Magnetic oil pan heater doesn't work?

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Number21

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I bought this 200 watt magnetic oil pan heater for my truck:
http://www.amazon.com/Kats-1155-Watt-Mag...=oil+pan+heater

Stuck it to my truck, plugged it into a watt meter to see if it was working. Oil temp was about 67 according to my Scangauge. It works for a minute or two, then shuts off for a few seconds, turns on, off, on, off over and over. After a few hours the oil temp went up by 1 degree.

What am I doing wrong here? I already sent one back, the second one does the same thing. There is no thermostat or switch of any kind that I see. Read the directions, nothing besides "stick to metal and plug in". I emailed Kats, and they haven't responded.

Any ideas?
 
I can't speak about the heater you have but have you looked into a Wolverine Oil Pan Heater? They glue on, stay put, and work very well. I have mine for about 6 years now and it works great.
 
Originally Posted By: Number21
I bought this 200 watt magnetic oil pan heater for my truck:
http://www.amazon.com/Kats-1155-Watt-Mag...=oil+pan+heater

Stuck it to my truck, plugged it into a watt meter to see if it was working. Oil temp was about 67 according to my Scangauge. It works for a minute or two, then shuts off for a few seconds, turns on, off, on, off over and over. After a few hours the oil temp went up by 1 degree.

What am I doing wrong here? I already sent one back, the second one does the same thing. There is no thermostat or switch of any kind that I see. Read the directions, nothing besides "stick to metal and plug in". I emailed Kats, and they haven't responded.

Any ideas?

Do you know where the oil temp sensor is? Maybe its not in the pan? Does the heater get quite hot?
 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I can't speak about the heater you have but have you looked into a Wolverine Oil Pan Heater? They glue on, stay put, and work very well. I have mine for about 6 years now and it works great.


Yeah, I will probably install a glue on type heater also, this was kind of a test, I'm curious how hot the 200 watt heater will get my oil, with 15 quarts in my Powerstroke. The block heater doesn't do much for the oil temp.
 
Originally Posted By: IndyIan

Do you know where the oil temp sensor is? Maybe its not in the pan? Does the heater get quite hot?

No, I don't know where the oil temp sensor is. I haven't tried it off the oil pan as the directions say not to do that, but I will later. It can't be getting hot if it only spends half a second on and 3 seconds off though. (I did check my watt meter with the block heater to make sure it is reading correctly)
 
Sounds like it has thermal protection kicking in if it goes on/ off constantly.

What's the sensor like for oil temp, is it in the pan? How do you think oil circulates up to it?

Real test would be a 24 hour cold soak with that pan heater on for however long you plan to have it (4 hrs?) and start it up and check the temp then vs ambient.
 
I'll have to look into where the oil temp sensor is. The heater shouldn't shut off until the oil temp is at least 200 degrees or more, which probably can't happen. The description from Northern Tool for the same heater says 300-400 but I can't find any spec for the "thermostat".

I tried it when it was stone cold with my watt meter, did the same thing turning on and off. Didn't wait around to see if it increased the temp at all. It is like it's hitting some kind of thermal protection or just the thermostat working, but I can't understand why.
 
Even when they do work properly, the thermodynamics are not in your favor with this variety. Is a frost plug style block heater an option?
 
Originally Posted By: Bandito440
Even when they do work properly, the thermodynamics are not in your favor with this variety. Is a frost plug style block heater an option?


Why not? It sits below 15 quarts of cold oil. I have a factory block heater but it does next to nothing for the oil temperature. I don't really "need" any heater in my climate, but with that much oil and a turbo I figure it can't hurt.
 
If it's below zero outside and your oil is at 67, your engine will thank you when it starts. I wouldn't want to pay the electric bill on anything more than 200w just so my car would start in the morning.
 
Originally Posted By: bigt61
If it's below zero outside and your oil is at 67, your engine will thank you when it starts. I wouldn't want to pay the electric bill on anything more than 200w just so my car would start in the morning.


The oil temperature was from the last time I shut it down, not the heater. Maybe 1 degree from the heater.
 
After years of excellent service with a coolant heater and a stick-on oil pan heater with my VW TDI, I was pretty disappointed three years ago when I learned my brand new Hyundai Sonata did not have an OEM block or pan heater option (Canadian versions do, and I tried importing the part but it does not fit the USA models).

Was ready to get a nice-sized stick-on pan heater of 400-500 watts only to discover my Sonata's oil pan is ribbed in the underside, severely limiting my application. That forced me to get a narrow pan heater of only 125 watts, the only size that looked like it would fit. The performance on 4.5 qts. of oil is pretty minuscule. In 5-10 F degree temps inside my detached garage, pulling the dipstick after being plugged in for a few hours reveals barely any warmth to the touch. A 200-watt heater on 15 qts. of oil sounds even more of a challenge.

However, that's certainly better than stone cold, so with my favorite synthetic in the sump I know that small heater is still doing my engine good.
 
Originally Posted By: Number21
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I can't speak about the heater you have but have you looked into a Wolverine Oil Pan Heater? They glue on, stay put, and work very well. I have mine for about 6 years now and it works great.


Yeah, I will probably install a glue on type heater also, this was kind of a test, I'm curious how hot the 200 watt heater will get my oil, with 15 quarts in my Powerstroke. The block heater doesn't do much for the oil temp.


Wolverine probably makes one for that vehicle, it's certainly worth looking into. If they do make it, it will warm 15 qts. of oil.
 
The oil temp sender on your Powerstroke is up near the oil filter housing, so reading oil temp via your scangauge without starting the truck is pointless as the oil isn't circulated.

The block heater is all thats needed for your truck to start in sub-zero temps, and the block heater DOES warm the oil once the engine is started as it circulates through the already warmed block.
 
Originally Posted By: KlooksKleek
After years of excellent service with a coolant heater and a stick-on oil pan heater with my VW TDI, I was pretty disappointed three years ago when I learned my brand new Hyundai Sonata did not have an OEM block or pan heater option (Canadian versions do, and I tried importing the part but it does not fit the USA models).

Was ready to get a nice-sized stick-on pan heater of 400-500 watts only to discover my Sonata's oil pan is ribbed in the underside, severely limiting my application. That forced me to get a narrow pan heater of only 125 watts, the only size that looked like it would fit. The performance on 4.5 qts. of oil is pretty minuscule. In 5-10 F degree temps inside my detached garage, pulling the dipstick after being plugged in for a few hours reveals barely any warmth to the touch. A 200-watt heater on 15 qts. of oil sounds even more of a challenge.

However, that's certainly better than stone cold, so with my favorite synthetic in the sump I know that small heater is still doing my engine good.


The Genesis Coupe in Canada has a 400w block heater. Maybe it will fit? Fit's Kias too.

Here's the Hyundai part number. 008AM-00006

And here's the pictures.

8295954228_5ae6daa90c_b.jpg


8295954310_0f66c05370_b.jpg


This one is an aftermarket one.

http://www.phillipsandtemro.com/user...rt_Catalog.pdf

6894d1292817728-block-heater-installation-001.jpg

http://www.kia-forums.com/attachments/ki...llation-001.jpg
 
Originally Posted By: roadrunner1
The oil temp sender on your Powerstroke is up near the oil filter housing, so reading oil temp via your scangauge without starting the truck is pointless as the oil isn't circulated.

The block heater is all thats needed for your truck to start in sub-zero temps, and the block heater DOES warm the oil once the engine is started as it circulates through the already warmed block.

As soon as the engine is started the oil and coolant temps plummet as cold water and cold oil start to circulate. It almost negates the effect of the heaters unless I plug them in for more than 5 hours. For that matter, I'm not even sure what good the block heater is if it doesn't warm the oil, and it can't possibly heat the oil in the pan.

The problem is my engine weighs 1,000lbs, I have 15 quarts of oil, and 27 quarts of coolant, and my factory block heater is 900 watts. That's not enough watts to heat that much steel and liquid! That's more mass to heat up than a standard water heater, and they are 4500 watts!

Can we get back to the question I asked? This isn't a discussion about oil pan heaters. It's about why my oil pan heater does not work. Am I the only one with a magnetic heater? This thread has nothing to do with my oil temperatures or outside temperatures. I should be able to use the oil heater in the summer after a long drive and it should still heat up.

Anybody know how to contact Kats besides the email address on their website they don't answer?
 
I had a magnetic 300-400 watt pan heater that at least got warm to the touch.

I suspect you have an over-active safety thermostat. You already warrantied one, now I'd get money back and spend the time ripping them a new one in google results.
wink.gif


One would think that maybe it'd work a little better when it really gets cold out, and when you have the cold mass of an oil pan conducting heat away. Maybe test it attached to something heavy and steel in the freezer?
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
I suspect you have an over-active safety thermostat. You already warrantied one, now I'd get money back and spend the time ripping them a new one in google results.
wink.gif



LOL! Yeah, I probably will. I just feel like I'm doing something wrong if two don't work? I'll try to see if maybe I can take it apart at all tonight.

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Maybe test it attached to something heavy and steel in the freezer?

That sounds good, I'll try that.
 
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