So you're telling me that a modern, fuel-injected 6.2L engine "needs" a block heater, because the 5w-20 will turn to "molasses". Whatever ...

Just because I don't live where you define it as "cold", does not mean I have not visited those areas, and experienced those cold starts. Further, I went to work on 1-19-1994 when it hit -36F where I live in Johnson County (where the state record low was set). I had to walk out and start my 1994 F150 with a 5.8L engine that had conventional 5w-30 in it. It turned over a bit slower; sure. But it started and ran just fine. No block heater. No syn oil. And that engine never self-destructed.
"On January 19, the temperature in New Whiteland, Indiana dropped to −36 °F (−37.8 °C), the record-lowest temperature in Indiana.[8]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_N...ican_cold_wave


I had a block heater in my Dmax truck. Most certainly, when I plugged it in, the cab heat came up to temp much quicker. Anything that warms the block via the coolant, will most assuredly cause the defroster to function quicker. The defrost cycles uses heat from the coolant along with "dry" air using the a/c system to defrost the windshield. If the block heater is heating the coolant to warm the block, it MUST ALSO be assisting in quicker defrost efficiency. Duh ...



The best part of the internet is that I don't have to live in your world of make believe. I summarily dismiss your objections as over-reactive hyperbole.

 

 

1) This is the 6.2L engine section, not the diesel section. The 6.2L engine is nowhere near to 800lbs; closer to 600. Further, the coolant capacity is 20L, not 30L. Both of these mean you're not really wanting to talk about facts, but more of your hyperbole. Exaggeration is your thing. The block heaters are sized by Ford for the application. There is not a one-size-fits-all heater. BC3Z-6A051-A is the heater for a diesel. The suffix changes to "C" for the gas engine. If Ford thought they needed a larger heater for the gas engine, they would have installed it. The gas engine does not require a heater as large as a diesel engine. I am trying to be specific here; talking to the OP about his question regarding a 6.2L block heater. You're wanting to paint the entire canvas with a wide brush. Kudos to you for your inability to stay on topic.
2) -40F is -40F regardless if it's IN or Canada. The "corn cobs" we grow down here are just as cold as the wheat you grow up there. Temp is temp. Despite your uninformed opinion, IN is in the path of the jet-stream where it dips over the Great Lakes, and is one of the colder Midwestern states. That you don't recognize this isn't within my control. Since when is -36F in Indiana any warmer than -36F in Canada? Or maybe you'd like to state that 25.4mm isn't the same as 1 inch because I'm further south?
3) the "defrost" feature on Ford vehicles always engages the compressor. Don't believe me? Go out and run your truck in defrost mode and watch the a/c clutch cycle. And by the way, it's not the moisture in the outside air they are trying to dry out. It's the moisture that comes from the human body (typically exhaled) inside a closed interior that is of concern. People put moisture into the cab of the truck as they breath and perspire. Hence, the need to "dry" the air.

You're foolish if you cannot recognize these facts. It doesn't take a "nerd" to understand these things; it only takes someone with a decent high-school education.

 

 

I don't want to get into this pissing match, I'm from Kansas so I guess that doesn't count as cold, but we do run a large cattle ranch and rely on starting plenty of equipment everyday. But if it's so cold that your engine isn't cranking over a block heater isn't going to do anything for you. That's a battery problem.

 

 

 

 

You clearly have zero understanding of how a "block heater" works. When I speak of a "block heater", I'm talking about the heating elements that Ford installs in the 6.2L and 6.7L engines. And specifically, because this is the 6.2L engine section, I'll stay focused on those. However what I'm about to tell you does apply to both ... Pretty much all main-stream "block heaters" work in the manner I'm about to describe.
The "block heater" does not heat the block at all; not one bit. I'm being very particular and specific here. The "heater" is a immersion coil element that heats the COOLANT in the block; it is inserted into the coolant jacket typically either where a freeze plug would be, or sometimes elsewhere. The first thing the "heater" does when electrified is transfer energy to the COOLANT. That warm coolant, in turn, warms the block. The block heater does not, in any manner, warm the bulk of the oil, BECAUSE THE OIL IS STORED IN THE PAN, WHERE NO COOLANT CIRCULATES AT ALL. A small amount of heat energy will warm the oil, but ONLY the oil that is trapped in the lube circuit (very small amount when the engine is off). MOST of the oil (probably 90% or more) is sitting the pan when the engine is off. What you claim (by obvious ignorance of how the system really works), is generally moot. The oil sits in a pan where practically no heat energy gets to it from the block heater. I will note, there are products called "pan heaters" that are intended to have a more direct affect on the lube; they are often either a mat that attaches to the bottom of the pan, or a heat-stick that goes in where the dip-stick resides.

It is you whom is asinine. "Block heaters" do NOT warm the vast majority of the oil (to any appreciable manner). They warm the block via warm coolant circulating through the block. (Warm coolant rises to the top of the system; cooler liquid settles; the constant cycle makes the coolant "flow" through the engine even though the pump is not turning with the engine off). To be technically correct, the conduction of heat energy from the element to the liquid makes the liquid in turn move through the engine via convection.

Further, despite your impending disagreement, oil does not "pump" appreciably faster when it's warmer versus cold. Yes - I can see your eyes rolling in disgust. Go ahead and ignore the rest of what I'm about to state, because you're already a closed minded person. But perhaps there are others here who really want to learn ...

Oil viscosity is the resistance to flow. Cold oil will resist flow, but that is ONLY when measured in a "free state". Once you pump it under pressure (ala the engine oil pump), there is a very small difference between what is pumped velocity when looking at warm versus cold oil. The oil pumps are positive displacement entities; they move the oil along with little volume slippage. They are not centrifugal pumps or turbines; they don't allow fluid to escape the cyclic process generally. With positive displacement pumps, nearly all the lube oil that is picked up is pushed along, with very little difference in how the velocity changes relative to the oil's temp. My point is that while "cold" oil may have a flow resistance 50x greater than hot oil, that is ONLY as meausured with viscosity testing. When the oil is pumped, the delta of velocity is much smaller; nowhere near that same 50x factor. If your anti-drainback valve (aka ADVB; located either in the engine block or the oil filter) is doing it's job, the oil lube circuit should not be dry; the purpose of this check-valve is to hold oil in the circuit upon shutdown. Viscous oil will travel at nearly the same speed in a lube circuit as less-viscous oil, but it takes more energy to move it. Do NOT confuse the two topics; one is about the velocity of the lube oil, the other is about the energy it takes to move it along. Oil that is 20 F in temp will move along via the positive displacement pump just about as quick as oil that is 200F; but it takes more force to push it along. If the pressure at the pump is too great, it will bleed off pressure via the PRV at the pump. Totally normal in vehicle operation.

So, as long as the pump starts moving oil (no matter how slow or fast), the moving engine parts will have oil to them. It takes less than a few seconds (warm or cold) for oil to move from a positive displacement pump. The clatter often heard in a really cold engine is typically from the lifters not yet having full pressure. That is NOT because the oil is cold; IT IS BECAUSE THE ADBV HAS FAILED TO HOLD THE OIL UP WHERE IT BELONGS. Here's why it matters; this is why you want warm oil ... warm oil will FREE FLOW much better than cold oil. It's not that you cannot pump cold oil fairly well up to the top end of the engine; the positive displacement pump will do so decently. But once up to the top of the engine, oil that is really cold will not drain back to the pan in a quick manner, and that can cause low oil levels in the pan, which in turn causes oil starvation/cavitation at the pump. The reason "block heaters" are important in really cold areas is so that the oil actually warms itself as it drains back across the surfaces of the warmed block, which has been warmed by the coolant itself. (side bar: warm coolant is a good thing in a diesel engine (which we are NOT currently discussing) because a warm block will promote compression-ignition better, but that's a moot thing for a 6.2L engine we speak of in this forum.)

Most simply put, warm oil is not important so much as to the topic of pumping to the engine parts, but in regard to the free-flow return of oil to the pan. This is aided by the warmed block transmitting heat energy via surface conduction.

PS - if the coolant is warm enough to make the block warm enough to promote good oil return flow, it is ALSO warm enough to make your defrost/heater cycle more efficient. You are nuts if you think a block heater does not improve the "heater/defrost" cycle warm-up times. The sooner the coolant temp rises, the quicker and more efficient the heater will become. The same coolant that warms the block is also the same coolant that flows through the heater core in the truck cab. How do you not get this?

PSS - I have NEVER, EVER said that "block heaters" are not a good idea. They can be an excellent tool. But like most things, they have times when they are also a total waste of money. My advice to the OP is that he needs to ascertain how much he might "need" the block heater. I already stated that if one sees temps routinely below -20F, a block heater is a good idea. If not in those conditions, they are a waste of money because a modern fuel-injected gas engine does not "need" them to start reliably.

PSSS - there are sub-topics such as wear control of cold lubes, versus the performance of engine-oil-pressure-driven parts such as chain tensioners, cam phasers, etc. But I suspect your head is already about the explode, so I'll just leave those alone for now.

 

 

 

Opens thread.

Shakes head.

Closes thread.

 

 

Where is the heating element?