Espar heaters pro's/con's

dirtball08

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Used to install espars, had to much trouble with coolant and fuel pumps. Switched to webasto and have zero problems in 6 yrs. Info for what it's worth.
 

High Velocity

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No more idling, ever. Even at -35 I just fire the truck up and go

I have an issue with this if the truck has an auto trans. There is no way I'll just fire up and go without allowing the tranny fluid to circulate a little while and at least warm up a little. Just my opinion and my truck.




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Cyle

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I have an issue with this if the truck has an auto trans. There is no way I'll just fire up and go without allowing the tranny fluid to circulate a little while and at least warm up a little. Just my opinion and my truck. Sent from my iPhone when I should be sledding.
Not all circulate in park though, so you'd have to put it in neutral.
 

High Velocity

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Not all circulate in park though, so you'd have to put it in neutral.

???? Haven't seen an auto in quite a while that doesn't drive the tranny pump off the TC, which means oil is circulated as soon as the vehicle starts. Tell me of any you know of that are otherwise because I'm unaware of any these days.


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AreWeThereYet

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???? Haven't seen an auto in quite a while that doesn't drive the tranny pump off the TC, which means oil is circulated as soon as the vehicle starts. Tell me of any you know of that are otherwise because I'm unaware of any these days.


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My dodge don't circulate in park :)
 

High Velocity

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My dodge don't circulate in park :)

Well, I talked to my Dodge mechanic buddy and learned something today. He tells me that the 48RE does not circulate fluid in park, but the 68RFE does circulate oil in park. Good to know. My truck has the 68RFE so I'm safe in park.
P.S.: I should add that he said the pump in th 48RE is driven by the TC, but a manually- actuated valve prevents it from circulating oil through the tranny in park. So, I believe the oil is just drawn from the pan, thru the pump and returned to pan.

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funtimes

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Dodge transmissions have no convertor charge in park only neutral. The only way tochange that is to install a manual valve which will then allow convertor charge and the oil to circulate through the oil cooler.

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sparky660

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Got it installed and it works like a damn boys, the trucks should come factory with these units or at least as an option. Great investment tho.

I need one installed in mine because the airport I fly out of doesn't have powered outlets to plug in. Do you have pics of the install? I am debating on doing it myself or paying the pros to install it.
 

recguy

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nope no pics. Got it installed at polar in eddie, and they did a great job and it works flawlessly.
 

400hp

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Had espar with cab heater in my 03 duramax for 5 years without any problems ever!!....traded that truck in with the espar....and put new espar on new truck...no problems with it either. Also have one on my zoom-boom and it has been flawless! The seven day timer works great and ive never had issues with any temputure outside...i also never use mine in the summer .....just start using it when temp gets down around +5 and colder.
 

Ironmanstl

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Just had one installed at Polar Mobility in Edmonton $2295
2011 duramax
Works great so far
 

-lenny-

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Where do you get your info from ?

Don't believe everything you read on the internet, including my previous mis-informed post. Here is some info I got from a transmission engineer at Chrysler. Seems legit.

The 68RFE circulates fluid in all gear positions (including Park). Actually, Park and Neutral are identical hydraulically.

You do not need to warm up the trans before taking off. Actually, you can start it up dead cold at 0°F, drop it into gear, and take off, and you shouldn't hurt anything.

The big killer as far as low temps go is a frozen oil cooler. At REALLY low temps (like say -40°F) the ATF can become so thick that it won't flow. You can cook your trans pretty quick if you run with a frozen cooler. So if it's really cold (I'd say -30°F or below, just to be safe) then I would warm it up very thoroughly (enough to get the radiator somewhat warm) before driving. But at more reasonable temps, the ATF will flow so no warmup is necessary.


Sorry for the misinformation.
 
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