Hmmm,

A financial dilema here. I'm a volunteer fire fighter who needs to jump in his rig to go on a call at a moment's notice. It's also around 10-15 F at night in central Oregon. I plugged my truck last night and fired it up this morning. I was pleasantly surprised to see the temp needle (stock) immediatly rise off the deck where it normally sits for 10 mins up on start up. Truck was not clanky at all, like it was already warmed up !

Now, counting the dollars, a 1000 watt block heater on 24x7 with a KWh cost of .07 cents...that's around $50 a month to have it plugged in. It's not generally my daily driver so I'm planning for the worst (24x7). And a timer won't work because the calls can come in anytime...and it stays pretty cold here in the winter!

The other option is to just let it warm up for 30 secs and go easy until I arrive on-scene. Yet another option would be to heat/insulate my shop.

Also, is it bad for it to be plugged in 24x7?

Has anyone else thought about pluggin-in in this fashion?????

Thanks,
Spindrift

04 F-350 CC 6.0l

 

Do the block heaters runn all the time or do they cycle when reaching temp? If they cycle leave it on and will probally run half the time. If it doesn't cycle make it cycle with something like an x-10 and a x-10 clock. Or have it on a remote so when you get a call you can remote it on and then get dressed although I don't know if 5 min will do anything.

 

How about putting it on a timer just for the night hours? If you do it from 8 at night to 8 in the morning, you have just cut your time in half...

 

Yep, if it doesn't already cycle, cycle it with an X10 or similar. If you're running it on a 24-hour timer, you could have it cycle less frequently during daylight hours (depending on the high temp... down here in TX, it barely gets cold enough to need the heater).

Rather than remote-controlling the heater, get an alarm with remote start and fire it as soon as the tones drop and you crawl out of bed. If you're anything like me (jeans turned out around boots, shirt laid out, etc.) that'll only buy you a minute, but every minute counts. I guess you could do something truly sexy and get an amplified charger for your Minitor with the contact closures on the back... use them to send the remote-start command with a remote (make sure to have a disable switch).

Don't forget positioning the cable somewhere where you have to disconnect it. Personally, I'm probably going to install a Kussmaul auto-eject plug for the block heater as well as for shore power (separate plugs) so I don't pull a ******* and drive off with the truck still plugged in.

Good luck and stay safe out there... I was hoping for a quiet winter, but the whole region is getting eaten alive with grass fires. Yee ha.

 

Auto start alarm is a good idea.

 

Last winter I left my plugged in 24x7 and only drove it on once or twice a week on average. I didn't see where it hurt anything and my sister, who pays the electric bill, didn't mention any big spike in the electric bill.

 

Im on a Fire dept also I leave mine pluged in 24/7 only notices about a 10$ jump in the bill at the end if the month I have tried a timer to turn on every two hours and off every two but the truck just starts easer with it just pluger in. Just get a heavy duty extention cord not a cheap on and you should be fine. Just my .02cents

 

The heater does not cycle. It is on all the time. It will not hurt anything as the heater is not capable of over heating the engine, 'think parts'. I use a timer it works great, but no, it is not the same as leaving it plugged in. You should realize that once the inerds heat up, it loses heat very slowly, so you can then cycle it with a timer. Especially if you garage it and keep it out of the free air and wind. Figuring cost is easy. Divide the wattage by 1000 to get kilowatts. Multiply that by the cost of power in your area. Mine is 7 cents per kilowatt/hour. Be sure to enter it as .07 for example. That is the cost per hour. Multiply that by the number of hours per day you will use it, then the days of the month. At 7 cents it will be $50.00 give or take for the month.

 

Investigate a temperature activated extension cord. These things are available here in Canada, I think turning on at about -10 C (approx 15 F).

Personally I use a timer from midnight to 6 am, I figure the heat of the engine keeps it warm in the driveway for 2-4 hours, and after 6 hours on the timer, the truck just "purrrrs".

Greg

 

I have been looking for the temperature activated cords (power saver cords). I haven't found any vendor who carries them. Also, I read on sites that cycling the heater every four hours saves the most power. Heavy duty outdoor timers are available at most home centers. I just bought one for the "holiday" lights and will be used for the block heater afterwards.

Bob

 

Yes, the heater is 1,000 watts and once it is heated it stay hot and on.

No need to keep it that warm 100% of the time. In one of the posts above a variable or self-sensing timer/cord would be great (I need to find one). Last winter, someone posted that it only takes about 2 - 3 hours to heat up and then you could shut it off for a while, then re-heat.

My only concern is like everything else... things wear out and the more you use them, they wear quicker. So there is that fine line between wanting a warm motor, the extra energy costs and wearing out the block heater sooner rather than later (but maybe never)?

I would think that warming the garage in some way would be a better option as it would keep your oil warm as well. Warm oil is more important that warm coolant (maybe someone else knows this answer)? Keep the garage warm and you can work on your truck, have warm seats, warm oil and warm coolant!!!

Good luck on whatever you decide.

Jeff

 

One thing to keep in mind is that heat energy flows from warmer to colder. How many of you took physics? Once the engine is warm, the heat energy will flow to other parts of the engine, eventually reaching the outside where it can transfer to the air. If you shut the heater down, eventually this process is what cools the engine back down. I use a Kats 200W magnetic heater on my oil pan between the pan and the tranny. That one is on all the time as it is smaller. It keeps the oil pretty warm. As the oil is warm, it gives off heat in the form of convection and conduction up into the block, warming the crank, bearings, and rods, etc. My block heater is only used as a means to warm the upper block areas aound the cylinders to help with starting and running in those first minutes. The cam and bearings there are harder to warm as they are in the center. This is where leaving the heater on longer gives the heat energy time to migrate in towards the middle, before it starts to reverse and move to the outside, assuming you shut the heater off. You just have to decide how much you want to spend on energy.

I have an electrical degree. That is what I do. The heater will last longer if you shut it off. All heater elements have a finite life. They are not affected by on/off cycling. It has been my experiance that a block heater should last for a min of 10 years. I have equipment that has never needed it replaced. On the psd, the heater is in a very easy place to get to it anyway on the side-rear of the block, pass side.

 

Good info and background.

Electrical Engineer.... sounded like a rocket scientist????

Man, I should have stayed awake during physics... reason I became a sales and marketing director.

Just call you "Mr. 411" for all things electrical with the PSD - I'm sold.

Thanks,

Jeff

 

there are many things that arnt avaible in the states. Canada has more accesories for vehicles to fight the extreme cold.

 

Maybe look at Home Depot or Lowes for the part that turns on the heater cords that people use on their roofs. Wish I could help more, but I do know there are parts out there we can use on our trucks that were not designed or ever thought of being used on a truck.