Block heater (1 Viewer)

[Wild Horse Fab]

Hello all,

Does anyone uses a block heater for their engines? I live in an area that gets relatively cold in the winter at night. I am not too worried about the diesel gelling, but when i go to start it early in the morning, I have to hold the glow plugs on for 30 plus seconds. Even then the B series engine is rough for a minute or so when it starts. I grew up on a ranch in Colorado and I know that we used to have vehicles that had block heaters that went into one of the freeze plugs. Thanks in advance for the help.

Ty

 

[Rocky Mtn Hilux]

When it gets nasty cold outside, I always plug in my block heater. I have one that heats my oil pan and my radiator fluid at the same time. It makes a HUGE difference when starting your engine. Really cold winter starts without some kind of block heater are extremely hard on a diesel engine, especially an older one.

Recently, overnight temps plunged below -35C here with the windchill. My Hilux started on the first crank this morning, no problem without huge plumes of smoke.......


Rocky Mtn Hilux

 

[Wild Horse Fab]

When it gets nasty cold outside, I always plug in my block heater. I have one that heats my oil pan and my radiator fluid at the same time. It makes a HUGE difference when starting your engine. Really cold winter starts without some kind of block heater are extremely hard on a diesel engine, especially an older one.

Recently, overnight temps plunged below -35C here with the windchill. My Hilux started on the first crank this morning, no problem without huge plumes of smoke.......


Rocky Mtn Hilux

Thanks for the reply. Holly crap that’s cold BTW. So then would a block heater that is in the freeze plug be sufficient? There are ORM style block heaters available from cruiser parts ( Aftermarket Block Heater 50mm Like Original [Block Heater 50mm] - $54.99 : CruiserParts, The best place for Land Cruiser Parts! - https://shop.cruiserparts.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=62582 ) for 50 dollars. Thanks.

Ty

 

[Rocky Mtn Hilux]

Yes.

Damn good idea to use a decent diesel fuel additive as well.

Rocky Mtn Hilux

 

[Wild Horse Fab]

Yes.

Damn good idea to use a decent diesel fuel additive as well.

Rocky Mtn Hilux

Thanks. So at what temperature do you recommend the need to start using the fuel additive and the heater?

 

[Rocky Mtn Hilux]

I always use a diesel fuel additive every time I fill up. Xp3 is my additive of choice.

I like to plug my truck in for 30 minutes or so before starting even when it's zero degrees C outside (32F). Warming up the oil pan always makes for an easier start.


Rocky Mtn Hilux

 

[Squash]

Zerostart convection heater
1000 or 1500 wattts
Kit comes with 5/8" hose adapter fitting, tie in to upper heater hose at fire wall with supplied "Y".
Best to keep heater controls in cab on defrost so heated coolant can circulate. On cold days you will even see clearing of the lower part of windshield.
I take the front tire off to gain better access.

 

[Wild Horse Fab]

View attachment 3186382View attachment 3186382
Zerostart convection heater
1000 or 1500 wattts
Kit comes with 5/8" hose adapter fitting, tie in to upper heater hose at fire wall with supplied "Y".
Best to keep heater controls in cab on defrost so heated coolant can circulate. On cold days you will even see clearing of the lower part of windshield.
I take the front tire off to gain better access.

Thanks for the response.

 

[Wild Horse Fab]

Does anyone have a suggested oil heater? Thanks again.

 

[Douglas S]

Does anyone have a suggested oil heater? Thanks again.

Get a stick-on heater for the oil pan. Not really any other way unless you want to weld a bung into the pan and use an immersion heater.

 

[Dougal]

View attachment 3186382View attachment 3186382
Zerostart convection heater
1000 or 1500 wattts
Kit comes with 5/8" hose adapter fitting, tie in to upper heater hose at fire wall with supplied "Y".
Best to keep heater controls in cab on defrost so heated coolant can circulate. On cold days you will even see clearing of the lower part of windshield.
I take the front tire off to gain better access.

I put a similar thing to this on my diesel ute last winter. Has an inbuilt thermostat so only heats to 60C.

Fantastic addition. I have it running on a timer for 1.5 hours before it's needed. The windscreen is already thawing, the engine starts without trigging the glow-plugs and the heater works instantly.

 

[franklin40]

i have a stick on oil pan heater and i’m not sure how much it really helps. i have a 1hdt and couldn’t get a block heater so i splurged and put one of these in

best cold weather start investments ever!

 

[Douglas S]

i have a stick on oil pan heater and i’m not sure how much it really helps. i have a 1hdt and couldn’t get a block heater so i splurged and put one of these in
View attachment 3189812


best cold weather start investments ever!

I’ve got one too but it doesn’t heat the oil, I still use a stick on oil pan heater when I can plug in.

 

[franklin40]

i’m not knocking it as i have an oil pan heater too. i just know that when i only use an oil pan heater my truck swears at me in -30C. when i have the webasto and no oil pan heater it fires right up and runs like when i start it in summer. it’s really not a competition.

now the kind of heater that goes in a bung in the oil pan may work better but mine doesn’t seem to create enough heat to make an appreciable difference. i use 15w40 all year too so it’s pretty thick at that temp

 

[Dougal]

i’m not knocking it as i have an oil pan heater too. i just know that when i only use an oil pan heater my truck swears at me in -30C. when i have the webasto and no oil pan heater it fires right up and runs like when i start it in summer. it’s really not a competition.

now the kind of heater that goes in a bung in the oil pan may work better but mine doesn’t seem to create enough heat to make an appreciable difference. i use 15w40 all year too so it’s pretty thick at that temp

Swap your oil for 10W40 or even 5W40. 15W40 is risking engine damage in those temps. It can't flow well enough in the cold to get into the oil pump.

 

[franklin40]

it’s full synthetic if that helps! when i use lighter oils i leak it all over my floor! i need to pull my engine soon and reseal it all!. then i’ll likely end up going down the proverbial rabbit hole.

 

[Dougal]

it’s full synthetic if that helps! when i use lighter oils i leak it all over my floor! i need to pull my engine soon and reseal it all!. then i’ll likely end up going down the proverbial rabbit hole.

The W rating on the oil tells you how it flows in the cold. A synthetic 15W40 is no better than a mineral 15W40. The average 15W40 won't even pour at -35C.

SAE ratings:
15W oils are good for -15C starting.
10W oils are good for -20C.
5W oils are good for -25C
0W oils are good for -30C.

You'll also get way better economy with an oil that has a better winter rating. Because they have less friction on cold starts.

 

[franklin40]

i misread your earlier post. i thought you were saying i should go to a lighter W weight. but yes i likely should get a better winter oil. i’ve just not really thought about it much to be honest. i did not know however that the synthetic had similar flow properties as mineral. i’m have a always read that synthetics we’re better in cold weather. are there other properties to synthetic that make them better for cold weather viscosity or is it all marketing hype?

 

[Dougal]

i misread your earlier post. i thought you were saying i should go to a lighter W weight. but yes i likely should get a better winter oil. i’ve just not really thought about it much to be honest. i did not know however that the synthetic had similar flow properties as mineral. i’m have a always read that synthetics we’re better in cold weather. are there other properties to synthetic that make them better for cold weather viscosity or is it all marketing hype?

Essentially as you go lower in the W ratings they have to be more synthetic. By the time you get to 5W40 they're pretty much all fully synthetic. At 10W40 there are still some mineral oils.

But it's mostly marketing BS.

 

[Squash]

The key to cold weather starts are:
Functioning glow system
Good battery/batteries
Fuel lines, winter fuel, fuel conditioners for extreme cold.
Fuelling, sometimes a bit of pedal goes a long way.
For starting without drama install an engine block heater,
A block heater doesn't give a s*** about oil. I run 15w40 all year round. We see -30C or colder.
If you are off grid then Espar/Webasto are the cats ass!
I'd say 130 degrees from a convection heater is a great way to start your day.