Caterpillar 3196 Block Heaters

Cherman

Cherman

Member
Aug 15, 2004
183
Oriental, North Carolina
Boat Info
1999 480 DB (SOLD)
Engines
Cat 3196's
I have tried to find out which block heater will fit my 3196's I have tried phillips & termo #'s 3500013 and 8601267.
The 0013 is supposed to fit 3196's (at least truck engines) and the 1267 fits 3176's
The 0013 is a 1" plug where as my oil cooler bonnet is 3/4 NPT.
The 1267 is 3/4 NPT but the element is too long and it hits the tube bundle inside.

Am I looking in the wrong place to install the heating elements? or should I just find a 3/4NPT block heater with a shorter element? Like the 3500043 designed for 3406 CAT which is 3/4NPT but the element is over 1.5" shorter.
Thanks ahead, Chris
 
Why not a Wolverine Pan heater? It seems to be the preferred choice of the Cummins guys...

In my mind hot oil beats a hot block.
 
I put two Wolverine pan heaters on my 3116's two years ago & they work fine. We leave her in the water year round, block off the air vents, they will keep the ER warm. I energize them in Nov, unplug them in April. Just go on the Wolverine website, sizing info is all there, customer service is the best. Hope this helps.
 
OK update. Ordered a heating element from local Cat dealer and measured it to the ones I have from the aftermarket companies they said would fit. NOT. The actual size that fits my 3196's in the oil bonnet is a 3/4 pipe plug with the element being 3.5" long. Part 350-0032 from Phillips & Termo Zero Start is 3/4 NPT with a 3.375 length element. Closest to the original part and much easier to locate and purchase. Could of gone with their other element at 3.75" long but didn't want to chance it being too long. Test fitted one yesterday and fits good. The Cat original is purchased with a power cord that has the thermostat in it. It measures the jacket water temp ranging from 80/on to 120/off F. I am going with air temp thermostats ranging from 35/on-45/off F. and using 2 different power circuits as a safety backup. They are only 1000w each and would run on a 20A/115V circuit but felt safer the other way.
Hope this helps the 3196 owners out there.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. Chris
 
Interesting comments on the heaters. I talked with a Cat tech last week and he said that advantage of keeping oil hot is that no condensation will ever form. What was the price difference between Cats hearing element and the aftermarket?


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Hi Matt, The element goes into the oil cooler bonnet on the engine water/coolant side, which in turn will heat the oil. Unless I am reading your post incorrectly and you already knew that. The elements were almost $15.00 cheaper aftermarket and came with the cord to plug into 115 VAC or your thermostat. The thermostat wire from Cat was I believe around $78.00 ea. I didn't write it down after hearing the cost. So an approx. would be 15+15+78+78=$186.00 cheaper not including needing thermostats of your own selection which I researched and can run from about $15.00 and up. So it's still at least around $150 Cheaper. More so, if one goes bad, a replacement can be purchased at just about any heavy truck parts supplier. Don't get me wrong, I will be purchasing quite a bit of OEM items from Cat. Sometimes OEM is the way to go. But IMHO, not in this case
 
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