At what temp do you use your block heater (of any kind)

[mswlogo]

I usually use my block heater when temperatures hit below the freezing point of water. The colder it is the longer I will use it. About a half hour at 32 degrees and around an hour when temperatures hit the low teens. It is supposed to go to the single digits here tomorrow morning; I'll probably run the heater for over an hour as I need to use the tractor. Jay

So there are a few folks here with common sense after all, I was beginning to wonder

 

[George2615]

I use an inline lower hose heater on the tractor. Tractor is kept in an unheated garage. Heater is plugged into a timer that I have set for 3 hours before I get home from work in case I need to use it to plow snow. I don't plug the heater into the timer until outside temps are 30 deg F or less.

Same goes for the truck which has a block heater. If less than 30 I plug it into the timer which is set for 3 hours before I will leave for work. That way I don't have to waste fuel warming it up.

 

[canoetrpr]

If I use my tractor maybe once a week in the winter to clear the snow, is there any harm to having my block heater come on for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening everyday - since I like the luxury of being able to jump on my tractor when I feel like it before or after work... without having to plan an hour before?

 

[jsborn]

Living in the South I see no valid reason to leave a nice warm house when it is below 32 F. Y'all are making me shiver just reading this stuff. When it gets below freezing here I just wait till mid morning and it will be warmed up to above 60 so humans and machines can work. I was always told if the Fluorescent lights wont come on in the shop it is too cold to work.

 

[ccsial]

Is there any harm to having my block heater come on for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening everyday?

No harm I know of except to the electric bill. You could also put a thermostat in line with the timer. I have electric heaters on my airplane and have a timer and thermostat. Heat is on from 6AM to 6PM if it is below 32F. I have been doing this for years with no problems.

 

[Tom_H]

It rarely gets below freezing here, so the heater was not really necessary at all. Nevertheless, I keep the tractor in the garage, which is also a workshop, laundry room, storage room...well, you get the picture. The fumes from startup used to fill up the garage and linger for some time. My wife asked me if there was some way to avoid this. I put in a block heater and now use it when starting at anything below +80F. This may seem silly to some, but it does eliminate most of the fumes and also makes for a much smoother start. For us, at least, it does seem worth it for the small cost.

When I lived in VT, I had a VW diesel Rabbit PU that I parked outside. I set up a HD extension cord, and ran it under and into the house (sealing the drill hole very well). I connected it to a setup in a broom closet where I could put the outlet on a timer or could turn it on or off with a switch. In winter, I always plugged the heater in when I got home, but the juice was off. If I needed to go somewhere early the next morning, the timer would turn the heater on a couple of hours before I needed to get up and leave.

 

[radman1]

I use mine when it gets near 15-20F and below and usually have it on a timer for 2-3 hours before I use it. I can't really see the point of doing anything above freezing. My JD 5300 usually won't start below 10F - no glow plugs.

Plug it in at 80F? WOW!

 

[mswlogo]

I notice in the BX manual it said Optional Block Heater for temps below 5F.

 

[Lockport]

I started it the other night at 5:00 AM and it was -9F. She started with a 10 second glow right away and, as expected, ran really rough. It is 2F right now at 3:30PM and I have plugged the block heater in sometime in the mid morning and I will note the top of the valve covers are warm to the touch.

Cheers

 

[frank_miller]

In my BX I have a heater and never used it. So I removed it. Not worth the time, $$$ etc. Use a good synthetic oil with proper pour point and move forward.