Will the heater draw when plugged in? I started to buy a timer yesterday but hung it back on the hook thinking I would try to find what size I really need.

I appologize if this is a redundant question, I just haven't had the time to investigate.

Thanks Fellers.

 

Checked my owners manual and it states : "The block heater will require 110 Volts AC / 6.5 Amps to activate the heater element."

My wattage calculation with those numbers is 715 watts. Amps times Volts = wattage.

I and many others on this site will reccomend you get a heavy duty timer and use a GFCI outlet if available.

Hope this helps.

 

if no GFCI outlet is available you can get a GFCI extension cord.

 

The block heater is an approximate 750 watt resistive load, so that's around 6 1/4 amps, well within a safety margin for 10 amp GFCI outlet. There's no initial bounce or inrush associated with inductive loads like motors or electronic equipment, so a 10 amp timer should work fine. I was using a big Intermatic T-100 timer, but was unhappy with it's coarse mechanical timing settings, common in all analog timers. It was at either Lowes or Casa Depot that I found an Intermatic DT17C digital timer capable of handling 15 amps. It was priced more than the mechanical ones, 20 dollars, but dang!, when I set it come on at 3 AM and shut off at 5:58AM, 2 minutes before I leave, that's exactly what it does. So far, the thing works like a champ. I even have a weekend setting for Saturday breakfasts out, and Sunday go-to-Mass.

Oh, the reason for shutting it down just before I leave is because last winter, I grabbed the wet, salt soaked plug, and got zapped good all the while attached to a GFCI outlet in the garage.

 

Commatoze,I sure hope you changed that GFCI out in your garage,for your saftey and others, Rick

 

The outlet tested fine, but I removed it from service, destroyed, and replaced it. This brings up something that's off the subject, but a salty plug can cause the outlet to trip. It's happened to me and it's a pain when it's zero out. Under no circumstances should the outlet be bypassed or replaced with an unprotected outlet.

 

I just got a timer at a hardware store that said HD. Had the ground receptacale and was rated for around 1200 watts. Worked fine all last winter. I also used a lighted extension cord so I can see if I have power. No fancy timing here. Just plug it in the night before, its set for a few hours before start up. Then turn the timer switch off, unplug the cord, and shut the hood. I felt that if I had all the automatic goodies then the possibilities of me driving off attached to the house would be greater.

 

I hear ya brother....seems the older I get the more forgetful I become

Commatoze, I don't guess I have ever heard of a GFCI failing. They are so simple that they leave so very little to fail, guess we should never assume we are fully protected...thanks!

Thanks for your help all, it's clear now what I must do.