Hello all.

I just purchased a new 420 and a coolant heater. I was wondering where the best place to put the heater was---the lower radiator hose or the upper. I've been asking around and been hearing different opinions.

It get realy cold up here, sometimes -30 and it wouldn't start when I first got it in---kinda figured it wouldn't because it's been -25 for a while.


Hope someone can help.

 

I haven't looked at the 420 that closely, but I would assume that one of the hoses runs to the thermostat housing. The coolant heater won't get the coolant hot enough to open the thermostat, so the warm water wouldn't get into the motor if you put it there...

If you have a service manual, there is probably a diagram of the cooling system that could help you decide on placement. It would be best if the heater was below the motor, so that the warmed coolant would rise into the head and cylinder.

Welcome to the forums.

 

Can I ask where you found the hose heater and what size it is ?
Normally they install in the lower radiator hose as this hose is the coolant inlet to the engine.

----- Gimpster -----

 

Kimpex makes a 375 watt heater for 1" hose that would be suitable for ATV's.

There is a thead over at Rinconrider where member ATVtech posted photos. He installed it on a short hose that runs from the water pump to the cylinder, so heated coolant would rise right into the cylinder and head....

 

I should log onto Rinconriders.com. Usually my PM's are full of tech qusstions. I haven't been over there for a few months so I am sure I have a few. In fact, since I came down with this kidney infection, I haven't checked my personal emails on my main provider's site. Just been logging on here now and then to see what up
When I was working with Honda techline about 420 nostart in freezing cold temps (they said the units should start no problem in these temps), I told them I was going to quit trying to cure the problem and suggest installing a hose heater. I had forgotten about it until I read this post. Thanks for the heads up

----- Gimpster -----

 

Man, I hope the kidney infection isn't too serious.

There used to be threads about Rincons not starting well in temps not all that cold... What did they do to cure those? (Mine's been fine).

 

Thanks for the welcome.

I bought the heater from Ski-Doo. It's a 1", but I have some reducing couplers.

The thermostat is in the head, so I guess the best place would be next to the pump on the lower radiator hose.

When I first started it, it was -20 outside and barely started---then on the drive home from the freight company, it almost died. After getting it home and letting it idle for a while it then finally died.

The machine won't start right now, but it's -30 out there right now. I had it in a garage all day, tried to start it and it fouled a plug...changed the plug and started right up...I'm guessing that it dying the first time had something to do with it fouling the plug while trying to start it warm.

It's a great machine in the summer(my friend has one), but it seems that this thing cannot be started in extreme cold.

Thanks for all the reply's. I'll probably be on this site quit a bit now that I own one(owned nothing but motorcycles till this point).

Happy Holidays

 

Please post some pictures of yourself riding around at -30 degrees!!!

Do you folks block your radiators (piece of cardboard?), when you ride in extreme cold weather???

 

Yeah, at -30 some sort of winter front might be in order... Is the quad brand new? If so, perhaps it will start better and resist fouling the plug once the rings are seated.

If there isn't an external hose from waterpump to cylinder, and the thermostat is in the upper hose, I suppose the only other place is the lower hose. If there is a more vertical section below the motor, that would probably be optimal. Warm coolant can flow through the water pump...

If you run a winterfront, I've seen a few threads on truck forums about not putting anything across the radiator that is only part of the width of the radiator- because when the fan comes on and the blades pass across areas where airflow is blocked and areas where it isn't, it flexes the blades. Especially on metal fans, it apparently causes early failure (fan blade fatigues and breaks off).

I don't know if this would be an issue on a little ATV fan, but to partially block the radiator the recommended method is to block the whole width, but have a round hole in the middle.

If you were going to do that, a temperature gauge would be a good investment, so you could make sure you don't block off too much.

 

Hello again,

I'm going to put a cover over the front of the machine---sorda like a car or truck has---seen a Rincon around here with the same set-up.

I'll get some pictures once I can get the machine all set-up.

It's like -40 with -60 wind chill up here...I'm not even going to try and start it in this kind of weather. I wish I had a garage, but my place is garageless.

The machine is brand new---just got it in...now I can't wait till summer(I've got a snowmobile too, but it's in another village). Not too sure what the break in period is...to be on the safe side, I'm going to run 1 tank before trying to open it up.

I was thinking about putting 2 coolant heaters on the upper and lower radiator hoses, but I don't know if that's too much.

I still need to get some 0w in it and put the heater on(waiting for the couplers)

We can drive the machines on the streets up here, so it's actually going to be my transportation---fun stuff.

Thanks everyone for the reply's. Happy Holidays.