Lower radiator hose engine heater

[CalG]

I fitted a lower radiator hose heater to the Mitsubishi 4 cylinder on the Hurlimann this fall. Couldn't refit the engine side cover beauty panel afterwards, but so what.

I needed to clear snow today, so plugged in the heater for about 45 min.

Whoa! She never starts this well in the summer! ;-)

 

[oosik]

Properly installed a lower radiator tank heater will do an excellent job. They not only heat the engine coolant fluid but are designed to circulate it also. While living in AK I had a propane fired tank heater installed on my truck. The advantage was it would work anywhere because it did not require electricity.

 

[pat32rf]

My JD HST came with the optional block heater and hydraulic heaters. Total output about 150 watts. AND the heater for the hydrostat oil was installed in the lowest portion of the rear axle, with a cord about 5" long. If I wanted it to start at -30C I had to plug in well in advance.
Now I have the original block heater, lower rad hose heater, and battery heater. About 1kw total but I only plug in for an hour, then idle to warm up the HST oil.
These all tie into ONE cord that comes out from the front so I can back out of its parking spot and the cord drops free. A "tell-tale" ammeter on the wall tells me that the outlet is live and drawing juice.

 

[George2615]

I agree that the lower hose heater works well. I installed one on my 3 cyl Mitsubishi engine many years ago. In winter I had it hooked to a HD appliance timer that would turn it on 2 hours before I got home from work. It would get the engine temp up to 140*F and due to heat rising would circulate through the radiator. Made for very easy starting when I needed to go out and plow snow.

 

[buickanddeere]

I fitted a lower radiator hose heater to the Mitsubishi 4 cylinder on the Hurlimann this fall. Couldn't refit the engine side cover beauty panel afterwards, but so what.

I needed to clear snow today, so plugged in the heater for about 45 min.

Whoa! She never starts this well in the summer! ;-)

Makes a person wonder why so many operators refuse to use a coolant heater . And instead they rather crank the starter and battery to early failure while they load the combustion chambers and lube oil with raw diesel . Hammer the engine ether . Use torches, hair dryers , heat lamps , portable heater and tarps instead of a coolant heater. Or dragging the machine with another until it finally starts .