[AT] Tractor cab heater

[Dennis Johnson]

Cecil,

I have not used this brand, but have design applications of dozens of heating systems with the Webasto brand heaters with Arctic Fox systems.. I think that the Webasto is a competitor that is more geared to automotive, where the Eberspacher units also have building heating systems, more mass production factory installs, etc. While doing many applications, I have not done the actual heater design myself.

The issue I see is if this unit uses an ECU, trying to work around this is will be a challenge. Normally the ECU will modulate fuel based on outlet temperatures, exhaust temperatures, user settings, cool down times, water flow, etc. If you can find the ECU output wires, you might be able to manually turn on fuel,  igniters, and the water pump to make some heat. You will need some type of pressurized fuel, which could be a fuel pump or pressurized tank. You will also need fuel on and off valve The pressure needed would need to be checked with flow across the orifice to get a good burn.  If you can find the wires to make these things work, you could probably get the unit to I make some heat with manual controls.
This is very much like taking a new engine with ECM, and going back to manual controls - except that you do not have access to carburetors  and magnetos. If you had a grandson/granddaughter in electrical engineering or computer science, this would be a good hands on project to replace the ECU with a laptop or similar controller.
With older heater units what had a few relays, it would be a lot easier to do manual controls.

One of the points of discussion with the heaters is the move to computerize them. The computer controls are great for control on simple systems that are mass produced. When having custom systems, the computer controlled systems do not work well because they are not programmed to match the custom systems. Because of this most oilfield systems are the older manual control models with a few relays and protection systems.

Good Luck

Dennis


Sent from my iPad

> On Jan 22, 2016, at 8:31 PM, Cecil R Bearden <crbearden at copper.net> wrote:
> 
> My Old Belarus is  about 30 years old, so I guess it would qualify as 
> antique.   I use the newer one mostly for feeding cattle.  This wet 
> winter is a mess with the ice and the windows fogging up, not to mention 
> the frozen feet since I don't have the feeling in my toes from the 
> spinal injuries.   The Belarus just does not have warm enough water to 
> make the heater work.  The heater and A/C are a US aftermarket addition 
> installed in Milwaukee.  The A/C needs to be torn out and replaced.
>   I found an Eberspacher diesel heater from a SAME tractor on Ebay for 
> $325, and thought it was ready to go.  It turns out it was only the 
> heater assembly, the model it was used a remote relay, ECU, and fuel 
> pump.  All parts that were not included.   I do not have enough 
> experience with these to try to reverse engineer the missing parts.
> I think the best thing is to buy another complete unit even if it is 
> Chinese and then try to find parts to complete the one I have now. Do 
> any of y'all have any experience with these.   I would bet Steve W has 
> worked with them.
> 
> I keep getting news reports about how you guys in the NE are staring 
> down the barrel of 26inches of snow.   That would be equal to our 2 
> inches of ice.   I wish I could be there to give you all a hand.
> 
> Cecil in OKla
> 
> 
> 
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