I've started mine down close to 0° a few times. Honestly,I couldn't tell a difference in how it started as compared to 40°.

Plugging it in will get you heat much quicker,but as far as a starting aid,its not needed at those temps.

 

I second cdennyb's opinion! I am a wus if the temps are gonna be below 40, I plug my truck in the night before. I leave the house at 5am, the truck is blowing warm air from the heater.
Sa-weet!

Chris

 

That's about the equivalent of asking "How long is a piece of string??"

Perform a search.....there's ton of info on block heater usage.

 

Circulating heaters are available for around $50 for a cheaper one. They splice into your radiator hose and circulate hot water. They come in different sizes depending on your heating needs and paranoia level. I used these for 30 years ago when my vehicles sat outside and had to be started in below 0 temps. In fact if a car didn't have a heater but was stranded outside, we'd put a drop light under the hood and lay blankets over the engine. Never froze a block. Had some tractor blocks break when the temps went below -35.....

The heater in our engines is a 750 watt model. So if your electricity rates are 10 cents per kilowatt, you are paying 7.5 cents per hour to heat your truck (60 cents for 8 hours). If you want to save money, you can buy a $20 timer and set it to run only 4 hours a night, saving 30 cents a day. If you plug your truck in every day, you'll save $9 a month so the timer will be paid for in short order.

 

How warm do your trucks get? My 03 still takes 10 miles driving before the heater blows warm air after being plugged in all night. My 92 had a block heater that literally would heat the coolant so warm that the heater would blow hot air to defrost the windows in -20 cold. I wish I knew what it had, and I would get one and put it in mine.

 

You can get a bigger heater.... Why? You want to pay 4 times the electricity so you can get warm air right away? You could buy one of those umbilical cords jets use on the tarmac and keep the whole truck at 75 degrees if you'd like.... I guess it's whatever you want to do, and how much money you want to spend.

Replace your 750 watt heater with a 1500 watt would be a good start. It would get warmer and warmer faster. It would still run on any 15 amp circuit too!

 

I plug it into a timer. It on 3 hrs before I start. Makes all the difference in the world as far as heating up the cab. The exhaust brake helps with cab warm-up too. Of coarse a faster warm-up also means better fuel mileage.

 

I have the stock one run for 5 hours and their is NO warm air blowing for 10+ minutes after startup. I put my 92 on a 2hr timer and it was HOT. We frequently get freezing rain and the only way to get it off quickly is to have warm air blowing on it. So what is cheaper 5 hours plugged in + 15 minutes run time or 2 hr plugged in? Let me rephrase the question, does anyone have a pn of a more powerful, higher out put block heater?

 

do you have source for this 1500 watt heater?

 

I can plug in my stock block heater for 2 hours at zero degrees and have 50 degree heat with in 4 minutes of it being started, backed out of the garage and driving 15 mph 6 Blocks to the Hwy. I also have my Dodge winter front on.

 

I have been doing some experimenting of my own the past couple of winters.
The truck is parked in a garage 99.5% of the time...this is what I have experienced.
Outside temps 12-30*, but the truck is in a garage / plugged in for 2 hrs, 100* engine temp upon start up /// plugged in for 1 hr, the engine temp upon start up is ~80*.
Outside temp 0-12*, truck in the weather / plugged in all night ~10hrs, 100* engine temp upon start up.
I dont know if 100* is the max heating available; but 2 hrs seems to be enough for my needs.
These temps are taken from the Edge Attitude monitor and there is warm (meaning not HOT) air coming from the vents. I really like it, cant figure out why I havent been using it more often the last 5 yrs because this winter I have used it almost daily.

 

yes where is this big 1500 watt heater?

 

I just bought one of these the other day.
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...9137_200339137
I picked it up at a local farm suply store. I circulates coolant.
I need to get it on ASAP. Its suposed to get down to -10F tonight and barely break 0 tomarrow and we havent even got into the cold part of the year. The factory block heater works fine and the truck starts with no problem but I want heat rite away and the block heater just dont do it. The problem is that hear in NW Iowa there is usaly a good 20mph wind on average daily and when its -10 the wind sucks the heat out of the coolant as fast as the block heater can put it in. I leave it pluged in all nite in the garage and all day at work when its this cold. I plan to use the block heater at home and the tank heater at work where it needs th extra heating capacity and electricity is free.

 

Global Warming ? Yea Right!

That set up used to be called a bubbler unit. Hope it does the job for you.

Wer're still waiting on the Cold Front down here. Usually by Xmas.

Dave

 

Gosh fellers, I didn't know there was such a demand! Coolant heaters come in all different sizes, from 500 watt to 45,000 watt, in 110, 220, 208 and 277 volt.

When you start getting bigger heaters, you get bigger heating elements, the big ones don't slide into the freeze plug of your engine, they are mounted on the outside of your engine. They circulate fluid which is good because they get pretty dang hot. They also have thermostats so you don't cook your engine.

Like I said, the sky is the limit... They keep 747's warm on the tarmac, you can keep your truck warm too.