I plug in overnight here the land of cheap hydroelectric power, 3¢/kWh.
My reasoning is the wait to start and grid heaters never come on no matter what the outside temp is, saves on wear and tear of the grid system so that they will work when I don't have a place to plug in.

 

about the only reason i plug my truck in is so that i actually have HEAT!! i have left it sit overnight in about 30 below 0 weather and it started right up. little smoke but nothing serious. yeah it is a little easier on the truck but i think it is really just a personal prefrence. yeah yeah yeah, dont give me flak yet, i know the manuals say you should plug it in below certain temps but the biggest difference you will notice is how fast it heats up.




sorry for the spelling...... lil bit tired.....

 

I usually plug in when lows start getting and staying in the mid teens and lower. Use a cheap timer and usually heat it for about 3 hours prior to lift off. Doesn't seem to help the cab heat much if any but its enough to start easy.

For some reason or another the three 12 valves I've owned all handled cold starting a little differently, the 95 model being the most particular.

 

Conservation is not for other people.
Excess electricity consumption is still excess, no matter your direct cost. Even hydro is not cheap. Most of it is subsidized by MY taxes and I'm not talking breaks.

I use a cheap appliance timer to start the heater. I DO NOT use a stop time. The appliance timers can handle starting, but they will not survive a shut off. That's when the contacts burn.

This is only at home. No plug in at work. Away from home I use the Espar.


Checking the cord/element is easy with a multimeter. If you have any continuity, it is good. Infinite ohms is a signal to problems with cord or heater.

 

An Espar is what ?????

 

http://www.espar.com/html/applications/automotive.html

A small boiler that heats the coolant. It sips fuel directly from the truck tank and is powered off the batteries.
I do need to change the fuel source. The Espar requires very thin fuel in the tank. Thinner than the Cummins demands. With separate fuel tanks, I could feed the Espar straight #1 and the Cummins could live on 50/50. Last winter with ULSF & 2% bio the Espar fuel line gelled and then my ignitor burned out.

The next question is probably cost. I paid $725 for the Dodge kit 7 years ago.