Oil immersion heater
Oil immersion heater
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cdt

Original Poster:

537 posts

311 months

Thursday 28th September 2006
quotequote all
Another post, pre-empting winter ...

Can the engine block (or something else) be fitted with an immersion or other electic heater to pre-warm the oil/engine which could be plugged into the mains.

It would remove the need for a warm up, improve fuel efficieny and give nice warm air straight away.

I'm sure someone bought something similar last year.

hamish400

276 posts

286 months

Thursday 28th September 2006
quotequote all
Kenlowe do a pump/heater unit that is plumbed in to the water cooling circuit. Look for "hotstart" on www.kenlowe.com

Rgds
Hamish

hamish400

276 posts

286 months

Thursday 28th September 2006
quotequote all
Full web address for hotstart :-
www.kenlowe.com/pre-heaters/cars/whatwill.html

Rgds
Hamish

dickymint

29,078 posts

287 months

Friday 29th September 2006
quotequote all
cdt said:
Another post, pre-empting winter ...

Can the engine block (or something else) be fitted with an immersion or other electic heater to pre-warm the oil/engine which could be plugged into the mains.

It would remove the need for a warm up, improve fuel efficieny and give nice warm air straight away.

I'm sure someone bought something similar last year.


I have one if your interested, bought but never fitted, still in box.

leorest

2,346 posts

268 months

Friday 29th September 2006
quotequote all
Thought this was going to be about oil fuelled heaters for the garage/workshop. I've been looking for one for a while without success.

My cheap and cheerful pre-heater used to be a couple of fan heaters on a timer switch. Set to come on half an hour before I went to work. One placed on the garage floor pointing under the front of the car (warms radiator and block) and the other, set very low (*), placed in the passenger foot-well.

(*) I got carried away once and set it too hot… Think this is why all the veneer curled up and departed

cdt

Original Poster:

537 posts

311 months

Friday 29th September 2006
quotequote all
dickymint said:
cdt said:
Another post, pre-empting winter ...

Can the engine block (or something else) be fitted with an immersion or other electic heater to pre-warm the oil/engine which could be plugged into the mains.

It would remove the need for a warm up, improve fuel efficieny and give nice warm air straight away.

I'm sure someone bought something similar last year.


I have one if your interested, bought but never fitted, still in box.


Are they hard to fit?
Any idea on what labour would be involved if a mechanic fitted it?
How much would you want for it?

dickymint

29,078 posts

287 months

Friday 29th September 2006
quotequote all
cdt said:
dickymint said:
cdt said:
Another post, pre-empting winter ...

Can the engine block (or something else) be fitted with an immersion or other electic heater to pre-warm the oil/engine which could be plugged into the mains.

It would remove the need for a warm up, improve fuel efficieny and give nice warm air straight away.

I'm sure someone bought something similar last year.


I have one if your interested, bought but never fitted, still in box.


Are they hard to fit?
Any idea on what labour would be involved if a mechanic fitted it?
How much would you want for it?


I'd say easy to fit,
Maybe 2-3 hours garage labour (cos they're skankers )
What I paid for it off ebay plus postage - will find price when i get home.

It can also be wired to turn the cabin heater fan on when up to temperature.

number 7

4,113 posts

291 months

Friday 29th September 2006
quotequote all
I ran one in my old 350i for a few years - worked very well usually. It's basically a 3kw electric heater and pump that you splice into the coolant system. So you need mains electrics to plug into - I used to use a timer as well. About 3/4 hr got the coolant up to 40/50 C IIRC. I found the best place for it was in the n/s engine bay well in the space where the washer bottle goes. Ideally it needed to be a bit lower to avoid airlocks.

7.