Deuce Fuel Tank Blanket

[Wildchild467]

I have seen the Arctic Kits with the grill cover and hood cover.... but did the military ever have a fuel tank blanket? I am thinking how I could keep my fuel tank warmer in the colder months to make the WMO flow good other than thinning the fuel out with diesel. I think the military just switched the fuels from DF2 to something more arctic rated? Is that how they solved the problem of diesel fuel gelling up? I could picture a fuel tank blanket in my head if they had one. Has anybody here ever made one for a deuce and did it/would it help enough to make a difference? Looking at the commercial side: Do fuel tank blankets on OTR trucks really help that much?

 

[wreckerman893]

When it was 35 below zero in Korea we just let the HEMMTs run when we were out in the field. You do not want to try and crank a V-8 Driptroit when it is real cold. I have seen civy truck drivers put cut down oil drums under them with burning diesel to get them started.

 

[rustystud]

When it was 35 below zero in Korea we just let the HEMMTs run when we were out in the field. You do not want to try and crank a V-8 Driptroit when it is real cold. I have seen civy truck drivers put cut down oil drums under them with burning diesel to get them started.

That's what my father did when he was working on the ALCAN highway . It would get 50 to 70 degrees below zero at times and they would take the hub caps off the trucks and put gasoline in them, then they put them under the engine and tranny and differentials. At that temperature gas burns a lot different, more like alcohol does at room temperature. I remember one story he told about a driver who came into the camp with a convoy . He left his engine running (which was normal procedure) while he got something to eat and a short rest. He forgot about the tranny and differential though. After about a couple hours when it was time for the convoy to leave, this driver got into his truck and tried to leave. His differential blew apart ! These where the old style of differentials which where two halfs bolted together.

 

[andy3]

Wildchild467, Move to Ga and never have to worry about that again! We will welcome you with open arms. I cannot even fathom that kind of cold. I think when you are talking that cold you have to thin your mix.

 

[brianp454]

Any heating of fuel should be approched with caution and should always be attended unless proper controls are in place. My 2 cents...

I designed some industrial equipment that used stick-on heaters with orange silicone rubber on them some years ago. I don't recall who supplied them. They were similar to these on McMaster:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#strip-heaters/=u1ubnf

Most of them are rated for AC, yet are fine to operate with DC, although you will drop the wattage significantly. You might run into issues with how much power your alternator can supply. You could also run them to a regular power cord and plug them into an outlet for a bit to warm it up.

I don't like to use a cartridge heater on any type of fuel unless the watt-density is very low, it's always submerged, and I'm sure there is flow past it, etc.

Many folks that use VWO add a heat exchanger (engine coolant heat to the tank). You can also glue silicone rubber (some come with double-sticky on one side) or other tough insulator to keep the heat in (assuming you have some heat source. Another idea (after you have an insulation layer) is to dip it in something like Dip-Seal to seal it up and further insulate it. http://www.dipseal.com/index.html

 

[Wildchild467]

I was not thinking a heated blanket for the fuel tank, only a cover to keep the wind off it. I was also thinking about a liquid to liquid heat exchanger for the return line going to my tank. I was thinking that might help warm the tank up and thin out my fuel. I just don't know the GPM of the injection pump and how effective it would be. I would hook up the heat exchanger between my heater core and the return line going back to the block. That way heating the cab is a priority and heating the fuel is secondary. The only time i would pull my knob out to open the flow to my heater core (knob located in the cab to open the valve) is in cold weather. I wonder how it would work. If the water going into the heat exchanger is say.... 120 degrees and then the fuel coming out of the heat exchanger is say... 100 degrees, then by the time it gets to the tank it might be 80 degrees. That would help keep my fuel warmer. I would have to get an IR gun and see what the temps are now without all of that before I make modifications. It is fun sometimes just to collect data

 

[brianp454]

You can make a simple copper heat exchanger with materials at your local HW store. Say a 1/2 inch through tube with 3/4 inch tube over it and a T and reducer on each end. If you do a web search for it many engineering schools have student make a simple heat exchanger like this in the lab for an entry heat transfer course. You'll likely find plans to make the heat exchanger and info on how much heat it can exchange under given conditions. I would ground the exchanger to the chassis.

You get best efficiency by routing the fluids in a cross flow configuration. One fluid goes straight through the inner tube and the other routes the opposite way by going in and out the T at the ends. If it's say 12-18 inches long I would expect the fuel to be heated close of the temp of the coolant as long as the coolant flow rate is decent (likely is if you're using the coolant lines as you suggest).

You can also use simple plumbing insulation over the lines so that they have reduced losses (to the atmosphere).