Grid intake heater?

[wmoguy]

Has anyone ever tried fabbin up something to put a grid intake heater in the snail?
Somewhere around here I have a grid from a 24v cummins. Was wondering if I could make it work and if it would heat enuf to ditch the glow plugs?

 

[onus]

I figure you could. Fab up a box to hold it that plugs into the intake. I hear these thing pull a ton of amps so i figure you'd want to disconnect the glow plugs so they don't compete.

 

[hairyboxnoogle]

From what i hear plugging the GP holes offers a decent drop in compression too for adding more boost. I think with a grid heater it would take a couple more cranks to get it fired up, but not overly excessive.

 

[wmoguy]

From what i hear plugging the GP holes offers a decent drop in compression too for adding more boost. I think with a grid heater it would take a couple more cranks to get it fired up, but not overly excessive.

Really? Never would've thought removed and plugged gp holes would change compression.

 

[jonathan]

i've heard that grid heaters dont really help with starting and they are subpost to help with start up emissions

 

[hairyboxnoogle]

Really? Never would've thought removed and plugged gp holes would change compression.

I suppose its a good thing i made mention of it then isnt it?

i've heard that grid heaters dont really help with starting and they are subpost to help with start up emissions

I know on the PSDs they were to keep em from smoking while they were warming up, but i think on the cummins theyre a different style and they actually are used in place of glowplugs.

 

[wmoguy]

i've heard that grid heaters dont really help with starting and they are subpost to help with start up emissions

Well cummins trucks don't have plugs, heaters only. So how do they start so well at freezing temps then? My 24v started fine at -20.

 

[racer30]

Well I think the 24volt grid heater will be a pain to wire up in a 12volt system. the 12volt heaters in the 8.3 L cummins engines in the moterhomes I work on work verry well. I havent thought about it before, but it could work if you built a heater into the pipe leading to the snail from the intercooler. you could use the wts system from the cummins to run it and bingo you have a air charge heater. and the bonus is less compression so more boost can be run.....sweet.

 

[hairyboxnoogle]

Well cummins trucks don't have plugs, heaters only. So how do they start so well at freezing temps then? My 24v started fine at -20.

I must say that was probably the most helpful post in the thread. Cool that people are so nice on this forum.

 

[rhkcommander]

Well I think the 24volt grid heater will be a pain to wire up in a 12volt system.

24v isn't referring to voltage. It means 24 valve. Cumins came in 12v(valve) and then 24v configurations on the 6bt engines.


I contemplated this idea and some said it wouldnt work they are emissions only and very restrictive. Cummins guys usually remove them to gain some performance. But I never tried it and to my knowledge no one else has. One trick you could try is use a heat gun in the intake and see if it is enough. I might give it a shot tomorrow for you. Tried it once when it was hard to start but that's not much of a test

 

[wmoguy]

24v isn't referring to voltage. It means 24 valve. Cumins came in 12v(valve) and then 24v configurations on the 6bt engines.


I contemplated this idea and some said it wouldnt work they are emissions only and very restrictive. Cummins guys usually remove them to gain some performance. But I never tried it and to my knowledge no one else has. One trick you could try is use a heat gun in the intake and see if it is enough. I might give it a shot tomorrow for you. Tried it once when it was hard to start but that's not much of a test

Thx! Please do let me know if the heat gun does the trick. Grid intake is the only source of heat on the cummins/dodge trucks. Obviously there's more differences between those and our idis. But the cummins has no problem starting cold.
When I had monster shower heads in mine I'd cycle it twice even on the coldest winter daysand it fired right up and never complained. Nice thing about those is they rarely go bad, unlike our crappy glowplug system.

 

[hairyboxnoogle]

They are more reliable, but they arent as efficient. A very big reason the Cummins starts better when cold is that its direct injected, and more cubes per cylinder. Ive also been told, longer stroked engines start better because they build more heat on compression. Im considering rigging a ether start system on mine like a tractor. Bump the button, always starts. Only thing holding me back is if someone else would have to drive my truck at some point, ether could be a bad idea.

 

[flareside_thun]

Their inline cylinder configuration doesn't hurt either.

 

[88beast]

it will work in theroy i plan to do this soon but i want to locate some cheap cause if it dont work good enough for me i got a set of brand new berus to go in
but i was thinking of using two of these heaters giving an almost garenteed start as this would be much more than needed but if you use an air grid heater you will either want it on a normal switch (not momentary) or have youre idle advance working perfectly

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

>>> THE GRID HEATER MYTH <<<

This gets kicked around every once in a while.

Having several 6BT powered trucks and engines around here, I will put in my meager knowledge on the situation.

The Cummins grid-heater is there purely for cold idle emissions; it does absolutely nothing to aid in cold engine starting; in fact, it actually hinders starting, as the grids really draw down the battery and are enough to kill a questionable battery, leaving it without enough reserve to whirl the engine quick enough to fire.

The first thing I do to every Cummins I get is to dis-connect the grids; they are alternator and battery killers.

In several years of so doing, I have yet to have an engine refuse to fire on the first revolution, regardless of outside temperature or how many weeks it may have been since last being started.

The only application I am aware of the Cummins even using grid-heaters is on the Dodge and maybe a few other passenger-emissions vehicles; I have never seen them on any of the 6BT-equipped medium-duty trucks or agricultural and construction equipment.