Wolverine heaters
- Thread starter D-Roc
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I don't have experience with one, but they ARE a sponsor at this site.
That's something in their favor.
That's something in their favor.
Oops. I saw there is some work-around to enable editing posts, but I don't remember it.
I meant to include the link to their site.
Go to the Main Index here, and to Support Our Sponsors section; you'll see it.
I meant to include the link to their site.
Go to the Main Index here, and to Support Our Sponsors section; you'll see it.
I purchased the model 16 for my Cummins. I hope to install it soon. From previous feedback, it should work really well. To me, is makes sense to warm the oil so it flows easier and gets to vital engine parts quickly. The longer it stays on, the more it is supposed to warm the entire engine. What's nice also is it's 250 watts vs. 750 watts for the block heater. I hope to report back in a couple of weeks.
Joe
Joe
250 vs 750. It just means it has to be on for 3 hours to do what a block heater does in 1 hour.
1000 watts on a 3 gallon sump filled with 0w30 starts like 1st of july,and no romps(heui injectors)
Hi hone eagle,
From what I understand (I haven't tried it yet), 1 hour of engine block heater in the cold probably will not do much. Most users claim they need at least 3-4 hours to help warm things up. Other people told me a couple hours of oil pan heater does wonders to circulate the oil quicker. I can't wsit to hook mine up and try it.
Joe
From what I understand (I haven't tried it yet), 1 hour of engine block heater in the cold probably will not do much. Most users claim they need at least 3-4 hours to help warm things up. Other people told me a couple hours of oil pan heater does wonders to circulate the oil quicker. I can't wsit to hook mine up and try it.
Joe
true 1 hour in very cold temps does not do much,It all depends on your over night low(s) and where it is inside or not.This part of canada hovers around freezing and a cold snap pulls overnight temps down in to the teens,however Iam in a garage and when I park for the nite the engine retains temp for 4-5 hours(it weighs about 900#) so 1 hour is enough to make for easy starting,if I want a warm cab or during a cold snap 2-3 hours is good.These block heaters melt cheap extension cords and need a heavy duty timer.I like the stick on pan heater for the transmission but only for extreme climates(alaska,yukon).I also have my doubts on the longevtiy of the stick on units,but if you dont have a block heater from the factory they are a good compromise.
I installed Wolverine heaters for both my engine & transmission sumps about 2 weeks ago, and am very pleased with their performance.
I have both sump heaters and my block heater connected to a timer set for a 3 hour runtime.
I have both sump heaters and my block heater connected to a timer set for a 3 hour runtime.
That sounds like a toasty setup Canuck,your circut breakers must be tough though
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That sounds like a toasty setup Canuck,your circut breakers must be tough though
I wondered if I'd have any trouble, but so far everything has worked well. The sump heaters aren't bad; combined they only draw 375 watts. But the factory block heater apparently (I haven't confirmed) draws just over 1000 watts.
Heatint the oil over a larger contact area has to be better for the oil. Some of the copper-nickel heaters that are rods that reach out into the pan get pretty hot. That small contact area can't be good for the little bet of oil that gets really cooked.
I've run the Model 9.1 125 watt heater for a while now. I'm on my second season and am happy with it so far. It's on a Ranger SOHC 4.0. I haven't taken any oil temp readings, but it does make a noticeable difference in operation when the engine is cold.
The diesel pickup I have has an engine heater in the oil cooler, so it heats the coolant and oil. I believe it is 1500 watts. I keep this truck plugged in year round, warm oil is your friend on cold starts and warm up.
The diesel pickup I have has an engine heater in the oil cooler, so it heats the coolant and oil. I believe it is 1500 watts. I keep this truck plugged in year round, warm oil is your friend on cold starts and warm up.
i bought and installed wolverine heater model 9.1 125 watts on my toyota matrix with 1.8L engine. my impression was so far "it does the job but it came short of my expectations". here is why i am saying this. at +3 celsius even after 30 min of heating the oil pen, the engine starts audibly smoother and quieter! and this is a good thing. but when i did not have a timer and left the heater plugged in for the whole evening and night (about 10 hours) with outside temperature of +3 celsius , in the morning the engine block was not hot to the touch! the engine block was body temperature because it seemed neither cold nor warm to the touch. and this after 10 hr and ambient temperature of +3 celsius! this heater simply won't work when it is -15 outside. so my advise get a block heater (the one that actually heats the block) + synthetic oil (flows at much lower temp than regular oil) + oil pen pad heater for complete protection, but if money is an issue drop the oil pen heater. that was my experience.
xnighter - Thanks for sharing your experience. I have long been doubting that Wolverine is capable of heating the entire engine through long hours of usage. I hope the 10-hour usage did not burn your oil.
My 2003 Toyota Echo with 1.5L engine happens to share the same factory engine block heater (rated 400W) with your Matrix engine. Under 0 Celsius my engine will be very hot by the touch after being heated by the block heater for two hours when my car being parked outside under no wind condition. I also installed a 125W Wolverine heater pad on the oil pan this fall to warm up the oil for the winter to make my pre-luber easier to pump oil during engine startup.
My 2003 Toyota Echo with 1.5L engine happens to share the same factory engine block heater (rated 400W) with your Matrix engine. Under 0 Celsius my engine will be very hot by the touch after being heated by the block heater for two hours when my car being parked outside under no wind condition. I also installed a 125W Wolverine heater pad on the oil pan this fall to warm up the oil for the winter to make my pre-luber easier to pump oil during engine startup.
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yeah, the plate itself gets really hot and i was wondering myself whether 2 hours of using it every day will significantly deteriorate the oil. have you tried using them separately to see which one will give you a smoother start? let me know. i have a bottle of Amsoil and i will put it in a freezer. it is -15 in there (just measured it) if oil doesn't turn into molasses, then it is definitely more advantages to have a block heater than an oil pan heater, unless you are in Alaska where any oil will turn into molasses
It is still quite warm here in Maryland. I will let you kknow when temp is cold enough for the experiment.
overnight the temperature in my freezer dropped to -17
and Amsoil's thickness was almost unchange from what it was at +25 room. In other words even at -20 any synthetic oil will be planty liquid. so if somebody has a synthetic oil in his car, any advantage of using oil pen heater is very marginal. well i bought it so i will continue using it. it is better than nothing but my guess is that for a regular gazoline engine in-block heater is still probably a better choise.
and Amsoil's thickness was almost unchange from what it was at +25 room. In other words even at -20 any synthetic oil will be planty liquid. so if somebody has a synthetic oil in his car, any advantage of using oil pen heater is very marginal. well i bought it so i will continue using it. it is better than nothing but my guess is that for a regular gazoline engine in-block heater is still probably a better choise.
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