Block Heater

[Wildfire]

Hey all, Im sorry if I sound a bit dumb. But im new to the whole plugging in the car block heater thing (We don't do this in back in England).

I have a few questions. My mk4 GTI has a plug (Block heater). Ive been told not to plug the car in all night, but only for a couple of hours before I start the car.

What exactly does a block heater do? Will it stop my battery from dying?

Sorry if I sound a bit thick but im getting mixed info and im confused as hell.

[stefan]

Re: Block Heater

block heater is just a heat element that sits inside the engine block and heats the coolant. As a result, the engine block and oil will also be heated. Big benefit is more fluid oil in the morning so the engine will turn over easier, and will be lubricated much better than a cold start. The battery will not be any stronger, but it won't have to work as hard to crank the warmer engine. If you have a good or slightly sick battery, it will make all the difference, if you have a very sick battery, it may not help at all.

The only way I can think of to really improve the power of your battery is to use a battery blanket to warm the battery. I don't know many guys that use these, but I hear they work well.

With a decent battery, and a plug in, you should be fine in our weather.

Yeah, no point pluging in all night. It uses a lot of electricity. I got an outdoor timer and have it come on maybe 3 hours before i'd leave.

(ps, if you buy a timer, the cheap digital ones at canadian tire suck. The analogue ones with the big dial with time of day on it are nicer IMO.)

Cheers

[vee_dubbin]

Re: Block Heater

You can keep it plugged in all night. It won't hurt anything but your energy consumption on your next energy bill (lol). Just kidding. it doesn't draw that much power. Usually the block heaters are just a heating pad beneath the oil pan and is not connected to anything else on the vehicle. It keeps the oil warm and keeps its viscosity at a resonable state so that the engine doesn't struggle to pump it up to the head(s) for the first 5 mins or so. It also in turn keeps the engine block a little warmer then the outside temperature which warms the engine faster upon start-up. This is in no way connected to the battery to trickle charge it at all, while the block heater is plugged in.

P.S. Welcome to the bitter cold here in Calgary. Good news is that the chinooks warm us up from time to time.

[R_Ethug]

Re: Block Heater

just use a timer 2 hours a night.. i do that on my beater with 0 issues..

[stefan]

Re: Block Heater

You can keep it plugged in all night. It won't hurt anything but your energy consumption on your next energy bill (lol). Just kidding. it doesn't draw that much power. Usually the block heaters are just a heating pad beneath the oil pan and is not connected to anything else on the vehicle. It keeps the oil warm and keeps its viscosity at a resonable state so that the engine doesn't struggle to pump it up to the head(s) for the first 5 mins or so. It also in turn keeps the engine block a little warmer then the outside temperature which warms the engine faster upon start-up. This is in no way connected to the battery to trickle charge it at all, while the block heater is plugged in.

P.S. Welcome to the bitter cold here in Calgary. Good news is that the chinooks warm us up from time to time.

I wouldn't say they are 'usually' oil pan heaters. I'd never actually seen a pan heater until my current car. In-block elements are most common for what a dealership will install, or what is in the car as an option. Oil pan heaters are generally aftermarket. I think VW did an OEM pan heater for the TDI.. but may have been recalled?? Not sure on that.

Both work great. I have a pan heater in my TDI, and a block heater in my 2.0. Both are good. For a pan heater, the generalized heat time is:

"Oil Pan Heaters will generally raise cold oil temperatures by 38°C (100°F) in 1.5 - 2 hours. Full Heating is usually accomplished in 5-6 hours."

so 2 hours should be fine in most cases.

It doesn't much matter what you have, but if you want to know, see where the cable goes. If it goes to the side of the engine block, it's an in block coolant heater, if it goes down to the bottom of the oil pan, its a pan heater.

[BaggedGLI]

Re: Block Heater

"Oil Pan Heaters will generally raise cold oil temperatures by 38°C (100°F) in 1.5 - 2 hours. Full Heating is usually accomplished in 5-6 hours."

LOL so 2 hours would get your oil to 0* right now....

[Benjamin]

Re: Block Heater

1:45 this morning with my TDIheater (Underpowered 750watt version) had the car start as if the chinook had come already.
The pan heaters are typically the 125-250 watt versions and from what I understand they were recalled as one fell off on to the bellypan and the car went up in flames.
I just helped both my brothers put in coolant heaters in their cars and the difference is night and day for the start. Some would argue the cost of electricity, but I think that even with their 1500 watt draw for 4 hours easily works itself out to the cost of the extra diesel and wear on the engine and all the starting components.
Battery blanket, don't worry about it unless you don't have the oem insulation that came with the car for the battery or you park your car up in fort mac.
Oh and unless your car has a really bad battery or bad compression plugging in under -10`c probably won't help you much.
Just my 2 cents

Ben

[resolute]

Re: Block Heater

I recommend you find out what kind of "block heater" you have. I have an in-line coolant heater on my Mk4 and the instructions warn you not to use it for more than 3-4 hours, so you'd definitely want to plug it in through a timer. Trace the wire from the plug. It should run to the heating unit on a coolant hose.

The older coolant block heaters (the "true" block heater) you could leave on all night if you wanted. I had one on my Mk2. They were inserted into the engine block itself (via a knock-out "frost plug", I think it was called) to access the coolant. I don't think Mk4s have that feature.

I have no experience with the stick-on oil pan heaters, and wouldn't want to! That's just me. No offence meant.

[stefan]

Re: Block Heater

IMO, the stick on pan heaters are safe, but worth having a look at them every now and then to make sure they are in good shape. They are probably not great for a lowered car, especially if you don't have a skid plate.

[Benjamin]

Re: Block Heater

Stick on are probably safe for those with a steel skid plate, if you have the plastic one I would be cautious and would personally never park in a garage while plugging it in. I just don't trust the two together enough to endanger the family or the house.