Diesel heater

Through ebay (where else) I purchased a diesel heater to make life with
veggie oil easier in the winter months.

It turns out to be an add on to a citroen, so a lot of the instructions
are in French, particularly the wiring diagram.

The electrics are actually very simple, a relay is driven off a "boitier
prechauffage" (pre heater?) and that relay livens up the heater. The
heater has a thermostat that shuts off when a temperature above 10 degC
is reached.

I plan to place the heater in the diesel line, prior to the filter. The
electrics I plan to wire on a circuit that is live when the ignition is
on. However, I reckon I need an override (to turn it off), so if I sit
there at any time with the engine off and the ignition on I don't run
down my battery (it is a 150W heater!)

So is there a better description of a "boitier prechauffage" and does
my wiring proposal seem sensible?

Cheers

Peter

puffernutter <[email protected]> uttered summat worrerz
funny about:
> So is there a better description of a "boitier prechauffage" and does
> my wiring proposal seem sensible?
>
> Cheers
>
> Peter

Oil cooler of a 1979 Jag Autobox would be just the job fitted in the water
system .. no heater required then. I would be tempted to have a tap though
and seperate tank, tap would need to sort the return as well so as not to
empty one tank in to the other.

Lee D

On Wed, 15 Nov 2006 19:50:13 GMT, puffernutter
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Through ebay (where else) I purchased a diesel heater to make life with
>veggie oil easier in the winter months.
>
>It turns out to be an add on to a citroen, so a lot of the instructions
>are in French, particularly the wiring diagram.
>
>The electrics are actually very simple, a relay is driven off a "boitier
>prechauffage" (pre heater?) and that relay livens up the heater. The
>heater has a thermostat that shuts off when a temperature above 10 degC
>is reached.

hmm. prechuffers

>I plan to place the heater in the diesel line, prior to the filter. The
>electrics I plan to wire on a circuit that is live when the ignition is
>on. However, I reckon I need an override (to turn it off), so if I sit
>there at any time with the engine off and the ignition on I don't run
>down my battery (it is a 150W heater!)

wont it cut out after it has reached the temp on its thermostat
anyway?
You could use something like the alternator charge light to switch the
heater off? (so it wont run when the engine is off)
if you switched it on with the preheater feed perhaps you could use
one of those timed preheater relays to make it stay on initially when
the charge light is on?

Tom Woods wrote:

> You could use something like the alternator charge light to switch the
> heater off? (so it wont run when the engine is off)
> if you switched it on with the preheater feed perhaps you could use
> one of those timed preheater relays to make it stay on initially when
> the charge light is on?

He needs it to preheat before he starts though doesn't he ? Though
surely the bulk of the pressure drops of pumping viscous fluids are in
the pipes to/from the tank.

Steve

On Wed, 15 Nov 2006 21:35:45 +0000, steve
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Tom Woods wrote:
>
>> You could use something like the alternator charge light to switch the
>> heater off? (so it wont run when the engine is off)
>> if you switched it on with the preheater feed perhaps you could use
>> one of those timed preheater relays to make it stay on initially when
>> the charge light is on?
>
>He needs it to preheat before he starts though doesn't he ?

im sure ive seen timer relays befroe but i cant find any on the net
now, so..

Could you not have the diesel heater fed from 2 supplies.

1 - piggybacked off the engines glow plugs (or fed by the glow plug
position on the ign key)
2 - ignition while charge light is off (an ignition live feed going
through relay controlled by the charge light)

the fuel heater would be turned on whenever you used the glow plugs to
start the car (i.e. coming to it first time in the day) and whenever
the engine was running.

turn the engine off and leave the ign on and the heater would not be
running cos the charge light would be on

>Though
>surely the bulk of the pressure drops of pumping viscous fluids are in
>the pipes to/from the tank.


>
>Steve

Tom Woods wrote:
> On Wed, 15 Nov 2006 21:35:45 +0000, steve
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >Tom Woods wrote:
> >
> >> You could use something like the alternator charge light to switch the
> >> heater off? (so it wont run when the engine is off)
> >> if you switched it on with the preheater feed perhaps you could use
> >> one of those timed preheater relays to make it stay on initially when
> >> the charge light is on?
> >
> >He needs it to preheat before he starts though doesn't he ?
>
> im sure ive seen timer relays befroe but i cant find any on the net
> now, so..
>
> Could you not have the diesel heater fed from 2 supplies.
>
> 1 - piggybacked off the engines glow plugs (or fed by the glow plug
> position on the ign key)
> 2 - ignition while charge light is off (an ignition live feed going
> through relay controlled by the charge light)
>
> the fuel heater would be turned on whenever you used the glow plugs to
> start the car (i.e. coming to it first time in the day) and whenever
> the engine was running.
>
> turn the engine off and leave the ign on and the heater would not be
> running cos the charge light would be on
>
> >Though
> >surely the bulk of the pressure drops of pumping viscous fluids are in
> >the pipes to/from the tank.
>
>
> >
> >Steve

Many thanks to you all for the suggestions. I will take them on board
and let you know how I eventually wire it.

For your interest (and other potential veggie oil users)

As I am sure that you all are aware the veggie is thicker than diesel,
particularly at the lower temperatures. I have a "water" heater for
the veggie, but of course that is only effective when the engine is
warm. However, believe it or not, one of the biggest "cooling factors"
in the 110 is the fuel filter, hence the use of the heater prior to the
filter.

This doesn't help with starting and when finances run to it I plan to
run to a proper two tank system (I have the tank, just missing the
valves and plumbing) so that I can start on diesel in the very cold
weather.

In the mean time, does anybody have a fuel filter sized piece of a
thermal insulating blanket (the thin, silvered sandwich sort!) that I
can wrap around my fuel filter. I have only seen it sold in huge
sheets !

Cheers

Peter

1990 110 CSW "Reggie the Veggie"

On 16 Nov 2006 15:11:09 -0800, "puffernutter"
<[email protected]> wrote:


>
>Many thanks to you all for the suggestions. I will take them on board
>and let you know how I eventually wire it.
>
>For your interest (and other potential veggie oil users)
>
>As I am sure that you all are aware the veggie is thicker than diesel,
>particularly at the lower temperatures. I have a "water" heater for
>the veggie, but of course that is only effective when the engine is
>warm. However, believe it or not, one of the biggest "cooling factors"
>in the 110 is the fuel filter, hence the use of the heater prior to the
>filter.
>
>This doesn't help with starting and when finances run to it I plan to
>run to a proper two tank system (I have the tank, just missing the
>valves and plumbing) so that I can start on diesel in the very cold
>weather.

car-gas in stoke on trent (an lpg place) also sell valves and taps and
plumbing sundries for biodiesel conversions if you are stuck.

>In the mean time, does anybody have a fuel filter sized piece of a
>thermal insulating blanket (the thin, silvered sandwich sort!) that I
>can wrap around my fuel filter. I have only seen it sold in huge
>sheets !

i bought a big sheet of self-adhesive shiney sound/heat proofing for
the 101 and can probably dig you out an offcut or two if that sort of
stuff would do?

puffernutter wrote:

> As I am sure that you all are aware the veggie is thicker than diesel,
> particularly at the lower temperatures. I have a "water" heater for
> the veggie, but of course that is only effective when the engine is
> warm. However, believe it or not, one of the biggest "cooling factors"
> in the 110 is the fuel filter, hence the use of the heater prior to the
> filter.

Wrap a coil of insulated nichrome wire round the filter ? Either arrange
that the dissipation is small, say less than 40W, or large and
thermostatically controlled .....

> In the mean time, does anybody have a fuel filter sized piece of a
> thermal insulating blanket (the thin, silvered sandwich sort!) that I
> can wrap around my fuel filter. I have only seen it sold in huge
> sheets !

Frosts do something for exhausts as a tape that might help.
http://www.frost.co.uk

Steve

>
>>In the mean time, does anybody have a fuel filter sized piece of a
>>thermal insulating blanket (the thin, silvered sandwich sort!) that I
>>can wrap around my fuel filter. I have only seen it sold in huge
>>sheets !
>
>
> i bought a big sheet of self-adhesive shiney sound/heat proofing for
> the 101 and can probably dig you out an offcut or two if that sort of
> stuff would do?

Tom,

Many thanks.

Yes please.

Cheers

Peter

On Thu, 16 Nov 2006 23:41:29 GMT, puffernutter
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>>
>>>In the mean time, does anybody have a fuel filter sized piece of a
>>>thermal insulating blanket (the thin, silvered sandwich sort!) that I
>>>can wrap around my fuel filter. I have only seen it sold in huge
>>>sheets !
>>
>>
>> i bought a big sheet of self-adhesive shiney sound/heat proofing for
>> the 101 and can probably dig you out an offcut or two if that sort of
>> stuff would do?
>
>Tom,
>
>Many thanks.
>
>Yes please.
>
>Cheers
>
>Peter

What sort of size are you looking for, kinda like a couple of beer
mats stuck together size bits?
I have a bag of offcuts saved somewhere i just need to find it!