I'm building out an old 94 Ford e350 Ambo package with the 7.3L IDI engine. This thing is a pain to start at elevation and in the cold. My anticipated travels suggest i'll face temps into the teens (F) at about 5-6000 ft (Moab/Canyonlands area in Nov/Dec), its gonna need a little boost to get turned over in these situations. Not expecting miserably cold scenarios.
Looking for suggestions for off-grid cold starts. I have a 170 Ah house battery bank, but the 1250W block heater uses too much power to be realistic. Larger battery bank is an option, but quite expensive. It seems a small portable generator is realistic, although a bit loud and cumbersome.
I have installed a 5kW chinese diesel heater in the van and was considering running ducting of sorts through the dog house to throw some forced air to the engine bay. These heaters really crank! Is it likely that this forced air scenario would help enough to improve starting? Does anybody have suggestions on installing ducting (3" or 4") through the dog house? Concerned about sealing out noise, heat, and fumes if i cut a ducting hole in that thing. Any advice or thoughts is welcome!
Thanks!
-Nick
Looking for suggestions for off-grid cold starts. I have a 170 Ah house battery bank, but the 1250W block heater uses too much power to be realistic. Larger battery bank is an option, but quite expensive. It seems a small portable generator is realistic, although a bit loud and cumbersome.
I have installed a 5kW chinese diesel heater in the van and was considering running ducting of sorts through the dog house to throw some forced air to the engine bay. These heaters really crank! Is it likely that this forced air scenario would help enough to improve starting? Does anybody have suggestions on installing ducting (3" or 4") through the dog house? Concerned about sealing out noise, heat, and fumes if i cut a ducting hole in that thing. Any advice or thoughts is welcome!
Thanks!
-Nick
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