reducing wear on your equipment

LDB · Feb 8, 2007

I'm always looking for things to save money or wear. Right now we have to have heat in the sleeper. My Rigmaster provides plenty however I have a small heater by Holmes. It plugs into the outlet for my Rigmaster. By using it I don't run the fan system of the Rigmaster and save it exclusively for air conditioning the sleeper. My little heater cost about $12 and I figure it saves me about 40% of the wear on the fan system of the Rigmaster. That should hopefully give me 40% longer air conditioning before the inevitable wear/repair. Another benefit is I can take the heater in with me when I go shower and have a nice warm shower room.

Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB, OOIDA Life Member 677319
Owner, Panther trucks 5508, 5509, 5641
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greg334 · Feb 8, 2007

Leo,
I first read this and thought of my great uncle. He would hold the turn signal to the detent position, not engaging the detent at all so not to wear out the turn signal control.

But after my laugh, I read it again.

So I got to thank you, you gave me a solution to my wifes complaints that my Dodge has no heat.

Paul56 · Feb 8, 2007

That is certainly a good idea!

At the cottage and in the sleeper, when alone which is rare, I can sleep fine with no heat. Some say I'm cold blooded. Sure, upon waking it is cold but that is quickly corrected.

Now, when Nicole is with me which is most of the time the sleeping quarters have to be toasty warm at all times... so the economics and my personal preferences go out the window.

The things I do to keep the peace. :+

simon says · Feb 9, 2007

You are one brave man (no heat!) However, I will say that the Webasto air heater I have throws so much heat in this cold, that when I get up, I can't stand near the outlet or my feet are scorched. I turn it down to about 1/3 and close my curtain about halfway, and I am as warm as a bug in a rug. Great product...
I believe the Comfort Pro system also uses the Webasto for heat- that would be the way to go from what I have been told. The thermal content beats any other heating system from any generator/fan fired system.

ABEJR2004 · Feb 9, 2007

Hey LDB,

I think I need to go the Plug In Heater route. While my ProHeat is ok
I found it was just bearly keeping the chill off in the sleeper this past week. I felt it was just too cold around the Michagan area to not run the Engine. I hate to idle and I will not even run Proheat if I can get away from it. At times will use idle air just to give everything a break.

AbeJr
TranStewart #6680
Stand Tall & Be Proud

tom tinker · Feb 9, 2007

Hey Leo good idea, I thought drivers would have been using these right a long. My thought for yrs is truck stop out lets for electricity. Problem trucks running over the post or outlets. Pay to park w/electric.:+

greg334 · Feb 9, 2007

Now please remind me, which APU units use the heater strip in the sleeper module? I have been told that the heater strip don't heat as well as the heating system that uses the coolant of the APU engine.

By the way Leo, I got two heaters now, one for the wife and one for the truck. and I got a couple of those dip stick heaters to heat my fuel up seeing that the truck sat since monday.

LDB · Feb 9, 2007

I have a ProHeat on my first truck that my team runs. It usually did ok on heating but sometimes the cold overpowered it. I got the small heater to supplement it and soon after that realized I could use the electricity the ProHeat generated to run the heater on 1500 watts and get all the heat I needed without running the PH heater. I've used the electric heater almost exclusively since then since I'd have to run the APU engine either way and the electricity comes at no extra charge from running the APU. I figure it's lots cheaper if I have to buy a new $12 heater every couple of years than replacing the blower motor for the APU hvac system.

Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB, OOIDA Life Member 677319
Owner, Panther trucks 5508, 5509, 5641
Highway Watch Participant, Truckerbuddy
EO Forum Moderator
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Broompilot · Feb 10, 2007

The Pro-Heat system believe it or not works better when its used and used hard! Just like any vehicle thats not driven it falls apart, pay for the PMs that they require and do not worry about it. Heat is heat and is gona use maybee more fuel to run the space heater than what the Pro-Heat or other APUs are designed to do.

Now in last weeks weather, if your APU did not do well it probably did, the extreme cold makes it impossible to keep it comfortable in those conditions -17F plus 20-25mpg winds=Hotel+ one cranky driver+one frozen filter.

My unit works great until it gets below 5F than forget it, head south or to a hotel.

Broompilot · Feb 10, 2007

One more thing, I do carry a medium size fan in the truck for when there is no need for AC like when the sun starts warming the truck. But I purchased the APU unit to be compact.

I have seen the insides of some peoples trucks and how you get that much stuff inside that small of a space and still put a load on a truck and still stay under weight well some miracles do happen.

In my opinion your duplicating what was already purchased and I when I invest in something I am gona use it. Just my comments what works for me may not work for you.

ABEJR2004 · Feb 10, 2007

Hey Broompilot,

I hear what ya saying, This is my first winter with the ProHeat and I was a little concerned when the weather got really cold. One thing I did also do was get a privacy curtin around the front windsheid and that help keep the draft down a great deal.

AbeJr
TranStewart #6680
Stand Tall & Be Proud

LDB · Feb 10, 2007

It helps to put curtains up around all the windows as well as anything else that further insulates the unit however what I'm talking about is reducing wear on components with a finite lifespan. Heat is created by the engine running and heating the coolant. It is circulated through the sleeper by turning on the fan system in the unit. The engine runs at the same rpm and load whether that fan is on or not. The load increases when the a/c is switched on and the compressor kicks in but not from just the fan to circulate the heat. By using my plug in heater I keep my sleeper comfortable but do not run the circulating fan of the APU system that has a finite working lifespan. That saves the fan for when I have to use the a/c system that must use the fan to operate. Other people's systems may work differently but at least for mine it's a definite wear saver that has zero adverse effect and total positive effect.

Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB, OOIDA Life Member 677319
Owner, Panther trucks 5508, 5509, 5641
Highway Watch Participant, Truckerbuddy
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jaminjim · Feb 11, 2007

Greg said:
"By the way Leo, I got two heaters now, one for the wife and one for the truck. and I got a couple of those dip stick heaters to heat my fuel up seeing that the truck sat since monday."

Greg I would be carefull with those dip stick heaters. Being a newbie cooking buff I have a digital meat themomter(sp). I put one of those heaters in the engine, but being curious how hot it would get I pluged it in in the kitchen. Over 350 degrees. I know that being outside and in cold fuel will suck alot of the heat off, but be carefull.

Broompilot · Feb 11, 2007

Leo your not going to agree, but you created the post.

This reminds me of guy who bought his wife a new car and than had a fit everytime she drove it. Why? Because he did not want any miles on the odometer? Make some sense?

That is what maintaining a piece of equipment is all about. I am not about to not use something I invested into. Sure I want it to last as long as possible and sometimes that means bitting the bullet and paying for PM or replacement.

I will bet that the charge to replace the blower fan is at most minimal, what at most $300.

Instead of you have another item lying on the floor to trip over, roll a cord up and store. The biggest savings we owners of APUs recieve is the biggest expense the Main Engines wear and Tear of Ideling theese, the savings we recieve from using the APU far offsets the cost of a Fan Motor, I see your point I just dissagree, and do not let the little things bug me, and certinaly will not let it be another inconvience like tripping over a wire in the sleeper.

grog111 · Feb 11, 2007

Has anybody ever used one of those coleman propane heaters. I talked to a tri-state guy who did, and i thought that the idea sounded good in theory...but... when i read the side of the box, it said you'd need at least a six inch square source of fresh air at all times. I think you'd lose as much as you gain heat wise. And frankly, it just kinda scares me.

greg334 · Feb 11, 2007

jaminjim

Oh believe me that is a bug concern. Well it worked really well, to temp at the begining (17), during (27) and about an hour later (36). truck started right up.

I went out of my way to buy two used dipstick heaters off my brother-in-law because I could not find the good ones anywhere. These have thremosats (switches) in them and stop heating when the temp reaches 200. He got them from Ford and I am trying to get the part numbers to post.

As for the coleman heater, I got one and just bought a buddy heater for the truck. The coleman I ran only for a while and I opened the window where I would get a slight draft 3/4 of an inch. got the heat needed and the air too.

Moot · Feb 11, 2007

I use a Mr. Buddy propane heater in my van. But I turn it off and unscrew the propane bottle before I retire for the night. The manufacturer claims these are safe to use indoors but warn against operating it in a room used for sleeping. It has a low oxygen sensor that will shut the unit down in the event of low oxygen. I have had no ill effects from this heater. But I don't trust it enough to run it while sleeping. The thought of waking up dead bothers me!

highway star · Feb 11, 2007

Moot, if you were to connect electrodes to your testicles and connect them to the low oxygen sensor, you would probably wake up before you died.

LDB · Feb 11, 2007

Kraig, I agree with the point of running an APU and not the main engine and that's what I do. I don't think it makes any difference whether I turn on the heater portion of the APU or use my plug in heater as far as the longevity of the APU itself. I think what it does do is save a lot of wear on the blower system of the hvac portion of the APU. I agree it's something else on the floor but a 4x7 inch footprint in the amount of floor space I have is no biggie. It sits in a corner out of the way but doing it's job. If that blower is good for say 5 years and by only using it during a/c season I get 7 years then I've spent $300 in 7 years not 5 for a $12 investment. I also get to put this heater in my bag and take in each time I shower to be more comfortable then. I'm all for doing whatever anyone thinks is best. I just tossed this out as a way to save wear and tear on a system with a finite lifespan. I believe it does that with no possible bad side.

Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB, OOIDA Life Member 677319
Owner, Panther trucks 5508, 5509, 5641
Highway Watch Participant, Truckerbuddy
EO Forum Moderator
----------
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.