heater ideas?

[Jimm391730]

Most K's had stock Eberspacher heaters, and the ambulance boxes did as well, but other than that most did not have the suplimental heat. When I lived in the cold Midwest I found that the stock heater could warm the cab to abotu 30F above the outside ambient (i.e., 10F outside, 40F inside) which wasn't warm, but wason't bad, either. And that was dependent on driving it floored at 6mph on the highway to create that much heat.

Jim M.
712W and 710M

[75pinz]

I don't come over here much as I sold my Pinz. You can and will see improvement by insulating the ducts and cleaning the exchanger. You will notice that the guys that are happy with that live in the warmer climates. There is nothing that will beat an Espar or Webasto for serious cold like in IA, MN, SD, etc. -25 degrees means your Pinz is around 0 if you are moving fast enough. Colder if you are going slower. I have had a lot of Pinzs and they are cold. If you are serious and money isn't an issue then the fuel fired heaters are really the best way.

[man on the mule]

i live at about 4600 feet elevation ,40 miles south of tucson. i run a tree service in tucson. tucsons elevation is 2000 -2500 feet. the trip into town when the temp is in the 20's was really cold. the downhill trip didnt work the motor enough to warm it no matter what the speed.(i got some serious looks from a couple sheriffs though). i looked up heater in the search section and came across the 24 volt aircraft style heater. not real cheap but a lot cheaper than fuel fed ,and i only need the extra heat in the am trip for about 2 months.i bought some cheap jumper cables and used the wire to hook up the heater. i bolted the heater to a harbor freight "recovery" magnet and stuck it to roof over the engine cover. it makes the trip in to town comfy. the heater came with a 40 amp fuse. with some experimentation i changed to a 25 amp breaker wired in its place (i wasnt comfy with a 40 amp draw and the 25 amp breaker comfirmed that it doesnt draw that much. the magnet mount makes it easy to position the heat where i want/need it.other than a spooky orange glow from the elements when its dark ive got no complaints. when its not in use it lives behind the seat. and by the way the magnet has held the unit in place without falling during some serious rocky trails. it works for me . the toughest test ive put it to is in the snow going slow enough to check for fresh lion tracks above my house. it made it intoshirt sleave ride when before it was serious carhart time.

[goudacheese]

I am using a 24volt heater in my 710k and it is awesome. The heater was originally designed to heat small aircrafts. I removed the table and installed a bench with a 12 volt 2 pad seat heater kit (it only draws 3-4 amps). Under the bench I mounted the heater and pointing towards the rear of the truck. This heater has a switch but I rewired it so I can turn it on/off from the front and wired it directly to the batteries.

http://www.sportsimportsltd.com/12243648voin.html

[chacaocop1]

I would have to agree that the gas fired heater is unbeatable, but for Texas I will settle for the hose replacement and cleaning and insulation of the heater channel.

Once again thanks for the influx of responses.

[M Wehrman]

One of the guys in our club has the same heater that Gouda has in his Pinz. It gives off a pleasant amount of heat. I would not be excited about driving all night with it on Hi,unless I had x-tra batteries and/or a much larger alternator as they are energy hungry. As a suppliment to the original heater ,and especially with heated seats it would be quite toasty.

[EvanH]

Jon,

There is quite a variance in the heating systems of individual trucks. Air leaks, leaky/torn hoses, clogged/leaking heat exchangers, etc. 20+ years takes its toll on air-cooled heating systems along with everything else.

But climate is a biggie. Here in Northern Utah @ 4500 feet elevation, it can get to -10 or so degrees F. That is a whole lot different than "cold" in Maryland (I lived for a year in Edgewater MD whilst working for the Smithsonian Institute. Never did like the humidity, bugs and snakes).

My 710 came with a ruined heat exchanger and one of the aircraft 24 V heaters. In my experience, the aircraft heater barely defrosted the passenger window when I mounted it on the gun rack rail. I took it out and installed a 12 V Espacher diesel/kerosene heater and a couple of paralleled 12 V batteries to run it. I can run the heater all night with no guilt that I may not be able to start the truck in the morning.

For more insightful diatribe, check out my post on the "heat duct" thread.

-Evan