Engine block heaters.
 

There's some talk on other boards about the benefits of block heaters.......the people who are trying to squeeze the most milage out of their vehicles are paranoid about 'plugging in' every chance they get.

http://members.porchlight.ca/benad/zerostart.htm

So...question...
Q./ How much is a 1000watt heater consuming, money wise, per year, supposing you plug in every night for say...10 hours ?

I think this will be considerable $$$$...yes?

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Well, 1,000 watts it 1 kW. A kW/h usually costs somewhere around 12 cents give or take.

This would make it 12 cents an hour to operate. If you plug it in for 10 hours a day, it will be $1.20 a day.

I think a timer that turns it on a couple of hours before you plan to drive in the morning would be more economical. Then it would only use 2 kW/h per day in the morning.

So this means that you'd spend $438.00 a year in electricity on top of your usual operating costs..

Fuel at $2.40 per gallon = 182.5 gallons at 30 mpg = 5,475 miles..about half the annual milage covered by most people..some milage saving !

Well, maybe a little less engine wear too.



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Hmmm, your math could use some work. I'ts probably not worth it in the warmer months. I plug in every time it's below 32F. An hour is sufficient at that temperature. If it's colder I increase it to 2 hours.

It is much more to economical to heat your engine with electricity than with gasoline.

Jorg

Block Heater
 

I would have a hard time assuming the block heater is a 1000 watts, more like 400 at best,or does anyone know for sure?

Well to start, they are 600W from Benz.

I did the head on my 104 motor a few years back and living in Minneapolis, block heaters are standard. I thought i would add one.

PAIN IN THE BUTT

I had the head and exhaust manifold off, and it was a 2 hour job, and the element is specific to each engine. I still have the aftermarket one i purchased that was supposed to fit, yeah right.

All my diesels have them, but my motivation is not the fuel mileage issues, but more importantly, the cold start wear issues.

Then the KAT'S heater or this ZEROSTART would make the instal easier...I know, I've tried many times to instal the MB heater and usually give up because the block boss will not unscrew.

I was thinking of using the heater return line and also activating the aux' water pump to improve circulation.


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As a professional mechanic, I'm sure you realize that a block heater costs you money.

It's there for the convenience of the owner. Sure, it helps a diesel start easier when it gets quite cold. However, the cost of purchasing and installing the block heater, and operating it, can never be recovered by saving fuel due to starting a "warm" engine.

As posted above, operating a block heater overnight (even the typical 400W heater) is very costly to do.

It might cost you a lot more money, especially if you live where you can't start the car without it for 3 months. :P

There would have been no way getting enough clearance to swing the wrench without the exhaust parts removed, AND kats and zerostart didn't fit, that's what i have in the garage.(104 motor)

Well, you don't do it overnight. You do it just long enough to warm the motor by using a timer and adjusting it for the temperatures.

With synthetics you don't need a block heater to start your car anymore but up here everyone uses them. Trust me, you do see the difference in gas consumption when it gets cold.

An electric element is 100% efficient in the block. I'm not sure how efficient it is to heat the motor with gas but I suspect not very. Most of the heat goes out the exaust. If it's more economical to move your car with electricity than with gas then surely it is more economical to heat your motor with electricity than with gas considering you don't need batteries, etc.

Jorg

Jorg

I agree with the use of the heater for two hours. It cost about $0.12 to run it for two hours (400W heater).

The warmer engine will certainly use a minumum of $0.12 less fuel to warm itself.

But, running the heater overnight turns the equation around completely.

We're missing the point, it's more than fuel savings.
 

The whole block heater advantage in the cold states comes from reduced engine damage from sub-freezeing, and sub-zero temps. My diesels sound and behave like they're about to eat themselves alive at 10°F without being plugged in, and they sure don't like to move for a good 15 minutes at a minimum. My 190 has a few less than perfect valve seats, and it just won't start below 0°F without 2-4 hours of electric heat, and frankly 8 is better.

Living in Minnesota my entire life, you see all sorts of life diminishing damage from the cold. Sounds stupid but look at a parking lot in Minnesota and California, the one in MN looks like an oil slick, the one in California or Texas for that manner is still clean 20 years long. Crank seals, valve cover gaskets, head gaskets, you take a block of iron or aluminum or a bit of both, i.e., block iron, head aluminum, at 10·°F and start heating it to 200°-500° unevenly, and everything moves and complains. Ask Mitsubitsi and Chrysler. The 3 liter V6 from the late 80's was banished from the Minnesota showrooms as dealerships refused to special order vehicles with that engine because the aluminum head/iron block would not behave together in the cold, head gaskets at 30K were the norm.

The block heaters save the mechanical drive parts from excessive wear, period. The fuel savings is a total nothing burger compared to the wear savings, GAS OR DIESEL, the engine and the transmission, as an overnight plug in will warm that too, are far better for the electric heat than a stone cold start from 10°F or below, and to my liking, sub 20°F.

Next time your by an airport fire station, notice the FWDs and the Oshkoshes are all plugged in at 85° in the fire-station, sometimes 2 heaters per engine. If an internal combustion engine, and specifically a diesel derive motive flow for from the heat of combustion, wouldn't it stand to reason that much of that heat and POWER is lost to warming the core of the engine to operating temperatures?