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Dang, Grumpy you wanted something "off the wall". That uninterruptable power supply was the best I could come up with at the moment LOL

Grumpy, you might want to contact Kats for a full description of that model. I don't see it on their website either, which suggests it's a discontinued number. But all the current models listed are circulating tank heaters, which means you don't need an external pump. All you really need is juice to power it.

I'm thinking a deep cycle marine battery on a little trickle charger. When the electricity goes out, you need merely power the Kats heater with that battery. Some 10AWG wire and some alligator clips, and you're good to go. Assuming it's actually a circulating heater, it will both heat the coolant AND push it through the system.

//greg//

Larry,
that UPS is a good idea, just trying to stay cheap though. It did however jog my memeory in that I think we have a stash of UPSs about that size at work that have had batteries die, have been declared too old to be worth fixing, and I think we bought replacements, so I may have 2 or 3 1500W to 3000W inverters sitting around at work. If their batteries were 12V maybe I could snatch one of those and use my cars' batteries. The tractor is in a 6 bay garage along with 5 other vehicles so that's why I'm not too concerned about batteries!

Greg,
Yes, I left that out I guess. I just assumed that all 'tank' heaters like would be used on cars/trucks/tractors were circulating tank heaters. Maybe I was wrong. Mine is a circulator. Hot water drifts out of the top drawing cold water into the bottom. At first I was skeptical about something that had no pump but heck, everyone else was using them, and I am impressed!

Bob,
Yes, I like to brainstorm. I am an electronics engineer by trade. Engineering of anykind though is not just training, it is a way of thinking. It is considering everything, and anything, that may be available to create something useful, and not feeling bound to just buying an off the shelf product. It is the belief that if you understand how the basic pieces work, you can put them together to create just about anything. I love to create things! Some of my creations don't work out that well, but most of them do, some require multiple re-designs but I learn things that way and I have a blast doing it. I had never even touched anything hydraulic, other than my cars' brakes maybe, until I got the NT254 a little over a year ago but I have created my own top 'n tilt, created my own hydraulic downforce addition to my post holer, added a bank of QCs behind and just under the seat with a hydraulic circuit selector to switch the valve for the hydraulic toplink to other toys, and last weekend added a hydraulic cylinder to a broadcast spreader which I use to spread sand in the winter because with the cab I built I cannot reach back and operate the lever to open/close the chute. When I need other people's experience in these areas I come here. I ain't no expert on tractors so I don't often contribute much to posts. Guys with decades of experience like you and the vendors and others on this site usually have things well covered in short order so I usually watch from the back row. I do however read every post on every subject, whether it applies to me or not, because someday it may. And that's my discertation for today!! My posts are sometimes a bit winded, hope I don't bore everyone. I do value your inputs, everyone's.

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The years I spent at PACCAR Truck R&D in research, and my many years in the marine engineering field (which also encompases electronics), looking back I find it ironic that just about all of the things that have been created, have been with or from off-the-shelf products. Such is the way of our free enterprise system. I always found it fascinating to read books from other engineering disciplines.