Leaving block heater plugged in for long periods of time

[nagooro]

Is it bad to leave it plugged in 24/7 for ~1 week?

[J-hop]

.

[Muji]

Why leave it plugged in? You really only need it to be plugged in a couple of hours before the starting time. Maybe you are leaving the car at the airport? I never plugged my car in during an entire winter and never had issues with starting.

[Alak]

Sounds like hes going away for a week and wants to leave it plugged in. There shouldnt be a problem with it.

[nagooro]

Originally posted by Alak
Sounds like hes going away for a week and wants to leave it plugged in. There shouldnt be a problem with it.
Correct. Wasn't quite sure if it would be a safety hazard or if it would damage the car somehow.

[ryder_23]

Its pointless and a waste of power. Plug it in for a couple of hours when you get home and it will do the same if it was plugged for over a week.

[TomcoPDR]

Just buy this TOMORROW ONLY for $7 http://flyer.canadiantire.ca/CanadianTire/default.aspx?action=entryflash&

It's a Noma block heater timer in case link doesn't work... here's the link without Christmas sale price.

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/3/HouseHome/2/Electrical/ElectricalTimers/PRD~0528835P/Noma%252BMulti-Purpose%252BTimer.jsp?locale=en

[ExtraSlow]

Any Three pronged outdoor timer would work. Available at any hardware store.

Let's say your getting home around 2:00. just set it to run from 11:00 to 5:00 every day, that's only a quarter of the electricity and "wear and tear," but covers you even if you are several hours late.

Running it any longer than that confers no benefit.

[nobb]

Get a timer. Block heaters usually consumer 500 watts or more, which works out to be a little over a dollar a day in electricity cost.

[Guillermo]

what kind of car does OP have? many mid-sized and up cars have heaters that will only operate below some temp (e.g. -18C) and will cycle on and off. if you're driving an econobox, grab a timer. I think i saw them on sale at crappy tire for like $6 this week (check the flyer).

[RecoilS14]

I left my old 98 EL plugged in for 3 weeks a few times when i was out working. Didnt do it any damage.

[n1zm0]

block heater who cares, but its a waste of money to be letting it sit for a week, its really just warming up your coolant in most applications, so your blower motor outputs heat faster. youre not saving battery life or anything (unless you have a battery warmer) in the long run leaving a block heater plugged in.

if it were OIL PAN heater i'd say dont leave it for a week.

on a side note, oil pan heaters are more important for a car in winter IMO, less cranking stress and initial start up when the engine is running makes it easier on the engine in the long run

edit: plus if youre leaving it at a park and jet or w/e, they will plug in your car 12 or 24 hrs prior to you returning for you upon request, well one of them does i forgot which one.

[bighead2267]

Originally posted by RecoilS14
I left my old 98 EL plugged in for 3 weeks a few times when i was out working. Didnt do it any damage.


check your oil to see what color it is or if there is any burning oil??

[schmooot]

your power bill will be insane...if it aint your power then no problem

[Darkane]

Originally posted by n1zm0
block heater who cares, but its a waste of money to be letting it sit for a week, its really just warming up your coolant in most applications, so your blower motor outputs heat faster. youre not saving battery life or anything (unless you have a battery warmer) in the long run leaving a block heater plugged in.

if it were OIL PAN heater i'd say dont leave it for a week.

on a side note, oil pan heaters are more important for a car in winter IMO, less cranking stress and initial start up when the engine is running makes it easier on the engine in the long run

edit: plus if youre leaving it at a park and jet or w/e, they will plug in your car 12 or 24 hrs prior to you returning for you upon request, well one of them does i forgot which one.

Not so quick.

Heat transfer via Conduction will heat the oil. Even if it only brings it up to 0, it's a FUCK load of difference.

At my Plant in McMurray we left two 10oz cups of oil outside (0w20, and 15w40) for several hours at -31 to see what happens.

Within 4 hours the 15w40 was like room temperature molasses. The 0w20 was like maple syrup.

Something to note - Block heaters will warm the oil too.

[n1zm0]

Originally posted by Darkane
Something to note - Block heaters will warm the oil too.

yeah, heat transfer through the head/block for sure, but the majority of your oil is sitting in that oilpan at the very bottom ( i meant its gotta be a pretty damned hardcore heating element to heat the oil to room tempish and maintain that all night), but my experiences with block heaters tho are almost solely limited to 90s-mid 2000 acura/honda products and a few toyotas where the heating element is directly sitting in one of the blocks coolant channels or rad hose inlets, so idk how most other manufacturers go about with block heating.

[johnboy27]

Originally posted by Darkane


Not so quick.

Heat transfer via Conduction will heat the oil. Even if it only brings it up to 0, it's a FUCK load of difference.

At my Plant in McMurray we left two 10oz cups of oil outside (0w20, and 15w40) for several hours at -31 to see what happens.

Within 4 hours the 15w40 was like room temperature molasses. The 0w20 was like maple syrup.

Something to note - Block heaters will warm the oil too.
This is true, my block heater makes a world of difference on my car. If I check my oil without the block heater plugged in it is thick as hell, after being plugged in all night it is just about as thin as it is in summer( my oil is 0w20).
Also, I leave my car plugged in for 2 weeks at a time most of the winter at my work and have had no problems what so ever. I do however have a battery blanket too but do not plug it in for extended periods of time.

[THEMONK]

Thinner oil for winter, thicker oil for summer, always a good rule of thumb.

[Kloubek]

When you get back from your week-long trip, are you going to need to hop in the truck right away or something?

If not, then I see no reason why you would benefit from leaving it plugged in all that time. As already stated, you only need a few hours to get it to the same temperature and condition as you would if you had left it plugged in all week.

[HeyKai]

The block heater will heat your oil. when I dont plug my car in it has trouble cranking, but when I do plug it in it cranks like its a summer day. big difference.