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My timer is set for 3 hours as well - I sometimes get called into work early. I'll tell you that extra hour from 2 hours is the difference between firing up and crankin' on the heat, or waiting for the EOT to get high enough to spit out heat.
For those with OBDII gauges like Torque Pro, here's an interesting tidbit not often thought through:
It's a block heater, not an oil heater. If you look at your Engine Oil Temperature before cranking, you'll see the temp drop after you start. That's the cold oil in the pan being pulled into the engine and the injectors. The heat from the block helps to keep the oil in the pan warmer than without the block heater, but it's still pretty cool down there.
With the puny unit in the 6.2 I simply leave it plugged in. On a timer it will never come up to temp, IMO. I've been around large industrial gas and diesel block heaters for years. This 6.2 unit is a joke. I'm thinking of installing a Hotstart aux heater if the cooling system geometry allows. Looks like the Diesels have a respectable block heater. My question to all is... Does the Diesel heater have a high/low thermostat? If the Diesel block heaters have an integral thermostat why not just let the stat control the cycling. By cutting off the juice the heater has to constantly play catch up rather than simply maintaining. I would think maintaining spec'ed temp would actually be more efficient. If they do not have an integral stat and the goal is to save you coin on the utility bill if you leave it plugged in overnight, I be more inclined to install a thermostat over a timer. Many use the timer to simply turn it on a few hours prior to road time. But for those who want to leave it plugged in the stat would make sense.
As near as I can tell, the block heater uses about 800 watts non-stop, and the temp goes where it does. I've had thermal underwear mornings where the EOT is about 60 degrees F after three hours, and nippy mornings where the temperature parks at 80 degrees. I need more observations with different weather to say anything more definitive.
I just found a plug in for my truck this morning tucked under the bumper on the drivers side. I saw earlier in the thread that it is believed that all of our trucks came with the wiring, but did all of our trucks come with block heaters, or the wiring harness? I live in the south, so I have not had a need for it, but if/when I did, it would be nice to know if it worked or was installed already.
EDIT: Based on this picture Rich posted, I do in fact have a block heater, which is a good thing. I actually was laying under my truck today tightening the manifold to up-pipe bolts and saw this wire/plug and thought to myself "WTF is that thing". Then I figure I had too much to do yet and moved onto the next project. Going to do some research now to see how I go about testing it to see if it works or not.
EDIT 2: It appears the best way to see if your block heater works is to plug it in for a while and then see if the element base is warm to the touch. Also, there may be some "bubbling or gurgling" noise if you listen closely. This is of course without any scientific measuring tools.
I just found a plug in for my truck this morning tucked under the bumper on the drivers side. I saw earlier in the thread that it is believed that all of our trucks came with the wiring, but did all of our trucks come with block heaters, or the wiring harness? I live in the south, so I have not had a need for it, but if/when I did, it would be nice to know if it worked or was installed already.
EDIT: Based on this picture Rich posted, I do in fact have a block heater, which is a good thing. I actually was laying under my truck today tightening the manifold to up-pipe bolts and saw this wire/plug and thought to myself "WTF is that thing". Then I figure I had too much to do yet and moved onto the next project. Going to do some research now to see how I go about testing it to see if it works or not.
EDIT 2: It appears the best way to see if your block heater works is to plug it in for a while and then see if the element base is warm to the touch. Also, there may be some "bubbling or gurgling" noise if you listen closely. This is of course without any scientific measuring tools.
I do believe that what you have there is the end that should be attached to the heater and not hanging out loose.
It was in fact a picture that Tugly had posted earlier. I tested my block heater this morning and it works! Ford/International got it right with these trucks I tell you...
I do believe that what you have there is the end that should be attached to the heater and not hanging out loose.
As others mentioned, that was just a demo picture that I share. It shows the wrench size for the block heater, and the location of the block heater and the EGT sensor.
Just tested a new in box (NIB) OEM heater I purchased from Henry. It ohms out at 38 ohms. The OEM, still in the block, ohms at 34.5...That means the 6.2s heater is a measly 373-417-ish Watts by my math. So lets call it a nominal 400 watt heater. V²/R=P...119 vac/38 ohm=373W...Why bother.... The old units better then the new 60 dollar one......They do "breakin" somewhat so I'm anticipating the new one will come down a few ohms.
Gonna have to look into who offers an upgrade. Or maybe there's another threaded bung in the 6.2 block...rrrright... Hopefully Kim HotStart offers something with some azz. More fun to follow.
It was 16 degrees this morning and my truck started much easier since I installed and plugged in the Zerostart block heater. It wasn't a perfect start so my next job may be switching to synthetic oil. Since it is so cold and my truck doesn't fit in my heated garage I may actually take it somewhere and let them do it.
Hotstart.... they have heaters for our engine... they have a 750 watt unit and a 1000 watt unit (primary wattage). Part numbers are TF751-002 and FC101-PY1, respectively. See screen shots below. (You have to search under Navistar/International, and you'll find two separate entries for the two models for our 7.3L diesel engines.
That site makes it look like an OEM heater, but it isn't. There seems to be some mixed reviews (mixed success) with these aftermarket units. Glad yours is working out, Colorado350.
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...They do "breakin" somewhat so I'm anticipating the new one will come down a few ohms.
