Auxiliary diesel powered heater

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Dragon Man
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Auxiliary diesel powered heater

Post by Dragon Man »

hey guys, one of the things i have been toying with on my old fiats is fitting a small 5kw auxiliary heater in the coolant system, ive not done it as the cars dont really need it being petrol.

i would like to fit one on my BX however, being as i am re-routing some of the heater matrix pipes i wondered which way they flow, i am guessing the short pipe near to the water pump is an output from the water pump so it flows from the engine to the heater matrix?

these diesel heaters are a bit of an obsession of mine, we run a few in the garage as frost protectors (keeps the garage at about 13.c constantly on a thermostat) also gives us hot water in there for hand washing. all powered from waste oil!

fueling the thing is easy as i can just T from the diesel line, but i was thinking of re-routing the pipe that nicely goes past the hot turbo bringing it up and over the engine, around to where the battery is (as i would have the heater under that) and then back around to the block.

the pumps on the are designed to allow coolant to flow through them with no restrictions. (as i know the XUD's heater matrix is "tuned" to work with the engine this is just basically pipe extending)

anyone else ever had one fit to an XUD before?
- JohnDragonMan

Drives: Citroen Dispatch with retrofitted air conditioning 8)
Classic Fiat Panda 4x4 Sisley named Talon (long term storage)

always buy base spec. that way you have the fun of putting all the cool bit on your vehicle :mrgreen:
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Way2go
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Re: Auxiliary diesel powered heater

Post by Way2go »

Wouldn't it be simpler if you want to do this to use the heater that Ford use on diesel that heat by glowplugs?
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Defender110
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Re: Auxiliary diesel powered heater

Post by Defender110 »

Way2go wrote:Wouldn't it be simpler if you want to do this to use the heater that Ford use on diesel that heat by glowplugs?
I think the heater he is referring to heats the engine coolant up to working temperature so you have instant heat in your car when required which is very handy in the winter months. I have a 240v Kenlow Hot start system which I used to have fitted to one of my Land Rover Defenders. It is a 240v system that plugs in to an outside socket on my driveway connected to a timer set for 1 hr before my normal morning commute. Once the coolant reaches normal temperature it turns the interior fan on too so my Landy was lovely and toasty when I unplugged the lead and got in. When I get chance I may fit it to my current LR Discovery.
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Re: Auxiliary diesel powered heater

Post by rutter123 »

Dont see the point in this the diesel bx warms up pretty quick from cold usually blowing warm-ish air within a minute or two-certainly enough to start defrosting, well mine does anyway. I guess it depends on the condition of the heater system, tap and matrix.
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Re: Auxiliary diesel powered heater

Post by Defender110 »

rutter123 wrote:Dont see the point in this the diesel bx warms up pretty quick from cold usually blowing warm-ish air within a minute or two-certainly enough to start defrosting, well mine does anyway. I guess it depends on the condition of the heater system, tap and matrix.
Yes my TGD Auto was the quickest warming car I've ever owned.
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Re: Auxiliary diesel powered heater

Post by Way2go »

Defender110 wrote:
Way2go wrote:Wouldn't it be simpler if you want to do this to use the heater that Ford use on diesel that heat by glowplugs?
I think the heater he is referring to heats the engine coolant up to working temperature so you have instant heat in your car when required which is very handy in the winter months. I have a 240v Kenlow Hot start system which I used to have fitted to one of my Land Rover Defenders. It is a 240v system that plugs in to an outside socket on my driveway connected to a timer set for 1 hr before my normal morning commute. Once the coolant reaches normal temperature it turns the interior fan on too so my Landy was lovely and toasty when I unplugged the lead and got in. When I get chance I may fit it to my current LR Discovery.
This is what the Ford (Focus Diesel) does by these 3 aux glowplugs in a water jacketed thingamybob! :)
1991 BX19GTi Auto
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