This will be my first winter with a diesel so I have some newbie questions.

1. DO you people leave your trucks plugged in while it idles for a little bit before you rollout?

2. Do I need a special timer to have the engine block heater plugged into, or will any outdoor timer work? Some timers are rated for a certain amount of power and I don't know how much power the heater draws. I guess that is a third question.

 

i use a 10 amp timer to turn on the block heater 3 hour before. got it from Wal-mart I do leave the truck plugin while it idles in the morning with my remote start. the Block heater use about 8 /10 amp. hope this help. John

 

Any issues with just leaving it plugged in? Same on the first winter. Besides rolling the electric meter a little bit, is there any down side? thanks rc

 

i've always just had mine plugged in all night, makes for nice starts on very cold mornings

 

Last winter my truck worked fine without ever having the block heater plugged in. Unless you live in a very cold part of NY you may never need to run the block heater.

I guess if the weather forcast was for 20 degrees below zero, then I'd run the extension cord out to the truck.

Lou Braun

 

Heck I live in North Louisiana and plug mine in during the winter. It starts like a champ and heat blows quick. Better (imo) than letting it idle excessively to warm up. Plus I was subject to call outs at all hours of the night, so I left it plugged in every night I was on call. Didn't notice any difference in my power bill.

 

the block heater draws about 1000 watts. yes you can use a timer, and yes you can leave it plugged in all night if you want. you won't hurt anything.
i live in vegas, and it doesn't technically get cold enough to REQUIRE the heater be plugged in, but i do anyway, and the truck starts like a champ and blows hot air very quickly.
i have remote start too, so while my truck idles in the morning it is still plugged in.

ONE THING TO REMEMBER: please dont forget to unplug it before driving off.. what i do is loop the extension cord around my driver side mirror so there is no way that i will get in the truck and forget about the heater being plugged in.

 

just a ping from the GWN (Edmonton). With a 6L diesel, if it's below -10, i plug in, using a block heater timer. -10 (-15F) ~= 2 hours -30 (-22F) ~= 4 hours. 15 litres of oil takes a while to soften up, so do plug in! it's better for the truck, you can drive away without excessive idling. also your tranny will thank you.

up way north (ft mac, yellowknife, grande prarie) the heavy diesel gear runs 24/7 because they can't plug in, and 120 litres (60 gal) or more of oil takes a lot of time to thaw. even little gas trucks idle when it's really cold.

this is the justification that lots of guys use to leave their diesel or gas pickemup running in the nice warm city all the time when it's below freezing. i agree that cold-shocking any engine is a bad plan, but it's not clear to me that idling is good for the truck when the block/oil/tranny doesn't have time to cool off. below freezing is one thing, -20 is something else.

if you are getting a timer, get one that can handle at least 15A and can be properly grounded and screwed securely to a stud. because you will someday forget you are plugged in and you will someday have a "oh, darn!" moment. worry not, it will come unplugged and if you are lucky the neigbors won't notiice. (been there, done that) and also, get a freeze-flexible extension cord. the standard ones go all crispy at about -15.

 

There is something about the voice of experience.... Those "oh darn" moments do keep life interesting and it is ALWAYS with an audience of some sort. rc

 

Good to know. I am in NY and this will be my first winter with the F350.

 

One thing that puzzled me (another noob Diesel owner) is when I bought my 2006 leftover F350 in April (brand new) there was no outlet for a block heater. My dealer told me "it's because the new Diesel's don't need them in this area".

The coldest it ever gets around here is 8-10F, and that's rare...

Is he wrong, and I should definitely have a block heater???

 

thanks guys for all the input. I am gonna go to Wal Mart or the local electric supply store soon and get the stuff I need.

 

You have the heater already installed in your engine. Every 6.0 has at least the heater element in place. All you'd need to do is purchase a cord and wire it up.

 

I have head that leaving the block heater plugged in while the engine is running can damage the heater. From what i was told is that as the coolant heats up hotter than the block heater is capaiable of it lowers the resistance of the heating element, which then causes the heating element to draw more current and possiable leading to the heating element burning out. If the heating element draws 1000 watts at 120 volts then that equals 14.4 ohm's of resistance. Not sure of the temp. that the heating element heats to but say if it is a 100*F and the truck runs and heats up to 200*F than resistance value drops to 7.2ohm's then the current draw is 16.6 amps witch can burn the heating element out if the element is not raited to handle that kind of current.

 

Don't forget that resistance ALWAYS increases with temperature (try it with a light bulb sometime).... The actual coefficient of resistance is approximately 0.00393 /*C. So the resistance of the heater would go up not down as the engine heats up which would cause the amperage to decrease not increase.

Whoever informed you of these facts is mistaken.