68 replies to this topic

[Priggy]

Here's my Engine heater made today I first made it out of mild steel and tried it and it heated the engine but I felt it lost a lot of heat through the material nd plus I couldn't pick it up so I've added a nylon sleeve over the steel to insulate it and also I can now pick it up!

http://img585.images...i/imagepat.jpg/

http://img818.images...i/imagegeu.jpg/

Oh these pictures dont have the cable and cigarette lighter on it

Edited by Priggy, 03 February 2012 - 03:52 PM.

[stephenmarr]

ow about this
http://www.ebay.co.u...=item3f10eeb67b
may not be hot enough

[Ziggy122]

To the people using a h4 bulb - They are the Dipped beam and Hi Beam headlights

So if you double the Positives to the correct poles the bulb will be alot hotter = More power used tho = But hotter engine quicker

One thing i would like people to consider, i know its just a bulb, but where is the user protection from shorting? An inline fuse is cheap off ebay or maplins and could save your donkeys


Ziggy

Edited by Ziggy122, 04 February 2012 - 10:04 AM.

[jason3249]

Slimeon, on 30 January 2012 - 08:59 PM, said:

I built my own engine warmer out of a can of peas and a 55w headlight bulb. Takes about 10 mins to get my engine up to 185f.

That is class and a lot cheaper to what fuse do you need to run the bulb are keep this in mind thanks....:-)

Edited by jason3249, 04 February 2012 - 07:45 PM.

[simont]

i do like these guys fair play time to mooch around work me thinks

[anton]

Ok, here's my home-made effort (the Mk. 2 version!) ...





And like others, the basis of this is a cheap stainless flask and a 55w H4 car head-light bulb.  The advantage of using the flask for the body is that its double skin means it will always be cool to the touch.  Also, as mentioned above, use a dip/main beam bulb and wire it so that both the dip and main beam filaments come on at the same time, hence more wattage and more heat.  Also, Halfords sell a connector that fits directly onto the H4 bulbs, so you don't have to use crimped spade connectors if you don't want to.

And this is what I did ...

Take your cheap, pound shop flask ....



Remove the lid and the plastic spout ...



The top (spout) end will be the bit that holds the bulb.  Drill holes around the two edges of the spout (red dots in the picture below).  These serve as both airvents to channel the heat down (if you decide to fit a fan like I did) and as clamping points for the springs I use to hold the bulb on.



Next, chop it roughly in half using a hack saw, dremel, angle grinder, sword etc ...



If you want to fit a fan (recommended), now cut an appropriately sized, round hole in the base, and a hole in the side for the cable to come out of  ...



That's the hard bit done.  Now mount your bulb in the spout part, held in place using two old exhaust springs, hooked into the holes you drilled earlier.  Mount your fan in the base using glue, silicone, or gaffa tape.  Wire up the bulb and feed the wires through the hole in the base, then (as the flask has a slight taper) slide the base over the bulb.  It should form a neat jam fit so that you can easily slide it open again if you want to change the bulb (I keep a spare in the tool box).  I used some two-core mains cable, an in-line light switch, and some large crock-clips to attach it to my 12v battery.   The fan is a cheap Maplin's job (this one I think: http://www.maplin.co...10mm-fan-105028) which is simply wired in parallel to the bulb and hence comes on at the same time.  Just make sure you wire it so that it blows and not sucks! These can draw some serious current so I wouldn't run it off your starter box battery.

Edited by anton, 05 February 2012 - 05:10 PM.

[anton]

Just a little addition about the power consumption of these heaters ...

The H4 bulbs are usually rated at 55w/60w.  The total wattage will depend on whether you light one or both filaments.  For the sake of argument, lets assume a total of 60watts.  Assuming also, a constant power supply (batteries aren't, but for this exersize, lets assume a constant voltage) of 12v, the current (amps) that it draws, is worked out by dividing the wattage by the volts i.e. 60w / 12v = 5amps.  Most starter boxes run off 12v, 7Ah (7 amps per hour) lead acid batteries.  This means that they can supply 12v at 1 amp for 7 hours, or 12v at 7 amps for one hour.  Hence, a 12v bulb drawing 5amps, will flatten a 7Ah in 1.4 hours!   This might seem like ages, but if you are racing for a day, running 4 qualifiers and a final, leaving the heater on for 10mins at a time, that's a big hit on your starter box battery.

As for using a lipo battery, that sounds like an expensive (and possibly risky) alternative given that 3 cell (11.1v) lipos are something in the region of £45 (a 12v 7Ah lead acid battery can be had for as little as £15) and have a rating of around 3800mah = 3.8Ah.  Using our 5amp heater, these will flatten in less than an hour.  You also need to be careful you don't flatten a lipo so you should really only use one with a low voltage detector / alarm.  Hope that all made sense!

[Ziggy122]

jason3249, on 04 February 2012 - 07:38 PM, said:

That is class and a lot cheaper to what fuse do you need to run the bulb are keep this in mind thanks....:-)

If you use a cigarette lighter plug - then there is usually a fuse built into the Nose of it - So its protected as long as you have a reasonable suited Fuse

Say you have a 12v Lead acid battery - The Bulb is a 55w - it uses 4.58amps
So idearly a 5amp would protect nicely, but if its a Pulse start bulb - ie spikes high onstart up it might keep popping a 5amp, so a 6amp or 7.5 will doo
The fuse in these sort of circumstance is to prevent a major short should something happen

anton, on 05 February 2012 - 05:47 PM, said:

Just a little addition about the power consumption of these heaters ...

The H4 bulbs are usually rated at 55w/60w.  The total wattage will depend on whether you light one or both filaments.  For the sake of argument, lets assume a total of 60watts.  Assuming also, a constant power supply (batteries aren't, but for this exersize, lets assume a constant voltage) of 12v, the current (amps) that it draws, is worked out by dividing the wattage by the volts i.e. 60w / 12v = 5amps.  Most starter boxes run off 12v, 7Ah (7 amps per hour) lead acid batteries.  This means that they can supply 12v at 1 amp for 7 hours, or 12v at 7 amps for one hour.  Hence, a 12v bulb drawing 5amps, will flatten a 7Ah in 1.4 hours!   This might seem like ages, but if you are racing for a day, running 4 qualifiers and a final, leaving the heater on for 10mins at a time, that's a big hit on your starter box battery.

As for using a lipo battery, that sounds like an expensive (and possibly risky) alternative given that 3 cell (11.1v) lipos are something in the region of £45 (a 12v 7Ah lead acid battery can be had for as little as £15) and have a rating of around 3800mah = 3.8Ah.  Using our 5amp heater, these will flatten in less than an hour.  You also need to be careful you don't flatten a lipo so you should really only use one with a low voltage detector / alarm.  Hope that all made sense!

I would have thought most people who were serious serious racers would have a spare car battery or even use there own battery in the car to power stuff
Some might be lucky and have generators, but again depends alot on what the Racers spend is

Ziggy

[anton]

Ziggy122, on 05 February 2012 - 08:27 PM, said:

I would have thought most people who were serious serious racers would have a spare car battery or even use there own battery in the car to power stuff
Some might be lucky and have generators, but again depends alot on what the Racers spend is

Ziggy

That's what I use, (a spare car battery), and keep the starter box battery just for that.

[mugen mark]

to power your heater,go down the scarp yard and buy a car 12v{i paid a tenner}and ask them for one off a newish crashed car

[simont]

how are you guys locating the bulb and keeping it in place?

Si

[Slimeon]

simont, on 06 February 2012 - 05:56 PM, said:

how are you guys locating the bulb and keeping it in place?

Si

as i said earlier in the thread mine is held in with friction. My bulb has a 18mm dia shoulder so i used a 18mm hole saw on my can and its a nice tight fit. As far a as warming my engine I just plug mine into the car as i'm running my new car in atm but will get an old car battery for when i find a decent club in my area.

[simont]

friction??

you mean its just placed their?

[Slimeon]

simont, on 06 February 2012 - 07:20 PM, said:

friction??

you mean its just placed their?

Yup and its a nice tight fit too. No need for any clips or screws to hold it in.

[anton]

simont, on 06 February 2012 - 05:56 PM, said:

how are you guys locating the bulb and keeping it in place?

Si

Erm, I use two old exhaust springs to hold the bulb in.