Engine Block Heaters

[Andydodge]

After seeing a Head Bolt Heater in the 37 DeSoto thread and learning such an animal actually existed, I decided to do a quick search on ebay under "Engine Block Heater"........Wow.........there were over 2100 listings showing all sorts of heaters for all brands of vehicles with under the "Mopar Engine Block Heater" listing there was over 300(!) choices...............amazing, I have learnt something today....here in Oz with toady being the last day of Winter and the sun shining I doubt I'll use a block heater anytime soon but this is why this Forum is so great............andyd  

[maok]

Living in Brisbane, do you think I should install one in my mopars Andy?   lol!

[Jerry Roberts]

Also heaters to go in the dipstick hole to warm the oil . And heaters to go under the battery . 

[keithb7]

When I lived 6 hours north of where I am now in Canada,  1 block heater was not enough.

 

I had a 120V electric battery blanket around the starting battery. I had a silicone oil pan heater glued to the bottom flat part of the oil pan sump.

I had a block heater too, in an expansion plug in the block. This is maybe why most of us up here call them "frost plugs". 

 

 I'd leave my vehicle plugged in all day at work. All 3 heaters going. On cold days when it was snowing, I'd come out to the car and 

the engine hood had no snow on it. It was melted away. I got in, flashed her up and had heat very quickly in the cab. It was a comfortable drive home.

I used to take a piece of tin, sort of like a baking cookie tray. Drill some holes in it. Not too many.  Then wire to to the very front of the radiator. To restrict

air flow. Otherwise going down the hi-way at cruising speed, you'd have little to no heat in the cab. 

 

Try stopping for fuel and maybe go in and grab a coffee at -40C. Come back out. Flash up the car and push in the clutch. The manual tranny gear shifter is quite stiff due to the gear oil cooling so quickly. Hard to shift. Take a deep breath through your nose and the hair inside your nose freezes up.  Car windows fog up and ice over on the inside. Side door windows don't ever defrost. Just not enough heat in the cab to compete with -40 outside. I'd start pouring the methyl hydrate into the gas tank as soon as the weatherman said the first cold snap was coming.  Otherwise, frozen fuel lines.  And you thought vapor lock was a PITA. Its a dream compared to -40C and you break down due to no fuel. 

 

No this was not back in 1950. It's still reality today in Northern climates.

 

How they did it in 1920 with an open touring car, I have no idea. I'm spoiled rotten today by comparison.

Edited August 31, 2021 by keithb7

[plymouthcranbrook]

I had on(a freeze plug heater) on my 2001 Astro for the whole time I owned it.  Easier start on really cold mornings and quicker warm up. Car probably would have started anyway with out one but I believe it kept wear and tear down.

[RobertKB]

Block heaters may be a thing of the past in Canada. This summer, at least in western Canada, we have had major heat, drought, and forest fires. This follows the mildest winter I can remember in my 72 years. It’s not nostalgia because I don’t like winter, but winters are not what they used to be. Sure it’s a colder time of year but lately not as cold………touch wood. Weather is changing. 

[Andydodge]

I think the closest I've come to a block heater is years ago I got as a birthday present a thing that boiled water or kept coffee hot..it had a thing that you stuck in the cigarette lighter with a lead to this mini jug thing............yeh, I know, its not quite the same, I'm just trying to offer some sort of understanding.........lol.......why do I detect some bad thoughts towards me from you guys in the northern hemisphere?..........lol..........but seriously tho' I had no idea block heaters were such a widespread thing........and disregard Maok's smart comment.........he has no sympathy at all..........lol.........do you Maok?......lol..........andyd 

[Eneto-55]

I don't remember now exactly why it didn't work out, but I tried to install a heater in the lower radiator hose on my 62 Chrysler while I lived in Minnesota (west of the Twin Cities).  But it turned out that it didn't need it anyway.  The only time it didn't start for me was when I left it sit over Christmas break when I traveled back home to Oklahoma (and back north later) with my Dad's cousin & his family, and the battery froze solid.  Took several days under my bed in my dorm room for it to thaw out before I could charge it up again.

We used to put a piece of cardboard in front of the radiator in winter, even in Oklahoma.  Back when I was a little kid we used to have snow storms there with the snow up to my arm pits.....  ?.

Edited August 31, 2021 by Eneto-55

[Pete]

Back in the '80's I moved to Minnesota. I worked in a big computer facility that had about 9K employees, so a lot of cars in the parking lots.

 

One summer day on a walk during lunch, a newly arrived guy from the South asked why, if the town was supposed to have such a low crime rate, did everyone have alarms on their cars.

 

We pointed out that those plugs sticking out were for the block heaters.

 

In the winter a lot of folks ate lunch in their cars in order to warm up the engines so they would start for the drive home.

 

Pete