Cab heater via reversed radiator fan

[Cheapsnake]

I just finished fabbing up a cab for a GT1800 and now I'm looking to get some heat into it. The radiator fan pulls air from under the dash through the radiator. I'm thinking a really elegant way to get heat into the cab would be to simply reverse the air flow so the fan blows through the radiator INTO the cab instead of sucking air out of it. Ideally, I would simply reverse the fan blade, but reversing it doesn't reverse the flow, believe it or not. The only thing that would reverse the flow on a stock fan would be to reverse the rotation. Not going to happen.

Sooooo, the next best thing I'm thinking is to fabricate a new blade out of aluminum with the blades oriented to blow through the radiator. Has anybody had anybody had any experience with this?

Lacking that, I'm interested in any cab heater designs. Thanks.

Tom

 

[lsmurphy]

Fans are pushers or pullers.

You have a pusher........find a puller.

No, you don't need to build one.

 

[skeets]

I really don't know how much time your going to be spending in yoru cab but you might be surprised how much heat your body will give off enclosed and if the sun is shinning that will heat you up as well,, of you could tap into your rad lines and put a small core in the cab with a fan,,, but I would think having the engine fan blowing in the cab would become a bit uncomfortable after a while don't for get you cant control the air flow unless you control the motor speed

 

[Cheapsnake]

Fans are pushers or pullers.

You have a pusher........find a puller.

Excellent! Is this a Kubota item or do I have to adapt one from another application?

Skeets, a big reason for heat (circulation) in the cab is to keep the windows from frosting up, cuz along with heat, your body is throwing off a lot of moisture which turns to ice as soon as it hits the glass.

 

[Jmsossi]

Hi
You could remove the fan blade from your engine then install a electric fan like they use on automotive radiators to pull the air into the cab. Or another option would be to install a aux heater in the cab. That is the way I did it on my gr2120 I get lots of heat and it only takes about 5 min to come up to temp.

Joe

 

[Cheapsnake]

Hi
You could remove the fan blade from your engine then install a electric fan like they use on automotive radiators to pull the air into the cab. Or another option would be to install a aux heater in the cab. That is the way I did it on my gr2120 I get lots of heat and it only takes about 5 min to come up to temp.

Joe

Excellent idea with the electric fan. It does appear to be enough room to install a small one as long as the alternator can keep up with it. My fallback would be to install a heater in the cab if the fan thing doesn't work out, but that radiator heater looks so made-to-order I've got to play it out.

BTW, that is one fine looking piece of work you did on your cab. Almost makes you wish for snow...OK, maybe not.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Food for thought!
Reversing the fan might seem like simple solution, but make sure you pay your medical and life insurance policies, one little exhaust leak or enough front exhaust flow and you'll be drooling all the time or pushing up daises!
This is the simple reason they don't normally use radiant engine or radiator heat to heat the cab!

I"ll even go as far as to mention what could happen if you had an engine or under the hood fire, it wouldn't be a fun back yard barbeque!

 

[Cheapsnake]

Good point Wolfman.

 

[jb62901]

I installed a heater core i had, put a 4" DC fan behind it.

 

[jb62901]

Heater core

 

[Jmsossi]

Here is a link to where I purchased my aux heater https://www.tractorpartsasap.com/Auxiliary_Heater_p/111417.htm
This was the best price I found and was good quality american made.
I only draws 7 amps. And puts out lots of heat. I think this would be your best option

 

[Cheapsnake]

Spent most of the afternoon and the better part of a 6-pack trying to make the reversed or electric fan thing work. Finally resigned myself to the reality that it would be more work than it's worth. So, I'm going with a heater core/fan setup. That outfit from Ag Parts looks like the way to go. Thanks Joe and thanks all for pitching in.

 

[78-79fordman]

Heater core View attachment 8693

I installed a heater core i had, put a 4" DC fan behind it. View attachment 8692

These would be the easyest and cheapest .

 

[Cheapsnake]

These would be the easyest and cheapest .

I like it. What's the hose you're using?

 

[jb62901]

If your asking about the yellow hose it has since been changed out. I thought it to be to soft and went to heater type 3/8" hose.