Diesel fuel heaters

[helen&tony]

Hi
Does anyone have any experience of fuel heaters for diesel...much of the fuel over here isn't fit for purpose, and winter diesel sure isn't, so I have toyed with the thought of a fuel heater for the next cold season....
2 questions
1/. Do they work efficiently?
2/. What temperature below zero will they protect to, and will wind-chill of forward motion affect the efficiency?
Cheers
Helen

[teenmal]

Hi,something like this might help.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12volt-Fuel-h ... 5645235f37

Cheers.

[scanner]

A couple of my early (late 80's/early 90's) diesels had them as standard one (it was the Visa diesel I think) had a "Stanadyne" in line electric heater. Another diesel had a water heated filter head but I couldn't really see the sense in that because the engine had to be running and part warmed up before it would work properly.

I think something like the Stanadyne which heats the diesel before it enters the filter, where it is most likely to gel, is probably the best idea.

http://www.stanadyne.com/view.php?id=26

http://www.thedieselstore.com/template/ ... 41&VehNum=


Stanadyne also do additives to reduce gelling.

http://www.stanadyne.com/view.php?id=76

[MountainGoat]

Not exactly what you are looking for but on the subject of winter driving. For my first Saab which I used for a lot of snow and ice climbing in the Scottish Highlands. I used a gizmo that used the cooling sytem to warm up the flud in the windscreen washer bottle so that it did not freeze immediately it hit the windscreen. So long ago that I can't remember what it was called or where I got it.

Tony

[mikeWalsall]

Paddy Hopkirk ..Hot wash' ..??

Slice through a heater hose (on a Bongo..??) then fit a metal pipe surrounded by a polythene tube ... on each end of the polythene there was a 'nipple' .. slice through / extend the washer pipe and connect to the nipples ...

The Polythene 'cover' got filled with washer water ..which the water flowing through the heater pipe heated up ..!!

Google pic ... not mine ..

[chipvan]

right different ways to do this...

1, expensive!!A kenlowe 240v engine pre warmer fitted to coolant will heat engine up for you.

Then fit a coolant heated plate to plate heatexchanger before fuel filter,mine gets fuel to 60 oc while doing 70mph in winter(temp taken from banjo on the pump)
http://www.dieselveg.com/heat_exchangers.htm



2,
Or you could fit one of these http://www.dieselveg.com/diesel-therm.htm but they will draw a lot of poer and dont heat more warm a bit.


3,
Or plate heatexchanger before fuel filter on its own,but wont heat fuel until engine warms up,the best thing about heatexchanger is it will carry on heating fuel and get fuel in tank nice and hot too,so when you stop for a while the diesel in your tank will stay warm for a while.

coolant heated fuel filter are ok but not as good as fitting a heatexchager before a standard filter,i got a insulation jacked to go round my filter but the heat melted it onto filter!

4, you can buy fuel additive that boost preformance of fuel for winter as well..http://www.kamco.co.uk/diesel.htm this maybe worth a try first as wont need to change anything on bongo,some add 5% petrol to fuel to stop waxing but you may loose a small ammount of power so add this to bump power back uphttp://vegetableoildiesel.co.uk/veggiboost.html
Have a look at my pics under vegi oil kit in fuel section.


5, lastly if you ok with chopping into coolant pipes a heatexchanger from a combi boiler works fine(so iam told) but get a good one ,
These are cheap as chips on ebay..

6,greenhouse heater under fuel tank may help

for me as your only using diesel and not tring to veg it,i would see what you can do with the fuel 1st!


Hope this is some help to you....jez

[helen&tony]

Hi
Thanks for the replies...
I remember those heaters for the windscreen washers , and I have that cracked with additives...BUT...no matter what you add, the jets themselves are prone to freezing.
The fuel heaters which warm the fuel before the heater are what I was considering, and I found one on e-bay...there are several types, not all on e-bay, and I was wondering what experience people have. The problem I see is that you are trying to deliver a chilled , slightly turgid liquid at a reasonable flow rate, and I can't see anything that would warm a liquid that fast as it flows, unless it was a heated pipe all the way from the tank PLUS a heated pre-filter like the Standyne (thanks Scanner) and there are a few similar units to that Standyne, but not quite as good-sounding available.
Fuel additives:
Yes, Wurth do one which I might be able to source here , but they seem to work thus:
Diesel forms into strands at "cloud point"...about minus 8 C downwards, and the strands of "waxy" fuel arrive at the filter in a dis-orientated fashion, and will not pass through the filter as they are inclined to form a clot. I gather that the diesel additives can't stop clouding, but allow the fuel to become orientated that they pass through the filter in a linear fashion....mmmm...I somehow wonder on this score
Jez...yes, I see the veg oil heater system can be applied to the fuel system , as I saw one on e-bay...I thought it might well do along with the system Scanner mentions....BUT...I wonder what experience folk have.
The thing is, I wonder whether to invest, as winter use for me would be limited, as I'm rather dubious of some of the other drivers over here...in winter, there are regular examples of cars and trucks where the drivers have left the road in a grand fashion!
Regarding engine pre-heaters....It's only for comfort, really, and fuel efficiency. If the fuel flows, it will start...that's all that matters....just in case I need the Bongo in an emergency!!!! That's the thing I am starting to worry about
Thanks again
Cheers
Helen

[dandywarhol]

Paddy Hopkirk ..Hot wash' ..??

Slice through a heater hose (on a Bongo..??) then fit a metal pipe surrounded by a polythene tube ... on each end of the polythene there was a 'nipple' .. slice through / extend the washer pipe and connect to the nipples ...

The Polythene 'cover' got filled with washer water ..which the water flowing through the heater pipe heated up ..!!

Google pic ... not mine ..

A simpler way of doing it is to extend the windscreen washer pipe and wrap it several times around a coolant hose - saves cutting and shutting..................

[jaylee]

A simpler way of doing it is to extend the windscreen washer pipe and wrap it several times around a coolant hose - saves cutting and shutting..................

Interesting idea Dandy... Especially after looking at the price of screen spray heater units..
I find the frozen jet a pain in the arse...! What do you reckon on a loop near/over/behind the header tank..? (it is on the washer hose route!) In fairness it could freeze on the screen...?!!

[chipvan]

Tbh i woulnt bother...dont think your gain any benifits ..glow heaters do not work as they say they do but put extra strain on your battery for very little heat.and yes ok they get hot but cant cope with the flow of fuel or cooling effect
Of driving along.

You can have a engine pre heater and heatexchanger and a lift pump that can cycle the fuel though heatexchanger and return hot fuel to tank.when warming up
Before you drive

But like you say you dont use bongo often.

Anything that uses 12v to heat is not any good for cold starts,but can take chill off when running,loads of ideas but can get costly

[The Great Pretender]

1/ No
2/Yes
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[Northern Bongolow]

A simpler way of doing it is to extend the windscreen washer pipe and wrap it several times around a coolant hose - saves cutting and shutting..................

Interesting idea Dandy... Especially after looking at the price of screen spray heater units..
I find the frozen jet a pain in the arse...! What do you reckon on a loop near/over/behind the header tank..? (it is on the washer hose route!) In fairness it could freeze on the screen...?!!

got some comma -65deg c screen wash the other day, £7 concentrated, if that freezes the coolant system will be toast so why wash the windows

[helen&tony]

Hi
Mel...
More or less what I thought
Jez....
Yes...again, I thought expense and battery drain
Frankly, I like the Bongo a BIG lot, and it's very useful, and I have no intention of selling, and I've even thought of getting a V6 shipped here and swapping it for the diesel engine...OR buying a second car...well I bought a second car, and it sat on the drive for 2 years... 'Twas a despicable little Opel Astra...BUT...the best addition to the Bongo would seem a Suzuki Vitara, with a gas conversion, as they are cheap and in plentiful supply (apparently)....but it merely means another vehicle....
The problem is, if we have an emergency, we can be cut off
Back to the drawing board
Thanks for the replies, folks!
Cheers
Helen

[climbingnut]

I'm sure I've seen a TV show where they lit a fire under the fuel tank to warm the diesel...

[scanner]

I'm sure I've seen a TV show where they lit a fire under the fuel tank to warm the diesel...

Very common at one time, together with another one under the sump to keep the oil liquid.