 | Home > Technical > How to boost heat output '94 110 CSW |
 
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| camelman Member Since: 27 Feb 2013 Location: Peak District Posts: 3384  
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Install a Chinese Diesel heater, cost around £100 in the UK.
Cab warms up in no time and you don't need the engine running. You can also preprogram it to come on automatically before you need to use the car. https://www.defender2.net/forum/topic66584.html?highlight=chinese  |
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2nd Nov 2021 3:30pm |
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| donmacn Member Since: 06 Nov 2017 Location: Nth Scotland Posts: 1850 
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Welcome to another '1994 110 SW owner!
^^^ I think Camelman's answer may be the easiest in terms of pre-heat for the cab, but for the sake of completeness I'll mention a couple of other things. You mentioned a heated windscreen - a really great idea. It will melt the ice in the morning, but it will also help to melt the snow that builds up beside/underneath the wipers as you're driving along, and will demist the inside of the windscreen. Well worth thinking about. Allisport over here do a bigger heater matrix. It's a little bit of work to fettle into the heater box, in place of the original, but nothing too difficult and the whole thing still looks like it did leaving the factory. Obviously this won't make things any 'hotter' - the coolant temperature is what it is - but the bigger matrix means there's more hot water in the matrix to be blown through into the cab, so you would definitely feel more heat in the cab once the engine's warmed up. Getting the engine up to temperature you might think about a radiator muff? As I understand it the Tdi's are designed to run cold (88-91'C) to cope with hotter climates. So all that cooling might not be what you want in the middle of a cold continent. A muff would help the engine run at/nearer its intended operating temperature. Though I live in the nth of Scotland I've never fitted one, but an average-ish cold day for us in winter might be around the freezing mark or a little below. Extended temps of below -10'c would be unusual. If you've no rear seat passengers, you could even think of a cab 'blanket'? Something set up behind the front seats to minimise heat loss to the back of the car? An upgraded heater fan control is a good thing - Landreiziger in Dordrecht, Netherlands do one - basically you get a linear control of the fan speed and able to push more hot air through your bigger matrix! 'Grafty' on here also did some modified heater vents (the outlets by your knees) to have swivels on them - if I've no front seat passenger I find I can turn that one either towards me for extra toastiness, or towards the opposite window to keep it clear. Finally - engine pre-heaters. Kenlowe used to do electric ones you plumbed into your coolant system, and then plugged in to a handy electric socket. Not sure they did 120v versions, or even if these are still available. A common alternative is a 'thermotop' taken from another vehicle - or it might even be possible to take one of the diesel heaters mentioned above and plumb that in somehow. This would mean your engine would be warmer when you started = quicker heat up time, and less engine wear. Think that's about it! Can you tell I've given this some thought....? I wonder if your cold will be 'drier' and therefore more comfortable? Our cold is definitely very, very wet and makes it more unpleasant. Donald 1994 Defender 300Tdi 110 SW - owned since 2002 - 230k miles and going strong (The 'rolling restoration' or tinkering thread: http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic58538.html ) 2000 Range Rover P38 4.0L V8 in the past.. RR classic - fitted with 200Tdi 1984 RR classic - V8 with ZF auto box 1993 Discovery 300Tdi not to mention the minis and the Type 2 VW camper... |
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2nd Nov 2021 5:16pm |
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| bergxu Member Since: 24 Oct 2021 Location: Cincinnati Posts: 2  
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Thanks for the speedy replies gents, the diesel cab heater is an interesting thought but not sure if I’ve got a weekend to spare in regard to having the time to plumb that lot in, however that could be a good option to have a fiddle with next spring.
Donald; appreciate the litany of suggestions, thank you! I’ve seen the Allisport matrix and it does look the business, so that’s certainly a distinct possibility. As for the radiator muff, I’ve not ever used one before on any of my other diesels but it does seem that the 300Tdi runs on the cooler side, so I’ll probably order one of those up as I can see it being quite helpful. I know the big semi trucks here use them in the winter. Does the upgraded heater control switch give a higher top speed of the booster fan? That would definitely be my #1 if so! And the modified knee vents also sound a pleasant option! The old Mercedes diesels I’ve had did have engine block heaters which were fantastic in getting them up to operating temp pretty quickly. I don’t know if the LR ones are similar but on the Mercs you’d remove a freeze plug on the side of the block and thread the heater element plug in then route the electric cord up somewhere near the front grille and that was it, plug in at night, keep the coolant at about 30C and would make for pretty quick heating the next morning when you set off. I do really like the idea of the heated windscreen, my L322 Range Rover has it and definitely you can’t beat it for melting the morning frost and keeping the blades from freezing when on the highway. As I need to replace the bulkhead on my 110, I’d figured I’d do the heated screen upgrade when all that is apart, so that’ll again be a 2022 project. They’re predicting a *warm* winter here, for what that’s worth. We’ll see, my money says to bet on the opposite of what the weather man says! Cheers, Aaron |
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2nd Nov 2021 7:01pm |
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| donmacn Member Since: 06 Nov 2017 Location: Nth Scotland Posts: 1850
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Happy to help if I can.
On the diesel heater option, I know it’s possible to make it into a self-contained and separate thing, along the lines of fitting the heater into a metal box with its own fuel supply and a small battery. I don’t think it would take too much further thought to rig up an exhaust too. That way you could maybe make it something you could lift in and out as required?? That could be made up in your workshop or garage as time permits? I can’t say for sure this is possible, but I do know some folk have made them with their own fuel supply. On the heater switch, I don’t know for sure if it makes the fan run quicker but it does feel like it. Martin at Landreiziger would be able to confirm that. The Kenlowe block heaters I had needed to be plumbed into the coolant circuit somewhere convenient. It was essentially a mini electric kettle with a small pump in it to circulate the coolant around the engine and matrix. It was even possible to wire it into your fan control somehow so that once the coolant reached a certain temperature the fan would heat up the interior. I had it in the car for a while, but at some point it was taken out and I just never got round to refitting it. The car spends most of its time in a garage now (though not heated) or under a carport, so I haven’t felt it was really a priority. The bulkhead job will be fun…. definitely a good idea to do the screen then, as well as make up a list of all the other things it’s clever to do “while you’re there”. Donald 1994 Defender 300Tdi 110 SW - owned since 2002 - 230k miles and going strong (The 'rolling restoration' or tinkering thread: http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic58538.html ) 2000 Range Rover P38 4.0L V8 in the past.. RR classic - fitted with 200Tdi 1984 RR classic - V8 with ZF auto box 1993 Discovery 300Tdi not to mention the minis and the Type 2 VW camper... |
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2nd Nov 2021 8:01pm |
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| camelman Member Since: 27 Feb 2013 Location: Peak District Posts: 3384
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Its a proper faff having a seperate fuel supply for the diesel heater, I've been there!! Much easier to plumb it into the fuel line. You can buy a pipe that sits in the fuel filler pipe so you don't have to drop / drill the tank. Like this:
If you do want to go full standalone / removable, these are also readily available for £100, just need to ensure the intake and exhaust are clear of the cab to ensure fumes don't get pulled in as this would be bad.... Click image to enlarge |
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2nd Nov 2021 8:51pm |
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| AJC Member Since: 30 Nov 2015 Location: Lancashire Posts: 1364
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i fitted an eberspecher night heater under the second row, exhaust goes out through n/s/r arch and supply is via the adaptor in the fuel neck, runs from leisure battery under passenger seat. all in all it probably took me 3 hours to do properly. i haven't got a timer on mine but since fitting it it has been upgraded to living in a garage so it's not used as much as it once was.
i fitted a silencer to the exhaust which made it a lot quieter. |
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3rd Nov 2021 7:24am |
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