6V92 Block heaters

[Astasky]

I have a 1988 53' Classic with 6V92's. I recently purchased two Kim Hotstart heaters, the ones that go in the square hole on the front left of the engine. I drilled and tapped the plate for a 3/4" NPT thread and installed the cooling water elbow from the original plate into the heater plate. Now I have heaters and the water cooling! Everyone seems to overlook this easy fix. The only "trick" is to drill the hole so it falls within the "hole" in the engine. No problem. I have pics of it if anyone wants them. Andrew@staskystudios.com. Good luck!

 

[Zrida]

Heater Block

I just purchased a 1987 45C the survey recommended heater blocks for the 6V92 I would be interested in your pictures and comments. Thanks Tom americanairtite@aol.com

 

[Genesis]

I prefer....

... the Wolverines instead with a thermostat.

Reason #1: They consume MUCH less energy (500W for a pair .vs. 1500W for the Kims)

Reason #2: They are on the outside of the engine, and thus easier to replace if necessary (and install originally.)

Reason #3: They warm the OIL as well as the coolant (the way I set them up) and produce excellent results.

There's a thread here on how I did mine.

 

[Astasky]

Re: I prefer....

Genesis,
Thanks for the counter comment on block heaters. I didn't see your thread on the heaters however. I would be interested in learning more, if you could send me that info. Oh, what I didn't mention in the forum is I run the heaters in series so they each get half the power.

Andrew

 

[saltshaker36]

block heaters

Andrew,
Mine are set up like yours but with adjustable thermostats added. The thermostat is great for changing climates. When the Temperature dips into the 20's my engine room is still warm enough to work in a tee shirt. They also heat the engines quickly if they are left off (very nice when winterizing).

Jack Sardina

 

[ACR]

more on Kimstart block heaters....

I installed mine (1500 watt) KS heaters 4 years ago on the 45C with 6V92's and they haven't failed me yet. I bring the boat back to NE in the spring (counting the days;another 5 inches of snow fell this morning ) and basically turn on the heaters on for 3 hrs. prior to departing the marina and/or moorings. No smoke on start (neighbors love you), instant starts and certainly saves the starter life.
The most difficult part was working on the port side engine and port side of the engine. You have to remove the alternator to remove the plate where the heater is installed. It fit's in there like a glove without doing any modifications. Also a good time to change the belts,inspect the starter, starter connections,terminal blocks and any other piece of hardware in that area.
If the KS's ever failed, I would not hesitate and purchase the same units again.
Al

 

[Genesis]

My setup...

.... uses 2 250W Wolverine pad heaters per engine.

One is placed on the side of the oil pan, the second on the oil cooler housing.

This warms BOTH the oil and the cooling system.

I then wired cheap analog (reed relay) thermostats off a normally closed contact on the hobbs switch (changed the hobbs switches so I had the second contact) to a high-current relay for each side. The relay boxes are mounted over the genset behind the starboard engine. I took power for this from an existing 20A utility outlet in the rear of the engine room, while upgrading that outlet to a GFCI in order to protect against possible ground faults.

The result is that the heaters automatically are disengaged when the engines are started, and they come on when the engine room is below approximately 70F. The plugs for the heaters are in a standard dual-gang marine-rated outlet box; one side contains the two 120V outlets, the other a manual disable switch and neon pilot light so you both can shut them off (e.g. for maintenance purposes) and also so you know the status of the system at a glance (if the light is on, the heaters are heating.)

In the middle of the coldest overnights here (mid 20s) the engine room was comfortably warm in a T-shirt, and the blocks warm to the touch. Starting performance is literally instantaneous with zero smoke in all conditions. This is quite surprising to me, given that I've seen the coolant immersion heaters and while they work really well, they draw a LOT more current and produce MUCH warmer (to touch) engines. I get the same performance with cooler APPARENT external temperatures and vastly less energy consumption.

I leave the system enabled all the time. At most it draws 10A (1000 watts) for both engines, but it also cycles off when the engine room is sufficiently warm automatically.

Warm OIL is, IMHO, more important than the rest. The critical component on a cold start is the speed with which lubrication first reaches bearings and other surfaces. Warm oil insures that this happens almost instantaneously, .vs. the oil having to be warmed by transit through the block. Also, cold oil with a warm block above it is a condensation trap, which is not a good thing - you want the oil at least as warm as the rest of the engine, lest condensation occur in the oil when the engine sits unused.

 

[Astasky]

6v92 heaters

Genesis,
It's genius attaching the heaters to the hour meters. But, what oil cooler are you referring to? The the exchanger on the front end of the engine, simply, with the radiator cap on it?

 

[Genesis]

No....

On 6V92s there is an oil cooler on the starboard side (facing forward) near the front end of the block. If you follow the coolant circulation pump pipe out from the bottom it next goes to this housing. Inside the housing is a cooler core which internally circulates oil and cools it by heat exchange to the engine coolant. There is no temperature regulation (e.g. no thermostat) in this cooler, but there is a pressure bypass (so that if the cooler core is plugged oil pressure remains available to the engine.)

The exterior of this housing will take a vertically-oriented 250W Wolverine Pad heater perfectly; it fits almost exactly between the retaining bolts in the face of the housing.

(BTW, a plugged or leaking oil cooler core is an extremely serious matter and one not to be ignored, as it will cause very high oil temperatures with resulting serious engine damage.)

 

[Zrida]

Heaters

Thanks Genesis, will take your advise. Do heaters play that much of a role I live in South Florida.

 

[Genesis]

I think so....

... even in south Florida you get overnights in the 40s.

Major difference in starting performance at 5:00 AM when you go to crank up between 50F and 80F outside.

 

[zrida]

Pictures

I read your comments on the installation of heaters. I would love to see the pictures if you would please send them to americanairtite@aol.com Thanks Tom. I live in the Boca Raton, Fl. area any chance you are in this area.