Plugged Her In Last Night
11-18-2005 | 07:01 PM
#46
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Joined: Dec 2003
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From: Montana
Originally Posted by timcasbolt
Running the block heater from the time you get home from work until you get up in the morning would rock your world unless you're the guy that doesn't pay an electric bill. That's a lot of amps. A timer is a much cheaper way to do exactly the same thing. I found that about two hours is plenty to keep the wait to start light from coming on.
That certainly doesn't rock my world.
11-18-2005 | 08:03 PM
#48
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Joined: Nov 2004
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From: Northwest Washington
Egads. All this talk about block heaters and timers and such.
Y'all are forgetting about one other important aspect about the use of heat.
How about the little space heater in the cab? I got one in mine and when I get up at 3:30 in the morning and head downstairs for a few minutes of checking e-mail and such, I take a quick detour into the garage and plug in the extension cord that the heater is already plugged into. 1/2 hour later, I head out to the truck and the windows are all defrosted and the inside of the cab is nice and toasty warm. Nnnniiiiiiiiiiccccceeeeee. I like it.
DMH
Y'all are forgetting about one other important aspect about the use of heat.
How about the little space heater in the cab? I got one in mine and when I get up at 3:30 in the morning and head downstairs for a few minutes of checking e-mail and such, I take a quick detour into the garage and plug in the extension cord that the heater is already plugged into. 1/2 hour later, I head out to the truck and the windows are all defrosted and the inside of the cab is nice and toasty warm. Nnnniiiiiiiiiiccccceeeeee. I like it.
DMH
11-18-2005 | 08:18 PM
#50
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Joined: Sep 2002
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From: Central VA
I've used a small ceramic-style heater in the cab the same way.
But only on reeeeal cold mornings.
Plug it in when I take the dog out in the morning, and the cab is nice & toasty 1/2 hour later when I leave for work.
But only on reeeeal cold mornings.
Plug it in when I take the dog out in the morning, and the cab is nice & toasty 1/2 hour later when I leave for work.
11-18-2005 | 08:27 PM
#51
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Joined: May 2002
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From: Sandy, Utah
I have a little "auxiliary Ford defroster" that plugs into the cigarrete lighter.
Haven't used it since I had the Ford, might have to dig it out and try it.
Since the lighter's these days aren't powered until the vehicle is on (or key in aux), it won't be on till I remote start it in the morning, might help us "garage challenged" folk get some cab heat a little quicker.
phox
Not really a "Ford" item, but my Ford had horrible defrosters, so I picked the little mini heater up at Checker
(or whatever auto parts store was around way back then)
Haven't used it since I had the Ford, might have to dig it out and try it.
Since the lighter's these days aren't powered until the vehicle is on (or key in aux), it won't be on till I remote start it in the morning, might help us "garage challenged" folk get some cab heat a little quicker.
phox
Not really a "Ford" item, but my Ford had horrible defrosters, so I picked the little mini heater up at Checker
(or whatever auto parts store was around way back then)
11-18-2005 | 09:24 PM
#52
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Joined: Mar 2004
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From: Monroe,Michigan
Originally Posted by Geico266
You would need batteries the size of a battle ship, not practical. If its a real problem a small Honda type generator in the pickup bed is the best (and cheapest) bet.
11-18-2005 | 09:26 PM
#53
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Joined: Jul 2005
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From: md
Originally Posted by infidel
At the national average electrical rate of 10¢ per kWh it costs about 7¢ per hour to run the block heater. Many folks pay much less than the national average, I pay 3¢/kWh
That certainly doesn't rock my world.
That certainly doesn't rock my world.
That's 30 bucks a month. I'm WAY too cheap to spend that without the promise of at least a kiss. The timer brings it down to about $5/month.
11-18-2005 | 10:19 PM
#54
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From: "The Peoples Republic of Illinois".....behind enemy lines
Originally Posted by timcasbolt
That's 30 bucks a month. I'm WAY too cheap to spend that without the promise of at least a kiss. The timer brings it down to about $5/month.
11-18-2005 | 11:07 PM
#55
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Joined: Jan 2005
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From: Reno, NV
Previously, I had purchased a Cummins-brand cardboard winter-front...(only available with an attached timinggear cover gasket ) and I used that last year and didn't notice an appreciable warmup time reduction... Helped a little on the temperature cycling, but "The PLUG" works every time.
does anyone else wish there was a light or something so you KNOW that the heater is working when you plug it in?? I know it works since it's warm in the AM, but I like to see and verify that its working...
Overall.. I think plugging the truck in is more for the convienience of having the heater right away. I can only be good for the engine; I like knowing that I'm at operating temp for at least half of my 30 mile drive to work. (Actually 10 miles if my girlfriend is driving to her job.) I don't know about the rest of you, but I can definitly tell if my engine has been running long enough to be happy. I have a "Heavy Duty" timer from Home Depot. When I use it I set it to start at 3:00 AM; I leave the house at 6:00 AM. I don't need to plug the truck in, because it will start without even cycling the grids. But the heater sure is nice. And, I like the engine singing me the happy sounds earlier.
11-19-2005 | 12:35 AM
#56
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From: League City, TX
Originally Posted by timcasbolt
That's 30 bucks a month. I'm WAY too cheap to spend that without the promise of at least a kiss. The timer brings it down to about $5/month.
6-8 amps may seem like a lot of electricity but it really isn't. The heater is 750 Watts. To your electric company' that is .75 kiloWatt hour. ¾ Kilowatt hour. Based on what you pay for power, lets say $.033 per kilowatt hour. So .75 kilowatt hour (your block heater) times $.033 (the rate) is $.024 total. Thats 2.4 pennies per hour to run your block heater. 2.4 cents times 10 hour of overnight use is 24 cents. Multiply that by 30 days and you get $7.20 per month to run your block heater every night.
Plus you keep the engine warm all the time. Instead of it cooling off and and then warming up (timer method), it always stays warm. Less thermal cycles that way.
11-19-2005 | 02:25 AM
#58
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 204
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From: Minnesota area/Fargo
Originally Posted by TxDiesel007
My question is for this fellas
Is the weather cold enough that i have to plug this truck in?
Just how cold is too cold that i have to plug it in?
Rick
Is the weather cold enough that i have to plug this truck in?
Just how cold is too cold that i have to plug it in?
Rick
Its 10* here a few days ago, thought #2 wouldn't do the trick, but no problem, a turn of the key and fired right up. I kind of feel bad for the poor truck on the cold cold days w/o the block heater, it struggles to find idle and such, so give it a little throttle till it will run on its own, then go back inside the house where its warm.
Tim.
11-19-2005 | 02:32 AM
#59
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From: League City, TX
This may sound strange to most of you but I plug in at 70-80°. Reason is the nieghbor woke up a few times to me idling the truck before taking off in the morning. She complained to me about it so I decided to put the heater to good use. Nice warm engine ready to go. 5-10 seconds after starting, I drop it in Drive and off I go.