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I got my block heater installed Monday, and tried to use it Tuesday morning. I think I had it on for about two hours, and couldn't tell the difference at all. How long does the heater need to be powered to warm it up? What temp will I see in the built-in temp gauge? (I don't have a scan gauge.)

I'm thinking the unit is not working at all. I felt the plug and power cord and it didn't seem to be warm at all, either. I did check the extension cord and it is definitely live.
It is a heavy gauge cord used for outdoor power tools.

Jon

3hrs gets both my Elantra and my Insight up around 125F in moderate (30-40F) temperatures. In the dead of winter I may only see 85F water temp (monitored via ScanGauge). For both vehicles I can hear a slight bubbly hiss when the block heater is on, and both engine bays give off a little warmth when I open the hood.

The plug and power cord shouldn't get warm at all.

Anything below 1kw will take a long time to warm up an engine and it's highest temp will be low, due to the engines fantastic ability to dump heat! But you should have felt something after two hours. Does your meter speed up when you plug it in? That should tell you if it is drawing current or not.

Your signature doesn't id your car, and your post doesn't either. Assuming you have an HCHII like ours:

If you plug it in in quiet conditions (enclosed garage, no road noises), within a few seconds you should hear a sound, kind of like a kettle starting to heat up, a sort-of pinging/whining sound. Also, after about an hour, if you reach your fingers through the upper grill, you should feel that the top of the radiator is warm.

Also, if you have a multimeter: check the ohms accross the 2 prongs of the plug, it should be around 30 I believe. Not sure, but would think if it's infinite you gotta problem.

If you have one of those popular 'Kill a watt' meters (used to measure appliance power usage), you can plug it in and verify the Block heater is using 600+ watts. If it is, its definitely working

600W ? Both of my block heaters function at 400W...

I got my block heater installed Monday, and tried to use it Tuesday morning. I think I had it on for about two hours, and couldn't tell the difference at all. How long does the heater need to be powered to warm it up? What temp will I see in the built-in temp gauge? (I don't have a scan gauge.)

I'm thinking the unit is not working at all. I felt the plug and power cord and it didn't seem to be warm at all, either. I did check the extension cord and it is definitely live.
It is a heavy gauge cord used for outdoor power tools.

Jon

Mine behaves the same way. I have a Katz 400W heater in my Insight and a Honda OEM in the HCH II. THe Katz feels warm after a couple of hours and the car warms up noticeably faster than the HCH with the OEM heater. It's been that way almost since day 1 with the Honda OEM element.

I got my block heater installed Monday, and tried to use it Tuesday morning. I think I had it on for about two hours, and couldn't tell the difference at all. How long does the heater need to be powered to warm it up? What temp will I see in the built-in temp gauge? (I don't have a scan gauge.)
Jon

Well, I checked it with a meter, and read 34 Ohms, which sounds like 423 Watts.
Usually a continuous load like that will cause the plug and socket to get just detectably warm, but they were stone cold, twice when I unhooked the cord. The engine temp showed up as one square, the same as a cold start. Does the OEM heater have a thermostat in it? I traced the cable back and found the heater installed high on the block on the far right side, rear (toward passenger compartment). Is this the right place for it? I didn't open the hood, but I didn't detect any hiss or other sound from the car when it was on.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Jon

There is no thermostat in the heater -- it is on when plugged in.

My Insight won't show more than the usual 2 bars of a cold engine until the temp gets up to 136F -- which it won't be until I run it for a bit. The block should be giving off some noticeable heat from the general viscosity of the heater element when it has been on for a while -- if it is cold there is something wrong with the block heater.

Well, I checked it with a meter, and read 34 Ohms, which sounds like 423 Watts.
Usually a continuous load like that will cause the plug and socket to get just detectably warm, but they were stone cold, twice when I unhooked the cord. The engine temp showed up as one square, the same as a cold start. Does the OEM heater have a thermostat in it? I traced the cable back and found the heater installed high on the block on the far right side, rear (toward passenger compartment). Is this the right place for it? I didn't open the hood, but I didn't detect any hiss or other sound from the car when it was on.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Jon

Dumb question, but where did you check it with the multimeter? On the element, the power cord, etc? I've got a digital meter and I can't find the proper settings or place on the heater to test it.

However, I did install a Katz oil pan heater pad, 400W, on the bottom of the kan with a layer of appropriate insulating material over it and that seems to work extremely well with 2 hrs on a timer, or less. The temp gauge is still at 1 bar but the car heats up much faster, even more so with my grill block in place now for winter.

Would it be possible to pop the hood and feel the coolant hoses or block to see if there's any noticeable heat? Not sure if the block heater puts out enough heat to warm that up, maybe somebody with one would be able to say if that's a way to check if a block heater is working.

Would it be possible to pop the hood and feel the coolant hoses or block to see if there's any noticeable heat? Not sure if the block heater puts out enough heat to warm that up, maybe somebody with one would be able to say if that's a way to check if a block heater is working.

Yes, most definitely (per my page 1 response):

You can just put your finger through the upper grill and feel the top of the radiator, it will be warm within 1~2 hours. Pop the hood, feel top of radiator and/or hoses, they will be quite warm. You can actually hear it: fairly noisy right at startup, then an ongoing, slight "song".

Well, I ran the heater for 2 hours this morning. After that, the cylinder head (probably really the valve/cam cover) above the heater was at about 80 F, and the block right next to the heater was maybe 100 F. It was about 50 F at the time, in a garage, so there wasn't any wind carrying away the heat. The upper radiator hose was slightly warm, I couldn't even GET to the radiator itself.

So, I'm pretty underwhelmed by this "block heater"! Maybe in the depth of winter it is capable of doing more, but heating one small corner of the block by 50 F, and the rest of the block by 30 F seems pitifully weak to me.

Oh, and no sign of any boiling noises at all, it is totally silent.

Jon

That doesn't sound right at all. When either of mine have been on I can open the hood and feel heat radiating from the engine compartment.

The one in the Insight is identical to an Accord EBH, by the way. Perhaps you got a defective heater element?

So, I'm pretty underwhelmed by this "block heater"! Maybe in the depth of winter it is capable of doing more, but heating one small corner of the block by 50 F, and the rest of the block by 30 F seems pitifully weak to me.

I've got a hunch it's performing per spec., though not 100% sure. You are not going to be frying eggs on the valve cover; it's object is to pull the temp up roughly 30C, I think. Check Manuel's article on winter driving: I think there's more detail on this.

Try this: one morning, start up without 2 hours of blockheater, and periodically toggle display to show coolant temp, noting when it starts to budge and climb. Repeat another morning, hopefull similar weather, after plugging in the BH for 2 hours. Go the same route, note when the temp starts to climb.

Hi Jon;


Well, I ran the heater for 2 hours this morning. After that, the cylinder head (probably really the valve/cam cover) above the heater was at about 80 F, and the block right next to the heater was maybe 100 F. It was about 50 F at the time, in a garage, so there wasn't any wind carrying away the heat. The upper radiator hose was slightly warm, I couldn't even GET to the radiator itself.

So, I'm pretty underwhelmed by this "block heater"! Maybe in the depth of winter it is capable of doing more, but heating one small corner of the block by 50 F, and the rest of the block by 30 F seems pitifully weak to me.

Oh, and no sign of any boiling noises at all, it is totally silent.

Jon


It totally depends on the ambient temperature and how long you leave it ON for. 2 hours is not going to be enough if the ambient temps are at 50F or lower. In my experience 1.5-2 hours is what I leave it on for during the summer months. During the fall and winter months I have the block heater ON for a lot longer than that... and that may be up to 8 hours long if the temps are really low. Again, I plug my cars in while garaged.

If the resistance is measured between the two flat poles on the plug and you see 33-36 Ohms then all is fine. 0 or Infinite ohms means trouble and either the heater plug is defective or the cord has a problem. See here for details (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17560).

If left ON long enough, the engine block will noticeably radiate some heat regardless of how cold the ambient temps are. And yes, in most cases at least a very faint crackling noise should be heard almost as soon as the block heater is plugged in and will go away as the plug begins to do its work.

Cheers

MSantos

Just to add: the start-up sound of an HCHII needs a dead-quiet garage to be heard. Car's rolling by, voices, and it will be drowned out. It sounds a lot like a kettle just put on an electric element: an initial ping or two, and then a kind of whine. This starts up within 5~15 seconds of plugging in.

Also try feeling a few of the accesable coolant hoses: they should be feeling nicely warm in a couple of hours. The object is not to bring it near operating temp, just to get it on it's way there quicker ;)

FWIW, I've had a Kats 400W oil pan heater, basically a small heating pad with 3M adhesive backing. I secured it to the bottom of the oil pan with JB Weld, glued a layer of aluminum backed insulation to the outside of the pad, and added a layer of aluminum tape over it all for good measure. It's been in place for 3-4 months and worked extremely well when placed on a 2 hour timer. If you're not satisfied with the Honda OEM block heater, as I wasn't, this is an excellent alternative.

I also have a Kats frost plug heater in my I2 that is similar to the honda OEM design. It works much better for some reason, though and was half the price.

Just to add: the start-up sound of an HCHII needs a dead-quiet garage to be heard. Car's rolling by, voices, and it will be drowned out. It sounds a lot like a kettle just put on an electric element: an initial ping or two, and then a kind of whine. This starts up within 5~15 seconds of plugging in.


Well, yesterday, I heard that hot kettle sound about 15 seconds after I plugged in the heater. That's the first time I have heard the sound.

Otherwise, although it clearly heats the upper part of the engine a bit, I can't really tell that it is warming up faster, although it seems obvious that it HAS to warm up faster if it is starting from 80F instead of 40F. I haven't compared warm-up times with a stopwatch, though, so I could be missing a subtle difference. At least using the OEM dashboard indicator, the HCH-II seems to warm up much faster than many other cars.

Jon

The Prius doesn't even have a coolant temp gauge. Also, it's block heater is dead quiet. I did check once or twice: lifted the hood and felt hoses getting warm, but very underwhelming ;)

The Prius doesn't even have a coolant temp gauge. Also, it's block heater is dead quiet. I did check once or twice: lifted the hood and felt hoses getting warm, but very underwhelming ;)


Hi Mendel;


Yes, it may feel underwhelming to the touch but at least my Prius BH's have always done a pretty good job of raising the engine temp 25-35 C above the ambient temp.

Again, thumbs up for the ever mighty scangauges. Never leave home without one - especially if you drive a Prius !!! :D


Cheers;


MSantos

hi Jon,

I've got a 2008 HCH II that I've been using with a block heater for awhile. I'm in Portland, OR, which ain't the frozen far north (like some of our correspondents), but I've found that the block heater makes a BIG difference in my short morning commutes. I've found that I need to time it to come on about 3-3.5 hr before my departure. The car's in a garage, and (using my scangauge) I see what others have reported-- about a 30o increase in engine temp. this is enough to give me a nice jump start in my morning commute; over the first 3- 5 miles, it increases my cumulative mpg by at least 10 mpg. Over longer distances, it obviously makes less of a difference. When I first had it installed, I experimented with different times of pre-heating. In my moderate climate, I found I was definitely maxing out the value of the block heater by 4 hr, and cutting back to 3-3.5 hr didn't make much difference.

The other factor that 'sold' me on the block heater is that it can reduce the hard wear and tear on the engine when starting from dead cold. Now that I'm used to using it, it's always an unpleasant (and very obvious) surprise on mornings that I've forgotten to set it up correctly!

hope your experience gets better.


Philip

Hi Mendel;


Yes, it may feel underwhelming to the touch but at least my Prius BH's have always done a pretty good job of raising the engine temp 25-35 C above the ambient temp.

Yes, now that I've had some time to try the heater out, it definitely DOES help, as you say. I think I was struggling to keep the mileage in the low 40's last winter, and if I am the only one driving it I can keep it just over 50 now using the heater every morning. That still includes one cold start each day when leaving work, too!

Jon

I've had better luck when keeping the EBH plugged in for 4-5 hrs or so. The HCH2 does seem to warm up faster with garage temps in the low 30s to low 40s.

I installed a block heater this past weekend and tried it out this morning. I only had it plugged in for 45 minutes before my commute but had immediate 'regen' ability from the warm up. My incoming commute was 62MPG's today vs. the 56 I've been getting, so I think this is going to be great improvement, especially for winter. I won't have the benefit on the way home though since no where to plug in at my work parking lot

I think one hour will get you to around 70~75%, and 2 hours very close to 100%. That's in temperate, coastal climes, even through winter. Inland or prairie winter, more time can be warranted, when temperatures really drop.

A trick I did with our Prius, not sure how applicable it is with the Civic, is to tuck short length of the foam pipe insulation over the seams at the junction between hood and fender, to keep the engine bay more air tight.

http://priuschat.com/forums/members/mendel-leisk-albums-prius-pics-picture6751-engine-bay-insulation.jpg

I'm glad this thread is going, because I have been considering a block heater for my Fiesta. I see that Ford offers an expansion plug heater, but the cost sound pretty high. I'm considering one of the oil pan heaters. When I crawled under my car to look at how I might mount it I see that my oil pan has a couple fins on it. Does anyone know if the stick on heaters can be formed around these fins, or do I need a flat surface.

Another question is how many watts do I really want? The one ad I have seen recommends only 100-150 watt based on my oil capacity, but I see you guys are talking about 400 watt units.. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Kirk

here is a universal 'magnetic' block heater that is 200 watts and can connect to a pipe:

http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/search/?searchType=global&N=0&Ntt=block+heater&submit=

If you have less watts, you can just leave the timer ON longer, but I'm sure the final temp won't be as high as a 400W one.

However, it doesn't take much to make a difference

I'm glad this thread is going, because I have been considering a block heater for my Fiesta. I see that Ford offers an expansion plug heater, but the cost sound pretty high. I'm considering one of the oil pan heaters. When I crawled under my car to look at how I might mount it I see that my oil pan has a couple fins on it. Does anyone know if the stick on heaters can be formed around these fins, or do I need a flat surface.

Another question is how many watts do I really want? The one ad I have seen recommends only 100-150 watt based on my oil capacity, but I see you guys are talking about 400 watt units.. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Kirk

The 100-150 watt figure sounds about right for an oil pan heater. For a block heater, you can use more watts since the block heater would be heating a gallon or more (maybe 2 gal ?) of coolant instead of just a couple of quarts of oil. After 3-4 hours with my Insight I usually see 4 bars on my temp gauge (out of the usual 6 or so when at operating temp) and, in the Prius, I usually see as high as 130F (190 operating) in the summer months.

I'm glad this thread is going, because I have been considering a block heater for my Fiesta. I see that Ford offers an expansion plug heater, but the cost sound pretty high. I'm considering one of the oil pan heaters. When I crawled under my car to look at how I might mount it I see that my oil pan has a couple fins on it. Does anyone know if the stick on heaters can be formed around these fins, or do I need a flat surface.

Another question is how many watts do I really want? The one ad I have seen recommends only 100-150 watt based on my oil capacity, but I see you guys are talking about 400 watt units.. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Kirk

You could try out oil pan heater, but I think the vast majority go with the OEM coolant heater, maybe for good reason? Both our current and previous 4 cyl vehicles were 400 amp. I think for larger displacement engines that number would go up.

I guess I'll bite the bullet and ask the dealership about getting an OEM unit. It kind of stinks that the heater is factory equipment in Minnesota and Wisconsin but not even offered in Michigan.

Kirk

I guess I'll bite the bullet and ask the dealership about getting an OEM unit. It kind of stinks that the heater is factory equipment in Minnesota and Wisconsin but not even offered in Michigan.

Kirk

I agree. It's really not that complex, and shouldn't be that expensive, but that's the way it is with dealership installed accessories. With a lot of cars the coolant needs to be drained, typically replaced, and that's a total waste. Also, a dealer install should go smoothly, but...

Likely the only thing that will change the situation is legislation.

Funny thing is, a lot of owners that had factory installed block heaters probably don't even realize it's in there, or would bother to use it.

One thing, if and when you get it installed, develop a strict ritual for checking the car before you drive off. Couple that with double zip-tieing of the cord in the grill, a few inches apart, and setting your extension cord connection so that if you forget it will pull straight out. Without that, sooner or later you will drive off without unplugging, possibly dragging the cord out of the grill, and/or dragging the cord down the road. Don't ask me how I know ;)

Also, if your start-up time is semi-predictable, a multi-event timer switch can be handy.

... Both our current and previous 4 cyl vehicles were 400 amp. I think for larger displacement engines that number would go up.

Hi Mendel;

Probably you meant 400 Watts and not 400Amps ? :D


Cheers

MSantos

You could probably search the web and find the OEM part for much less than would be found at the dealer. Surely there is a Fiesta forum out there that could lead the way?

Focaljet and FiestaFaction come to mind for good info sources - try them?

Brandon,
I am involved in a Fiesta forum. I'm sure I can find it cheaper, but the wife gives me the evil eye when new toys show up in the mail. It will cause far less friction if I arrange to have it installed on the down low during an oil change.

Kirk

Brandon,
I am involved in a Fiesta forum. I'm sure I can find it cheaper, but the wife gives me the evil eye when new toys show up in the mail. It will cause far less friction if I arrange to have it installed on the down low during an oil change.

Kirk

Ah yes, that is always the better route! ;)

Hi Mendel;

Probably you meant 400 Watts and not 400Amps ? :D


Cheers

MSantos

Amps, Watts, whatever, LOL. At least I didn't mention Volts, Ohms.

So what's the more preferred option? , best bet, tank style add on coolant heater, oil pan pad/magnet, or block heater?

This ranger has a hard time until its warmed up. And it was just below 30 this morning, nothing extreme ugh.

Really? Does it have a carb?

I think the block heater is the best method out of the bunch, but it is the most expensive to get installed.

Really? Does it have a carb?

I think the block heater is the best method out of the bunch, but it is the most expensive to get installed.

Any users here using a insulating blanket over the engine? As noted in the thread the engine is trying to get rid of heat, especially in the heads which is what the water is all about.

Just a guess but I'll bet if you keep a good insulating blanket over the engine from the time you shut it off until you start it again the block heater would work much better or need to run less for the same result.

I believe the Prius even has a thermos bottle for saving some hot water in the coolant system.

I have thought about putting a OEM heater on my HAH but wonder as to how well it would work on the V6 heating a bolt in just one corner of one head? Any one using one on a V6 Honda? Toyota has a much nicer heater for their V6.

I'm sure the cost of a block heater won't save me any money but I hate the high rpm warm up cycle and waiting for the water temp to get to 167F for cylinder deactivation to work. :flag:

yes my ranger has a carb.

what about the magnetic heaters that stick to your oil pan?.. no installation cost.

Did some shopping today. Tractor supply had A lower radiator hose heater for under 30$ going to pull the hose next week, measure it to get the right size heater. Change the coolant while I'm at it