Webasto Heater?

[hank0311]

I've only had the truck for a couple of weeks now and am still going over the manuals and learning what I can as I come across things. I noticed this a few days back and realized that I've not seen one on a truck before and I wasn't able to find it in the manuals.

I believe I've narrowed it down to either an AC or a Heater from Google searching but the site is still a bit vague. All writing on the component itself is in German so that's no help either. It looks pretty new and well kept. I'm leaning towards a heater but still wouldn't have the first clue on how it works.

Any help on what it is and follow on information would be appreciated.

Henry

 

[biscuitwhistler37]

So after a very confusing time on Google, my hypothesis is you have a wabasto water/coolant heater, A/C units seem to have the condenser and lines next to the cylinder. On the back side, there should be a "water manifold" with in/out ports where the coolant lines should be run. From what I gather, they're not cheap units and are incredibly efficient. Is there a label anywhere on the unit that gives either a KW or Voltage rating?

 

[flyfishtrailer]

I would suggest posting this in the FMTV forum and you will get a much better response regarding this heater. What truck model and year is this from? Was this added by the previous owner, or did it come on there from the military? @Guyfang can you move this over please?

 

[Guyfang]

Your wish, is my command!

 

[hike]

I don't know anything about the Webasto heaters though the Arctic Kit Troop Heater schematic is on sheet 19 of the FMTVA1 schematics here on SS in the TM section—

 

[Ronmar]

Yep, thats a DC powered, diesel fired water heater/arctic kit…

 

[Skyhawk13205]

It is part of the Arctic kit, I spent a couple of day installing one from a doner truck, there are two coolant valves under the skid plate underneath the radiator that direct coolant flow. You need to remove the valves and clean them before you use the heater, I didn’t and it overheated the heater, if you overheat the heater it melts the overheat switch and it cost about $50 for a new switch. There is also a fuel filter module attached the hydraulic pump cover that needs to be changed or tightened. To use the heater you need to have the heater core valve to open and the Arctic heater switch to on. The arctic heater switch should be on the options panel. I use mine all the time, any time below 20 deg and I run it for about 45 min.

 

[NDT]

On my '98, the heater is parallel with the frame, not sticking out perpendicular. The control switch is in the dash not the option panel.

 

[hank0311]

It is part of the Arctic kit, I spent a couple of day installing one from a doner truck, there are two coolant valves under the skid plate underneath the radiator that direct coolant flow. You need to remove the valves and clean them before you use the heater, I didn’t and it overheated the heater, if you overheat the heater it melts the overheat switch and it cost about $50 for a new switch. There is also a fuel filter module attached the hydraulic pump cover that needs to be changed or tightened. To use the heater you need to have the heater core valve to open and the Arctic heater switch to on. The arctic heater switch should be on the options panel. I use mine all the time, any time below 20 deg and I run it for about 45 min.

And this is the heater for the cab? Does the cab then have two heaters in total when this is installed?
I'm guessing from the information provided it's for a lot colder temperatures.

 

[NDT]

And this is the heater for the cab? Does the cab then have two heaters in total when this is installed?
I'm guessing from the information provided it's for a lot colder temperatures.

It’s only for engine coolant heating.

 

[hike]

I wonder if it could be repurposed to hydronically heat a habitat?

 

[Wingnut13]

Nice! I’m love to install one on my truck. The entry price is kinda steep from what I’ve seen.

I suppose a quick way to see if it will heat the cab is to run the unit. Turn truck power on and without starting the engine see if the HVAC fan will heat the cab. If that works then you’d just need to power the fan with maybe a aquastat to turn the fan on once the coolant is warm enough .

 

[Skyhawk13205]

Nice! I’m love to install one on my truck. The entry price is kinda steep from what I’ve seen.

I suppose a quick way to see if it will heat the cab is to run the unit. Turn truck power on and without starting the engine see if the HVAC fan will heat the cab. If that works then you’d just need to power the fan with maybe a aquastat to turn the fan on once the coolant is warm enough .

It is a nice unit, I am not sure it is worth the price point.

On my truck it gets the coolant to about 50-60 deg at about 20 deg ambient, I am not sure it has enough power to heat the engine and get the cab warm. When I did that to test the unit the air coming from the vent is luke warm. I could have a poor performing unit or poor flow. Maybe it might be better on another unit.

 

[Skyhawk13205]

I wonder if it could be repurposed to hydronically heat a habitat?

The one for the arctic kit is the 24v DBW 2010 It is a 10kw unit. The 12v units are common on school busses, they are called the webasto DBW2020 and 30 The school bus ones are orange and usually called the scholastic heaters. I don’t think they are every efficient in electrical or fuel for what most people want for a habitat. They do put out a lot of heat.

 

[Ronmar]

In order to get cab heat it would need to flow thru the cab heater, and I suspect the plumbing does not encourage this as the goal is to get the engine warm. Where exactly are its two hoses connected to the cooling system?

A 1500W block heater delivers ~5100 BTU/HR into the coolant, so a 10KBTU webasto would heat the engine twice as fast as a 1500w block heater… If it were connected directly to the cab heater I suspect it would deliver as much heat as a pair of small 1500W space heaters…

 

[Skyhawk13205]

In order to get cab heat it would need to flow thru the cab heater, and I suspect the plumbing does not encourage this as the goal is to get the engine warm. Where exactly are its two hoses connected to the cooling system?

A 1500W block heater delivers ~5100 BTU/HR into the coolant, so a 10KBTU webasto would heat the engine twice as fast as a 1500w block heater… If it were connected directly to the cab heater I suspect it would deliver as much heat as a pair of small 1500W space heaters…

The heater is 13Kw or 45k btu. I keep forgetting that it is higher than 10kw.

 

[Ronmar]

The heater is 13Kw or 45k BTU. I keep forgetting that it is higher than 10kw.

Oh yea, that's a lot of heat. So where do the hoses attach to the engine plumbing? If I were hooking it up, I would want it to inject heat at the transmission cooler-radiator junction, and return coolant from the thermostat housing. this way heated coolant would flow thru the trans cooler, and thru the entire engine block/head before returning to the boiler. That much heat should warm the engine block/head enough to start easily in a fairly short period of time. If you keep it engaged after engine start, it would also warm up the transmission and provide cabin heat...

@Skyhawk13205, how long did you run it to get to 50-60 @20F ambient? 13KW/42000BTU is a lot of heat... it sounds like you may have a fuel/burner or coolant flow issue...