best engine heater install for 350

[glindy]

What would be the best type of heater to put on 152 engine?
I see a 1/2 pipe plug on the left water pump housing and a bypass hose under the thermostat housing, going to the right side of water pump housing to possibly plumb into with a tee fitting.
There doesn't appear to be enough room to put a lower radiator hose style heater on it. So that would seem to limit it to a heater hose circulation type , say 800-1000 watt?

[Scottyb]

I do not know what the best would be, however, my 350b has a heater mounted just back of the injector pump and circulates in and out of plug holes on the left side of the block. Heats it up nicely in an hour on the coldest days. I have the same set up on another 350 parts machine. Both were already installed when I bought them, so I assumed they were all that way.

[glindy]

I didn't see any plug hole on the blocks left side,just the 1/2 one on the water pump and the drain plug hole. I have located a 1500 watt ext 135-175deg aluminum tank for ~$36 from kats that looks like it would work. But need a place to route it to the block.
Would you have any pics of where yours goes in the block? I found the free yahoo flickr photo site works well to attach links here.

Thanks

[Lavoy]

Normally the inlet is the block drain on the side of the block, and you put a tee in the temp sender hole for the return.
1500 watts is plenty big, I think it put an 850 on mine, works fine.
Lavoy

[glindy]

OK, so Basically I'll need fittings for the drain hole and temp hole to match up to the heater. I'm betting its 5/8 size,but I'll wait till it arrives then get the fittings and extra hose to install.
Having the heater output enter at the lowest block level,and the heater return higher should help circulate the coolant better correct?

Thanks Lavoy

[Lavoy]

Block drain should be 1/4" NPT if I remember correctly, and the temp sender 1/2" NPT.
Lavoy

[jdemaris]

What would be the best type of heater to put on 152 engine?
I see a 1/2 pipe plug on the left water pump housing and a bypass hose under the thermostat housing, going to the right side of water pump housing to possibly plumb into with a tee fitting.
There doesn't appear to be enough room to put a lower radiator hose style heater on it. So that would seem to limit it to a heater hose circulation type , say 800-1000 watt?

On the 152, running a hose from the thermstat housing down to the engine block is the preferred setup for a tank heater. On early Deere 152s, there is a raised circular boss on the thermostat housing. You drill it out and tap if for pipe threads and then install a nipple. Later 152s come from the factory with it already tapped and plugged. Here are some photos of the 152 in my backhoe-wheel tractor. The thermostat filler neck housing maybe shaped a little different on your 350.

The wattage/size is up to you. The bigger it is - the faster it heats. If you want a heater that will get the engine warm enough to start in an hour when it below zero out - a 1500 or 2000 watt unit works well. If you always plan ahead and give the heater a lot of time, a 1000 watt unit works OK. I have 1500 or 2000 watt heaters on all my tractors. They all have internal thermostats and won't overheat.

If you park away from grid power -then a small heater works better if you have to use a portable generator.

[NWJD fan]

On my 350 the lower fitting is the drain cock as shown in the previous photo but for the upper fitting the pipe plug that is partially obscured behind the throttle linkage is used. 850 watt heater generally makes the water gallery on the block feel nice and warm in around an hour down to 0 fahrenheit and it will usually start without ether. The heater tucks in quite nicely between the engine block and side frame.

[Scottyb]

My heater fits the same way with a few elbows and small pipes. Best thing is it tucks in there nicely so that the engine side cover fits on without any problem. One issue is that my plumbing is in the way of the flywheel cover for the timing pin, and I need to remove a hose when I need to get at it. No big deal really, as I need the engine covers on in the forest.
Scott

[john907]

The tank heaters work well, but if temps are cold and the oil is thick cranking speed will hinder starting, A oil heating pad 100W applied with some ultra copper RTV will thin things up on the lower end. Think mine is 150W but its a little colder in my neck of the woods.
The unit marris posted pics of is plumbed right. My 450b was plumbed the same by the prior owner but installed horizontally. It will work in this fashon but dosen't circulate well and will burn out itself after a while.
The premis is the unit warms the coolant it rises into the head drawing cooler fluid in the bottom(where a crude check valve is). Having higher wattage heaters shortens the duration the unit needs to be pluged in for. Before it will start.

[NWJD fan]

An oil pan heater is a good point. I run 5-40 synthetic oil in my engine which cranks well at pretty low temps but still like to use one or 2 200 watt magnetic heat pad on the engine oil pan and one or 2 on the reverser as well if the temp is down in the -20s.

[glindy]

Finally heater installed today.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7112/8165 ... 3959_m.jpg


Fittings cost more than it did,hopefully this location will work well to circulated heat. I do know at 1500w, it gets HOT quick.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8337/8165 ... 601e_m.jpg

[Frankdozer]

It's hard to see in the picture where you tapped in on the top of the engine....... Was that the temperature gauge sending unit port? Looks like you added a small llength of pipe, a tee with a hose barb takeoff and then reinstalled the sending unit.................Have you tried it yet? Thanks, Frank