block heater??

[mazdarotary]

This may sound dumb but when I get home from work and don't plan on using the truck again until morning is it a good idea to plug it in right away or am I wasting electricity heating a already warm engine?Man was that a run on sentence. The owners manual doesn't say much about the block heater. Thanks





Chris

92 D250

 

[RGT]

I have my plock heater outlet on a timer, it is set to turn on a few hours before I go to work.....

 

[formula]

Chris,

If you plug that thing in all night, your electricity bill will be :--) :--) :--)



Most of us (myself included) use a timer to turn the heater on about 3 hours or so before startup. That's plenty long enough for the temps we see around here.



Sean

 

[Old Smoky]

Allowing the block heater to run for a few hours will warm the engine, but it is better for the heater to be plugged in while the engine is still warm.



Mike

 

[mazdarotary]

Now you guys got me all confused. I just finished up installing a time clock for the receptacle that i have the heater plugged into(man it's great being an electrician sometimes)and have it turning on 3 hours before i need to leave in the morn. But now Old smokey tells me it's best to plug it in when it's already warm. What should I do?





Chris

92 D250 LE CC,NV4500,16cm2 housing,kelderman

 

[JMorrow]

I leave mine plugged in all the time, you never know when you might have to leave in a hurry. (local pub)



John

 

[Philip]

On the heater that cummins supplied our trucks with. I am not sure. But on most aftermarket models of heaters. There is a built in thermostat to control coolant temps.



If I think of it tomorrow. I'll hook up my AC amp probe on the circuit I use for the truck and watch to see if it is on all the time or just part time.

 

[formula]

OldSmoky,

I'm wondering why you say it's better to plug it in when the engine is still warm. I fail to see how this could be of any advantage.



Sean

 

[Mgrant]

One thing to think about, leaving it plugged in all the time will quickly wear the block heater out and buy the power company a Christmas party until it does burn out. That happened to my uncle's 94 and he said it was not fun to replace it in the middle of the winter. I put mine on a timer, 3 hours in freezing weather makes it toasty enough to start without the preheater and blow warm air shortly after startup.



Mike

 

[Old Smoky]

Maybe I should have said, "I heard this from a fairly reliable source. " I was unsure too, that is why I asked. My answer was not based on personal experience, so I do not know for sure. I just assumed that what he said was true. I suppose it is also possible that I miss-interpreted the info. If the block heater does have a thermostat, then if the rig is warm it would be easier for the heater to keep the engine warm, rather than have to constantly run if the engine is cold when it is turned on. I don't know. If someone finds out for sure, I would like to know.



Mike

 

[JLEONARD]

I have a timer that runs the heater for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours before my normal "leave for work" time.

Even in temps in the single digits the engine is warm enough to not have the 'wait to start" light come on. The engine temp gage goes to the first line when I start, but I haven't shot the engine with a temp gun to know what temp it is... I will tomorrow if I remember.

No need to run the heater element all night. . at least not in southern New England.

Just make sure to get a timer that can handle heavy loads... . not one designed for a table lamp.

There are also heaters that have a thermostat... I have one on my boat engine. That thermostat is 120 deg F, but there are models that are 70 F also. Fleetguard make a whole line of these.

 

[Philip]

The heaters on our trucks do not have a built in thermostat. I check the one on mine. I watched it for an hour with a warmed up engine on it. I had just came back from a 20 mile dirve so I know the engine was warm. The block heater pulled amperage all the time.



It is a 840 watt heater also. If someone wants to figure out how much it cost a month to run one. Now you can.



This is equal to 8 X 100 watt light bulbs running at once.

 

[mazdarotary]

all this talk about the wait to start light has me wondering. Even after having the truck plugged in all night or after a long drive and restart the wait to start light allways comes on. Not for long mind you but the light allways does come on. Is my grid heater circuit screwed up?If it is warm enough should the system not work at all?Thanks.





Chris

 

[JLEONARD]

I believe the magic temp is 56 deg F... . over that the grid heater and light shouldn't come on... under that and it will.

At least that's how my 91 works.

 

[formula]

The check engine, water in fuel, abs and the wait to start lights on my truck always come on for about 5 seconds when the key is frist turned, no matter what the temperature. I believe this is a testing system to make sure all the lights are working. You can tell if the grid heater comes on because the wait to start light will remain lit after the other lights go out. And the relays make a pretty loud "click" and you can see your voltmeter getting pulled way down.



Sean

 

[Baron]

hmm 840 watts... ..... at . 13 cents/kilowatt about . 10 cents an hour to run the thing baron

 

[MMiller]

Here's my two cents. I'm a farm boy raised on a huge varity of diesels. Perkins, JD, Cat, IH,VW,CUMMINS, Detroit, both 2 and 4 stroke, and powerstrokes.



I don't plug in my cummins truck unless the temp gets below 15 degrees or so, and it only gets plugged in for 2 hrs max. Just 1/2 hour, to 45 minutes makes it start good.



Other engines it all depends on how well they start too. My cummins will start unassisted down to single digits, it doesn't like it though. Takes more time to build oil psi, and to idle smoothly, etc.



The service truck I drive (powerstroke unforunatly) struggles when it gets to the 20's, the teens it really needs plugged in. Still it only gets 1-2 hours before normal departure time in the morning.



I also work at the other end of the spectrum too, on machines that spend there whole lives away from 110 volt plug ins. Big batteries, 24v and a little ether will get most anything to start



Power is too expensive around here to leave engines tied to the wall all night long, pretty wasteful in my opinion.



Just my 2 cents worth though