When to use block heater?

[Trent Greschuk]

Hi Gents,

I have a 2012 Ram Quad Cab 4x4 Laramie and was wondering when I should start to use the block heater. The truck starts perfect now but I don't want to harm anything by not plugging it in.

Thanks in advance,

Trent

 

[Simplysmn]

well all goes off of where you live and how cold it get's and for how long I plug in the truck when it get's into low 20's or if I'm going to be useing the truck early in morning and it's going to be cold that nite I will plug in also how cold is it where you live ?

 

[Slow Six]

These engines are not fragile. You won't harm anything by starting them cold. I live in Canada where temperatures can go to 40* below or colder and I know guys who never plug in as long as they will start and don't have any more engine problems than those who plug in. I think it is very important to drive easy for a few minutes to let the engine warm up but again a lot of guys don't do that neither. I tow a lot and it is sometimes difficult to go easy when starting out because of traffic etc. In these cases I will try and get fuel or run an errand before hooking up. When I am at home and it gets to freezing I plug in mainly for quicker warm up as I leave for work at 4:00 AM. I usually use a full synthetic oil which really helps with cold weather starts. Drive it and enjoy it.

 

[ABennin]

When I was driving my truck in the winter like the others said when it got under 20 degrees seemed to be the norm to plug it in. I use my gas truck most of time now since work is 10 minutes away. Before the gas truck, I bought a heavy duty timer that I set to turn on 2 hours before I had to leave for work. Normally the coolant temp was between 65 and 85 degrees when I got in the truck(read coolant temp off the Edge monitor).

 

[AH64ID]

When I drive my truck as a DD I start plugging it in around 40°. I don't do that because it needs it, but I like that it warms up MUCH faster when I do so, 3-5 min for heat vs 12-15 min. I use an outdoor timer and set it to start about 90 minutes before I leave for work. In testing I found that 90 minutes gave me 90% of the overnight temp at a greatly reduced cost. A winter front also adds to the effectiveness of the block heater.



I have started at 0°F without a block heater and it starts fine, just takes too long to get warm. Idling to warm up at cold temps is also not advised as a cold motor without a load doesn't do a good job of burning all the fuel, which can cause cylinder washing. A good rule is to start it, let it build oil pressure and drive it easy until warmed up.



I also have found, thru oil analysis, that engaging the exhaust brake on a freshly started motor really soots up the oil. The combustion isn't complete, and the rings are looser when cold, so you have positive exhaust pressure easily pushing soot past them. I wait until the coolant is at 140° at least for exhaust brake use on a cold idle, and it made a big difference on soot in the oil.

 

[JLeake]

AH64ID - interesting... . I have not used oil analysis on my 2011, since the oil change intervals are a function of the fuel system and EMU. I generally turn on the exhaust brake as soon as I get going, and leave it on all the time. If I am running over 65 or so, then I turn on the tow haul mode as well. The exhaust brake really does not do much until the engine is really warmed up based upon my 2011 experience, meaning about time time I get to work (25 minutes through the twisties).

 

[AH64ID]

I wonder if the 6. 7's don't apply the full brake like older trucks, and that would help keep the oil cleaner and still warm the truck up.

I am not sure it's enough anyhow, with the short oil life of the 6. 7, to really worry about. I was running 15K or so on oil and it made a difference then.

 

[BIGNASTY]

I rarely plug mine in even at -30 but its nice and warm when we get into the truck that DAMN ESPAR HEATER MAKING IT LIKE THAT IT'S TOUGH BUT I WILL HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT. :-laf

 

[Roostre]

We have a few diesels at our house. They go on the timer as soon as it starts getting below 32F at night. The wife loves that her Jetta is all warmed up, plus it saves you some fuel.

 

[Simplysmn]

do the newer jetta's have a block heater ?

 

[Roostre]

do the newer jetta's have a block heater ?

Ours is an '03. It did not come factory. I added it a few years back. The newer ones I am not sure on.

 

[Simplysmn]

I was going to say Our 2012 i haven't seen one on it yet

 

[jeepit]

I have block heater on an outdoor timer also. I set it at 2 hours before i am going to use truck. When temps get down to 20 is when i start to use it.

 

[DNDracing]

I would reiterate the fact that my truck warms up much quicker when I plug it in. I plugged mine in when it went below 30 degrees, and had mine on a timer to come on 4 hours before I left for work. As many before me have said, this helps the truck get much more comfortable, much quicker, if you plug it in.

I used to do all this as this will be the third winter the truck will park in a heated garage. It starts up at 50 degrees every morning now in the winter regardless of how cold the Michigan winters make it! :-laf

Also, my Gen 3 is much less finicky on cold starts than my 95 12 valve was. The 05 starts pretty much regardless of how cold it gets. My 95 would have more trouble starting (it always started, but was struggled more noticeably than the 2005) when the weather got cold. I was much more persistent about plugging that one in than my current truck. Maybe (and I would assume) the Gen 4 trucks are even better.

 

[surfbeetle]

Since I drive 7 miles to work, I have the heater on a timer otherwise I won't have heat in the truck on my morning commute. Also it starts and idles smooth (12 valve) right away when it's had the heater on.