Battery blankets anyone?

[Jobi-Wan Kenobi]

Anyone live in cold climates and had any luck using a battery blanket? We've had 2 mornings here in a row of hellish cold temps (this morning was -25) and I had to replace my 2 year old battery today. The engine started yesterday but I do kinda wonder now if the cold was already taking its toll on the battery at that time. I can't help but wonder though if using a battery blanket would have helped prolong the life a bit.

Thoughts?

 

[Scottydoggs]

i knew a guy on a grand prix forum years ago, he was in the army in Alaska, so very cold. he had a battery warmer, block heater, oil pan pad heater as well as a trans pan heater on his car. and all that helped when it was neg degrees out, aka most of the time for him.

so yeah its worth it. a battery tender might also help keep it fully charged.

 

[Doubeleive]

I have mine heat foil insulation wrapped and a battery cover I guess you could call it a blanket from a corvette
I do this due to hopefully help reflect the heat rather than cold, you could probably get away with a lizard heater, just get one long enough to wrap around it and then you can just tuck the cord in when you unplug it. I am assuming you have the block heater already? if not that's a easy add-on

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[frank1]

Years ago, I worked at a coal mine in northern BC, the battery blanket save the truck many times. I would have synthetic oil, block heater and battery blanket. It was cold, truck door won't close cold, the battery blanket saved the truck

 

[GMCChevy]

One of my trucks came with a factory one.
We have several days a year of those super cold temps and unless the battery is older it's never been an issue. But yjose super cold temps are when battery problems show up so it doesn't hurt to have one.

 

[S33k3r]

Take a look at the items available to diesel trucks. Diesel does not like freezing temperatures. So they have things like induction heaters and other cool stuff. My Duramax has a factor block warmer, but I haven't figured out how to use it yet... Although I have been told Duramax will start without using it up until about 0 degrees F.

 

[Jobi-Wan Kenobi]

Thanks guys. Right now I have no heating aids of any kind. Prior to me having the vehicle it spent its life in Arizona up until 2017 when the previous owner had bought it here in Wisconsin. I do run mobil 1 for engine oil.

 

[B-train]

Battery warmers have their place and can be helpful. I've seen the other side of them where they overheat the battery and it blows up (generators is where I've seen many fail). But, if you are the one who plugs and unplugs it only for night hours, then you should be fine.

I too am a WI guy and never needed to use one, even down to our -27F crap we had a few years back, and just recently in the -10 range. However, a few bucks on a blanket and a dollar of electricity may save MANY minutes of cussing and disruption if the cold does kill one, so have at it!

 

[homesick]

IDK how effective they are, but my dad used to use a heated dipstick.

joe

 

[Fless]

Back when we had real light bulbs we'd hang a 100w bulb next to the oil pan to generate some heat. We also had some funky inline radiator hose heaters that could be plugged in to keep the antifreeze warm.

 

[petethepug]

If it’s an ez install, give the battery a blankie. Block heater means more warm, less tense, butt & back sooner.

 

[noodlesandsam2]

heated dipstick - yes, from the old upstate NY days - they did help

 

[dps01]

The engine started yesterday but I do kinda wonder now if the cold was already taking its toll on the battery at that time. I can't help but wonder though if using a battery blanket would have helped prolong the life a bit.

Excessive Heat destroys lead acid batteries… Excessive Cold is when the damage makes itself known.

 

[S33k3r]

You know... Instead of using a battery blanket, you could just pull the battery at night, even throw it on a trickle charger, and then reinstall in the morning. It's a very easy process to remove/install, and you might get away with some quick connect/disconnect bolts.

 

[rockola1971]

Generally a lead acid battery is designed to live life around 75 deg. When it gets below or above that then the battery's output suffers (CCA). You start getting below freezing and then negative temps and there will be permanent damage to the battery. The battery will never be able to reach its full capacity again. It could still work and crank engine over to start it but it will never be 100% again. A battery warmer should be a must, especially in extreme cold climate, along with block heaters and oil warmers. In extreme places like Fairbanks, AK people pull their vehicle in to a parking spot then plug in the 120v cords at the spots to their block heaters and im sure many have oil and battery warmers too. The heaters are thermostatically controlled so you arent going to cook anything.