Glenn1-

Couple of other things I forgot to add -
Wrapping the batteries does help, as does battery or oil pan heaters. I have used both in the past when I lived in Montana. However, I would not use these unless it is extremely cold, as the block heater is usually sufficent. My block heater is on a timer, I get up around 4:00 a.m. every morning so when it's cold out I set it to come on a couple of hours before I get up. I usually do not plug my vehicle in unless it drops into below 20 degrees F.

Webasto makes a good diesel fired block heater. You can find more info at Webasto.com. There are others out there, but this is the only brand I have experience with. We use them at work, and do know of a two people that have them installed in their own personal vehicles. They do have a remote timer option as well. Expensive, but may be a good investment.

 

Sheese...remind me never to move to Alaska! This southern boy would freeze crispy!

 

I wrote we have some cold weather buddies and these guys know what they are talking about

We are even ready if you have hot weather questions

 

Hi, Tim thanks for renaming the post and getting the extra posts. To the guys that replied thanks for the info. But I have a a question about the electrical load with let say a block heater and two battery warmers. How do you divide the load up with out tripping the breaker? Some one mentioned a distribution system. Is this store bought or homemade? I need some details here .

Thanks again

Glenn

 

As someone who lives in toronto, I can give you my experience last year with my superduty.... every day I'd plug it in at night to make sure it's somewhat warm when I got up in the morning to do whatever... I also have a remote starter on mine, so it makes it really easy in the super cold that we occassionally get... click the remstart about 20 minutes before I was ready to go, and it would be nice and toasty warm by the time I got out there and cleaned all the snow off the truck...

never ran a battery or oil warmer for the truck, but I do run a oil warmer on my mustang... makes it a little easier to start...

 

Glenn1-

I've seen outdoor, marine, and custom distributon blocks used, with marine being the most common. I used a waterproof marine distribution block in the past. However, If you really are looking for a custom set-up take a look at kimhotstart.com, http://www.kimhotstart.com/products/..._and_cords.htm they make custom cords pre-spliced for multiple heating applications. We use these on some of the equipment at work. Whatever you choose, make sure you sum the current draw (amps) from each heating accessory to ensure your distribution block and extension cord are rated to handle the total current draw of all your accessories. Twin Tritons may be able to chime in with some other alternatives and/or better set-ups.

As Twin Tritons mentioned, synthetics are well worth the added expense, and really shine when the temps drop. I also highly recommend them. However, I also try to wait untill 10,000 miles before switching to synthetic with a diesel engine (5,000 for gas). I have utilized Delvac1 (many other brands are available) with great success. Unfornately, no local outlets carry synthetic diesel oil in my area, so I'm stuck with standard Dino for now (should not be a problem finding synthetic diesel oils in Toronto).

Hope this helps

 

One more question on starting a cold 7.3 PSDs... I read that one fellow cycles the glow plugs 2 or 3 times when it is cold... My F250 is a 96, and doesnt like temps less than about 50F.. a truely California machine... seems to me that if I have to cycle them multiple times at these temps the glow plugs are defective? What is the failure mode on these plugs? How do they fail? Thanks much.
Lee D.

 

Uhhh....
it's 100 degrees here - thanks for suggesting cold weather - may make me sweat a tad bit less today

 

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