Just wondering what the block heater resistance should be? About 4 degrees this morning and truck was pretty cold after having been plugged in for about 4 hours. Mine measured 19.5 ohms, and on a 91 CTD I use for work, it measured about 68 ohms. Any others to compare to would be nice.

Andy

 

Welcome to DTR vzdude!

19.5 ohms sounds right.

I looked in my manual the other day and it mentioned that the block heater draws about 6 amps.

Using Ohms law...
120 volts divided by 6 amps = 20 ohms.

I never have any problems starting mine in the cold but out of curiosity, I plugged mine in a few nights ago when it got down to about 5* ambient. In the morning the ambient temp was about 18*, I checked my coolant temp on my Bully Dog Outlook monitor and it read 78*.
Basically just helped warm up the inside of the truck sooner.
I can't justify the 700+ watt/hours just to make my heat a little warmer a little sooner.


MT

 

Not only does your heat come on faster, but starting the engine warmer is a lot easier on the bearings. I calculated that if I plugged my truck in EVERY night for a full 8 hours, it would cost me less than $10/month. And since my drive to work is only 8 miles, I like to get the engine warmed up as fast as possible.

 

Thanks! I just was expecting a little more than what I had for heat I guess! - newbie to diesels and my gasser 4 banger always had heat really quick. Look forward to reading a lot more on here. Love the site!

Andy

 

I've been using a timer, for ~4 hours before I get in the truck. It starts fine. Last week, I was on the highway for 1.5 hours and plugged it in when I got home, without the timer. Since the truck never got cold, and was plugged in for ~ 9.5 hours, it started much quicker.

I'm keeping it plugged in all night until this cold spell, around 0 degrees F, is over. Once it's only getting into the teens, I'll go back to the timer.

Getting warm air after only a couple of miles is really addictive. I have a winter front, too, all four flaps closed right now.

 

Yeah, it's something like 750 watt heater vs 900 lbs of cold iron...

I don't think it was designed to get it warm, just less cold- enough to reduce strain, noise and smoke on a start.