propane fired coolant heater?

[zyewdall]

Does anyone on here know where you can buy a propane (or better yet, diesel) fired coolant heater?  I know that Zerostart makes one, and Espar (but their's is $1200), but after doing a web search I can't seem to find anywhere that actually sells them or will tell me the price.  Any leads?

I have a 500 watt block heater, but often park overnight where there is no power.  And it's going to be -10F tomorrow morning...   obviously I can't get it installed by then, so I'll drive the subaru for a few days till it warms up, but I'd like to be able to keep using the diesel in the wintertime, even when I can't plug it in.

Thanks

Zeke

[89VWdieselGolf]

Never even heard of it :? ....how does it work I am curious.

Jeff

[vwmike]

-10F? I can't even imagine that.

Are you trying to use the heater to heat the coolant in place of the block heater?

[zyewdall]

It plumbs in line with the heater hose, and either a thermo syphon, or a very low power 12 volt pump, moves the heated coolant through the whole block.  Apparently they are popular on large diesel trucks and busses to keep them warm over night, and keep the cab warm too (the other option is to leave them running continuously all winter, which is what alot of places still do).  From what I've read, the larger ones can keep the coolant almost at normal operating temp, unlike the electric block heaters.

But I've never used them, so I don't know for sure....