Block Heater....
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Senior User
Joined: Jan 2009
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Block Heater....
hey guys just wondering if i leave my truck plugged in for roughly just say 9 hrs a night, what you thinkin the electric bill will go up a month?? just needing a rough idea soo i know what to give my buddy since we split the apartment cost...what are some of the increase you guys have seen in the past...dont need any exact number just lookin for a rough idea
Laughing Gas
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 775
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From: Williamston, MI
You would need to know what you are paying per kwh. I figured mine out two years ago at about $40 a month if I left it plugged in all the time.
Kilowatt hour - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kilowatt hour - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Smokin
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 8,849
Likes: 0
hey guys just wondering if i leave my truck plugged in for roughly just say 9 hrs a night, what you thinkin the electric bill will go up a month?? just needing a rough idea soo i know what to give my buddy since we split the apartment cost...what are some of the increase you guys have seen in the past...dont need any exact number just lookin for a rough idea
There are 1,000 watts in one kWh
So, for every 9 hours your truck is plugged in, it uses 9 kWh's. .
Look at your energy bill. Somewhere on the top they will have listed how many kWh's you have used.
Lets say they listed that you used 281 Kilowatt hours. Your total electricity charges were $50.00 So I take $50.00 and divide it by 281 to get .1779 cents per kilowatt hour. So if you're spending .1799 cents per kWh and you leave your truck plugged in for 9 hours, you use 9 kWh's, and you pay $1.62 in electricity.
So all you need to do is look at your electricity bill and find out how much you are paying for each kWh. The formula looks like this:
Total bill / your total kWh usage = what you pay per kWh.
then take what you pay per kWh x number of hours its plugged in. Then multiply that number by the number of nights you plan on plugging the truck in per month. That'll give you your monthly usage.
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Postmaster
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 2,647
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From: Fulltime RVer
For the exact monthly cost first measure the Ohms resistance of the coolant heater element and assume an input voltage of 120 volts and then calculate the monthly cost from... $ per Month={(438.24)(Hours per day)($ per kWh)}/(Ohms)
For example on my Freightliner the coolant heater element measures 17 ohms and if I kept it plugged in for 9 Hours per day and I paid 0.10 $ per kWh my monthly cost would be... $ per Month={(438.24)(Hours per day)($ per kWh)}/(Ohms)={(438.24)(9)(0.10)}/(17)=$23.20!
I've got a common plug for both the coolant heater element and the oil pan heater element and since I'm a fulltime RVer I always have a "free 20A outlet" handy and I routinely plug my truck in for about an hour before starting it even for mildly cold overnight temperatures because when both the coolant and oil are warm the engine starts immediately and my AIH doesn't activate and this saves wear and tear on the AIH element and on the batteries as well as on the engine itself!
For example on my Freightliner the coolant heater element measures 17 ohms and if I kept it plugged in for 9 Hours per day and I paid 0.10 $ per kWh my monthly cost would be... $ per Month={(438.24)(Hours per day)($ per kWh)}/(Ohms)={(438.24)(9)(0.10)}/(17)=$23.20!
I've got a common plug for both the coolant heater element and the oil pan heater element and since I'm a fulltime RVer I always have a "free 20A outlet" handy and I routinely plug my truck in for about an hour before starting it even for mildly cold overnight temperatures because when both the coolant and oil are warm the engine starts immediately and my AIH doesn't activate and this saves wear and tear on the AIH element and on the batteries as well as on the engine itself!
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Joined: Feb 2004
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From: IOWA
I'd save yourself the headache of all this math, go buy a $10 timer and set it for a couple hours before you normally get up. I've got just a standard indoor timer that I use everyday on my semi truck. Works great, as long as I set it to the right time.
There's no need to plug it in all night long, except to burn up your electricity. Like Gene said, on midly cold nights it may need only an hour, on nights when it's 0* around here I'll give it around 4 hours.
There's no need to plug it in all night long, except to burn up your electricity. Like Gene said, on midly cold nights it may need only an hour, on nights when it's 0* around here I'll give it around 4 hours.
