Would it work on an engine this big? Guess that depends on the heater wattage. Someone over at TDIClub sells a kit with brackets and hose precut.

BTW, first post. Been lurking for a long time. Just bought an 05' CTD QC SB w/ 13000 miles and like it so far.

Greg

 

All of our trucks have Block Heaters (coolant heaters). You just have to have the block heater cord option or go get the cord from Cummins or dealer.

 

I think what he's talking about are the Blueheat or ESPAR heaters. If I felt the need to drop 1600 on one I'd get it. It circulates the coolant keeping the engine and interior warm so you don't have to let the vehicle idle for long periods. Oh yeah, they use the vehicles fuel supply so you don't have to plug it in. Pretty nifty.

 

Its a coolant heater and not a block heater. It plumbs into the the coolant lines and heats/circulates the coolant. The coolant heater in my VW Golf gets the coolant close to operating temperature for instant heat and windshield defrosting. It's made by a company Phillips and Temro and is sold under the brand name Zerostart. I provided a link to thier catalog and the heaters are on page 71.

http://www.phillipsandtemro.com/Files/Catalog_06_US.pdf

I did get the cable for the block heater last week but just makes starting easier - doesn't give heat. BTW, it looks like these guys make the cord as well for our trucks; see page 73 of the catalog above.

 

Boy what would you guys do if it was to actually get cold...

First off, pluging in over night for mild weather is a waste of money, get a timer.
Rule of thumb here is 1 hour for every 10 degrees below freezing...Getting a seperate heater like they mentioned either a thermo type circulating heater or a fuel powered heater like Espar/Webasto...Yes its normal...Think thats bad, I get up with 40 below zero and 20-30 mph wind...in those temps my heater an pads are on 24/7. Now you get to go out and start it and idle it up to 1400 , letting it idle for 10-15 min. Then its off to town, even at those temps I reach operating temp in about 10 miles with a mopar winter front closed up tight...by then the air inside of the cap has warmed up to aroud zero and time to unzip the coat and take off the hat....

 

I leave my controller set to Defrost before I shut down, and only plug it in for 3 hrs; There is enough above-freezing heat transfer to get a good run at all but defrosting my windshield before I ever start it!

 

I have a timer for mine, and let it work for about 3 hours b4 leaving, never let it warm up much more than 20 seconds when leaving home in the am as it's in my other garage and window scraping is not needed.
Takes a good 10 miles to reach operating temps. Put your heater in the recirculate postion and it will warm up faster inside providing you don't fog the windows!!

 

I can plug mine in for 3-4 hours and have 70 plus degree heat out of the vent in under 5 blocks I drive from the house to the hwy with out it set in the recirculate postion. Oh this is after sitting for several days with over night temps down to zero. I wonder if you may have a problem with your block heater if it does not get warm after being plugged in for 3-4 hours that is unless the over night temps are -40 below zero.

 

Check your cord/plug and the element at the block maybe its bad? I just replaced one on a Mack for this same reason it was the element that threads into the block, @ +14 and with your truck plugged in it should fire almost instantly and heat up pretty quick, we kinda figured here @ +20 or so the truck was'nt firing as quick as it should for 20 deg. and being plugged in 8hrs and the frost was still on the windshield equal to the vent point inside.
For quick windshield frost thaw get Prestone windshield de-icer washer fluid put this in the washer bottle this stuff works perfect before the truck warms up and it also cleans the road grime great, too.

 

Caution-------Do not use at temps below -20, I did and had to pull over to wait till my windshield warmed up to scrape off the 1/4 inch of ice off...

 

AKTallPaul, what does your truck sound like when you start it at 40 below? I don't know how you guys (and gals) up there do it... The older I get, the more the cold weather bothers me. I used to shrug it off... maybe I was tougher back then. Maybe I'm not as tough as I once was... but darn...

 

You need not want( tell your wife this it will make it easier to get her approval) a exhaust brake.
Start it up cold engage the brake let run at 1000rpm for 5-10 minutes and enjoy the heat.
Dont mind the neighbors complaints bout the noise at 6am from your staight-piped exhuast brake, they will get used to it!!!

 

This is just a bit off topic, but.... Those of you who mentioned scrapping windshields, windows, etc, a good coating of Rain-X or similar product will either prevent frosting or greatly reduce it. What does form will allmost slide off.