At what temperature should I plug the engine block heater in. I just did my first oil change and used 15W-40. The owners manual doesn't say anything. I had a gas engine before and the owner's manual said not to use the heater until the temperature got below 20 F.

 

i plug mine in if its gonna be less than 50. whats it gonna hurt?? i like being able to fire it up and the heater is blowing warm air!! plus i dont pay the electric bill at work

brett

 

I plug mine in when its colder than -25. So far i have yet to plug my truck in. Starts just fine at -20 or -25 without it being plugged in. i dont need heat right away if im just gonna let it high idle at 1500RPM for 20 minutes.

 

At 0C, 32F the espar gets used.

 

I plug my truck in whenever it's below 35 degrees F. As Brett said, it won't hurt anything, and it's easier on the engine and driver when you start up! I have a heavy duty electrical timer that turns the heater on a couple hours before I leave for work to save me a few bucks in electric. Plug it in whenever you want and don't you worry about a thing!

 

If you read the 2006 owners manual like I did it will show you to only use 15w40 down to zero and anything below that to use 5w40. I changed mine over to Rotella dino Synthetic 5w40 and I only had 10,000 miles on mine when I did so. FYI, I had the dealer install my oil and filter so I know there is no problem having it in my truck. So if you were to use a dino Synthetic oil you will be OK.

After I switched to 5w40 I heard a big difference in the engine on first start up of the day. That is when it was not plugged in over night and temps were in the upper teens. If you keep using the 15w40 then plug in your truck when temps are at or below 20 degrees as that is some real thick oil you have in your truck right now.

JMHO and $0.02 worth!

 

I plug in when its expected to be less than 20°F.
I also have a 125 watt wolverine stick on heater on the oil pan. I have the block heater and the pan heater plugged into one cord on the truck so I only have one plug to fool with on the front of the truck.
The pan heater keeps the oil nice and toasty, so I dont use synthetic.

 

The manual is out in the truck as I read this thread. . .how many watts does the heater draw? And so then. . . TOM282 you talk about your high load timer. . . share that brand and price if you would. . . I do some surfing too. . .

Thanks,

 

The timer I use is an Intermatic Model#HB11R. It's rated for 15A, 1875 Watts. I've had it for 3 years, and use it every night on the truck from mid-November through mid-April here in Upstate NY. I bought mine at either Lowes or Home Depot. Good luck!

I just looked up the Indoor version of this timer and it's the IntermaticTN311C Heavy-Duty Grounded Timer , and the new model number for the waterproof outdoor model is Intermatic HB31R All Weather, Outdoor Timer. Both are available at Amazon


p.s. Not sure the exact wattage of the truck heater.

 

I think the wattage of the truck heater is around the 650-675 watt range.
I plug both the block and the pan heater into one of the timers like Tom282 is talking about.
Works Great.

 

TOM282. . thanks. . .yepper, manual states 6.5Amps so it looks like a $15 timer has enough margin. I'll just set it to come on 1.5 hours before I need it in the mornings and things will be much warmer. . . I think here in the Colorado front range I barley need it anyway so I can probably save my money on the stick heater.

 

I plug mine in if it drops below 40/

 

I'm going to order the Intermatic HB31R like Tom282 mentioned above.
Here's the cheapest i found it....$13.99

http://www.westsidewholesale.com/ind...FQ23WAodqEfbpw

 

Here in central Alberta it was -26 C (-14 F) this morning when I started my 04.5 2500 and it was a little mad at me because the block heater plug wasn't in all the way and didn't work. But,it started after my second short crank. I also run synthetic oil in it which undoubtedly helped a lot. I will have to be more careful to check the plug. I have a 24 hour timer and it is set up to turn on for one hour and then shuts off for two. In the morning it comes on at 8 for 3 continuous hours so I can go for coffee. (ya, I'm retired and loving it.)

 

I plug mine in when it will be below freezing (32F/0C) in the morning. I know the truck does not need it, but I do like having warm air available earlier.

I use an outdoor christmas tree timer (rated 15Amp) and set it to come on two hours before I leave in the morning.