Waterbed Pad Heaters as drape over engine heaters?

[mankypro]

I just scored a couple of these for free and I'm thinking of using them as additional engine block heating this winter. Maybe drape one over each half of the upper block. That way I could put them and the block heater on a timer and heat up quicker than just the block heater.

There aren't any issues with bringing the engine to temp too quickly, are there?

 

[Diesel JD]

No it would be best for it if it was always up to temp. I've heard that 90% of wear on diesels is on cold startup. If you could eliminate most of that you'd increase its lifespan. The only thing is you would not get cold timing advance on startup, but then you wouldn't need it too much.

 

[mankypro]

I think most of the damage from cold starts would be just that the internals turnings with low oil flow. But I was thinking of putting the 3 heaters on a timer and have them fire up 3 hours before I'd normally start the engine. The oil would be free flowing at temp, etc.

 

[hheynow]

Look at the 250 watt 115v tank pad heater in this kit

Also a quick read here will give you some ideas.

 

[david85]

I just scored a couple of these for free and I'm thinking of using them as additional engine block heating this winter. Maybe drape one over each half of the upper block. That way I could put them and the block heater on a timer and heat up quicker than just the block heater.

There aren't any issues with bringing the engine to temp too quickly, are there?

No problem with starting the engine hot, but those pads are meant to be covered in a bag of water to draw the heat away. They may burn up if you try and use them like this. Make sure you do some safety testing before trying this.

 

[Diezel_Cowboy]

the heat will rise so they wont be very effective on TOP of the engine rather they would be more efficient under the engine.

 

[Mr_Roboto]

With a block heater the oil is still at ambient air temperature. If you want to add a heater, use an oil pan heater.

A heater on top of the engine would mostly keep the hood clear of snow, not much else.