OK. How Crazy of an Idea is This...

[Hans13]

Cast your mind, if you will... We have all been there. Your boss won't let you plug your truck in while you're at work. You know the temps are "freakin' cold" and you dread having to go out there and exhaust your starter trying to crank it over. I was dreaming and came up with this:

An extra pair of batteries mounted on the side of the frame. These batteries are independent from the other two in the truck. They are hooked up to an inverter with your block heater hooked up to them.
Have a pair of switches like this going to your other batteries after use for when you need to recharge you batteries after use. http://www.zoro.com/i/G2699243/?utm...hopping_Feed&gclid=COWJ7K7b7MMCFQ4BaQodHH4A8A

It is an "Oh crap, my truck isn't going to start and I can't plug it in system. Just go out there and plug it into itself for and hour or two and it won't run down your batteries you need to make your truck start.
I basically couldn't sleep last night so I though up this design. I'm not sure if it would actually be feasible. I'm entirely certain that a larger alternator would be a must. So let me know what you think.

 

[riotwarrior]

Better have some big *** bats and at least a 1500 watt or larger inverter...3000 watt be better IMHO....

wouldn't a small genny in back be better?

Stand alone diesel fired heater???
http://www.espar.com/business-units/fuel-operated-heaters/applications/trucks.html

 

[icanfixall]

These engines will fire off at very low temps.. But only if the glow system and the fuel system is tip top shape. We need enough battery power to really spin the engine to make enough heat from quickly compressing the air charge in the cylinders. With a fast cranking engine. A tight top shelf fuel system and a right on glow plug system we can start well below zero. In fact how about members telling us how cold it was when you started your engines. 20 below or 40 below?/ Lets hear from everyone. Sadly the west coast guys can't play in this game. We normally don't see temps below plus 40... And when we do we call in sick and pull the covers back up......

 

[junk]

Fired up at +10 today. Not that cold but fired up just fine.

 

[marmot]

WABASTO

 

[typ4]

Ummmm, new boss. what a ****. just sayin

 

[laserjock]

Thought about this but really there isn't enough juice there. If you were going to carry an extra battery, I'd put it in line so that you'd have extra start and GP capacity.

 

[lindstromjd]

You can always look into wiring in some capacitors to your current system, as well. They do a pretty decent job of storing power if you get a big enough one.

 

[Ilovejunk]

Thought about this but really there isn't enough juice there. If you were going to carry an extra battery, I'd put it in line so that you'd have extra start and GP capacity.

that's what i was thinking when i read this,

if i was gonna add batteries to the truck it would be for the reserve cranking ability, in case your fuel system or GP's aren't absolutely tip top shape; an extra 20 or 30 seconds of cranking power in my experience would be more productive, than burning that power up trying to heat water in the block.

just my $.02

 

[Hans13]

Like I said, just had a crazy idea. The only thing that is holding my truck back from starting like a dream in cold weather right now is the battery cables (making my own set as we speak) and a fuel leak on the filter head where the heater plug is (wouldn't ya know!) I'm not really in need of this system but I thought what the hell a guy can dream can't he? As for the boss, nothing more than a sales pitch, figure I'll be the next Billy Mayes if I keep practicing

Right now if it's below about 20 it will fire right up and die and then I have to crank about 15 seconds to get her growling again.

 

[Hans13]

Thought about this but really there isn't enough juice there. If you were going to carry an extra battery, I'd put it in line so that you'd have extra start and GP capacity.

Is there really a downside to this? I have extra cable and pair of other batteries. I'd love to have an extra battery.

 

[madpogue]

A couple large 12V batteries, through an inverter, would run the block heater for maybe 1/2 hour tops.

 

[fordf350man]

Sounds like a good idea to me. But keeping the glow plug system in shape helps allot. I have had mine start at -10 F and that was ambient temperature. All I do is just cycle the plugs a few times and barley touch the throttle pedal and she fires right up and stays running. Every once in a while it might die but if it fires I at least know it is going to start up and just do it again.

 

[DOE-SST]

How about some charcoal briquettes in an old cooking pot.

At lunch time, light them up, place under engine with a vertical shroud for wind protection. At 5pm, remove, douse with water/snow, put lid onto pot, crank warm engine and go.

You may need to add a horizontal shroud if your vehicle leaks lots of flammable fluids. Some pots have locking lids that will prevent spills, and are available at thrift stores for a few bucks. The shrouds can be any old piece of sheet metal.

A heck of a lot cheaper than extra batteries/larger alternator, and as reliable as dirt. Plus, you can use it for emergency warmth and cooking if stranded or camping.

I used this method to warm up a Detroit Diesel 8V71 in an inter-city bus.

 

[BDCarrillo]

Why not use an actual 12v heater pad on the oil pan or 12v immersion heater? They're readily available on Amazon. You'd do away with the conversion losses. Run a battery isolator and your charging system can top up the aux batteries, and still draw from them for a reserve start capacity.