Those who know about Eng. Block Heater

Acura TL 2004
Had engine block heater installed a few days ago.
Wanted to give it a test - 30F today I pluged in for an hour or so and
started car.
But temp needle was at bottom, idled for about 30 secs - no change.

Turned heat on - no difference I could tell than w/o the heater.

Isn't the needle supposed to NOT be at the bottom ?
Basically I could tell no difference. This sounds right ?

 

Sounds fine to me.

If you want the whole block warm enough to feel heat right away, you'll have
to plug it in longer than an hour, especially with an air temp of -30.

 

oh, no no
+30F not minus !

 

At +30 you don't need a block heater. It's a waste of power to use one
at temperatures above +10 F or so. No it won't warm the engine up
enough that the temp guage will come up off the pin. Most temp guages
only start to come off the pin at about +140 F

If it's a warm car interior you're after, get a 115V car heater and a
timer that will start the heater about an hour before you plan to use
the car.

 

-----------------------------

If you could hear it 'cooking', it's working. Government of Canada
concluded that plugging in more than three hours was a total waste. One
or two hours at -30f is just right, or use a block heater
'economizer'thermostatic extension cord, which senses the temp and turns
it off and on. +30f is shirt-sleeve weather, as far as your car is
concerned.

'Curly'

 

I have had a few cars where running the block heater for 2 hours
caused the temp guage to move ever so slightly, but most don't show
it. How quickly the temp guage moves up the dial when you start
driving is another matter. You should see a noticeable difference then,
with normal temp achieved in a short period.

As others have noted, using the block heater at +30F isn't all that
beneficial. It will reduce fuel consumption and oil contamination
slightly, since there will be a shorter time when fuel can condense
on the cylinder walls. The colder it gets, the more help it is.
At -40F, a block heater may allow the car to start when it otherwise
wouldn't (most properly maintained cars will start at -40F) and will
certainly reduce the load on the battery, starter and alternator,
and improve lubrication on start-up.

Dan

(This account is not used for email.)

 

Whether your automatic transmission will work at such temperatures is
another matter! :-(

 

I had a bitch starting my truck at -17 with no block heater. Many people
also equate a car that started in cold weather as OK. A common thing is
burning out the cam bearings on cold days with no block heater. The car
started, the oil had pressure, but it was to thick to get up to the cam

 

The engine heater is meant to keep the engine at a temperature that will
help it start. It is not there to get you heat any faster.

 

A block heater isn't meant to give you heat faster. It's job is to keep the
oil in the engine warm so it lubricates better on a cold start. Your temp
gauge measures the temp of the engine coolant, which is also used to heat
through your heater core. Block heaters don't heat that water. It has to
be heated by the running engine, so a block heater won't help you there.
It's only purpose is to save wear and tear on the engine at start up.

 

While it's true that a block heater is meant to heat the engine, and not to
give you heat faster, it heats the engine by heating the coolant, and does
give you heat faster. One of the risks of a block heater is that it's seal
will fail, and allow coolant to leak, although this is very rare. Because
the oil sits in the oil pan below the engine, the block heater is not
very good at heating the engine oil.

There are other methods of heating an engine. You can get a plate heater
with a magnetic base that attaches to the oil pan. You can also get an
immersion heater that goes in the dipstick hole. Both of these heat the
engine by heating the oil, and have less affect on the coolant.

I have also seen a heater that mounts in-line in the radiator hose, and
circulates hot coolant. This preheats the car interior heater core. I
have never known anyone to use one of these though.

Dan

(This account is not used for email.)