greywolf
1/2 ton status
what are you guys doing to keep your burbs warm? pics? brand? I was thinking electric cause it would heat up fast
CK5
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heaters
- Thread starter greywolf
- Start date
Jester1
1/2 ton status
My burb and k30 both just use the stock heater and will cook you out. Both have bbc though. I haven't used the k5 much to know for sure.
A lot of guys on here are using the Mohave heater.
A lot of guys on here are using the Mohave heater.
An electric heater is just about worthless on a 12 volt system. Here's why. An electric heaters' BTU output is determined by its' input wattage. It doesn't matter if it's 12 volt or 120 volt, 1200 watts is 1200 watts and will make the same amount of heat output. Think about one of those little portable box heaters you can buy for home use. One of those little ones you can put under your desk to keep your legs warm. Most of those are in the 1200 to 1500 watt area. They make some heat but imagine that in your big cold Burb. Won't do a lot. Now, let's say it's a 1200 watt model. Watts is amps x volts. If you take 1200 watts divided by 12 volts you get 100 amps. That means it will take 100 amps of 12 volt power to drive something that makes the amount of heat an average blowdryer puts out.
Just food for thought.
Just food for thought.
Yeah,those 12V heaters are only 150 watts,a light bulb puts out more heat than those will!...they might melt a peephole in the frost if you place one right against the windshield,other than that they are a joke..
I've used a 110V house type ceramic space heater in my van and Suburban before when it was about 20 degrees out,while I was inside them working on them,and even that barely helped warm it up at all--my "sunflower" propane bottle heater wasn't much better either,and that can suffocate you.
I have no trouble keeping warm in my Suburban or van with the stock heater,as long as the engine reaches full temparature--I use only 195 degree thermostats,and if need be,I'll put some cardboard in front of the radiator to boost the temp up a bit when its extremely cold (like under 15 degrees)...
My 6.2's put out great heat as long as your driving,or putting the engine under a load plowing,etc,but if you sit still and let them idle,the heater will only put out lukewarm air--a diesel trait that all seem to have,they just run cool at idle,so little fuel is being burned..
I put a rear heater in my '72 K5,I got it from a school bus in a junkyard,it went under one of the rear seats--I put it in a metal milk crate and that thing cranked some serious BTU's,I could melt a foot of snow off the roof in 15 minutes after the engine warmed up--no more brushing it off...
I also made a heater from a used heater core and blower motor from a truck I scrapped,I mounted them in a plywood box about 16" square...I had that in my van one winter,it worked very well...but I removed it when I decided I wasn't going to drive it in the salt,it took up quite a bit of room too..
I've used a 110V house type ceramic space heater in my van and Suburban before when it was about 20 degrees out,while I was inside them working on them,and even that barely helped warm it up at all--my "sunflower" propane bottle heater wasn't much better either,and that can suffocate you.
I have no trouble keeping warm in my Suburban or van with the stock heater,as long as the engine reaches full temparature--I use only 195 degree thermostats,and if need be,I'll put some cardboard in front of the radiator to boost the temp up a bit when its extremely cold (like under 15 degrees)...
My 6.2's put out great heat as long as your driving,or putting the engine under a load plowing,etc,but if you sit still and let them idle,the heater will only put out lukewarm air--a diesel trait that all seem to have,they just run cool at idle,so little fuel is being burned..
I put a rear heater in my '72 K5,I got it from a school bus in a junkyard,it went under one of the rear seats--I put it in a metal milk crate and that thing cranked some serious BTU's,I could melt a foot of snow off the roof in 15 minutes after the engine warmed up--no more brushing it off...
I also made a heater from a used heater core and blower motor from a truck I scrapped,I mounted them in a plywood box about 16" square...I had that in my van one winter,it worked very well...but I removed it when I decided I wasn't going to drive it in the salt,it took up quite a bit of room too..
greywolf
1/2 ton status
my little Texans don't like a cold vehicle, I'm a Yankee so I'm still ok in colder weather and I have to hear "mommy's ford has rear heat and heated seats" so I have to top this guys.
we don't get a lot of really cold weather but I want it to get hot to go to school or out for dinner, camping whatever
electric heaters are no good... got it!
we don't get a lot of really cold weather but I want it to get hot to go to school or out for dinner, camping whatever
electric heaters are no good... got it!
They did make a factory rear heat option.
Or you could buy a Summit heater and install it in the back.
Or you could buy a Summit heater and install it in the back.
Ned Kelly
1/2 ton status
Or get a Universal Heater from a place like Fleet Farm. I've got some great heaters there, and sometimes 50% off when on sale.
This type too:
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/search/Cab+Heater+-+Universal/N1974/C0326.oap
Pricey, just an example to show.
I've picked these up at wreckers for $20-40. Find them in the back of Suburbans, full size domestic vans, and UPS/FedEx delivery vans, school buses. These are real cheap at the wreckers.
Sometimes search under Auxiliary Heater might help too:
http://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/36-000-btu-12v-auxiliary-heater/A-p4240006e
All of these have worked great in whatever application we've used them.
This type too:
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/search/Cab+Heater+-+Universal/N1974/C0326.oap
Pricey, just an example to show.
I've picked these up at wreckers for $20-40. Find them in the back of Suburbans, full size domestic vans, and UPS/FedEx delivery vans, school buses. These are real cheap at the wreckers.
Sometimes search under Auxiliary Heater might help too:
http://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/36-000-btu-12v-auxiliary-heater/A-p4240006e
All of these have worked great in whatever application we've used them.
Aux heaters do help in a Burb, especially for 3rd row passengers. In TX, rear A/C seems more important, though. Did those units also have a heater core in them? Keep in mind that when heater lines are routed under the vehicle to a rear heater, the front is still warming up sooner than the back, so unless you warm the engine up before you leave, the aux heater doesn't really help for a 5 minute drive.
My '05 starts heating the front after driving about 4 miles, but it's not really kicking in the back until closer to 10. I always wondered if it would work better with a mile of rubber heater hose instead of running it through aluminum lines. (I thought about wrapping them with foam pipe wrap, but I feared corrosion).
My '05 starts heating the front after driving about 4 miles, but it's not really kicking in the back until closer to 10. I always wondered if it would work better with a mile of rubber heater hose instead of running it through aluminum lines. (I thought about wrapping them with foam pipe wrap, but I feared corrosion).
I used regular heater hose on my K5's rear heater...it threw great heat after the engine warmed up,but I had issues with the hoses rubbing against the exhaust and chassis and had a close call with ruining the engine when they leaked !...I was 15 miles from home--had to chop the hoses with a knife and use sticks jammed in them to get home,after filling it back up with water..
I decided to put two ball valves at the "Y" fittings near the engine,so I could shut off the flow to the rear in case of hose failure..
I tried using copper tubing for the longest part of the run to the heater after that experience,but even with pipe insulation on it,the heater didn't throw as much heat--most was lost on the way to it,under the truck,in the cold 65 mph breeze..
--I ended up going with more heater hose again...bought a 50 foot roll of it,and put some flexible plastic conduit around it and routed it more carefully the second time,and had no further troubles with it..I thought about trying PVC or PEX tubing,but decided it was too expensive...
I decided to put two ball valves at the "Y" fittings near the engine,so I could shut off the flow to the rear in case of hose failure..
I tried using copper tubing for the longest part of the run to the heater after that experience,but even with pipe insulation on it,the heater didn't throw as much heat--most was lost on the way to it,under the truck,in the cold 65 mph breeze..
--I ended up going with more heater hose again...bought a 50 foot roll of it,and put some flexible plastic conduit around it and routed it more carefully the second time,and had no further troubles with it..I thought about trying PVC or PEX tubing,but decided it was too expensive...
my boss at the tow shop puts a electric hot oil heater in the cab of his big rig tow truck .
plugs it in with the block heater.
when he gets a call its all warm and ready to go . plus the hot oil keeps his gloves dry when they get wet . stays warm in truck cab for a bit also .
but if just want extra heat when driving aftermarket aux heater unit like posted above should be good.
plugs it in with the block heater.
when he gets a call its all warm and ready to go . plus the hot oil keeps his gloves dry when they get wet . stays warm in truck cab for a bit also .
but if just want extra heat when driving aftermarket aux heater unit like posted above should be good.
Yeah, if you can't cook yourself out of the front seat, there's something wrong with the stock system. 195 degree coolant under the dash with a big blower is no joke.
