I've been wanting an easier, cleaner way of plugging and unplugging the Zerostart coolant heater since the first day I had to deal with a frozen up plug or had to fish it back through the grill.
I figured some kind of outlet should be readily available, although I wasn't able to find much choice - I ended up with a Marinco "On-board Charger Inlet" (part #150BBI; Marinco's specifications). Marinco products are readily available through just about any marine supply store. In Ottawa, I got mine from The Chandlery for less than CDN$20 (I also picked up a Pela oil extractor).
I did not want to cut the male plug off the Zerostart heater, so instead I cut the female end off an old exterior grade single outlet extension cord (~8" in length) and wired that into the Marinco outlet. This lets me plug/unplug the heater easily for any reason (removing the grill, removing the bumper, removing the heater, etc.). Not a necessary step, but one I'm glad I did.
Heater cord plugged into Marinco extension outlet. I also put some dielectric grease on each terminal as extra protection.
My initial thought was to put the outlet on the black part of the lower bumper valance. I was skeptical of this mostly because I wasn't confident in getting a solid fit because of the curves - there aren't too many completely flat areas of the size required, as the outer flange on the Marinco outlet is fairly large. I decided I would just put it in the grill - if it didn't work out, no biggie, finding a replacement grill would be easy enough.
I marked out the location of the outlet through the "solid" part of the grill, to make sure it would have maximum support when pushing in and pulling out the extension cord. I used a dremel and knife to do the cutting - a bit awkward and not the prettiest behind the scenes, but it worked. Be mindful of the retaining tabs on the grill; they can be easily bent while working on cutting the hole. A hole saw would work best, but I didn't have one of the appropriate size. This is important - the installation instructions call for a hole of 1 7/8" so that the threads will pass through easily. I would recommend <font color="red">1 3/4"</font> - just a bit smaller - so that you can thread the outlet into the grill and get a really good bite into the plastic. It is basically a friction fit, because you cannot use the threaded retaining ring to support the outlet - the grill is too deep.
I was going to silicone/goop the outlet in place, but I didn't need to - it is solid and won't budge. The outlet is barely noticeable in the grill. Time will tell how it handles the abuses of winter, but I think it will work well.
Extension cord plugged into outlet:
(Edit: Marinco links updated, Oct 2007)
I figured some kind of outlet should be readily available, although I wasn't able to find much choice - I ended up with a Marinco "On-board Charger Inlet" (part #150BBI; Marinco's specifications). Marinco products are readily available through just about any marine supply store. In Ottawa, I got mine from The Chandlery for less than CDN$20 (I also picked up a Pela oil extractor).
I did not want to cut the male plug off the Zerostart heater, so instead I cut the female end off an old exterior grade single outlet extension cord (~8" in length) and wired that into the Marinco outlet. This lets me plug/unplug the heater easily for any reason (removing the grill, removing the bumper, removing the heater, etc.). Not a necessary step, but one I'm glad I did.
Heater cord plugged into Marinco extension outlet. I also put some dielectric grease on each terminal as extra protection.
My initial thought was to put the outlet on the black part of the lower bumper valance. I was skeptical of this mostly because I wasn't confident in getting a solid fit because of the curves - there aren't too many completely flat areas of the size required, as the outer flange on the Marinco outlet is fairly large. I decided I would just put it in the grill - if it didn't work out, no biggie, finding a replacement grill would be easy enough.
I marked out the location of the outlet through the "solid" part of the grill, to make sure it would have maximum support when pushing in and pulling out the extension cord. I used a dremel and knife to do the cutting - a bit awkward and not the prettiest behind the scenes, but it worked. Be mindful of the retaining tabs on the grill; they can be easily bent while working on cutting the hole. A hole saw would work best, but I didn't have one of the appropriate size. This is important - the installation instructions call for a hole of 1 7/8" so that the threads will pass through easily. I would recommend <font color="red">1 3/4"</font> - just a bit smaller - so that you can thread the outlet into the grill and get a really good bite into the plastic. It is basically a friction fit, because you cannot use the threaded retaining ring to support the outlet - the grill is too deep.
I was going to silicone/goop the outlet in place, but I didn't need to - it is solid and won't budge. The outlet is barely noticeable in the grill. Time will tell how it handles the abuses of winter, but I think it will work well.
Extension cord plugged into outlet:
(Edit: Marinco links updated, Oct 2007)
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I think i've looked at this post a dozen times.
