Can the plug be pulled out to extend outside the truck rather than having to lift the hood?<br><br>Or do I have to build a pigtail or something?<br><br>I was hesitant in just yanking on it. BTW, I did plug it in this morning for an optest, and it started hissing in only a few seconds.<br><br>Winters' almost here in the Mid-Atlantic region.<br>

 

The cord is attached on mine by being tucked inside a small restraint. If you move it outside the restraint...it will extend half way down over the front bumper.<br><br>Wantabee

 

Don't forget to use something substantial as an extension cord; 750 watts we're talking about. Those pencil-sized orange cords drop a significant amount of voltage in a 50 or 100 foot run. 14AWG or larger will do the trick.<br><br>-Tom-

 

Plugged mine for first time last night. Engine warmed up ito running range in less than 1 mile. Without heater it takes about 4 miles because I'm going down hill. Heater inside cab put out heat from start. Temp down into low 30s last night for first time this fall. :

 

Thanks for the responses. There is almost toooo much heater cord there for my liking. I guess its ok for it to flop around in the windstream. I don't feel like messing around with the hood every day.<br><br>Must be a lot of diesels around (or block heaters), .... all the exterior-timer shelves were bare when I went shopping today. I saw a zillion boat owners buying up all the pink RV antifreeze too.<br><br>Temps dipped into the low 30's here for the first time. Still have most of the leaves on the trees though. And all you guys up north think you have it rough.

 

OK, dumb question here. How do you know when the heater is working? PLugged it in last night for the first time, using a timer, and I'm not sure if it worked or not. It was 21 degrees. The coil still took a bit to turn off. It didn't feel warm under the hood or anything. Just waiting to find a chopped up cat under there... &gt;OUT

 

Well, It's not going to feel warm as it's only a 750 watt heater, and you have 900 lbs of engine and drivetrain sinking the heat. But, when you initially plug it in, you should hear a crackling noise from within the block. You should also see your electric meter turn considerably faster. ..really.

 

Fortunately I'm not looking at the meter at 0400. ;D. Would it still be making a sound while it was heating?

 

I've only tried mine once, and I remember it's only when it you initially turn it on. I think once the coolant starts to move with convection, the crackling goes away. 02 &amp; 03's should be the same in that regard.

 

Mine only hissed/sizzled when I initially plugged it in. I can't say I really noticed a quicker warming up period, but then again it wasn't all that cold out (lo-mid 30's), and I only had it plugged in for a couple of hours.

 

Bulabula, If the heater cord hangs over your bumper too far I would tie it up some so it doesn't flop around. There all kinds of plastic ties and loops made to tie up elect. cords. Radio Shack is a good source. Home Depot is another.<br><br>I plugged my deater in before the engine had cooled down. There was no popping or hissing. Just a short warmup which wife loved at 8:00 am.

 

Living in Winterpeg (Winnipeg, MB) and dealing with -40C (also -40F ), I'd keep the block heater cord secured just inside the grille, then use another short, &quot;polar&quot; ext. cord to hook up to outlets, or the plug from the house. The polar cord was a 12ga, braided-wire core cord with a high silicone-content cover that stayed relatively pliable at &quot;freeze your a$$-off&quot; temps. I didn't fancy the idea of pulling out and restowing the factory cord. <br><br>Also, the locals didn't mind driving around with heater cords pulled back and wrapped around the radio antenna...sort of a prairie fashion statement! ;D Wouldn't do that to a nice new Ram, though!<br><br>FWIW.

 

DNAT, give us &quot;southerners&quot; an idea of operating in really cold weather. Do you have outlets at parking lots for plugging in while shopping? How about tires, and fuel? If it hits -10F here in Massachusetts, that's pretty cold for us.<br><br>-Tom-

 

Commatose, when we visited AK in 2000, there were a couple of things in Fairbanks somewhat unusual. The university parking lot with electric hookup for each parking space reminded me the intense cold. The other was a sign in the Fred Meyer parking lot, &quot;Turn Off Engine When Leaving Car Unattended&quot;. <br><br>Wife's cousin lived Palmer, AK until he retired now in their cabin southwest of Houston, AK. His oldest son works for pipeline company and is anywhere from North Slope to Valdez. <br><br>Diesel #2 sells as high as $1.699 :'( on US-50 or as low as $1.499 where I filled yesterday 2 miles off highway. <br>

 

Commatoze,<br><br>It's not all that bad up here once you get used to it! (But I guess that being born this far north has it's advantages ) But to answer your questions;<br><br>Shopping malls, restaurants and such don't have outlets for us to plug into but a lot of offices, schools etc. have plug-ins available for the employees and these are typically designed to cycle on and off once it gets to about -5 celcius (23F). The fuel up here is modified at the refineries and bulk stations to a winter state (I believe they add kerosene, but I'm not 100% positive). As for tires, well it's not too bad, but if you leave your vehicle parked for a couple of days at -30C (_22F) or so you can feel the &quot;square&quot; tires hump along until they warm up. The occassional pressure check certainly doesn't hurt!<br><br>So you se, it's not all that bad up here...10 months of winter and 2 months of poor sledding! ;D And we can suntan when it hits -10! 8)