Engine heater?

[harleyman_1000]

 I need to start my bus in below freezing  weather and move it. What type of engine heater do I need? Will a magnetic or dipstick heater work the same?

[luvrbus]

No, check on the right side looking from the front just above the oil pan the heater may be there and just the cord is missing

good luck

[Geoff]

I have a few electric engine pre-heaters in stock.  Give me a call and I'll tell you what is available.

--Geoff
928 771 0045

[TomC]

Putting a 500 watt halogen work light under the oil pan over night gives it a head start-cheap but effective. Good Luck, TomC

[treeplanter]

make sure the fuel has not congealed from the cold.

[eagle19952]

Alaska (emergency only.... )  cold start method.

12-16 feet of 4-6 inch stove pipe
one 90 degree elbow
plywood enough to skirt wind
one  bottle of propane
one weed burner
two fire extinguishers...

[Jriddle]

Alaska (emergency only.... )  cold start method.

12-16 feet of 4-6 inch stove pipe
one 90 degree elbow
plywood enough to skirt wind
one  bottle of propane
one weed burner
two fire extinguishers...

I thought this was standard practice growing up in MT. I'm not sure I would classify it as emergency only. Seems like a lot of pipe for safety sake. LOL
John

[harleyman_1000]

 I treated the fuel, so hopefully that should be ok.

[belfert]

Interestingly enough, I have never had a problem with gelled fuel on the rare occasions I have started my bus in the winter here.  I typically fill my tank around Oct 1st and I don't think winter blend has started by then.  It was plenty cold when I left for Arcadia in 2010 and no fuel issues.  (I've had gelled fuel once at -9F in a brand new pickup.)

What do folks do when the typical location on the Series 60 for a block heater is hooked to a heater hose and not available for the heater?

[eagle19952]

I thought this was standard practice growing up in MT. I'm not sure I would classify it as emergency only. Seems like a lot of pipe for safety sake. LOL
John

We called it emergency because we usually had a 1M BTU Tioga  furnace, truck mounted with a never ending supply of parachutes and laborer's to set-up....
the extra pipe is so you can control the weed burner from a position near your pick-up truck...w/o crawling under the rig which is usually dripping melted ice......if the Tioga isn't available....

[Boomer]

Metal garbage can lid and charcoal.  Be careful, it's Rube Goldberg.

[bobofthenorth]

You've got two problems that compound when you are trying to cold start:
- your oil is thick so the engine drags hard when it turns over
- your battery effectiveness goes way down as it gets colder

The suggestions so far have focussed on the engine oil temperature and that's important but the battery temperature is equally if not more important.  The simple step of taking the batteries inside the night before the start will make a huge difference.  Those of us who regularly cold start vehicles invest in battery warming blankets but for a single start just using warm batteries will suffice.

[oldmansax]

We had a '54 Autocar with a 220 Cummins we regularly built a small wood fire under the base pan of to warm it up enough to start. I set it on fire several times.    It would be more of a problem with a leaky Detroit. 

TOM

[chessie4905]

   For a temporary fix, two magnetic oil pan heaters, one on either side should suffice with minimal effort. Probably should use separate extension cords rated for draw of heaters to one or two different receptacles as load dictates. They can come in handy in the future. Also put a charger on the batteries to warm them up and top off.

[eagle19952]

With a little more experience you can use less stove pipe...

we built drywall/texture dryers using the same items...never lost a house....