Anyone use an engine heater??

[odie301]

my truck comes with the factory block heater..i believe it is a frost plug heater? Anyway tried it last year during the winter and it never seemed to add any heat to the motor for early morning starts. Heck, i even took my cooling fan off all winter and never once seen a temp over 210..even with extended warm up idling in the mornings my truck never reached anything close to 180*. So i am looking to improve this a bit.

So for this year i was thinking of adding either a lower radiator hose heater.. or a tank style heater. Anyone on here ever use either of these too? I would just like to be able to start my truck in the mornings and have at least a bit of heat coming out to defrost the windows..and to have some heat without driving 10 miles down the road first. (thank the lord of heated leather seats!)

I am kinda worried about a lower hose heater, as it will always block some of the coolant flow. The tank style sounds better other than i am not sure where to mount one and where to hook into the system at.

any help would be appreciated..it is supposed to snow tomorrow!!

 

[puckhead]

I used the frost plug last year and It didn't seem to help much on mine either, and it was drawing alot of current and cost too much for what it did. It was 3* this morning!! I dont think we are allowed to plug em in at my new apartments though. whats everyone elses experience?

 

[vatahoelt]

3* f-that. damn that's cold.

 

[odie301]

I have been reading online, and it seems the block heater is the "prefered" method. But i have also read a lot that said they don't heat up very even. Seems like the tank or inline heaters tend to distribute heat better through convetion currents. Now if i knew how to hook up a tank heater i would be set. But it sounds like a 1500w one will heat our v-8 in 2-3 hours depending on how cold it is out. Beats having my frost plug heater hooked up all night, and not even letting the defrost blow warm air without getting 10 miles down the road.

 

[lowAZhoe]

remote start. then u can open the door to a warm truck, warm seat and windows defrosted already.

 

[DenaliAK]

3 is warm!!

lol

Found out that my outside thermometer reads to at least -9 a couple of days ago.

The whole point on engine heaters isn't to heat the engine, but to keep the oil warm enough to flow. You don't want the oil getting all thick and not lubricating things until the engine warms up, so the idea is to start with warm oil. They also make oil-pan heaters, which actually do a better job of this. You can also get battery blankets to keep your battery from freezing or losing charge because of the cold.

When it's -10, my engine temp barely seems to max at about 180, and I don't really care as long as the heater is pumping out hot air...lol.

You sound like you want insta-heat as soon as you start your truck, but I don't think there is such a thing, at least not a cost-effective one.

Like, a garage, maybe.

lol

 

[puckhead]

3* f-that. damn that's cold.

Your tellin me! And its not even January yet

I have been reading online, and it seems the block heater is the "prefered" method. But i have also read a lot that said they don't heat up very even. Seems like the tank or inline heaters tend to distribute heat better through convetion currents. Now if i knew how to hook up a tank heater i would be set. But it sounds like a 1500w one will heat our v-8 in 2-3 hours depending on how cold it is out. Beats having my frost plug heater hooked up all night, and not even letting the defrost blow warm air without getting 10 miles down the road.

I was told that even the frost plug types reach max heat in 2-4 hours. I thought about using a timer to save some money but never got around to it. Any body ever use one of these? http://www.jcwhitney.com/OIL_PAN_HE...1648;0;100001;ProductName;4;0;0;0;2005253;0;0
Seems pretty simple.

---------- Post added at 10:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:20 PM ----------

3 is warm!!

yeah I know! how cold does it get up where ever you are in alaska? I think that the coldest place in the nation is usually a battle between here and some place up in Alaska.

 

[DenaliAK]

The best option is to get a timer attached to your cord that plugs into your block heater. Set it for 2 hours before you leave. It'll warm the oil up. Then, buy an autostart and start the truck 10-15 minutes before stepping outside. Should be nice and toasty inside the truck by then.

---------- Post added at 08:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:23 PM ----------

yeah I know! how cold does it get up where ever you are in alaska? I think that the coldest place in the nation is usually a battle between here and some place up in Alaska.

Here in Anchorage, the coldest it gets most years is about -25, but sometimes it dips into the -30's. The coldest spots are farther north in the interior of the state, away from the ocean. They can and do get to the -50's and -60's. Add windchill, and it's freakin' colder then most people can even fathom....lol.

 

[puckhead]

The best option is to get a timer attached to your cord that plugs into your block heater. Set it for 2 hours before you leave. It'll warm the oil up. Then, buy an autostart and start the truck 10-15 minutes before stepping outside. Should be nice and toasty inside the truck by then.

Other than a garage, this is probably the best thing to do. oh well!



Here in Anchorage, the coldest it gets most years is about -25, but sometimes it dips into the -30's. The coldest spots are farther north in the interior of the state, away from the ocean. They can and do get to the -50's and -60's. Add windchill, and it's freakin' colder then most people can even fathom....lol.

Yeah -20's and 30's is usually about what it is here too. Occasional -40's. crazy stuff when it gets that cold!

 

[odie301]

Well, the wife gets the garage stall..and of course her car is the one that came with remote start. DOH!! I was looking at the tank style heaters, as a way to warm the coolant so my heat gets warmer sooner..as a plus side it would heat the block enough to warm the oil a bit. I run synthetic oil, so i am not worried about it not flowing through the block when it is really cold. The tank heater i found is a 1500w unit, should warm my engine in 2-3 hrs. Gets to about 140* and then wont come on again until the temp gets back down to 120*

It just seems that no matter what i have tried my truck never wants to heat up. With cooling fan removed on a 35* day i can idle my truck for an hour and not get even close to warm.(not even enough heat to start to defrost a window) I tried a new thermosat, that didn't help. Seems like it takes a good 5-10 miles even after 20-30 min of warm up idle..before i get any decent amount of heat. I have checked the heater core hoses, and they get warm to the touch in the engine bay but still don't blow hot air inside. Plus i get way crappier gas mileage because it runs in "warm up" mode for probably 15 miles a day...i have even thought about putting some cardboard in front of the radiator to help block some air flow. (even though carboard looks stupid it seems to work good)

Maybe when i get some spair money i will pick up one of the tank heaters and give it a try(they are like $30 here at fleet farm)... worst case it doesn't work worth a hoot and i take it out and just splice my hoses back together.

 

[DenaliAK]

Huh. Sounds like you may have some other heating issues, because mine pumps out hot air after about 10 minutes of idle even when it's -10. It gets a little hotter when I'm driving because the RPM's go up. You should not need to go 20-30 minutes to just barely feel heat, especially if it's not even below freezing.

My first guess would be bad thermostat, but you already checked that. You may need a new heater core itself. Check the air-flow with different settings on your heater/AC controls, too. There may be a simple fix like a clogged air filter in there that needs replacing. Bottom line is that something ain't right, though. I get a lot of heat both front and rear on even the coldest days.

 

[Narco]

damn its cold where you guys live. im going mtn biking in shorts and t shirt in a few minutes. its a nice 62 degrees =)

 

[puckhead]

Its funny in the spring when it starts to warm up, when it gets to 0 it feels real nice lol. Its actually not too bad though, it seems like once it gets cold enough you cant tell if it is any colder

 

[odie301]

Is there a cabin air filter on a 2004 tahoe?? i have looked before and not found anything, unless there is different location than under the glove box. I do get great air flow out of the vents on a/c and on heat. It just takes a while for the heat to get there and then you can heat yourself right outa the truck if you leave it turned up. I tried the thermostat with no luck. Is there a chance that because i have a flex fuel truck that something is set up different?? Or is there a valve or solenoid that opens up the heat?? I have the dual digital climate control system if that matters

 

[DenaliAK]

Its funny in the spring when it starts to warm up, when it gets to 0 it feels real nice lol. Its actually not too bad though, it seems like once it gets cold enough you cant tell if it is any colder

Yeah, I seem to feel the coldest when it's around 20 degrees and a little humid. Once it goes below zero it doesn't feel as bad. No idea why, since that is totally counter-intuitive....lol.

Is there a cabin air filter on a 2004 tahoe?? i have looked before and not found anything, unless there is different location than under the glove box. I do get great air flow out of the vents on a/c and on heat. It just takes a while for the heat to get there and then you can heat yourself right outa the truck if you leave it turned up. I tried the thermostat with no luck. Is there a chance that because i have a flex fuel truck that something is set up different?? Or is there a valve or solenoid that opens up the heat?? I have the dual digital climate control system if that matters

I wish I had an answer for you on this one, but I'm barely familiar with my '03 Denali. Don't see why a flex fuel setup would be any different, but who knows...maybe there's some efficiency feature kicking in that's limiting your heat? That seems counter-productive, though, since a cooler engine is a better running one, generally speaking, and the heater takes the heat from the engine. That's why if you're over-heating you should crank the heat all the way up...it actually cools the engine down some.

damn its cold where you guys live. im going mtn biking in shorts and t shirt in a few minutes. its a nice 62 degrees =)

Pssshhh...hasn't even started really getting cold yet. Today it's a balmy 27 and snowing...lol.

At least you aren't complaining that it's "cold" because it's only 62....I used to hear that in SoCal all the time and it drove me nuts. What a bunch of whiners.

 

[withac]

damn its cold where you guys live. im going mtn biking in shorts and t shirt in a few minutes. its a nice 62 degrees =)

Has anyone told you how bad you suck? I've had lows of 16. In January I can get -20 or less.

---------- Post added at 03:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:59 PM ----------

Huh. Sounds like you may have some other heating issues, because mine pumps out hot air after about 10 minutes of idle even when it's -10. It gets a little hotter when I'm driving because the RPM's go up. You should not need to go 20-30 minutes to just barely feel heat, especially if it's not even below freezing.

My first guess would be bad thermostat, but you already checked that. You may need a new heater core itself. Check the air-flow with different settings on your heater/AC controls, too. There may be a simple fix like a clogged air filter in there that needs replacing. Bottom line is that something ain't right, though. I get a lot of heat both front and rear on even the coldest days.

I think DenaliAK here hit it on the head. If you're heater isn't warming up it's not the block heater. It should run warm when the engine warms up. I had a mini van years ago and when the heater ran cold at an idle I found it would warm up if I upped the RPM's a little, had a bad thermo. Replaced the thermo, got my heater back. If you replaced the thermo and still have problems it's like Denali said, you got other problems, or maybe the new thermo was bad. I've been told that lower radiator hose heaters don't work well with rides that have A/C. I had one on an old '73 Power Wagon, worked great but I didn't have A/C. I have a '98 Ram with a soft plug heater. It really does make it start easier. It doesn't heat the oil as someone infered, it heats the water in the system and really does make for easier starts on cold mornings. It started to leak a month ago. I could have just put a soft plug back in but I put another heater in. Cheap way to help it start on cold mornings. I'd recommend one.

 

[odie301]

my heat works great...but only once my truck is up to operating temp.. which is like 210. So my thought is, if i can use a block heater, tank heater, lower hose heater..to keep my coolant (and engine oil) warmed more so than if my truck sits over night at -20*..then it should warm up faster once i go down the road and hence create "instant" heat for the cab. The tank heater i am looking at will keep the coolant between 120-140..so once the truck is started it shouldn't take long to reach 210 and have optimul heat.
In the past using the factory block heater, i have not seen any improvement in engine warming.

my truck just currently seems to not "warm up" say to 210* w/o being driven. Maybe this is common?? It does warm up with exteneded idle(which is bad for gas mileage) but not up high enough to really heat up the inside. So i have heat, i dont lose heat if i stop and park..it just takes a while to heat up the first time.

Anyone know the factory block heater watts??

 

[withac]

my heat works great...but only once my truck is up to operating temp.. which is like 210. So my thought is, if i can use a block heater, tank heater, lower hose heater..to keep my coolant (and engine oil) warmed more so than if my truck sits over night at -20*..then it should warm up faster once i go down the road and hence create "instant" heat for the cab. The tank heater i am looking at will keep the coolant between 120-140..so once the truck is started it shouldn't take long to reach 210 and have optimul heat.
In the past using the factory block heater, i have not seen any improvement in engine warming.

my truck just currently seems to not "warm up" say to 210* w/o being driven. Maybe this is common?? It does warm up with exteneded idle(which is bad for gas mileage) but not up high enough to really heat up the inside. So i have heat, i dont lose heat if i stop and park..it just takes a while to heat up the first time.

Anyone know the factory block heater watts??

Gotcha, I didn't quite follow you the first time. The soft plug heater in my Dodge wasn't factory installed, it was aftermarket and I could tell a definite difference when I used it. As far as the wattage I don't know. Is it possible that yours is burned out or something? I just would really think you should be able to tell a difference. My '** heats up at idle. You're right, it's not fuel efficient, but if I'm taking the family somewhere I'll start up the Tahoe and turn both heaters on full bore about 15 minutes give or take, before we leave. It's always nice and warm when we get in. I don't know a lot about these rides but I still have to wonder, as someone pointed out, that if you aren't getting much heat at an idle it there isn't something else going on.