2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Question for Arctic Drivers

[HC]

Re: Espar

Originally posted by osmith

Speaking of Espars. . I have a question for those of you who have them... . after an hour the air coming into my truck is just warm... . It's working you can hear it blasting away, but I expected a little more. What are your experiences with how warm your espar gets??

That sounds about right. I don't own an Espar, but once sat down and crunched some numbers, making guesses about how many # of iron, aluminum, and water are in our engine blocks. The Cummins is pretty massive, and I found it takes a surprisingly large number of BTU's to heat that much mass up. Also, as everything tries to heat up, it begins giving off heat to the surrounding enviroment again, so the Espar is doing a major battle with mother nature, in two different ways. (heating big mass, plus that mass is trying to cool back off). And while all that is going on, you're also trying to heat/defrost the cab, which is also going to begin giving off a lot of heat to the local environment. Bottom line was that after a one hour run, I would have predicted a warm engine, but not a "hot" engine.



On the other hand, you'll find that running the Espar after the engine is already warm will do WONDERS for maintaining heat. The cure for your present situation is to start the Espar 30 or 60 minutes sooner. Don't be disappointed with the "slowness" of the Espar heater - part of the reason it is slow is because it is not burning but a small fraction of the fuel that would be used to achieve the same heat-up by running your engine.

 

[gsbrockman]

Originally posted by DBeeman

Thanks for the concern. -50 is a bit of exagerating, but I will go out to -40, but I tend to head up to the hills where it is warmer.



Just call me a dumb old KY boy, but is there REALLY any difference between -40F and -50F ? Obviously, we don't see those temperatures here in my state; to me it would be no different than jumping off the 50th floor of the old WTC Building or the 100th floor of the WTC Building ! ! ! ! ! ! ! you're still going to splatter !

 

[JohnE]

<blockquote>&quot; … but is there REALLY any difference between -40F and -50F ? … &quot; </blockquote>

Yep there sure is. A mercury thermometer stops working around -40&deg;F, too. Alcohol units are for the real cold stuff. I notice the differences after temps hit 0&deg; and then as it progresses to -10&deg; -20&deg; and -30&deg; both for me and in diesel or gasoline engines.



<blockquote>&quot; … Don't be disappointed with the "slowness" of the Espar heater - … &quot; </blockquote>

Slow? The Espar puts out around 5 times the heat of the block heater. If overnight temps are only down to +10&deg; or so 45 minutes is enough Espar time. Cummins starts easy and doesn't drain the batteries.



The Espar is really hard on batteries if you run it for 2 hours and run the heater blower. Add in the cold batteries, cold oil, and wind and you can really notice the difference. The Espar also makes you watch winter fuel closer. It requires much thinner fuel than the Cummins.



Dave (Dbeeman);

At -30&deg;F I notice the Cummins is really cold after only 3-4 hours of standing. Lots of synthetics, winterized fuel, cold front, and removing the radiator fan really help performance in all winter climates.

For your outdoor winter activity, the Espar is a good thing. It is practical for many more areas than just Alaska. 4 years? How much longer before you rotate out? If you end up in Mind-rot or GF, the Espar will be very useful. Even if you end up in California it will be useful for these winter mountain trips.

 

[illflem]

John, if you don't run the fan how long can you run an Espar before the batteries die?

 

[BRobertson]

I have run my Espar thru 2 complete 2 hour cycles with no problems. I have Optima Redtops, so that makes a diff.

I should add that this is with the blower on low setting

Bob

 

[DBeeman]

I am leaving the family behind here real soon to do a 1 year assignment to Egypt, due to the increased threats, and lack of facilities they can't go. I don't have to worry about Minot or GF as they are out of my careerfield. I am thinking that if I make my cutoff -25, it will be better all the way around. I don't really notice the difference as much once it hits -30, after that it still hurts to take a deep breath, you start getting flat spots on your tires, etc. I appreciate all of the responses, I am going to switch all of the fluids I can, that won't void my warranty, to synthetic.



Dave

 

[JohnE]

Bill;

Bob pretty much got it. The Espar timer is 120 minutes max. 2 cycles of 120 minutes and you had better run the Cummins until the batteries are recharged or get it on a charger.

I don't run the blower to assure I have a little reserve. I don't have Optimas and the Exide replacements don't have the same reserve capacity.



Dave;

Good luck. Alaska to Egypt, that's a culteral change.

 

[Big_Daddy_T]

That is a big climatic change beeman. Is your family going to stay up here or do they have to move? Im assuming your not originally from ak and are stationed here.



Friends of mine work up on the north slope. They say it takes awhile for the tires to round out again after its been parked. Major flatspots. But thats like -60 or -70. They dont shut em off unless they are in for repairs. It doesnt take long for a truck to rack up 1000 hours if you never shut em down. How many hours is a Cummins good for?

 

[Cooker]

I don't think I would shut it off either at -60, but how do they keep combustion temps up? Exhaust brake?

 

[DBeeman]

Family hasn't decided yet what they are doing. I am in the Air Force, we still own a house in Alamogordo New Mexico. A lot will be determined by where the Air force says I am going after Egypt. I appreciate all of the replies, have decided to take it easy on the Ram, and not go hunting if it is colder than -25, just have to do some reloading or other indoor activity. Supposed to be -40 tommorrow morning, hate to even drive it the 3 miles to work, I don't shut it down until the temp gauge has moved, and I plug in at work.



Dave

 

[JohnE]

Plug in at work? Do you have the full boat of oil pan heaters and battery warmers? Might as well take full advantage of my tax dollars to keep your Cummins toasty. Have you removed the radiator fan?

Here's a trick to warm the engine with an auto. Put it in drive and set the parking brake. That will load the engine and warm the engine faster and trany fluid, too. On stiff (cold) days I use a stick to up idle rpm, too.



Deep in Minnesota winter here. I think it was in the 40's today. We're supposed to drop back into the teens & single digits by the weekend. Get spoiled by this tropical stuff.



Good luck to you & your family.



-John

 

[DBeeman]

It was -35 here with a -52 windchill. Supposed to warm up by the end of the week. I have not removed the radiator fan, truck seems to warm up pretty quick, it took about 3 miles for the temp guage to rise this afternoon.



Dave

 

[Uncle Mike]

When I was at Eielson (10/86-9/96) and had to let the truck warm up I always left the transfer case in neutral, set the parking brake, put the transmission in either low or reverse, and let it run in gear. That way the engine, transmission and half the transfer case was in motion. It made a big difference when it came time to go. Lots and lots of "cold-weather" stories as I was there during the infamous "January of 1989"! I would much rather do a winter in interior Alaska than in North Dakota. The wind makes a big difference in how cold it feels.....

 

[dpetre]

Uncle Mike you tried to reach me by email I sent a reply and the answer was yes to the Hill Billy Lineman question. North Dakota's problem is lack of trees but Alaska makes it look like the Bannana Belt. Go to Valdez in January the cold of the Ocean with the sharp winds makes -50 below in Fairbanks look like nothing. Besides to get to Valdez you have to go thru Delta and the wind always blows there. What did you work when you where at Eielson? Stopped at Salcha Store temp was -45. Can you believe the Salcha River is flooding at this time of year. It flooded in May,November and December this last year. Have a good winter spring is just 115 days away.

 

[Uncle Mike]

dpetre,

I sent a "pm" to you.....

 

[RAMSTER21]

Arctic Climate

Hey Beaman

What's the problem, weather got you down. na seriously.

I personally without either a temp control autostart, let that 24-valve unplugged in the extreme temps for more than 4-5 hours at tops. The colder it is the more damage that can be done, by cold starting. Have you had a Arctic Blanket (Alaska Tent & Tarp) made yet for your radiator, what a difference a highway speeds, actually get heat our of a Diesel at -34 today. They can also fabricate a very nice hood liner for under your hood since yours didn't come with one.

Later

 

[David_VT]

My ESPAR experiences

I love mine, especially the remote control!



After killing the batteries a few times I pulled the cable to the cab heater fan and thus only use the ESPAR to preheat the truck.



We are currently in a cold snap here but unfortunatly I have had my first glow plug failure. There is a local parts source so I plan to fix the ESPAR real soon. . Meanwhile the block heater is shaking the electric meter off the house @ $. 28/kw...



To keep the truck warm I much prefer to run the ESPAR rather than leave the truck running on high idle @ $2. 00/gallon.

 

[Wheaties]

I have to agree with Dave, the Espar is the best thing since sliced bread. Now it doesn't get that cold in CT, but I have been running it twice a day, 2 hours in the morning and about 45 min in the evening, with a half hour commute each way. My batteries have lost the green in the window, and I'm getting low voltage warnings at startup, but I've never been close to it not starting. I always run the internal blower.



We've seen 10 deg temps for weeks, some 0 deg weather, but nothing really cold. I think this points to the fact that battery temperature is a huge factor in getting your truck to start. Cold degrades a battery's performance like nothing else.



So for my two cents, I'd say there are three problems to solve with cold, cold weather.



1) get the juice to heat the grid and turn the starter



2) keep your fuel from gelling



3) get the compression/heating in the cylinder to touch the fuel off (related to #1)



Here's a little info from Dave Fritz's site, not sure how helpful you'll find it, but he's a great resource:

Cold Starting



Matt



Hey Dave, we're meeting at Scott's in two weeks, why don't you try to join us?

 

[pwr2tow]

Hey Uncle Mike thats a neat trick I will have to try it. When I get some time I'am going to read all the pages of this thread and see if there are any more things to pick up.



Ron

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Why can't you get a couple of those shiny survival-type blankets, and maybe a small sterno stove/heater, and after arriving at your hunting destination, place the sterno or similar small heater in a safe and appropriate location under the hood, and cover the engine with the blanket to hold in as much heat as possible, including the batteries? I assume the radiator is already covered...



Maybe not practical on a regular basis - but for infrequent boondocking, might help...