Coolant heater, Good or bad? (Heater runs on diesel fuel)

[andyn666]

Hi guys,

Looking for opinions on my next possible modification to my ford galaxy.

The car is a standard 1999 Ford Galaxy tdi apart from an engine kill switch for EOC, and soon to be engine start switch for the same reason. I almost exclusively drive around town and when i first got the car and drove it "normally" I was getting around 30mpg. After deciding I should be able to get better F.E I adapted my driving style and am now getting nearly 43mpg. I added the kill switch at the start of this tank and so far seem to be getting more than 50mpg, but time will tell on that one.

Anyway my car is fitted with a aux heater that cuts in when the ambient temp is below 5c heating the coolant to 85c before cutting out, the question is will it save me fuel if i put a switch in to activate the heater went i want, to heat the engine quicker? The heater runs off diesel so is using some fuel to heat the engine but it will heat the engine abound 20-30 times faster than just driving the car.

All opinions appreciated

Andy

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by andyn666

I adapted my driving style and am now getting nearly 43mpg. I added the kill switch at the start of this tank and so far seem to be getting more than 50mpg, but time will tell on that one.

Imperial gallons, I presume ?

Anyway my car is fitted with a aux heater that cuts in when the ambient temp is below 5c heating the coolant to 85c before cutting out, the question is will it save me fuel if i put a switch in to activate the heater went i want, to heat the engine quicker? The heater runs off diesel so is using some fuel to heat the engine but it will heat the engine abound 20-30 times faster than just driving the car.

That's a tough one.
It's beneficial to heat the coolant - and the engine with it - from a fuel efficiency and from an emissions point of view.
Usually done electrically, and as such doesn't show up in the fuel log.

But when the heating is done using the car's own fuel ... it's anybody's guess what the net results will be.

Give it a try

[Ryland]

Running the engine cold will increase wear and end up costing you more in repairs then the tiny amount of fuel that you might have saved.
Best option is an electric block heater, 2nd best option is a fuel fired engine heater because a warm engine is best, worst thing you can do is drive with a cold engine.

[MetroMPG]

This is actually the first I've ever heard of a diesel-fired coolant heater. Does it use fuel from your main tank, or is there a secondary tank?

Experimentation seems the best approach.

[andyn666]

Thanks for the reply's guys

euromodder;
no not imp. mpg us mpg getting nearly 52mpg imp

I will definitely be fitting the switch to try it out, during temps below 15c my engine can take 20mins or more to heat up! When the heater kicked in last winter it could heat the engine up in less then 2 mins and considering most of my driving is in town it should make some sort of a difference

Andy

[andyn666]

MetroMPG;

Yes it uses a metering pump to take diesel from the main tank. It then sprays it over a glow plug to light it and has a wire mesh round it to stop it from flaming out, it is only small, about the same size as a starter motor has its own little exhaust and sound like a mini jet turbine when its going. I have uploaded a pic of it for you.

Andy

[andyn666]

Ok so I've just come across the specification of the heater and i definitely think it would be beneficial to run the heater to heat the engine faster.

The heaters heat output is 5000 watts and its fuel consumption is only .63 liters per hour so considering it only needs to run for maybe 3mins max thats only 31.5ml of diesel and i'm fairly sure I would save fuel over running a cold engine.

Andy

[wickydude]

It's quite common for stand heaters to run on diesel or petrol.
Webasto has been making fuel burning heaters for years.
Check www.webasto.com

I think it's better than running the engine idling while the owners has another coffee waiting for his car to warm up and demist.

[oil pan 4]

I have herd of those heaters, they advertise on the diesel truck forums all the time.

Before dropping all those pounds for that heater maybe you could build something like this:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...mer-23893.html
Since all your outlets are 220v at 13a I believe powering something like this wouldn't be hard for you to do.

[andyn666]

I don't need to buy the heater its standard fitment on the uk tdi galaxys

All i need to do is fool the heater into thinking its below 5c and then it will fire up and warm my engine to 85c

Andy