I find myself spending a lot of time, and fuel, warming the engine. I really don't idle long past the RPMs dropping(choke opening) and the temp gauge barely moving, but I have long considered a 110V block heater that replaced one of the casting plugs.
What are your thoughts? I live in Ohio where our winters are cold, but not blistering. We see some 0°F before wind-chill. It just seems logical more than really necessary.

 

It's best to start the truck, clean off the windshield of frost, snow and drive it easy until the engine warms up, The block heats quicker when being driven. It also saves gas, instead of letting the truck run and not moving in the driveway.

If it's sub zero, I'll give the car a few seconds before I drive it. Coldest I've seen is -29F in VT before skiing. Yes, I have skied when its been that cold.

The coldest, I've been outside was with a wind chill of -75F. Been there twice. First time was Pease AFB NH, in Jan of 74 or 75, I had to replace the CSD (consistent speed drive) and Generator on an FB-111, on the flightline, at night. It was on #1 engine, there's not much space, I had to take off my jacket to get my hand up between the engine and airframe, I did have three heaters blowing on me.

Next time was Skiing in VT, about 2001. Only a few of us got out for first lift, before they closed the mountain because of the wind and cold.


Some things you never forget.

 

@Max Capacity
Ok! We get it! You're demon spawn and don't feel the cold like the rest of us!
what's wrong with plugging in on cold nights so my engine coolant will stay a balmy 90-100°F?

 

It will run your electric bill up.

 

I had a 2001 New Beetle with the 1.9L ALH diesel engine. I had a block heater installed because the parking garage, at a former job, had electrical outlets. So, I left it plugged in all day while in the office (I have a heated garage at home). Nothing better than coming out after work, in the dead of a Chicago winter, to a car with heat and an engine ready to go as soon as it starts. I would highly recommend one. I would not recommend an oil dipstick heater.

 

Consider an external circulating tank heater. A little bigger than a soda can, it's plumbed inline into a heater hose. Installation is very simple. No pump per se, but it has check valves or some other means to heat the entire cooling system.

I had one when I lived in Alaska. My rent included the electric bill, so I installed the highest capacity unit available with no regard for cost. IIRC, this unit was rated for big diesel trucks. Maybe it was just my imagination, but the neighborhood lights seemed to dim when I plugged in. Worked wonders on a little 4 cylinder. The temp gauge was already off the peg at engine start, with nearly instant heat even at booger-freezing -50F. (That's less wind chill, which has no effect on a machine.)

A battery heating blanket helps, too. You can get a flat plate heater that slips under the battery, but the blanket seemed to be more popular.

 

Okay...., if you don't already have a block heater installed in the engine, rather than be messing around with trying to remove a rusted-in freeze plug and take a chance on opening a big can of worms best left unopened, get yourself the biggest wattage .

I had one on my old 6.9 along with the factory block heater; and, I also have one on the 350 gasburner in my 1978 Chevrolet.

I can/could plug in the KATS about three hours before starting the engine and the temperature gauge would already be up a bit; a big mechanical timer is ideal for this.

If you go the lazy man's route and just splice the KATS in a heater-hose, you are going to be disappointed.

But..., if you actually follow the instructions and plumb the KATS in like the directions say to, it will make a believer out of you the first morning you start the engine after it being on.

To properly install the KATS, you add a TEE fitting in the radiator drain port or the lowest block drain.

You connect a line (heater-hose) from the lowest downward-facing port of this TEE and put your drain-**** in the other port.

You mount the KATS such that it is in it's entirety lower than the port on this TEE.

You route the hose from the output side of the KATS either to another block drain - or - use the provided "Y" fitting to splice it into the lowest/return heater-hose.

This connection is very important that you take a few pains and get it right; you don't want the heated coolant to just go up the hose to the heater-core; you need to route that bottom heater hose such that the heated coolant is always climbing toward the engine block; you will need to configure the portion of the hose coming from the heater-core to be lower than the portion going into the block.

If you take the necessary pains and thought in installation, the coolant will exit either the bottom of the radiator or the lowest block drain --- enter the Cold side of the KATS --- be heated almost to the boiling point --- exit the Hot side of the KATS --- and enter either the other block drain or the output heater-hose --- and keep climbing to enter the block.

No pump necessary; the action of the heated coolant always going up will keep drawing the cool coolant through the internal check-valve, continually circulating the unheated coolant through the KATS.

With a properly installed high-wattage KATS, you can actually hear the coolant sizzling as it passes through.

As for plugging up a cold engine versus not, it matters not that your ever-dependable engine will always fire off in North Pole temperatures with no outside help, doing so is very damaging to such things as seals.

In super-humid Kentucky, I plug in anytime it is below 32°; as, moisture will collect on AND IN the cold engine and freeze to such things as rubber seals, freezing them to the shaft that they ride upon; when the shaft rotates, at every frozen bead of water, a tiny frozen chunk of the seal gets torn away.

Also, a preheated engine is not nearly so hard on starter contacts and brushes as nowhere near the amperage is required to spin the engine.

A block heater is very good; a properly installed KATS will blow the socks off any standard block heater; and, both together are ideal, especially at those times when you don't have the extra time for a single heater to do the job.

Electricity is a lot easier to buy than all the little creep-up-on-you costs of starting a frigid engine.

I temporarily removed the KATS from my F350 when I installed the Cummins(2006), meaning to reinstall it once everything was up and running; all this block heater talk has got me in the notion to crawl under there and put it back in action.


The KATS I linked to is an Aluminum tank; the ones I have are bright red steel tanks; I could not find any reference to the good red steel tanked ones, nor could I find a 2500-Watt one; curiously, the 1500-Watt I linked to is about thirty bucks less money than the 850-Watt version.

 

Good idea ! I have seen more than a few batteries frozen solid in less severe Kentucky temperatures; I would imagine it would be much more common in Alaska.

Curiously, I myself have had two batteries to freeze solid and push the case apart --- both almost new Interstate Megatrons; needless to say, even though we were a distributor for Interstate batteries, after having two to freeze, I switched to other brands.

Another huge help on cold nights is one of those $5 Harbor Freight "float" chargers; the little charger makes a world of difference in how strong the battery is.

As for a battery plate or blanket, a good fabricator could employ the hot circulating coolant from the KATS to pass under and all around the battery(s) (three in my case).

Back in my more ambitious days, I would bring the battery(s) in the house and set them behind the wood-stove; but, with Group-31 batteries, that gets old in a hurry.

Many is the time I have seen people fill the metal dish-pan with big coals from the stove and place it under the oil-pan, capping the dish-pan with a wash-tub, garbage-can lid, or another dish-pan; poor poverty-stricken Kentuckians get smart or do without.

 

I will say I have the cold weather kit on my Generac Generator. It heats the battery and oil filter. I now have a heated garage, but the truck does sit outside all year, as I don't drive it much.

My main thought about the block heater, was like Dave F said, it will run up the electric bill. For no good reason.

 

I looked at those KATS systems. They seem awesome, but way over complicated for my needs.
So far no major cranking Amp issues(although my battery is from 2017, I'm sure it is due). I have a battery blanket, but it's not heated. I believe it's more to keep the battery from getting hot, rather than keep it from freezing.

I like the casting plugs style just because it is simple. I know those plugs always cause nightmare leaks, but mine seem to be good for now. I like the idea of "pre-heating" my engine on cold nights and long work days for the health of the engine.(unknown mileage). And when not in use there is just a small electrical cord tied to the harness. I would use a little permatex to seal it in the block.

Idk....I know it's a bad idea. Just hoping to find people that said it was a good idea.

 

I have watched others remove freeze plugs; and, from what I have seen, they drill a hole in the center of the plug, to which is threaded a big screw attached to a slide-hammer and just slide-hammer the plug out.

In all my years,I have never saw an expandable block-heater insert leak, not even old ones that have been in there for years.

I would just be afraid that a little chunk of block metal might break away instead of the freeze-plug coming out clean.

If access is easy enough, there is no reason you can't install two heaters.

A timer will turn on the heater for a few hours instead of it being on all the time.

I currently have ; I paid $13 for mine.

I had an for more than thirty years, $9.99 when I bought it, leaving it plugged in outside, mounted to a post, continuously, winter and summer, until the clock shaft finally broke free of the mechanism; the clock still runs, it just doesn't turn anything.

I actually like my new TORK better than the Intermatic as the Intermatic only had a single outlet; whereas, the TORK has two; and, the Intermatic only came with one set of timer pins; whereas, the TORK comes with three sets; other than that, side-by-side, you can't tell them apart.

I see now that Intermatic includes two sets of pins.

An ideal situation is to mount the timer inside the house; have the timer outlet wired through a switch and the switch wired to an outside outlet where you plug in ; you plug the extension cord that goes to the truck in the thermostat; incorporate a bypass such that the outside outlet can be turned On regardless of whether the timer has turned On or not.

Set up thus, by using the switch, you can cut power to the outside outlet when the block-heater is not needed; and, if you need the heater On when the timer is Off, power the outside outlet via the bypass switch; the thermostat will prevent current to the block heater in temperatures above 35° providing it has been above 45° to switch Off the thermostat --- you might want to blow on it with the hair dryer to reset the thermostat.

 

I keep trying to find out what IDK means. Everybody I asked said, "I don't know." VERY frustrating... Maybe you can tell me.


Most factory heater systems are the freeze plug style. No personal experience with one, but I'm sure they work great and last a long time.

I only mentioned the inline version as installation was very simple. Cut out a short section of hose and install the heater with a couple of hose clamps. Super easy to do, all from above. Installing the freeze plug version is a little more involved, and not something I was about to tackle in an apartment parking lot in the middle of an Alaska winter.

 

Ok, I'll be that guy for you... It's a great idea. After all, we are here to help you spend your money.

Look, until the past 2 years, for the most of my life, 69y/o, my cars have always sat outside, many years of cold weather here in CT. As long as you have a good battery in the car, it will start in the coldest temp's your going to see. For cheap insurance, I replace a battery before it's 6th winter. I did have one battery in the truck that lasted 9 years, it was from Advance Auto Parts when my son worked there after high school.
I guess if you have nothing better to spend your money on...it's a great idea.

 

The heater core hose is a very simple install indeed. Someone else spun a detailed story of "Don't do it the easy way" but DO use one of these.
I may do this after all, and just carry a spare heater core hose to swap out at anytime.

"IDK" is the the only acronym I regularly use, and I often annoy myself with the use.

 

I'm half your age, but I think mentally I'm right there with you. It's kind of the point why I want the heater.
With it having a manual trans, no security system, an underpowered electrical system, no e-brake, etc...a remote starter would be ideal, but not really in the cards. The heater is simple and does a cleaner job than the remote starter. Sure it needs plugged in, but I only want to use it 20-40 times per year.