Just did the math. My electricity cost $0.05/kWh. If I had the car plugged in 24 hours a day for a month it would still only cost $14/month. Definetly not worth the expense of a solar panel. Just thinking out loud. Thanks

sometimes thats the best way to figure it out....sit down and calulate it out once you know the formulas....assuming its not Calculus or something the average person won't know.

Like our own version of mythbusters :)

Three years ago I sat down and figured out for myself why you cant take a Japanese Market Civic SiR engine harness and plug it into a US market Civic when it will plug right in....with the connectors in the correct places and being the correct type....I was told to forget it , it won't work but not why....so I spent a week maping out the differences between the two harnesses and saw that it was impossible to even repin it to make it work...so I sat down stripped off all th econnectors and rewiered a new harness from scratch.....

Sometimes "it won't work" isn't enough to keep you from figuring out WHY it won't work.

i read that the stock block heater is 400w...i've heard stories of people's block heaters heating the engine so well that it melted snow on the hood...mine never gets that hot...so they must have aftermarket ones eh?

Mine doesn't get that warm either, but it allows the car to start immediately in sub-0 temperatures which is it's function. My Temp gauge will still read 40C, but the car will start easily and the heat will work within less than a minute.

Mine does!
 

My block heater is stock (as far as I know). It draws 378 watts (according to my special plug-in watt meter) and heats the engine enough to melt a doughnut ring of snow around the valve cover area. Radiator stays ice cold though (won't even melt snow in the vanes.) The engine will be warm to the touch.

Another idea for saving money,

If you usually leave around the same time everyday then you can get a block heater timer which you can set to turn on the block heater about an hour before you leave.

"you can set to turn on the block heater about an hour before you leave"

I'de proly forget to unplug it then, just drive away :D :rolleyes:

after many
 

bad experiences i just rig my cord so that i can back away without unplugging first.

it is a bother driving around with 20' of extension cord dragging!

it is just better to assume i WILL forget to unplug.

tom w

How about looping the extension cord to hang off the drivers door handle....can't forget that.

Or mirror...

I just always park in a position that if I happened to forget, all it would do is unplug it at the car :)