Intake air heater

[jtanguay]

Hey just wondering if anyone's played around with these?  i know cummins uses them instead of glow plugs... glow plugs are good for getting it started, but it seems that an intake air heater might be a good idea for worn motors to squeeze a bit more life out of them.  

i know that condensation could pose an issue with them... any thoughts on that?


this is what i'm talking about... will need quite a bit of fab work to make it fit.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Turbo-Air-Intake-w-Heater-98-Cummins-5-9L-24V-Engine_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ72Q3a1205Q7c39Q3a1Q7c66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a12Q7c240Q3a1318QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem370098163915QQitemZ370098163915

thanks

[Jet A]

I was actually looking at doing something similar. But i will Probably try to make one out of inconel, or ss wire. Other than the flow restriction, i dont know why they wouldnt work.
But, be warned, those suckers pull some current. It will dim my headlights and pull the volt meter down to 8 volts with 160amp alternator and 2 big batteries.

[jtanguay]

I was actually looking at doing something similar. But i will Probably try to make one out of inconel, or ss wire. Other than the flow restriction, i dont know why they wouldnt work.
But, be warned, those suckers pull some current. It will dim my headlights and pull the volt meter down to 8 volts with 160amp alternator and 2 big batteries.

true... being made for a truck i wouldn't expect any less  :lol: i wonder if i could get a big resistor for it to lessen the load on the cars electrical system... time to ask my brother

[clbanman]

If you want to make your own, sign up and log in to view PDFs for this:
http:// http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4944260.html
 It might give you some ideas.
Note that per Cummins forums, the heater blocks about 20% of the airflow.
Some aftermarket ones for Cummins:

http://www.phillipsandtemro.com/customer_support/literature/Air_Intake_Heaters_(web).pdf

I can't get the last link to work because of the brackets around "web", but they are supposed to be there.

[jtanguay]

i wonder if it would be possible to sharpen the edges of the elements to improve airflow...  just a thought.  if it was post turbo, then IMO under boost it shouldn't make too much of a restriction?

i was also thinking of converting one of those old webasto or similar type coolant heaters as an intake heater... with the flame going right into the intake.  of course many other things need to be taken into consideration at that point...

[VW_Commuter]

Our '06 Silverado with the Duramax has an intake air heater to smooth out cold starts.  I know our truck has dual batteries and the alternator is like a 120A output so you might want to look at the power draw requirements for them to ensure you don't kill your battery or alternator.

[mk2diesel]

or reroute some of the exhaust thru  a heat exchanger  to the intake (  keep 'em separate of course) with a blend door / valve to reduce the heater when you don't need it ....   free heat !

[Turbinepowered]

or reroute some of the exhaust thru  a heat exchanger  to the intake (  keep 'em separate of course) with a blend door / valve to reduce the heater when you don't need it ....   free heat !

The system, at least for longitudinal diesels, has this built in. There's a control flap at the airbox, so that when it's cold all the intake air is being drawn from under the exhaust manifold heat shields.

[maxfax]

I think it was Isuzu that used an inline fuel heater to aid in cold starts and running..  May have been intended for severe temps to help prevent gelling too...   Pretty sure it was in the fuel line before the IP and heats the fuel to something like 80-100 deg F..

[jtanguay]

all good tips/info thanks!

if only i could find one of these used... snag the burner part!  :lol:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/WEBASTO-AIR-TOP-2000-ST-HEATING-SYSTEM-HEATER-SEMI-TRUK_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3286Q2em20Q2el1116QQitemZ170258065901

[molgrips]

There are loads of fuel heating options made for people using veg oil...  Search around on the veggie forums.

[jtanguay]

There are loads of fuel heating options made for people using veg oil...  Search around on the veggie forums.

that is only for heating the fuel though right??? they don't use an intake heater to aid in the combustion process to reduce smoke when cold, or do they???

[arb]

Some really big diesel engines use a fuel drip inside the intake manifold - it starts a small fire with the fuel that heats the manifold and thus the air before starting.

I have a 12v electrically heated windshield scraper someone gave me. I took the heating element out and was going to mount it inside my intake through the extra port. I have not posted the photos yet as I have not decided how to pass the element through the cover I have yet to make. Epoxy is what I was thinking. It would be on the GP circuit and does not drain a huge amount of juice.

WOW !! I just found where the person got it from - Macy's
http://www.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=347427&BannerID=PD569&PartnerID=LINKSHARE&LinkshareID=jXot6eVeYJg-lWq2iRmFM2CC2DIbllCRmA

[maxfax]

THe fuel heater thing I had mentioned was in Isuzu cabover trucks (AKA Chevrolet Tilt Cab).. They had a fuel heater as well as glow plugs, and a flap that routed the intake air around the exhaust manifold...   The Fuel Heater and air duct flapper was an option referred to as the "Warm Up Aid" .. The fuel heater heats the fuel to about 90 deg F..    This was available since that particular series of Isuzu diesls were somehwta low compression and were extremely cold blooded..

The fuel heaters for WVO heat the fuel to 170 deg F or more...  Probably a bit too warm since USLD doesn;t lube that well to begin with...