OVERKILL
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Any block heater I've ever owned has always been a factory installed option. Both BMW's, the Expedition, my old Town Car, the Focus, both Charger's, all have factory block heaters.
Do block heaters actually work?
- Thread starter leeaspell
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Originally Posted By: jimbrewer
Yes, they work, especially if you are a diesel driver who subscribes to the belief that glow plugs are not to be replaced on a regular schedule and you now have 10 years and 200,000 miles on them.....
The better ones have no glow plugs.
Yes, they work, especially if you are a diesel driver who subscribes to the belief that glow plugs are not to be replaced on a regular schedule and you now have 10 years and 200,000 miles on them.....
The better ones have no glow plugs.
Try next -20 start without heater, you will feel and hear the difference.
97 7.3 here. Most cold starts below freezing is added by block heat. Also I have a oil pan heater, this helps too.
Don't forget the transmission. Most people love to heat engine only.
I burn 1200-1400watt on engine. What's 250 to heat the slushbox.
Harvey
97 7.3 here. Most cold starts below freezing is added by block heat. Also I have a oil pan heater, this helps too.
Don't forget the transmission. Most people love to heat engine only.
I burn 1200-1400watt on engine. What's 250 to heat the slushbox.
Harvey
I've known guys in the Air Force who moved up to some place in the Frozen North with their car with no block heater.
They'd put a shop light with a 100 watt bulb under the oil pan of their car every night and put it on a timer to start 30 mins to an hour before they left in the morning.
Just that 100 watt bulb and its radiant energy helped significantly in a garage.
(Although, now that I think of it incandescent 100 watt bulbs have been banned. I guess now you would have to go get a halogen bulb in the 75 to 100 watt range.)
They'd put a shop light with a 100 watt bulb under the oil pan of their car every night and put it on a timer to start 30 mins to an hour before they left in the morning.
Just that 100 watt bulb and its radiant energy helped significantly in a garage.
(Although, now that I think of it incandescent 100 watt bulbs have been banned. I guess now you would have to go get a halogen bulb in the 75 to 100 watt range.)
What temperature range are they beneficial? Are worth in in areas that are say 15f to 30f?
Originally Posted By: spasm3
What temperature range are they beneficial? Are worth in in areas that are say 15f to 30f?
On a diesel running 15w40 I could see some benefits. For the typical passenger car/truck running a 5w anything I think it would just be wasting electricity.
What temperature range are they beneficial? Are worth in in areas that are say 15f to 30f?
On a diesel running 15w40 I could see some benefits. For the typical passenger car/truck running a 5w anything I think it would just be wasting electricity.
Engine heaters are a waste of money, except the coldest DAY of the year. I cannot see investing in one, the cost of the installation, and the waste of energy.
The battery would be my concern, a good battery heater would be far more important. Synthetics can take cold temps, batteries, not so much.
The battery would be my concern, a good battery heater would be far more important. Synthetics can take cold temps, batteries, not so much.
Originally Posted By: Vern_in_IL
Engine heaters are a waste of money, except the coldest DAY of the year. I cannot see investing in one, the cost of the installation, and the waste of energy.
The battery would be my concern, a good battery heater would be far more important. Synthetics can take cold temps, batteries, not so much.
Depends on your definition of "coldest day of the year" I guess.
Engine heaters are a waste of money, except the coldest DAY of the year. I cannot see investing in one, the cost of the installation, and the waste of energy.
The battery would be my concern, a good battery heater would be far more important. Synthetics can take cold temps, batteries, not so much.
Depends on your definition of "coldest day of the year" I guess.
I really liked the block heater in my 1981 diesel Rabbit. Would start without glow plugs and the heat would start right after start, even below zero. I went skiing one time when the high was 10 below and my Rabbit (with block heater) was the only car to start. One the way home it was so cold that I had to add a gas to the diesel to keep it running.
You used to be able to get heaters that sat under the sump overnight.
I saw one once in the shed of an empty cottage that was for sale. Thing a bit like a Davy lamp, with a fine mesh cowl surrounding the wick (presumably to reduce fire/explosion risk from ignited petrol vapour), fuelled by kerosene.
I was tempted to knick it (I'd bet the eventual purchasers just chucked it out) but conscience prevailed.
I'm not sure its such a great idea though. Seems possible condensation from the combustion would cause more electrical grief than the heating solved
I have a cheap wee hotplate designed to keep coffee/tea warm, which would probably do the job, but likewise no convenient access to power, which of course is where the combustion-based heaters score.
IIRC some British Army Landrovers were fitted with diesel-powered pre-heater burners, maybe by Eberspracher?
Since it never gets below zero here (except rarely in the mountains) I don't really need one, though I suppose oil-preheating would still be a good thing in the "not -summer".
It'd mean, for example, that I could go back to using straight 40W engine oil all year round..
I saw one once in the shed of an empty cottage that was for sale. Thing a bit like a Davy lamp, with a fine mesh cowl surrounding the wick (presumably to reduce fire/explosion risk from ignited petrol vapour), fuelled by kerosene.
I was tempted to knick it (I'd bet the eventual purchasers just chucked it out) but conscience prevailed.
I'm not sure its such a great idea though. Seems possible condensation from the combustion would cause more electrical grief than the heating solved
I have a cheap wee hotplate designed to keep coffee/tea warm, which would probably do the job, but likewise no convenient access to power, which of course is where the combustion-based heaters score.
IIRC some British Army Landrovers were fitted with diesel-powered pre-heater burners, maybe by Eberspracher?
Since it never gets below zero here (except rarely in the mountains) I don't really need one, though I suppose oil-preheating would still be a good thing in the "not -summer".
It'd mean, for example, that I could go back to using straight 40W engine oil all year round..
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Any block heater I've ever owned has always been a factory installed option.
Both BMW's, the Expedition, my old Town Car, the Focus, both Charger's, all have factory block heaters.
OE hardware is typically best in this instance.
Imagine the surprise I give sales managers when specifying block heaters on the special order options listings...in coastal Southern California.
Except for trips to the mountains it gets below freezing about one day a year here.
Any block heater I've ever owned has always been a factory installed option.
Both BMW's, the Expedition, my old Town Car, the Focus, both Charger's, all have factory block heaters.
OE hardware is typically best in this instance.
Imagine the surprise I give sales managers when specifying block heaters on the special order options listings...in coastal Southern California.
Except for trips to the mountains it gets below freezing about one day a year here.
Originally Posted By: Vern_in_IL
Engine heaters are a waste of money, except the coldest DAY of the year. I cannot see investing in one, the cost of the installation, and the waste of energy.
The battery would be my concern, a good battery heater would be far more important. Synthetics can take cold temps, batteries, not so much.
I beg to differ. Even if the battery isn't directly heated, the heater (of any type) still makes the engine easier to spin over in the cold. That reduces wear/tear on the battery. There is also the intangible benefit of getting heat in the cabin faster. That's important for a city commuter that spends a lot of time idling at stoplights. Or having little ones bundled up in the backseat...
Engine heaters are a waste of money, except the coldest DAY of the year. I cannot see investing in one, the cost of the installation, and the waste of energy.
The battery would be my concern, a good battery heater would be far more important. Synthetics can take cold temps, batteries, not so much.
I beg to differ. Even if the battery isn't directly heated, the heater (of any type) still makes the engine easier to spin over in the cold. That reduces wear/tear on the battery. There is also the intangible benefit of getting heat in the cabin faster. That's important for a city commuter that spends a lot of time idling at stoplights. Or having little ones bundled up in the backseat...
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
A lot of times the cords short out on them.
If they "shorted" they would blow the breaker/fuse. I think you mean they go "open".
A lot of times the cords short out on them.
If they "shorted" they would blow the breaker/fuse. I think you mean they go "open".
Originally Posted By: Vern_in_IL
Engine heaters are a waste of money, except the coldest DAY of the year. I cannot see investing in one, the cost of the installation, and the waste of energy.
The battery would be my concern, a good battery heater would be far more important. Synthetics can take cold temps, batteries, not so much.
Don't drive a diesel, do you. (That's not a question!)
Engine heaters are a waste of money, except the coldest DAY of the year. I cannot see investing in one, the cost of the installation, and the waste of energy.
The battery would be my concern, a good battery heater would be far more important. Synthetics can take cold temps, batteries, not so much.
Don't drive a diesel, do you. (That's not a question!)
Originally Posted By: leeaspell
I guess my title is more of a rhetorical question. I've had people argue that block heaters are a waste of electricity or whatever.
Those people should move to Alberta, Manitoba, or Saskatchewan for a few winters and leave their cars outside, and not plug them in, and find out the hard way when it hits -40.
Finn: Temro is a common brand up here, as marc1 indicated, and they are OEM in many applications.
Overkill: As far as I know, VW/Audi still don't use block heaters (oil pan heaters are optional equipment) thanks to a fire in Quebec that resulted in a silly lawsuit, some years back.
I guess my title is more of a rhetorical question. I've had people argue that block heaters are a waste of electricity or whatever.
Those people should move to Alberta, Manitoba, or Saskatchewan for a few winters and leave their cars outside, and not plug them in, and find out the hard way when it hits -40.
Finn: Temro is a common brand up here, as marc1 indicated, and they are OEM in many applications.
Overkill: As far as I know, VW/Audi still don't use block heaters (oil pan heaters are optional equipment) thanks to a fire in Quebec that resulted in a silly lawsuit, some years back.
You need to look up the he's of vaporization for different fuels before claiming that they will start at -40.
I had an inline heater in a car I owned when I was in the Air Force and stationed in ND. I liked it better than a block heater. It was installed in one of the radiator hoses and it constantly circulated heated coolant throughout the system. It could be 20 below outside, but the instant I started the engine I had heat...I used to sit in the car and watch the windows defrost/deice almost immediately...
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