how warm is your truck in the morning when you use block heater

[HankHill]

how warm does your block heater make your truck in the morning? I had my truck plugged in overnight (probably overkill) and went and started it, truck needed high idle til it hit that temperature to shut it off, and didnt have heat right away, can these get tired or do they just die, mine was deffinately working because High idle did not last as long as usual and the temperature on the oem gauge wasnt at the dead cold section but a little above

 

[jwalterus]

dunno much about block heaters other than they are needed on basically everything up here, but my truck plugged in would fire up without GPs in -10 weather

 

[86F2506.9]

mine does high idle for maybe 2 minutes when i fire it up in the mornin after its been plugged in and my heat was never to warm when its pluged in. i believe the block heater is just supposed to keep it warm enough to where it is good to start each mornin its just there to keep the coolant heated and the oil heated for easy cold starts in the mornin


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_heater

 

[HankHill]

thank you, just used mine for the first time ever didnt know what to expect

 

[86F2506.9]

lol yea i dont think i ever seen my temp gauge even go up when i start it until it gets warmer but it warms up pretty dam quick after being plugged in.

 

[Simp5782]

mine plugged in at -10 below i usually have decent heat within 3 mins of starting.

 

[Compu Doc]

I would think it depends on how long it is plugged in for. With mine if it is plugged in a long time the radiator is warm to the touch. I also keep a piece of cardboard in front of the grill to retain the heat when it is plugged in. Depending on the temps outside I drive the truck with the cardboard in place.

Doing that I see the temp gauge go to the N in normal which is where it is in the summer time without the cardboard. Not having the cardboard on the grill the temp gauge in winter will not go much above the C and will not even get in the normal range. The cardboard protrudes out and leaves the sides open because of the siren speakers so I am getting air flow just indirectly.

 

[88beast]

round these parts 0-30 f i plug it in for an hr or so startys fine could problly do less but ...

 

[IDIDieselJohn]

On my 7.3 I installed a circulation pump, so I need a T for 2 plug ins, block heater and circulation pump.

All it needs is an 1 hour no matter how cold it is, fires off upon touching the key and heater blows warm right away. High idle is on for under 2 min.

If I plug it in for more than 2 hours, heater is hot right away, and high idle doesn't come on.

 

[93cc7.3]

high idle dosent come on with mine and instant heat i have a 1600 watt kats heater hose heater sometimes when it stays outside and it snows the bottom of the windshield will be defrosted and clear

 

[94turboidi]

I have a 2000 watt circulating heat. I have heat almost instantly after starting. Its not real warm but there is heat there.

 

[IDIDieselJohn]

Mine is a 3000 watt pump. Works good!

 

[94turboidi]

3000 watts is 25 amps at 120 volts! What the heck do you plug that into? Are you sure its 3000 watt?

 

[IDIDieselJohn]

Yup, it's a big 3000 watt one. I plug it in just like you would with just the block heater, from a good extention cord to a T on the truck.

It did melt a few T's after some time.

 

[94turboidi]

Well what I am getting at is most 120 volt plugs are 15 and 20 amp breakers which would trip all the time with a 3000 watt load on it. Then most of those have 12 gauge wire which would be on the light side for such a load. Maybe the 3000 watts is the most it will pull but if it ever pulled that much I would hope it would trip a breaker instead of start melting electrical insulation.