Anybody using a timer on the block heater ? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

240-diesel · #1 11-29-2002, 09:41 AM

Well it has been in the 20s here at night , so I will start plugging in the old 240 . What does any body think about how long the heater should be on normal. I have it on a timer for 2 hrs before I leave for work , motor is warm to the touch so I wonder How long other keep there diesel plugged in ? Hans.

#2 11-29-2002, 09:42 AM

2 Hours is more than enough time. Unless it gets insanely cold, then Id say up to 4.

#3 11-29-2002, 02:51 PM

Using a timer is not a bad idea, and two hours is plenty. Make sure, however, that the timer can handle adequate current. Heating elements draw beacoup Watts. You probably need one that can handle about 1,000 watts or so.

Good luck,

LightMan · #4 11-29-2002, 03:01 PM

Apparently its a mixed school of thoughts. Some say that if you plug the heater in at night when you park, that it will use less electricity overall maintaining the heat from the engine over the night, than heating it from cold to warm 2 hours before you leave in the morning. They are thermostatically controlled, so this may be true... I don't know the answer, one would have to have some sort of electricty useage monitor I guess. You really also dont need the block heater unless its below 0F, although warm air out of the vents right away is nice

leathermang · #5 11-29-2002, 03:37 PM

OK, I was wondering if they were thermostatically controlled... in my mind that makes this a slam dunk...

Plug it in when you park it...

What if some emergency comes up at night which requires your MB..... ? Or just a fire next door and you don't want ashes falling on it ?

and timers take some electricity to operate... and Larry is correct that when they do turn on they need to be safely rated for the amount which the heater will be using...

How silly would you feel if you had to tell someone... or this board ... that you lost your MB because you did not plug in the block heater to save .03 cents per night of electricity ? LOL

84300DT · #6 11-29-2002, 04:07 PM

last winter i used the block heater only once - but yesterday's hard start convinced me that it should be used (at least on my car) when the wind chill is down there to about 12-13 deg f.
2hours with the heater will hopefully be enough

today was 30 deg f and it fired up 1st crack waiting 25 seconds after the dash light when out (no block heater)

if the block heater is thermostatically controlled i sure would like to hear that - anyone know for sure about this?

if it keeps being this cold out.. key west is beckoning big time

bob

leathermang · #7 11-29-2002, 06:54 PM

Wind chill is only a measure of the winds effects on a warm blooded animal.... your car will cool down more quickly when turned off if there is wind... but the temperature which it will cool to is the absolute temp at that time... the wind will not effect that...

Tasma · #8 11-29-2002, 07:07 PM

Keeping the engine warm all night will take more energy that warming it up in the morning.
If you pay what I do for electricity it will cost you about 10 cents per hour to warm it up.
My 240D will start at zero degrees without a heater when using 0W30 synthetic and using Power Service additive in the fuel.

billrok · #9 11-29-2002, 07:18 PM

Does anybody have the truth on whether the MB block heaters are thermostatically controlled? The heater looks just like an immersion heater. I don't see any type of thermostat on it at all. Just wondering.

84300DT · #10 11-29-2002, 08:07 PM

billrok, yeah that was my question too! does anyone have the truth about if the block heater has a thermostat..

greg, u are prolly right but all i know when its 20 deg f here and a wind is blowing it sure feels a heck of a lot colder than if there is no wind and if the metal in my car is the same as me it feels and is
colder not matter what a thermometer out of the wind is reading..

i grew up in canada and i know that if it was 0 deg f out with no wind you could walk outside at night with a t-shirt and a parka on and not feel cold at all .. but if the wind came watch out !!!

leathermang · #11 11-29-2002, 09:08 PM

84300DT, Are you warm blooded ? If yes, then wind chill is extremely valid with respect to your interaction with cold weather... but your car does not feel it......

BJ300SDL · #12 11-29-2002, 09:27 PM

The screw in style block heaters aren't thermostaticly controled.

The only ones that I've seen thermostat controled are on the jacket water heater style used in big gen. sets.

84300DT · #13 11-30-2002, 05:19 AM

greg - these days it so freezin up here im not sure !

i see your point though about the wind chill-

guess then when it gets to 20deg f at night im gonna have to plug in for a while before starting up in the morning if it doesn't have a thermostat on the block heater??

i just cant see wasting electricity when it is not necessary, and as larry+you say a timer would have to be able to handle beaucoup watts.

having the car good to go at any time of night is not a priority for me altho it may be for some people. i have plugged in overnight plenty of times but i just don't notice any difference as opposed to a couple of hours.

leathermang · #14 11-30-2002, 08:11 AM

I spent a couple of years as a youngster in Germany and then four years in Cincinnati.. I have lots of empathy for you people living in the cold.. I have no idea how you deal with knowing how long the winter is going to be....
Lightman suggested they were thermostatically controlled, which fits with my intuition concerning there simply being a 'plugged in or not' option... MB put timers and gadgets on everything else... Larry suggested the timer should have at least 1000 watts capability...
I can not find the block heater listed in my 617.95 turbo book...
Can anyone pin this down with some authoritative info from a reliable source ? For my 5 cylinder I felt it took 4 hours for me to feel a difference.. but that was before I found out about letting the glow plugs stay on 45 seconds after the light went out..
Here is a pic of my generic water heater...

#15 11-30-2002, 10:58 AM

It seems like I remember the block heater being about 800 Watts. Add a little safety margin to that and you need about 1,000 Watts of contact capacity.

Good luck,