When is an engine block heater really needed?

[Tacanta14]

I lived at 9200' in the Colorado Rockies for 30 years, and never had a block heater, and only one time when it was -30 did my truck not start. Lucky for me a county truck was driving by a few minutes later; I flagged him down, and he jumped me!

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[Chrome_Pony]

It's one of those things where if you have to ask, you don't need one.

source: Alaskan

 

[lapazleo]

Everybody forgot the most important thing for cold weather starting " a good battery " cold wreaks havoc on weak or tired batteries. The majority of failed cold weather starts is a low or dead battery.

 

[Silver-Bolt]

How does it plug in? I have one but forgot to ask my dealer how it works.

Pop the hood, on the left side near the radiator you should see the plug. Plug in your extension cord and you are done.

 

[timrobporter]

I see a plug there but it looks like the male end, I expected something different. Maybe I’ll take a photo tonight and post it.

 

[604Bronco]

Just make sure you put an extra blanket over your Bronco when you tuck it in for bedtime. It should be nice and warm all night long, and not require a block heater.

 

[Texasgrillchef]

I'm from the south, so engine block heaters are new to me. I had the option to purchase a Wildtrak with a heater, but I didn't. Now, I'm heading to Taos, NM for a ski trip where the temperature will be 0 degrees. What is the guideline for when you need or should use a heater?

I’m in Dallas.

. I would say 95% of the year you don’t need it.
you absolutely don’t need it to keep anything from freezing up, if you have things properly done with antifreeze.

HoWeber, on cold days around 38 degrees and lower. Having my engine block heater plugged in over night, I have noticed that it takes less time to warm up the engine, and get the heater to warm up the car much much faster.

example. During our cold time this year with our temps in the 20’s several days in the row I did a test.

1 day, over night it was 23 degrees. I didn’t plug in. From 6pm to 7am. It took 20 min to warm up the engine and get the interior up to 70 degrees. Engine oil temp to 196 degrees.

day 2 temps got down to the same temp. Plugged after parking the car from a long drive no different then day 1. From 6pm to 7am. The next morning it took only 11 min to warm the engine up to 196. Inside temp was 65. Start internal temp both mornings was 23 degrees.

the engine block heater was only $100 option on my badlands SAS. I think it was well worth it.

i also travel all over the country frequently. As of yet I haven’t had to travel anywhere it gets colder during the winter. But it’s possible

if you travel a lot, and will travel into cold areas. Consider it.

 

[timrobporter]

Pop the hood, on the left side near the radiator you should see the plug. Plug in your extension cord and you are done.

Is this it?

 

[timrobporter]

Is this it?

I guess it makes complete sense that it would be the male end, don’t know why I assumed it wouldn’t be

 

[Dialtone]

You can always do what my Dad did when we lived in Duluth back in the early '60s. Extension cord and 100 Watt light bulb under the hood. Safety? Hah! Thin the herd

 

[redone17]

I’m doing some extensive testing using mine any morning below 25°F. I have a short commute (<2 miles) and a manual transmission. I’m hoping it puts less stress on the components and perhaps saves me some gas money. We’ll see. I already burned through one catalytic converter at 30k.

The dealer (or you) can add the heater in about an hour. They cost around $100.

This is severely under estimated. Parts are $300 and labor is 3 hours. Ask me how I know. $100 installed from factory.

From my initial testing is seems like 3 hours is ideal for hitting top temps and not wasting electricity.

This morning it was 25°F and my coolant was at 80°F and oil at 59°F. Coolant was at full operating temps (175°F) within a mile.

 

[Big Norwegian]

Is this it?

Yup

 

[timrobporter]

Yup

 

[Neps]

If your trip includes accommodations such as hotels or resorts, it's doubtful you'll have an outlet available to plug into.

You could always come to San Diego and go Water Skiing and not worry about it

 

[Dorf2point0]

Everybody forgot the most important thing for cold weather starting " a good battery " cold wreaks havoc on weak or tired batteries. The majority of failed cold weather starts is a low or dead battery.

Amen to COLD batteries …

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