Block heater question

[proudestmonkey]

But even plugged in the temp only gets to around 100 degrees in the block. Things boil at 212 degrees so it couldn't / shouldn't get too hot anyway. I think it's working fine after an hour of being plugged in. After that it's just leveled out.

I am not a physicist, but I would have to assume that the length of time a heater has to be plugged in to be effective is dependent in part on the ambient temperature and the kind of heater it is. In other words, an hour may be sufficient for 20 degrees, but at zero degrees, maybe it takes two hours to get to the right temperature for an easy start, and at -13 degrees (F), it might take well over two hours. And this is for a radiator heater. It might take longer or shorter times for an actual engine block heater (I assume longer because you are attempting to heat metal rather than liquid, but don't really know the mechanics).

My point was that after about an hour and a half of being plugged in, I had difficulty getting it started at -13 with a radiator heater (coolant line heater). If I had had it plugged in for 4 hours, it might have started right up. On the other hand, if I had not plugged it in at all, it might have started just as easy, or not at all.

 

[varmint]

I haven't noticed anyone talking about it here, but using synthetic oil makes a big difference in cold-starting performance. Get it, use it! Wally World sells full synthetic Rotella 5-40 diesel rated oil for about $15/gallon. It may not be the best, but I figure with regular changes, it can't be worse than dyno oil and it's gotta be better in cold weather.

 

[Taiser]

I agree with synthetic, HUGE difference in starting and starting wear for that matter. Problem with me is I won't put it in until I got at least 200 hours on the engine and with it sitting at a whopping 4 hours now, that's a while away.

Proudestmonkey, is your machine outside? A friend of mine parks his out too and has a rad heater. When not in use he covers the engine area with a breathable tarp, makes a big difference at keeping the heat in. I was never a fan of the rad heater in my diesel truck, it just never seemed to be able to keep up at keeping the coolant warm when the mercury drops...but that was a long time ago.

Oh and we got you MN guys beat here...-40 to -49C here with the windchill for the last few days, tomorrow a balmy -36C with the wind! Suppose to warm up by the end of next week though...thank god!

 

[proudestmonkey]

I agree with synthetic, HUGE difference in starting and starting wear for that matter. Problem with me is I won't put it in until I got at least 200 hours on the engine and with it sitting at a whopping 4 hours now, that's a while away.

Proudestmonkey, is your machine outside? A friend of mine parks his out too and has a rad heater. When not in use he covers the engine area with a breathable tarp, makes a big difference at keeping the heat in. I was never a fan of the rad heater in my diesel truck, it just never seemed to be able to keep up at keeping the coolant warm when the mercury drops...but that was a long time ago.

Oh and we got you MN guys beat here...-40 to -49C here with the windchill for the last few days, tomorrow a balmy -36C with the wind! Suppose to warm up by the end of next week though...thank god!

Why don't you put in synthetic for the first 200 hours?

I keep my tractor in a shed (very long thread here about the mods I had to make to the shed to get the tractor to fit into it). But, you raise a good point. I had left the door open on the shed when I had it plugged in. I didn't think it would make that much difference.

You do have me beat on temperature, but not by as much as I would have thought. We had -35 (F) windchills two nights ago (the night before I started the tractor in the morning). By the time I started the tractor, the wind had died down considerably.