old pump style block heater vs stock

[KParsons]

i have a 850 watt heater hose pump. any reason not to use it. i would think it would be a better than the stock block heater?k

 

[Prairie Dog]

Well the stock heater is reliable and heats the block and best of all, it's already there!

 

[JJPage]

All of our Cummins/Onan, Cat/Kohler gensets come with Kim HotStart water circulating heaters or an equivalent. They work very well for about 5 years before they start failing, however they do operate 24/7 year around. Some of our larger sets(1500 kw) have both water circulating and oil pan heaters.



I have also considered adding one to my truck, just to see if it performed better than the block heater we currently have. Not sure it would, except for maybe a better circulating affect...



These are the ones we use on our small gensets, and are the type I have considered using, as you can see they come in a variety of wattage's and temperature operating ranges.

Compact Tank-Style Engine Heaters for Industrial Use | Hotstart

 

[NIsaacs]

i have a 850 watt heater hose pump. any reason not to use it. i would think it would be a better than the stock block heater?k

They are a good unit. I have installed dozens years ago when I worked at a shop in Montana. They really don't pump, they do percolate, simular to a coffee pot. For a hard to install block heater, such as a V/8 they were fine. However on a straight six like the Cummins, the block heater is the way to go. They are oem installed, almost a flush mount and work great. Your truck probably already has one, just might need to install the cord. I would not use the tank heater for this application.



Nick