Engine block heaters

[Jag_NE]

For the UK climate I appreciate that this is firmly in car geekery territory but I was curious if anyone has ever fitted these on their cars?

UK winter temps arent really an issue in terms of getting an otherwise healthy car started but side benefits could include the engine oil getting up to full temp faster (reduced engine wear?), cabin heater (hot cabin air faster), DPF's might also benefit from exhaust gas getting up to temp quicker so increased chance of effective regens and reduced risk of DPF related issues.

Any thoughts?

[Cold]

I've used a 240v Kenlowe Hot Start pre-heater on a couple of cars in the past. They plumbed into the coolant system and pre-warmed the engine, but not up to full operating temperature and of course the oil only benefitted from residual heat rather than being warmed itself.

It certainly felt kinder to the engines giving them a bit of a gentle warm up while I had my breakfast and the bonus of having warmth from their heaters was definitely a bonus. I still treated the cars as cold for the first few miles with regards to throttle openings and engine revs etc.

Apart from the minimal running costs there wasn't really a downside.

[kambites]

Cold said:

I've used a 240v Kenlowe Hot Start pre-heater on a couple of cars in the past. They plumbed into the coolant system and pre-warmed the engine, but not up to full operating temperature and of course the oil only benefitted from residual heat rather than being warmed itself.

Does it add a second water pump to circulate the coolant when the the engine is off, or does it rely on convection?

[richhead]

Jag_NE said:

For the UK climate I appreciate that this is firmly in car geekery territory but I was curious if anyone has ever fitted these on their cars?

UK winter temps arent really an issue in terms of getting an otherwise healthy car started but side benefits could include the engine oil getting up to full temp faster (reduced engine wear?), cabin heater (hot cabin air faster), DPF's might also benefit from exhaust gas getting up to temp quicker so increased chance of effective regens and reduced risk of DPF related issues.

Any thoughts?

Cant see it hurting.

[Cold]

kambites said:

Cold said:

I've used a 240v Kenlowe Hot Start pre-heater on a couple of cars in the past. They plumbed into the coolant system and pre-warmed the engine, but not up to full operating temperature and of course the oil only benefitted from residual heat rather than being warmed itself.

Does it add a second water pump to circulate the coolant when the the engine is off, or does it rely on convection?

It's essentially a small kettle and a water pump all contained within its own casing. Nothing too technical. Pipe in, pipe out, power supply.

[CedricN]

Over here in Sweden they are very common, especially up north. At work we have Electrical outlets for every parking spot for these for example.
The hose mounted one is considered a slightly bit rubbish compared to the block mounted ones, havent tried one of those myself though. Always nice to have a warm cabin to melt of snow and ice(must have cabin heater as well ), and dry it out, and of course the engine will like it if its a car you intend to keep a long time.

[Lagom]

Jag_NE said:

For the UK climate I appreciate that this is firmly in car geekery territory but I was curious if anyone has ever fitted these on their cars?

Had one fitted on my A6 Allroad when it used to live outside in Swedish winters. Used to be great stepping out of the house into a warm car with clear windows as it also had an electric fan heater in the cabin as part of the package.

Anyhow, these two brands are popular in Scandi:

https://www.defa.com/electrical-preheating/engine-...

https://www.webasto-group.com/en/original-equipmen...

[sawman]

When we first moved to the canadian prairies, we had a rented car (dodge nitro) over the first winter ( -20 for weeks at a time), i asked the guy at the garage if we needed to plug in the block heater over night, he said no, dont bother modern cars dont need it.
Subsequently didnt bother with our jeep cherokee never had any issues. The main issue is the winter is the seat foam freezing at night and being both solid and cold on the drive to work

Edited by sawman on Friday 8th September 17:02

[eliot]

my 2012 L322 rangie has a fuel burning heater factory fitted - they all did afaik.

[Haltamer]

I have considered some of the oil pan heaters that just stick on as pads, but It'd be interesting to elegantly get a 240v plug out of the engine bay without having it dangling.

There are quite a few short one of journeys (Occasional station, evening volunteering) so in the week the cars never really get up to temperature - and they're just a touch too inconvenient / dodgy to cycle to.

Having a warm car to get into in winter and not smashing the engine with cold running would be worth the few pennies cost to plug it in.

[Mr.Chips]

I have one on the oil tank of my T350C. I plug it in about 30-40 minutes before I go for a drive. The result is that the oil is warmer and the car takes less time for the oil temperature to reach 65 degrees and I can use the car as intended. It was bought as a group buy from someone who organised it on the TVR forum. If I’m not mistaken, it came from Canada.

[Bill]

eliot said:

my 2012 L322 rangie has a fuel burning heater factory fitted - they all did afaik.

The D4 had one too. Intended to get the car up to temperature quicker in order to reduce emissions. You could get a remote and/or timer module so it came on in advance.

[Muddle238]

Bill said:

eliot said:

my 2012 L322 rangie has a fuel burning heater factory fitted - they all did afaik.

The D4 had one too. Intended to get the car up to temperature quicker in order to reduce emissions. You could get a remote and/or timer module so it came on in advance.

Early Rover 75s had the same thing. Webasto pre-heater with a remote timer, not bad for 1998. It was standard kit on the diesels until Project Drive started cost-cutting measures around 2002, although the Webasto was still available as an option after that.

[Deerfoot]

I lived in Calgary for a while and my Chevy Cavalier had a block heater. It was -40 Deg C some mornings.

In the UK? Nah.

[DaveCWK]

Muddle238 said:

Early Rover 75s had the same thing. Webasto pre-heater with a remote timer, not bad for 1998. It was standard kit on the diesels until Project Drive started cost-cutting measures around 2002, although the Webasto was still available as an option after that.

Yeah, I looked into retrofitting a Webasto fuel burning heater 10+ years ago as I was bored of defrosting the car in the morning - the unit comes almost self contained with a electric water pump etc. There was also a petrol-fueled one available direct from Webasto from memory.
EV drivers think waking up to a frost-free car is a new invention

Edit - it was this. looks like they still sell them (or variations of): https://www.fabertronics.nl/webasto-thermotop-c-be...

Edited by DaveCWK on Friday 8th September 20:33

[stevieturbo]

eliot said:

my 2012 L322 rangie has a fuel burning heater factory fitted - they all did afaik.

for passenger compartment heating ? Not for pre-heating the engine ?

Lots of bigger vehicles have similar for passenger.

For the UK climate, pre-heating really does seem a total waste of money, unless you're only doing very very short journeys every time. But then would you have somewhere to plug in each direction ?

[Fast and Spurious]

Petrol fueled heater used to be an option on Saab 900s back in the 80's! Was about a grand iirc.

[Tony1963]

Haltamer said:

Having a warm car to get into in winter and not smashing the engine with cold running would be worth the few pennies cost to plug it in.

Do cold starts really smash the engine? Some people have their cars for over 200,000 miles, the car is kept outside, and the engine is still fine when it is moved on.

Back in the 60s and 70s? Yeah, might have been worth it, and the bodywork would’ve rusted away well before the engine seized!

[eliot]

stevieturbo said:

eliot said:

my 2012 L322 rangie has a fuel burning heater factory fitted - they all did afaik.

for passenger compartment heating ? Not for pre-heating the engine ?

Well according to some googling it’s the cabin and if it’s below -20 then it does the engine instead. So yeh, essentially cabin only.

[Lotobear]

Brings back memories of dad putting a paraffin heater under the sump of his Ford Consul Classic back in the day to deal with the real winters we used to have in NE England!