Block Heater
 

2006 auto with 5,500 miles

No factory information came with the block heater but if I read things correctly on this forum, a block heater produces easier starting and faster warm-ups.

The temperature is dropping into the teens for the next few evenings. That has produced an ongoing discussion between the wife and I. She says she has a friend, who has a truck driving husband and this trunk driver has never used a block heater in his life. He leaves his truck parked for a couple of days and just gets in and drives it off. Anyway, a couple of questions come to mind.

I live with a pager and can get callouts anytime of the day or night. Can I just plug the heater in and forget about it or do I need set some kind of timer?

Are there any other benefits (i.e less engine wear) to using a BH?

a block heater warms the coolant up to around 120* depending on the ambient temp and how long you leave it on. you do not have to have a timer, some of us do to keep the electric bill down. but if you need the truck at varying times, it will not hurt anything to leave it plugged in. the warmer starts are easier on wear, when the oil is cold, it is thicker and harder to pump, taking longer to lube some topside components. warmer oil flows faster. nothing to be concerned about though, the BH is a very nice convenience

The block heater lives in the water jacket in the head, I think. . . .it draws about 650 watts. . . .and unless your below 0 it would be a nice to use and not so much a have to or at least ought to use item. I put mine on a heavy duty timer, $8 or so, and have it turn on 2 hours before I use it. On those colder mornings here in Colorado it allows me to get some hint of warm air out of the heater before I get 10 miles down the road. I also got the grill cover on so the temp will get to just below 200.

Thanks guys.

another nice thing about it is to leave the defrost switch on and the temp switch to warm. it helps keep some of the frost off the windshield. of course it doesn't get down to zero here but it gets to 20'ish and my blood has gotten thin so that's cold enough for me:cool: