I have heard alot of people here say the engine heater should not be left plugged in continuously but no one seems to give a reason. what is the story? is it bad or not? why? been using mine lately and have left it plugged in along with a battery charger all night long. it wouldnt fire cold one day last week and I ended up killin the batteries trying. since though i only need the heater because it fires right up when warm. the old Dekas need replacing. not enough power to run the glow plugs, the engine, and the remote start. engine running on remote start, with glow plugs on, only have ~11 volts. after the glowplugs cycle off only gets up to about 12.5 when its cold, and i didnt plug it in, got enough juice to try it 3 times then forget it cause its not gonna happen. what do you guys think?

 

Assuming your belt is not slipping, I suggest checking the connectors on the alternator. They'll sometimes loosen up from being laid across when working on the engine and all sorts of other reasons.

Check your battery posts and terminals. Make sure they're clean and tight.

As far as the engine block heater goes, I've left mine plugged in all night and haven't had any problems. I think the main reason people say don't leave it plugged in all the time is due to the amount of electricity it pulls. It can get expensive leaving it plugged in all the time.

 

Yup, that's exactly why I have mine on a timer, goes on at 2am, start my truck at 5am. Figure 3 hrs is enough to get the coolant warmed up a bit

 

its a fresh belt along with the smooth idler pulley. the tensioner was lubed and checked at that time so no its not slippin. terminals are tight and clean. I will check the connections to the alt. though. i dont lay on the alternator when im under the hood but its worth a check if i can avoid forking out 200+ for batteries

 

Yep, the only problem from running the heater continuously will be when you get your power bill. You can buy a timer for like $15 bucks, well worth it IMO.

 

Yup, here is the one I got. Think it was around $30. I have it mounted to a tree near where I park my truck haha

 

That looks very similar, if not identical to mine. I think it was $20-25 maybe? Mine's mounted on the outside of the garage
On a side note- I keep a short extension cord in the truck (maybe a 10 footer or so) so that if I need to plug in while I'm travelling I at least have a cord with me.

 

Love the Timmer Idea, I am gonna get me one now!

 

good call on the power cord going to do that myself.

 

how many watts is that heater? i electric bill is already astronomical. so I wanted to install a new circuit in the garage anyways i guess i will get a timer too.

 

I can never remember for sure, but I want to say 1500w.

 

I was thinking 1000 or 1200, but I'm not real sure either. I put mine on a timer too. I have it on for about 3 hours too.

 

I think it's around a 1000 - 1100 watt. Got my timer from ACE Hardware a few years ago and was rated for outdoors with a third prong ground (important) It was rated for 1500 watt operation and is still working great. At the time is cost me $15. It's a simple timer where you have to put the little pins on the clock face for ON or OFF times. I did try Home Depot but they had nothing except expensive stuff at the time.

I've tried different times but found 3 hours is the best bang for the buck. Did not mater is the temps where in the low 30's or high teens. Less than 3 hours I noticed a difference and more no difference on the WTS light. I did try the plug in all night but noticed no difference.

Needless to say if your climate is much colder then you may need to adjust the time.

 

It must be that the heater is 1000w and my timer (like yours Jim) is rated at 1500w. I knew it was one or the other

 

Simple OHMS law ..

I = E/R where E= 120 volts and R = 14 OHMS (heater element) on my rig.

8.571 amps = 120 / 14

Power equation is ..

P = I * I * R

1028 Watts = 8.571 * 8.571 * 14