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webasto question

Discussion in 'Ask An Owner Operator' started by skman, Sep 13, 2015.

Page 1 of 3
  1. Sep 13, 2015 #1
    skman

    skman Medium Load Member

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    Aug 26, 2013
    Saskatchewan
    0
    I have a Webasto engine pre-heater and also have Webasto bunk heater. The pre-heater has a digital 7 day timer but it hasn't worked since I bought the truck a few years ago. I worked in the oilpatch and never had to use it because I parked in a shop on cold nights so I never worried about fixing it.
    The bunk heater starting showing an error code and shuts itself down now a few minutes after firing it up.
    Now that I am long hauling (Canada and US), I'm considering whether I should get these fixed or invest in an APU. The quote I got for a new Thermo King APU is $12,500 US installed. And, of course, the Canadian dollar isn't worth a crap right now. So, I'd be looking at about $17,000 CAD which made me re-think the APU for now and getting my Webastos working again. Lol

    My biggest question is....how long can you run a Webasto bunk heater off the batteries....and still have enough power to fire the Engine Pre-heater a few hours before starting up the truck in the morning? (Assuming strong, newer batteries)
    Thanks
     
    skman, Sep 13, 2015
    skman, Sep 13, 2015
    #1
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  3. Sep 13, 2015 #2
    gokiddogo

    gokiddogo Road Train Member

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    Mar 5, 2012
    Ontario Canada
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    How long is the truck sitting? Are you talking about when you park for the night, or longer time when at home? When I go home I plug it into shore power. No webasto needed. When on the road I wake up a couple hours before firing it up and just turn the engine heater on manually. I never figured out the timer. If it is very very cold I just idle it. 17,000 buys a heck of a lot of fuel ...
     
    gokiddogo, Sep 13, 2015
    gokiddogo, Sep 13, 2015
    #2
    blairandgretchen Thanks this.
  4. Sep 13, 2015 #3
    skman

    skman Medium Load Member

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    Aug 26, 2013
    Saskatchewan
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    yeah $17,000 was a little more than I expected to hear.
    Just mostly wondering about staying overnight in a truckstop. When I'm home, I should be able to plug in and then maybe fire up the pre-heater and bunk heater a few hours before I leave.
    Whats the coldest you'll shut down at...and still feel confident that the engine pre-heater will work well enough to start the truck? -20?
    I'm sure you know....in Sask...we see a fair amount of -20 to -40
     
    skman, Sep 13, 2015
    skman, Sep 13, 2015
    #3
  5. Sep 13, 2015 #4
    CanadianVaquero

    CanadianVaquero Light Load Member

    171
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    Sep 4, 2015
    Canuckistan
    0
    What engine is in the truck? I often won't shut a truck off unless I have a preheat aI trust under -10. Worked for Pedersen in Brooks Ab and they had all freightshakers with detroits and mercedes. Non woukd start even plugged in so if we couldnt park in the shop(too much freight sometimes) I would often just leave my truck running all night.
     
    CanadianVaquero, Sep 13, 2015
    CanadianVaquero, Sep 13, 2015
    #4
  7. Sep 13, 2015 #5
    not4hire

    not4hire Road Train Member

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    26,957
    May 16, 2012
    Calgary
    0
    I had the engine heater/bunk heater combo in a couple of trucks and owned a truck with an APU. Here is a post from another thread.

    Fix the timer. There's nothing like waking up all alone out in the woods in the middle of winter to a toasty truck and absolute silence.
     
    not4hire, Sep 13, 2015
    not4hire, Sep 13, 2015
    #5
    skman and CanadianVaquero Thank this.
  8. Sep 13, 2015 #6
    AModelCat

    AModelCat Road Train Member

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    I had a Webasto in a GMC Topkick 5500 with a 6.6L DMax. I had 3 batteries (31 series AC Delco) and I could run the Webasto all night (10 hours) and still start the engine no problem at -35C.
     
    AModelCat, Sep 13, 2015
    AModelCat, Sep 13, 2015
    #6
    skman Thanks this.
  9. Sep 13, 2015 #7
    skman

    skman Medium Load Member

    305
    121
    Aug 26, 2013
    Saskatchewan
    0
    Thanks everyone for the input. My Star has a Detroit running synthetic oil.
    When the bunk heater was working...it worked pretty good at keeping the big bunk a decent temp. When I'd plug the block heater and coolant heater into shore power. (before i started renting a shop)....she'd start pretty easy at -30. At minus 40....it would start but would definately turn over a little slower.
    I'm sure it'll be way cheaper to get the preheater rebuilt and find out why the timer isn't getting power.
    The bunk is probably a filter...I'll have to check the code again to see what it's saying.
     
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2015
    skman, Sep 13, 2015
    skman, Sep 13, 2015
    #7
  10. Sep 13, 2015 #8
    peterd

    peterd Medium Load Member

    349
    365
    Jan 7, 2012
    St.Catharines ON
    0
    An idea to check into would be Oddessy AGM batteries.They have phenomenal reserve and cold crank amps.At -20 to -30 the truck cranks over like it was summer time.The batteries are expensive.Around $250 each,but are guarantied for 10 years with a direct replacement for 4 years. At Bison all our batteries are now AGM batteries.
     
    peterd, Sep 13, 2015
    peterd, Sep 13, 2015
    #8
    Volvo8873 Thanks this.
  11. Sep 13, 2015 #9
    CanadianVaquero

    CanadianVaquero Light Load Member

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    Sep 4, 2015
    Canuckistan
    0
    That probably had a lot to do with the Pedersen trucks. No maintenance and old,cheap batteries
     
    CanadianVaquero, Sep 13, 2015
    CanadianVaquero, Sep 13, 2015
    #9
  12. Sep 13, 2015 #10
    AModelCat

    AModelCat Road Train Member

    28,867
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    Jul 7, 2015
    Canuckistan
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    I ran them in my old Dodge pickup when I had it up North. They work great but unfortunately I've never had one make it past 3 years. When they start to go, they go extremely fast. That's my experience anyways.
     
    AModelCat, Sep 13, 2015
    AModelCat, Sep 13, 2015
    #10
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