Cold starting

[LouNY]

Evening all;
My Branson 8050 does not like to start when it's cold out. Last winter it wouldn't start a few times when I needed it, I would have to put a tarp on it like a tent over the hood and run the salamander heater for an hour to get it to start.
My dealer had installed a lower radiator heater in it when I bought it, it does not seem to be effective, the hoses get hot but there does not appear to be any heat getting into the block. This year I switched to Rotella T6 5w-40 and cen-pe-co oil in the tranny so far in the teens it has started. Does anyone know if a block heater can be fitted to this engine and if so which frost plug and what size?
Thanks
Lou

 

[buickanddeere]

As you have investigated and proven , the heated coolant is not moving via convection through the engine . There has to be a tall vertical column of light warm water rising and a tall column of cold heavy coolant pushing the warm light water.

 

[Cougsfan]

Yeah, if the thermostat is closed, a lower radiator heater won't circulate water and warm the block. Maybe if you took the thermostat out? Not sure if that's a good idea though. How about a magnetic block heater similar to this? Kat's Engine Heaters Magnetic Heater, 3W - For Life Out Here

 

[CalG]

Simply

A lower radiator hose heater and the closed thermostat have NOTHING in common

note the schematic
Water cooled engine - ThingLink

It is important that there is sufficient vertical rise when locating the heater.

I have a lower radiator hose heater on the mitsubishi K4f and it works wonderfully.

 

[LincTex]

If you can get the points of a dial caliper into the groove where a freeze plug sets, you can order the appropriate size block heater. I think they are made all the way down to 18mm.

Agreed with the others - a lower radiator hose heater works beautifully, but ONLY if installed in the vertical column of the lower hose. If its in the horizontal portion, it was installed improperly.

Don't forget the orange heater pads that can be glued on the bottom of the oil pan. I used to buy mine from Summit or Jeg's. These work awesome for getting the oil loosened up when it's that cold outside! I hate starting engines with unheated oil when it creeps down into the teens...
Amazon.com: Kat's 2415 15 Watt 4"x 5" Universal Hot Pad Heater: Automotive

 

[SJay]

I put one of these on my Sprinter - works well
Genuine, quality Wolverine Heaters are the most trusted oil and transmission heaters for tractors and agricultural equipment.

 

[Egon]

Some inline heaters may have to be mounted in a vertical hose. It should also have direction of flow on it.

That said I have successfully used an inline heater on a horizontal hose on a Kubota B 7100. It worked very well. The installation required proper flow direction and the unit itself required proper verticle installation on a horizontal run.

 

[coralhead]

I installed a block heater on my 4520r (actually just plugged it in this morning). It is located in the left side of the block about mid engine. There is a threaded plug removed by a 1/2" square drive socket extension. Unscrew the plug out and screw the heater in. I purchased it from NAPA but I don't recall the #.

 

[Mr Bitz]

I don't believe you can install a block heater on an 8050.

 

[LincTex]

I don't believe you can install a block heater on an 8050.

Is the 8050 a glow-plug engine? (I'm not familiar with it)