2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission How long for the block heater to fully heat the block?

[dresslered]

I vote for the heated seats!

In that case, my vote is for a small and inexpensive ceramic heater that does not get hot to the touch

I'm a whimpy Kalifornian, but when it gets cold (~40F degrees ), I just click on the heated seats. I've seen aftermarket one's that slip under the seat upholstery. Another nice feature is that if the wife starts yaking too much, I just turn on her heated seat and she instantly goes into a deep sleep. :-laf

 

[SRath]

When we traveled to the Nevada desert last summer, my uncle sent me into town one hot day with my boys in his Eddie Bauer Ford Exploder to get some supplies. Pretty fancy vehicle for me.



I got about a mile down the road and slammed on the brakes and bailed out the door! My butt was on FIRE!! Or so it felt. Freaked me out! I think it took me and the boys the better part of 30 minutes to find where Ford hid that danged switch! Those suckers get HOT!

 

[dresslered]

Those suckers get HOT!

Oh yeah, never use 'high'.

 

[mhenon]

I set mine up for 2-4 hours on the timer, depending on how cold it is.



It is fine to leave it plugged in 24 / 7, did that for years when I had my welding rig, never knew when I'd be called out so left it plugged in all winter.

I've left it on all night many times too. If you really want to warm things up throw a blanket over the engine after plugging in. The whole engine compartment will nice and toasty in the morning.

Mike

 

[Coalsmoke]

That's an interesting point about the blanket. My 95 had hood insulation, kept the engine warm in the winter, now I see my 01. 5 has no hood insulation, and I think didn't the 02's also do away with this? Seems kind of weird, maybe it became a factory option.

 

[firefighter_2000]

This

I was thinking of this... Maybe making some sort of mount for it. Not really sure how. I'd like something I can just leave in there and not have to worry about taking it in & out & in and out.

Craig



Walmart.com: SeaBreeze Electric ''Off the Wall'' Bed/Bathroom Heater: Home Improvement

 

[Coalsmoke]

Sure, why not. Are you thinking of running it off 110V from the house, or an inverter off the truck?

 

[SRath]

Powering with inverter not such a great idea

If it is cold enough to need your cab pre-heated, then it is cold enough to cut your batteries' power significantly. Producing heat, in any form, is a huge electrical drain.

You'll end up with a cold truck that won't start. Unless, of course, the engine is running to power the inverter, in which case the truck's own heater will warm the cab.

It's an old-fashioned idea, being prepared, but I drive for a living, though I spend as much time outside my truck dropping and hooking trailers, swinging doors, etc as I do in my truck, but simply dressing for the weather seems to be a reasonable way to stay warm.

I cannot get my teenage sons to understand that concept. Nor my office-worker wife. Personally, I have Artic Insulated coveralls that I wear every night. Zip-to-hip legs; easy on and off, with a heavy duty hood I can flip up. I wear extremely comfortable sweatshirts and sweatpants under them. The coveralls keep my clothes clean, too, since winter is a filthy thing when you spend your time around vehicles.

My boots are 1000 gram thinsulate and goretex Rocky Bearclaws with awesome traction soles. I even have slip-on ice cleats that I use a great deal.

I realize this is not appropriate garb for most folks, but such coveralls and boots take mere seconds to shed and don and work equally well over a 3-piece suit. And should you somehow end up alongside the road broke-down or helping someone else, you are prepared. I never cease to be amazed at how poorly-dressed even cops and ambulance workers are in this weather...

I keep my truck comfortably cool all night. I spend very little time indoors and always have the "I'm overheating" excuse to get out of the office, where most b. s. happens.

I can always take layers off, but you cannot add what you didn't bring. Cooling off is easy; staying warm takes some forethought and preparation and I sure don't want to be at the mercy of mechanical devices for life-sustaining warmth.

Just a thought... It doesn't work with my own kids, so I don't expect any better reception for it here...

 

[Coalsmoke]

SRath, I agree you wouldn't want to run a heater through the stock batteries. 2 deep cycles in parallel, with an isolator placed between them and the stock batteries would work well if it was on a timed circuit, but personally I'd run it all in 12V and skip the inverter for reasons of power loss. I was working on a system like this with my welding rig, the problem I had was that I couldn't find a company that retailed an automatic starting system based on the auxiliary battery voltage. IMHO, an Espar heater is really the best way to go for our trucks if a person plans to be away from household power and needs heat.

 

[firefighter_2000]

My plan.

What I plan to do is use a kussmaul auto eject plug. It will be wired to the block heater for one, and second will be a hidden plug either under the dash or under the seat for the heater to plug into. The only thing I use 12v for at night is charging the batteries on my portable radio(s) They're only about 4200Mah each and only one gets charged at night. At some point, I could even add in a battery maintainer if I wanted. The kussmail super auto eject I have is rated at 30 amps. So I could run a large cord and have plenty of juice for it.

Craig

 

[Coalsmoke]

I have never heard of that auto eject plugs so I looked them up. Those are one heck of a neat device. Sounds like you have a good plan.

 

[firefighter_2000]

They're great

The auto ejects are great. Mostly used on ambulances and fire engines. They've got a full line of products, including high idle systems, battery charging systems etc. We have them on our engines & rescue. They work so that a wire is run to the starter, and when power is applied to that wire, it ejects the plug so you can drive away and not have to worry about manually unplugging the cord. The best way to do it is to mount them in such a way that they are in an area that is out of the weather. Im still trying to decide where to put mine.

Craig

 

[Newf Limo]

So, I finally found out the timing for the fleet. We have thirty plug in stations. The timer divides them into three sections. It runs each section for 30 minutes. So, each truck gets 30 minutes of heat, every hour. It has worked to our -20 temps here.

 

[SRath]

How would that "auto eject" work on my kids' XBox? :-laf



Definitely one of those "what'll they think of next items?" The problem I see is all the times where the daytime sun melts the snow on the truck and by nightfall, you have to chip away thick ice just to unplug the cord or open the door.



I agree an Espar or Webasto is the ultimate heater for our trucks; engine and cab. Anywhere; anytime. No a/c current neede. Someday I'll find a great deal one... .