Espar/ Wabesto Coolant Heater?

[Off in the Bushes]

For the people that use these, how hot does it heat the coolant, how long does it take to get that coolant that hot?
Is there an electric version for 120V?
Does it work best after the engine is hot to preserve heat as apposed to generate heat to warm the motor?
Is it app controlled?
Which model do you run?

[NCC]

We run Websastos in our heavy trucks. Gets warm enough for the temperature gauge to move. Ours have programmable timers but not wifi.

They only run about two cycles before they drain the truck batteries, so if you want it to cycle every day even when you aren't starting it, you'll need to have a battery tender.

They should also run once a week in the summer to keep everything working correctly.

I plan to put one on my diesel F350 after Christmas if the price hasn't went through the roof. Was quoted about $2000 last year.

120V hot starts are available, but they are physically bigger and use a ton of power as they have a 120V heater and circulating pump. We use them on gas compressors that don't run all of the time but need to be able to start at -40C. We install the heaters on both the glycol and oil loops.

[Rancid Crabtree]

For the people that use these, how hot does it heat the coolant, how long does it take to get that coolant that hot?
Is there an electric version for 120V?
Does it work best after the engine is hot to preserve heat as apposed to generate heat to warm the motor?
Is it app controlled?
Which model do you run?

My experience is with a espar coolant heater that burns diesel.
Gets plenty hot and is like starting a warm engine. Time depends on engine size but figure 30 minutes from cold?
Yes for 120v look up circulation engine heaters - size to your engine.
With good batteries the espar has no problem warming engine from dead cold. I think the new ones might be app controlled. Mine just has a timer or manual system.

[IL Bar]

I have a Webasto engine heater in my highway tractor with the 15 litre Cummins Isx in it. I use the timer to run it for a couple hours in the morning. Can’t tell you how warm the coolant gets but it’s just like a summer start on very cold days. Most days an hour is probably long enough. Would also work faster warming up a smaller engine. Timer works good but an app would be ok too.

[o.w.l]

I have a Webasto Top C on a 4 cylinder diesel that’s been in there for about 7-8 years with no problems. I just have that one on a switch and it’s takes about 10-15 minutes to get around 160F. I also had put a Top C on a duramax a few years back. It warmed the coolant up enough that the gauge would come up when I started it, can’t remember the temp it got to. That heater was on a timer and I would just get it to fire and hour before I wanted to start it

[1886]

Brand new Webasto in semi heats the engine to 120 degrees. Older style did 140 degrees. It will drop as soon as the coolant circulates on start up.

[kodiakken]

The old ones you bought the thermostat for the temperature you wanted. New they were 160 F we use to replace the thermostats with 180 F. We used them to heat the bunk and the motor. We would usually add an extra battery for just the webasto to run on so you always had battery enought to start the truck. We could run 10 hours no problem at all.

[Off in the Bushes]

So they are capable of heating more then just the block heater can. Operating temp on the truck is 90C are they capable of that? What’s the time frame to get that hot?

[6.5 shooter]

The old ones you bought the thermostat for the temperature you wanted. New they were 160 F we use to replace the thermostats with 180 F. We used them to heat the bunk and the motor. We would usually add an extra battery for just the webasto to run on so you always had battery enought to start the truck. We could run 10 hours no problem at all.

Our tractors were the same, slept many a COLD night in Rosemary SK. and other wind blown Saskatchewan towns in the dead of winter never had any issues just fired the truck up in the morning if I was not working just to top the batteries off.

[HyperMOA]

So they are capable of heating more then just the block heater can. Operating temp on the truck is 90C are they capable of that? What’s the time frame to get that hot?

Depends on the unit. I have installed a Webasto that will get a C32 Cat (32 liter engine) to 163f and hold it within a few degrees of that in about 10-15 minutes. That is circulating the block and auxiliary lines, not the rad.

90C is probably a bit optimistic but 80C is likely achievable. Thats much warmer than a start on any July day.

[CaberTosser]

My Sprinter has an Eberspacher coolant heater from the factory, Mercedes install them in two different BTU outputs depending on whether the van also has a heater for the cargo area. Mine just has a cabin heater and I give it about 10 minutes to warm up when it’s -20 or lower. The thing has an interlock where it won’t fire if my diesel is below 1/4 tank. An HVAC electrical interlock runs the cabin heater fan on low only when using it in order to preserve the battery

[32-40win]

Depends what you are putting it on and how much you want to heat. Both Espar and Webasto make a water htr good for the engines up to say 1000cu in. THey supply the same htr along with a diesel fired air htr to do the engine, cab/slpr as a kit. Then there is a larger one pc wtr htr version that will do engine, cab, slpr, and in that size of htr there is also Pro-Heat brand, but , those are all frame mounted, could put one in a pickup box I guess, bit overboard though. The little Espar/Webasto wtr htr is 17,000BTU, the bigger ones are 45,000 or so.
Kim Hotstart and Philips/Temro still make their 120v circulation htrs, couple of versions of those too. The bigger one can be pesky to install on pickups as they have to be in the engine compartment, and they are about 3" dia and about 16-18" long, and they use 1" hose. Most pickup engine don't have the porting to accomodate them. If I remember right, the smaller one only goes to 1000 watts, which is better than nothing on a pickup with diesel eng, but it's not going to get too warm. Big ones were 1500W and 2000W.
For an easy start, without heating wtr, there are also stick on pan htrs, a 500W one will heat a 534 Ford oil pan FULL of oil to 110deg in -30F in an hour. 300W is enough for C series Cummins size engine. There is a fire risk with those and oil leaks though, and can't put on a kevlar pan, has to be a metal pan.

[kodiakken]

We have had trucks sit outside over night or over a weekend and gone out two hours before and fire up them old heaters and in an hour she was cycling in and out so she was more than safe to start the engine.
When you installed them you had to pay attention to the direction of water circulation and you could run them with the motor running.
After they went to using air to air coolers them trucks use to cool off pretty bad even if you boarded up the front as tight as you could. So if you were sitting and idling to sleep which we had to do when we were hauling to the mines in the NWT because if the company we were working for found out you were shutting your truck off that was a one way load home.
When north of the 60 we ran them old girls 24/7 and those heater usually ran when the truck wasn't moving.

[coachman]

I do not know what company makes then but they make a cell module also. I am using knock offs on my equipment, 24v and 12v, 5000 btu's and I think 13000 btu's on my excavators, installing one tomorrow on my telehandler .The knock offs are about a 3rd the price and seem to work as good. I also have 2 air heaters by the same company. The one in the boat gives me a hard time every spring, new fuel pump, cost 24 dollars. I have also had the smaller espar and they say there is no parts you call change just throw them away.

[Rancid Crabtree]

I do not know what company makes then but they make a cell module also. I am using knock offs on my equipment, 24v and 12v, 5000 btu's and I think 13000 btu's on my excavators, installing one tomorrow on my telehandler .The knock offs are about a 3rd the price and seem to work as good. I also have 2 air heaters by the same company. The one in the boat gives me a hard time every spring, new fuel pump, cost 24 dollars. I have also had the smaller espar and they say there is no parts you call change just throw them away.

I’d be curious where to source the knock off heaters? We’d run more of them but they are expensive