“WE MAKE THE COLD HOT AND THE DARK LIGHT.”
That’s Allmand’s unofficial motto. Founded in 1938 in a small garage in the tiny town of Huntley, Nebraska, and now part of the Briggs & Stratton corporation, Allmand has built its business providing jobsite support equipment to the construction, mining, oil and gas and special event markets. Two of its main product lines are heaters (making the cold hot) and light towers and portable lights (making the dark light).
For the past two decades, Allmand’s Maxi-Heat mobile diesel heater has proven itself a rugged, reliable temperature-booster in both large indoor and outdoor applications. Easily towable from site to site, the product is popular to rent for operations looking to heat warehouses or equipment on mine, construction or pipeline sites. It’s also used to cure concrete or paint and even to combat bed bug infestations.
In 2020, Allmand redesigned the heater and relaunched it as the Maxi-Heat 1M BTU, powered by a Cat ® C1.1 industrial engine. As its name makes clear, the new heater can generate 1 million BTUs of self-contained, indirect fired heat — and more BTUs translates to more space heated with a single product.
But that’s far from the only upgrade. Standard recirculation capability adds efficiency for better heating and lower fuel burn. An expanded run time of 35-40% means operations don’t have to shut down the heater as often for refueling. And Allmand’s iQ system automatically calibrates each burner for altitude and humidity factors during operation, eliminating shutdowns and tedious trial-and-error adjustments. It all adds up to more reliable, consistent, cost-effective heat on site.
A HIGHER DEGREE OF PERFORMANCE
The Cat C1.5 engine powered the original Maxi-Heat product, but when the time came to launch the new Maxi-Heat 1M BTU, Allmand worked with the Caterpillar industrial engine engineering team to make the switch to the slightly smaller C1.1 — the same engine the company relies on for many of its light towers. “It was a no-brainer to put this engine in our heaters as well,” says Dave Jones, vice president of sales and marketing for Allmand. “We know it’s rugged and reliable.”
Putting a freeze on downtime. Uptime is a top priority for renters and buyers of the Maxi-Heat 1M BTU. In harsh climates, heaters often run 24/7, and some sites are required to maintain a certain temperature before work can commence. In these situations, a failed heater means more than discomfort — it can mean project delays, rework and costly shutdowns. Given its prior experience with the C1.1, Allmand had no worries about the engine’s performance. “Cat engines have been proven over and over again in the most extreme conditions, including the oil sands of Canada in the dead of winter when it’s 40 below zero,” Jones says.
More heat, less handling. In addition to the C1.1’s reliability, Allmand is a big fan of the engine’s guaranteed 1,000-hour maintenance interval, which is up to four times longer than that of similar engines. Because the heater must be shut down during oil and filter changes and other regular service, the ability to perform maintenance less frequently translates to less downtime — and more heat generated. “It’s a significant advantage to have the Cat engine that delivers huge cost and time savings for our customers,” Jones says.
Support that never leaves you out in the cold. When the C1.1 does need more than routine service, Allmand knows it can count on local Cat dealers to respond quickly to keep the heat on. “Heaters are a crucial product to keep up and running, and Caterpillar has a good service and maintenance network set up with its dealers. I’ve never heard any pushback from a customer on Cat dealer service,” Jones says
“ IT’S A SIGNIFICANT ADVANTAGE TO HAVE THE CAT® ENGINE THAT DELIVERS HUGE COST AND TIME SAVINGS FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.”
