Block Heater opinions

1SilverBullet2 · Jan 3, 2017

For everyone in northern states or Canada who use the factory block heater, do you feel like it actually warms the truck up any better? My coolant doesn't get any warmer faster so I'm curious if anyone else has noticed or has a different opinion.

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Frisk · Jan 3, 2017

I have the factory block heater....This morning in was -20 outside but the truck fired right up and the coolant temp was +5 (I have the blocker heater on a timer for 1.5 hours before I leave for work).

SD38-2 · Jan 3, 2017

I don't have a block heater on my 14 ram 1500 hemi but my old 02 cummins 2500 had one. On my cummins it made a big difference in the cold weather when I had the block heater plugged in, cold starts were alot easier.

Jimmy68 · Jan 4, 2017

I have a block heater and a pan heater. My 5.2L fires up without even thinking about complaining and gets oil pressure right away. I rub 15W40 year round and it's -30C this morning.

1SilverBullet2 · Jan 4, 2017

I have the factory heater as well and never have an issue starting, it just seems to me that it doesn't work like my old heater did in my 2nd gen. When I check my coolant temp before starting it still as cold as it is outside

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Gump · Jan 4, 2017

Seems to keep the antifreeze 30 degrees warmer than ambient in mine. My old Cummins trucks were 60 degrees warmer if I remember. With a gasser it doesn't matter as much, but it probably saves some wear on below 0 starts.

caron11 · Jan 4, 2017

Wouldnt buy a truck without one works great

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crazy_luck · Jan 4, 2017

It's not designed to heat the engine up faster, it's designed to make it easier to start the engine in extreme cold temps.

monteholic · Jan 4, 2017

wish my PW had one

Hipps2000 · Jan 4, 2017

I have one live in CT and is totally worth it... I have mine on a timer as well...comes on at 330 am and I leave for at 630. I always remote start it for 5-10'mins and when I go out to leave truck is at 150-160 right out of driveway. Gets things toasty really quick when 0. Well worth it... I was so happy that they offered...ppl think I run a diesel. Lol

Gump · Jan 4, 2017

It's going to get to -25*F tonight. Mine will definitely be plugged in.

raff18 · Jan 4, 2017

and thats at -28c (-18f)
[YT]A1H2PoIibgg[/YT]

Goose55 · Dec 13, 2021

I live in SW Arizona so though winter nights can be chilly and even with occasional light frosts, overall there isn't much need for a block heater. But I could be wrong. Can someone tell me specifically, what advantage might I find in using the block heater during winter here? Does it help the engine, and if so, in what ways?

GTyankee · Dec 13, 2021

If you live up around Flagstaff, then there would be times that you could use one.

When i lived back East in Connecticut in the late 1950s
None of my relatives had block heaters
Almost everyone had cardboard boxes, the ones like large appliances come in. We would lay the cardboard between the front tires & the ground would be covered from the radiator back to the transmission.

The freezing weather settles into the ground when it is exposed
During the night, around 3 = 4 AM the ground begins to release the frost.
The cardboard does not allow that cold temperature to raise out of the ground & enter the metal & liquids above it.
A block heater would have been a better tool, but hardly anyone had one.
We also parked on the south side of any building, if there was no space inside it.

Tim7139 · Dec 30, 2021

1SilverBullet2 said:
For everyone in northern states or Canada who use the factory block heater, do you feel like it actually warms the truck up any better? My coolant doesn't get any warmer faster so I'm curious if anyone else has noticed or has a different opinion.

By selecting the coolant temp in the cluster I can see exactly how warm the coolant is as I start it. The impact of it's 700watts of heat is influenced by external factors, but even short use will show some benefit.

Even when it's bitterly cold you're only changing the drive time to get up to operating temp by a minute or two, but you're having a much gentler start.

If it's below -17c/0f I occasionally plug it in, but above that the oil is fine so I don't see the point. Keep in mind everything else is still cold (battery, brake & trans fluid, bushings, bearings, etc.) so your first few miles should be gentle ones anyway.

Tim7139 · Dec 30, 2021

Goose55 said:
I live in SW Arizona so though winter nights can be chilly and even with occasional light frosts, overall there isn't much need for a block heater. But I could be wrong. Can someone tell me specifically, what advantage might I find in using the block heater during winter here? Does it help the engine, and if so, in what ways?

RAM does not recommend block heater use above -10c /15F, but does recommend it for Cold Weather Operation below -30c /–22°F.

The block heater is not regulated, it just dumps 700+ watts of heat into the block the entire time it's plugged in. At colder temps it's helping the oil stay in the operational range, at higher temps it's wasting power and encouraging condensation.

GTyankee · Dec 30, 2021

When i lived in Connecticut, it seemed the people that did not take precautions, were quite often getting cracked blocks.

This was in the mid '50s
Today we understand antifreeze much better & we definitely know more about oil, such as multigrade oils

Maybe it was because they did not have the right anti freeze / water mixture or something else

Today we want the Oil to be thin enough to flow easily at start up
We also don't want the water to freeze in the water jacket of the block

Kat's Heaters makes an interior heater, that heats up a cars interior to almost 70 F in 15 minutes

https://www.etrailer.com/Vehicle-Heaters/Kats-Heaters/KH37100.html#exp-productdetails=.videos

Dean2 · Dec 30, 2021

1SilverBullet2 said:
I have the factory heater as well and never have an issue starting, it just seems to me that it doesn't work like my old heater did in my 2nd gen. When I check my coolant temp before starting it still as cold as it is outside

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I would say your block heater isn't working. Either the plug has no juice, the heater cord is broke or disconnected or the heater itself is pooched. Your coolant should be at least 30 degrees warmer than ambient.

Even at -5F to -40, I plug the block heater and in car warmer in (in car warmer means I don't have to scrape windows and the interior is just above freezing), let vehicle idle 60 seconds. I then drive VERY gently to allow the moving parts to warm. Plugged in the blower is throwing warm air from the get go. By the time I get to the main road, engine coolant and oil are up to temp and there is starting to be temp in the tranny. Motor and vehicle warm much faster under gentle driving compared to sitting still idling. Having the block warmed by the block heater makes the cold starts WAY easier on the motor, I also run 0/40 and 0/20 for winter.

Tim7139 · Jan 2, 2022

GTyankee said:
When i lived in Connecticut, it seemed the people that did not take precautions, were quite often getting cracked blocks.

This was in the mid '50s

Still homes without electiricity in the '50s. Fun times.

Block Heater opinions

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