Tomorrow afternoon is supposed to be the "warm" part of the week - 30* so I'm going to take the coach over to the dump station and dump and fill. Normally I turn the block heater on when we go to bed the night before a travel day, but then we leave right after breakfast, too. This will be different. Temperatures overnight are going to be in the single digits. Any problem with turning on the block heater at bedtime tonight and leaving it on all night and all morning?
Nope ^.^d
The only thing it will hurt is your electric bill.
My understanding is that the 6v92's as installed have a poorly placed block heater.
Maybe a truck type engine heating blanket over the motor might warm to top end also?
I had a problem with fuel gelling out at that cold a temp. Needed the other diesel fuel for that climate with more kerosene in it.
May require extended cranking to build top end heat to start. 60 seconds is ok. Then a few minute gap. Then additional 60 seconds can be used.
Battery's will be low amperage at those temps.
Battery heaters used to help.
Another heating blanket over the start batteries might help the amps.
Hopefully you still have an operating oem ether start as all of the above may be needed.
Not sure but both the gen and engine probably have low temp oils available.
Warm batteries and a warm block, leave them on overnight, and bingo a happy start to the day in my view.
Speedbird1
I have the operating specs for the CAT 3116 block heater if anyone needs; hopefully not. ^.^d
Your engine will only get as warm as temperature (outside) and size of heater will allow. The temp. will reach an equalibrium at some point in time as determined by these values. Plug in the heater the day before and see how long it takes to reach that equalibrium. (you can use a laser thermometer) Any amount of heating after that is just to maintain the temp. Good to know how long it takes so you can get it right the next time. This is one of those things that is a little different for each coach set up. Have a great day ---- Fritz
If your coach is newer.. hit the rocker switch for the Aqua-Hot- engine heat,not sure if all are plumbed to do this in addition to the electrical block heater..
Plug In the heater tonight leave it plugged in and it should start just fine in the morning. Just make sur to unplug the extension cord if you use one before driving off...... ^.^d
Bob,
Quite correct in most cases. In below freezing weather, the thermostat heater location will need to be on all night. If it's located down low on the block close to the AC compressor like a Bluebird, Wanderlodge or a few Foretravels, a couple-three hours will do the trick in really cold weather. The remote type heater that Ken installed will heat the block pretty quickly. It also depends on the altitude. High and cold make for longer heater use. At Yellowstone at 17 degrees in the snow, the generator needed ether to start even with all glow plugs working. The Detroit started without heat with only ether but took at least ten minutes and melted a battery connector. The thermostat heater had burned out. Once it started, I couldn't get it above about 300 rpm for another 5 minutes with only half the cylinders firing.
I moved to the lower altitude Mammoth Campgrounds after that where starting was much easier.
Pierce
The above pure truth. Thanks Fritz!
Pierce, a lot of members here have removed their ether systems.
Unless you have been trained and can resist the temptation to use it on a hot engine that won't start, it's a good idea to remove it. I use a spray can of ether. Detroit 8V-71s were OEM with a little spring loaded cap above the blower to spray into. Just no big deal on a cold engine.
Pierce
The oem ether start system has a built in thermostat restricting its use above 50 degrees F, won't work
Bob,
The OEM on our Detroits was just a tiny spring loaded cap that you used one finger to open it up and hold it open and the other hand to spray the ether in with.
P
Quite a few years ago, the DW and I moved to Northern New York where winter temps can (and do) go as low as -20 or more. The first winter we lived there some friends suggested I have a block heater installed in my car, which I did. Well January came and we had a forcast of -20 for the overnight, and being a semi-intelegent person I plugged in the block heater, hooked up the battery charger on trickle, let the hood down to keep varments off the engine and went to bed.
I swear I told the DW. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.
For some reason I don't remember, the DW got up first and decided to run an errand, gets bundled up and heads out to the garage and turns the key. VROOM! Car starts right up. DW lets car warm up for a minute and puts it in reverse.
(No, no she did not - don't get ahead of me here.)
Backs up down the driveway - about 100' or so - turns the car around and drives forward down the remainder of the driveway.
With the charger in tow.
With the charger being dragged UNDER the car, down the road.
With the charger being dragged UNDER the car, down the road, bouncing on the under carriage of the car.
I still have that charger, a Sears, and it still works.
You can leave the block heater on all Winter if you're not paying the electric bill. I suspect you've probably got the water heater on top of the block like my engine has. It's semi useless in cold weather. Expect to have a difficult time starting your engine in very cold weather. A few Winters ago I installed an oil pan heater and discontinued using the block heater. My engine has never failed to start since then, no matter how cold the weather is. If the oil is warm enough for the engine to crank fast it'll start. My world record since installing the oil pan heater is three crankings to get the engine to start. On the first cranking the computer usually gives up trying after a few seconds if none of the cylinders are firing normally. The second cranking usually gets the engine firing normally on at least a few cylinders. After a few seconds all the cylinders are firing normally and the smoke stops. The engine is cranking at normal speed because the oil is warm. The engine itself doesn't need to be warm, just the oil. The block heater draws about a thousand watts and wastes most of the heat it produces through the radiator and top hose. It does little to warm the oil, so the engine's cranking speed is slow and starting is difficult in very cold weather. The oil pan heater I installed draws half as much power but puts a lot of heat directly into the oil pan, which allows my engine to crank at normal speed. The only variable is how long the computer will wait for some cylinders to start firing normally. The computer gives up after a few seconds in very cold weather but the engine almost always starts right up on the second cranking... Anyway, the oil pan heater is a super easy, inexpensive, very effective, and energy efficient modification that every cold weather diesel RV user should consider. I've tested mine thoroughly over the past few Winters and I'll never go back to the block heater, although it's still there in case of emergency. With the block heater turned on my engine would crank so slowly that it would fail to start in very cold weather and the cold oil was so thick that the cranking battery would run way down and I'd have to wait until it charged back up for another attempt. That's when I decided to make modifications.