Tank Heater Placement On 806D

I your case I'd be tempted to mount the heater just below the port on the head, then run the hose from the block drain under the engine. I'd be afraid of the hose on top of clutch housing lying too flat. Basically what your trying to do here is run a hot water heating system without a circulating pump. Techincally it's very similar to thermosyphon in the Super A. The better you can make flow, the more effective it will be.

I'm not familiar with the 806 block. The 282 in the 560, 656 and 706 was an ideal candidate. I had two of these and hooked between block drain and a port in the head, about half way back the engine. The 282 has a port above each injector on the head, that goes into coolant chamber. This put the hottest coolant right in the head next to the ignition point. From there it circulated down through block and back to heater.

My heaters were 1500 watt and I could plug them in 2 hours at -30 and it would be just like a summertime start. I've seen the block warm, and both heater hoses and radiator both still cold. I did my 404 Deere the same way, and all three worked very well.

These tank heaters do have one downfall, they rust out after 6 to 10 years. I went to plug my Deere in one morning and most of the coolant was on the ground. It may not have been the heaters fault, it did have quite a dinge on side of tank, which probably took years off it's life. The heaters on my 282s actually lasted longer, but probably didn't get used as often.

I've seen 400 to 800 cubic inch diesels cranked for 10 min. at 1,200 to 1,500 rpm, much faster than any electric starter will turn them, and never so much as fire even a little bit. You plug that same engine in with a 1,500 watt circulating block heater for a couple of hours, crank it at 800 rpm and it will be going in 10 seconds. I could site you hundreds of examples at temperatures down to -40F, where it took one of two things; upper engine heat or ether.

I've seen them towed, air starters that never give up, yet it takes that heat in the ignition chamber to make them fire.

In the far north they use propane and oil fired circulating block heaters continuous just to keep a running diesel going, it takes the added heat to keep ignition chamber warm enough to fire. I briefly drove one of these trucks last winter, and was advised to use it if engine operating temperature dropped below 160 F. These also serve as a block heater and hot water furnace should you have to spend the night in the bunk. I never got to enjoy that.

Of course what he is trying to do is get all the heat into engine he can. Your point is well taken, heating the engine is not the goal, starting the tractor is, and getting the heat into the head is what starts the tractor.