Cold Climate-Do you plug in your truck at night?

[billyfury]

If you plug in your truck at night do you leave it plugged in all night? Do some of you use timers? If go out to get the paper at 6 and leave the house at 8:30 is that enought time to warm the block up if the temp is zero or below? I am in MN and forgot to plug in my truck last night and it went to minus 11 F. After 3 aborted attempts the truck started but it did throw a code P0341. I think that is a cam sensor or something. I park outside.



billyfury, 05 2500 QC longbox 4x4 white sport-12,000 miles and all stock

 

[FourBarR]

my 98. 5 has 388000kms. I always plug in starting in the fall when temps get to 32 degs. or lower. much easier on batteries ,starter, warms the engine,no smoke on start up,get heat from heater sooner. mine is on timer for 3 hours before I leave for work. hope this helps. merry Christmas.

 

[Dodgentwo]

get a timer that is rated for outdoor weather and an extension cord that is rated heavy duty and for outdoor use as well . mine is set to come on about 3 hours before i get ready to leave every morning. i agree it is easier on the battery, motor and helps it to warm up quicker.

 

[DTroy]

I leave mine plugged in 24/7. Better starting, etc...

 

[JHardwick]

Plug mine in when I get home at night.

 

[jelag]

some of my trucks sit outside... those are plugged in when the temp is below freezing..... on the truck I take home... I plug it in with a timer in the garage... . I have a 30 minute drive in the morning around the lake. . because of the curves the truck mostly idles along... and takes almost 20 min to warm up... so the timer starts the heater 2 1/2 hours before I get up..... warm engine... and warm air from the heater... . it was 7 degrees. . tonight on the way home and I'm guessing its 5 outside now...



I'm just a creature of comfort... the cummins really doesn't need to be plugged in until the outside temp goes below 0. 0... .



BTW... don't forget to treat your fuel... most fuel from the pumps isn't blended for the first 4 to 5 days after a cold snap... .

 

[2Gen3Gen]

Last year, I plugged mine in when it went below 40 degrees. I hated getting in the truck and not getting heat for 8-10 miles! Well worth the cost of the electricty.



My 97 Powerstroke wouldn't start unless it was plugged in! :-laf :-laf

 

[BColburn]

I start plugging in at 30 degrees. Lately it's been a little below zero so I leave it plugged in all night, i'm gonna have to see if my electric meter is spinning faster.

 

[RockinJ]

Below 30*, I always plug mine in when I get home . . . starts fast + easy the next morning. Just let it idle for 5 minutes after start-up and you start getting decent heat (even faster if you idle with an exhaust brake). Just my $. 02.

 

[RKerner]

If you plug in your truck at night do you leave it plugged in all night? Do some of you use timers? If go out to get the paper at 6 and leave the house at 8:30 is that enought time to warm the block up if the temp is zero or below? I am in MN and forgot to plug in my truck last night and it went to minus 11 F. After 3 aborted attempts the truck started but it did throw a code P0341. I think that is a cam sensor or something. I park outside.



billyfury, 05 2500 QC longbox 4x4 white sport-12,000 miles and all stock

You must not have blended fuel there yet. Your truck should start on the first attempt if you cycle the grids twice at that temp. We finally got our blended fuel just after Thanksgiving.



I have a 15amp outdoor timer from Menards. 3 hours is what it is set on now and it works good to -5 so far.

 

[HOBrian]

Parked ina garage I have it on a timer and set for 2 hours before I leave for work. Oo.

 

[nickleinonen]

mine is on a timer. it goes on at 8:00pm and the oil [300w mag heater on pan] and coolent are warm when i leave at 11:00pm...

 

[MacHaggis]

I'm a sucker for comfort. In Ohio where I have a garage, and in the Catskills where I don't, I leave it plugged in at 30* and below. In Ohio, to go about anywhere, I have to get onto a limited access road (65 limit) in only about a mile and a half. I'll usually idle with the Jake on until the grid heaters quit cycling before I take off, and then make a point of riding the Jake a few times before I get to the highway. Don't know that it warms up the drivetrain any faster, but it makes me feel better. In general, if the temp needle hasn't moved yet (and it usually hasn't), I'll accelerate only moderately getting onto the four-lane, and take it easy until I'm seeing the temp rise.

 

[MMiller]

If you want to plug it in when you get the paper, the 2 hrs will be very good help in starting the engine. In the many diesels I have had, driven, anything over 3 hrs is a waste of electricity. Growing up on my dad's farm his electricity was very expensive. We never plugged anything in for longer then 3 hrs before startup. If you don't want to go out and plug it in, get a heavy timer, and plug it in when you get home.



I run enough cord to plug the truck in and then loop it around the drivers mirror. That way when you are stressed, tired, daydreaming, you see the cord before leaving the house, instead of when you get to work and realize you have been dragging your extension cord. I've never gotten down the road, but I have pulled the cord tight several times before remembering it.



Michael

 

[JRihani]

I plugged mine in for the first time the other night, hasn't been above freezing here in Indy for about a week. I'm glad a read here about what noises to expect!



Question - do you do any harm to your coolant leaving the truck plugged in for a long time? I know that is probably a stupid newbie question, but I was just wondering.



Thanks,

John

 

[surfbeetle]

Mine is on a timer that comes on at 4 am and shuts off at 9 am. I usually leave around 6:45 am. When I leave, I unplug the cord from my truck and plug in my wife's diesel suburban (she leaves later) and wrap the cord on the gate to the yard so that she can't get to the car without touching the cord and unplugging it. Before that, both of us have forgotten to unplug the cord at some point. Had ice on the windshield the other morning and it was nice already being warm.

 

[BHolm]

Alrighty... I'l be odd man out It has been below zero here for a few nights. The other morning it was -10F. I turned the key on, waited for the light to go out and it cranked and fired like it was summer. The truck was not plugged in and I haven't plugged one in here in CO since we moved two years ago. I have never had a problem with a Cummins. I think the Amsoil 5w-30 helps a lot. Once it is up and running I bump the idle to 1100 and turn on the exhaust brake. It will defrost the windows in just a few minutes.

 

[JOblenes]

Rarely Plug Mine In.

I am probably going to get yelled at, but I rarely plug mine in unless it is below -4F and have never had a problem with starting when it is this cold. Though I do understand that there are other benefits including faster warm-up times and more importantly reduced start-up engine wear (though I have switched to 0W-40 this winter to help with this). With 15W-40 in it last winter I had no problem starting the truck down to -32. 8F, though it did start to crank over pretty slowly I don't think it took any more revolutions to go (maybe cranked for 3 seconds). It got even colder the following week and at -38. 2F it would crank but not fire and she was a no go without plugging in, funny how those extra 6 degrees made such a difference. The real reason I don't plug in very much is that I park on the street a lot and even if I did run a cord over to the truck it is not legal to lay it across the sidewalk. If I was close to a light standard I could string it up and over but no such luck.

 

[WCPoe]

Plug in preheat is cheap!!!

I'm just north of Atlanta but I usually plug mine in on cold nights with a timer for about 3 hours of preheat because I prefer the immediate heat. (I know I can't relate to you guys up in the colder climates. ) But hey, my local EMC shows . 0834 cents per Kwh which should equate to about a quarter per cold night. I honestly believe that the fuel I save from avoiding a more extended warmup balances this out. Diesel engines are efficient when they're hot and the I believe the warmer startup is a heck of alot easier on the engine. Just my 2 cents but what do I know?

 

[NavyDood]

Info from a post at dieselram.

19° in the morning when leaving. Plugged in 2 trucks. One with a timer set to come on about 4 hours prior and the other plugged in for approx 10 hours. Using a infared temp gun, checked the head temps of the trucks before pulling out. 10 hours plugged in = 140°. 4 hrs plugged in = 100°.

Hell, i'm in TX and it has been cooling off. Low 30's and supposed to be 17 tonight. You bet my truck will be plugged in. I'm from MI and I love cold weather, but I swear I heard my truck thank me for pluggin her in. It's like night and day on the sounds she makes plugged in and not plugged in, even in these mildly cool temps.



Our 03 and up block heaters are a 750w element and draws 6. 5 amps. If you were to plug your truck in for 365 days straight, your electric bill would only increase about $700 for the whole year. I can swing the $1. 92 a day. And that would only be if I left it plugged in for the whold 24hr period.



As for a timer and extension cord... The cord from the element to the plug is only 16awg. I have my timer plugged into the GFI outlet in my garage. 16awg extension cord is all I use also. If the timer I am using is good enough for an air conditioner, then it's good enough for the block heater.



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