britishtrident
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| posted on 9/11/09 at 07:00 PM |
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VW glow plug coolant warmers -- new mini project.
Not a mistake apparently some VW group diesel cars such as the Audi A4 1.9Tdi use extra glow plugs in the water jacket to pre-heat the coolant.
I had been looking at ideas for pre-warming engines for the winter. First I considered a conventional plug in 230v coolant heater like the Webasco or
Black Frog but don't really fancy connecting the car to 230v.
Then I looked at US made electric silcone heater pads that are glue on to sump to pre-warm the oil --- they are available in various wattages in 220,
110 or 12v, but my sump has cooling ribs which would make attaching one them difficult.
The while looking the way glow plugs are used to make fuel warmers for bio diesel I stumbled on the info that VW fit special glow plugs into the
water jacket on some models to pre-warm the coolant.
So I am going to try building a prototype pre-heater with VW coolant glow plug(s) in an aluminium adapter in the coolant bypass plumbing, thermo
siphon effect should be enough to circulate the warmed coolant through the block.
12v power to the heater will be supplied from a suitable old fashioned battery charger via 12v socket under the front bumper.
[Edited on 9/11/09 by britishtrident]
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flak monkey
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| posted on 9/11/09 at 07:03 PM |
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All VAG diesels have them. If you pull the engine cover off you can see them, on the gearbox end of the engine at the top. 3 in a row in the water
inlet on the engine 
If it wasnt pitch dark outside I would grab a pic for you.
David
Sera
http://www.motosera.com
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britishtrident
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| posted on 9/11/09 at 08:00 PM |
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Yeah found a photo on Golf owners site I have the part number for them less than 5 quid each M12x1.25 thread and quite compact, I'll order a
couple a and test the idea out I don't know the wattage but I am pretty sure the current draw will be big an initial current of about 20 amps
falling very quickly to 12 amps or so as the element warms up.
All sort of other things they could be useful for -- pre-warming dif and gearbox oil for hillclimbs springs to mind.
[I] “ What use our work, Bennet, if we cannot care for those we love? .”
― From BBC TV/Amazon's Ripper Street.
[/I]
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davidwag
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| posted on 9/11/09 at 08:10 PM |
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Hi,
Lots of common rail diesels have them now. I can't remember which car its on but i'm sure some of the Renaults have a nice little
aluminium housing that fits in the coolant hose with four plugs in not much bigger than the hose itself. Also some have a small diesel powered
auxillary heater with its own little exhaust and silencer.
David
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britishtrident
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| posted on 9/11/09 at 08:27 PM |
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The Eberspacher Diesel powered pre-heaters always worry me -- apart from fire the CO risk.
I have the vision of my neighbour pressing his remote fob and his Freelander erupting into a fire ball.
[I] “ What use our work, Bennet, if we cannot care for those we love? .”
― From BBC TV/Amazon's Ripper Street.
[/I]
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maartenromijn
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| posted on 9/11/09 at 09:29 PM |
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You mean engine pre-heating before use? I have lived in Northern Finland. It seems to be quite common to pre-heat the engine in the winter time. I
think they use 230V to pre-heat the oil and/or coolant.
BLOG: http://thunderroad-super7.blogspot.com/
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mangogrooveworkshop
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| posted on 9/11/09 at 09:55 PM |
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preheater
http://www.kenlowe.com/pre-heaters/cars/index.html
[Edited on 9-11-09 by mangogrooveworkshop]
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britishtrident
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| posted on 9/11/09 at 10:37 PM |
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Kenlowe pre-heaters are horrendously expensive mainly because they are sold mainly to markets that aren't that price sensitive -- ie for fire
appliances and standby generators.
The more compact Black Frog which believe is made in the former east Germany is much more sensibly priced a guy was selling at £80 on ebay last year
but they still run on 230v.
All various of engine coolant heaters are sold in the colder parts of North America mainly using 110v which is less lethal than 220/230v and is easy
enough to use in the UK with an isolating stepdown transformer.
The pad type oil pan heaters are available in various wattages, voltages and sizes and are reasonable priced.
http://stores.ebay.com/LGS-Wiring-MWM-Tactical-by-C-E__W0QQsubmitZSearchQQ_nkwZheaterQQ_sidZ182950925
But the glow plug solution is so cheap and simple it is worth investigating.
[I] “ What use our work, Bennet, if we cannot care for those we love? .”
― From BBC TV/Amazon's Ripper Street.
[/I]
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MikeRJ
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| posted on 9/11/09 at 10:43 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by britishtridentI don't know the wattage but I am pretty sure the current draw will be big an initial current
of about 20 amps falling very quickly to 12 amps or so as the element warms up.
144 watts...going to take a while to have much impact on an icy cold block I reckon.
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CD-5
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| posted on 10/11/09 at 02:26 AM |
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Yep!! block heater as we call them in Québec. avalaible for most vehicle sold in canada. work with 120v... easy to install. verry useful in our cold
winter.
If someone think SVA is tough you've got to see what the SAAQ require here...Still searching a way to get a project on the road.....
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zilspeed
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| posted on 10/11/09 at 08:11 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
The Eberspacher Diesel powered pre-heaters always worry me -- apart from fire the CO risk.
I have the vision of my neighbour pressing his remote fob and his Freelander erupting into a fire ball.
The smiley suggests that this would be a good thing
When do the christmas lights go up again ?
(P.S. what an improvement to the farm road, don't you think ?)
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paulf
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| posted on 10/11/09 at 10:19 PM |
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My Rover 75 diesel has a Webasto auxiliary heater rated at 5kw , only problem is it doesn't work due to a PCB fault. I have also been looking
into alternative heaters but decided that nothing else is suitable other than mains powered immersion type heaters.I cant see how a few glow plugs in
the block can be very effective.
My next project is to design and build a replacement control PCB for the Webasto.
Paul
quote:
Originally posted by MikeRJ
quote:
Originally posted by britishtridentI don't know the wattage but I am pretty sure the current draw will be big an initial current
of about 20 amps falling very quickly to 12 amps or so as the element warms up.
144 watts...going to take a while to have much impact on an icy cold block I reckon.
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Grimsdale
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| posted on 21/11/09 at 11:27 AM |
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as a cheap alternative to a kenlowe, has anyone considered using a dishwasher heater? Tubular heating element, comes in a 32mm diameter, and 2000
watts. would need to be fitted with a circulation pump too
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britishtrident
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| posted on 22/11/09 at 04:20 PM |
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A 12v Circulation pump is not a problem they make for fuel buring preheaters but the 230v thing is what I am trying to avoid 110v is OK 230v is a
little to high for comfort.
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dave r
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| posted on 22/11/09 at 05:34 PM |
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we dont have any circulation pumps on any of the standby sets at work
they all have auxillary heaters
you can get them in 110v
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paulf
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| posted on 27/11/09 at 09:21 PM |
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You could run the heater on 110v and have 1kw instead of 2kw output , a pump from a Webasto heater would do to circulate the water.
Paul.
quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
A 12v Circulation pump is not a problem they make for fuel buring preheaters but the 230v thing is what I am trying to avoid 110v is OK 230v is a
little to high for comfort.
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MikeRJ
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| posted on 27/11/09 at 11:19 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by paulf
You could run the heater on 110v and have 1kw instead of 2kw output , a pump from a Webasto heater would do to circulate the water.
Would only get about 23% of the output running a 230v heater on 110v, about 460 Watts in this case.
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