Engine Block Heater

Brady · Sep 9, 2015

That's what I'm thinking. Lift hood. Pretty OCD bout things so I doubt I could drive around with it hanging out the front.

jdn112011 · Oct 18, 2015

I have tow hooks on mine and I ran an eBay cord for about 30$. I intentionally did not order my truck with a block heater as I wanted to route it myself.
They're available from Genosgarage for 15$+ shipping also.
I also purchased a 20' retractable extension cord from menards for about $20 and some replacement cord ends,
I was able to very securely mount the extension cord housing to the tow hook frame mounts orientated correctly with half a dozen long zip ties. Reversed the plug orientation and ran it out the tow hook. The plug tucks into the tow hook to not flap around and it works great!

I'm in northern MN about 10min from the Canadian Border so I know the winters here. I plug it in all ready just to lessen warm up time. Even in 30-50 degree (F) weather.
The block heater only keeps coolant temps between 70F and 90F degrees. Not sure if it's on a thermostat or if it's just low power. That's plugged in all night or all day 20F or 50F. Doesn't matter much.

I also have a stainless steel winter front from precision design if anyone wants Info on getting one. Kind of troublesome to get. But it's a very nice setup.

Also I have only the lower portion installed currently as we still have 60 degree daytime temps and no flaps covered but I have ran in 90 degree weather with 3500# payload in the truck with no temp abnormalities.

Yes I put serious payload on my factory air suspension. It handles it fantastically. It still functions for leveling and Aero Mode on the highway until you exceed 10,000# scale weight. Then it displays a dummy Message that air suspension features are unavailable due to payload on the EVIC

Brady · Oct 18, 2015

Very nice work!

jdn112011 · Oct 18, 2015

The winter front is from PrecisionCanada.com and find the part number for any accessories that you want. Any distributors don't seem to catalog or advertise any association with precision so you need to get the part numbers directly from them and call a distributor.

For you Canadian guys Action truck accessories is the place to go.

For anyone in the states (I really struggled with this) there is only one distributor. Rocky Mountain Truck Accessories in Montana. They will in turn have precision drop ship the part directly to you but the US distributor needs to be the one receiving payment for the paper trail through customs.

The grill inserts are custom fit for each grill style so be sure of your fitment. They also have a lot of other nice stainless steel products for our trucks.

From Rocky Mountain Truck Accessories my winter front would've been 220$us shipped to my door. I'm kind of a stickler so I had mine brought across the Border personally from Canada as I'm 10 minutes from the Border and got it from Action truck in Winnipeg for about 180CAN so 147$ US if I remember right. Shipped to my door from rocky mountain probably would've been worth the extra money but all in hind sight

BoostN · Oct 19, 2015

Nicely done on the block heater cord... I've never really thought about doing it like that.

Here in TN, we really don't have COLD COLD weather so one is not really needed on ours.

jdn112011 · Oct 19, 2015

I'm Canada prairie kinda cold. Just state side. We usually see a few weeks of -30F or greater below zero. Everything is necessary. I've been considering installing the inline thermostat controlled canister style coolant heater with the circulation pump but I'm unsure if the excess heat and circulation would be enough to benefit the DEF system from freezing...

I've also been asked about doing the heat tape on the DEF tank. I found a company that manufacturer silicone adhesive heating pads that I need to get back in contact with. They can run 120v thermostat controlled and whatever size you desire, I think this may be my best option and keep the DEF between 30-50 degrees F whenever it's plugged in. (Just using a triple tap on the extension cord inside the bumper)

Brady · Oct 19, 2015

Plugged mine in last night for the first time of the year as it frosted heavy, about 25d F. I have it kicking on at 0330, usually start the truck at 0815. In the morning, my coolant temp was about 20d F warmer then summer start ups.

jdn112011 · Oct 20, 2015

I was amazed I actually jumped in my truck Sunday afternoon leaving Work and the block heater had the coolant temp at 116 it was just shy of 60 degrees outside but that's the highest I've ever seen it hit

seiko · Dec 14, 2015

I do have the factory block heater, but never used it yet. The coldest so far this year was a little over -10 Celsius. About 5 or 10 minutes before I leave in the morning, I use the remote start. By using the remote start, it start up very fast. It is noticeably faster to start then using the ignition key.

I have the winter blanket on fully. It helps in heating up the truck very quick. FCA provides them free. I was about to get the metal grill covers, but now that I have the blanket, I'm happy with it. Keep the front clean and easy to clean off.

Mharrison · Dec 14, 2015

With our Temps staying down in the 30's around here at night lately I am considering plugging it in just to keep everything warm and a little more safe upon start up etc. My question to all of you is are you seeing a bump in your electrical bill while using it? I have heard it can be spendy. Or should I put it on a heavy duty timer to turn on just a couple hours before I leave in the morning?

Brady · Dec 15, 2015

Mharrison, I use a timer. It is set to come on around 4hrs before I usually take off for work. That is plenty of time to heat things up.

Mharrison · Dec 17, 2015

Good deal some of my components might appreciate that.

Brady · Dec 17, 2015

As far as the electric usage, my house is all electric, so the bill is always too high, but no noticeable bump for the slim time I've plugged it in.

jdn112011 · Dec 18, 2015

I keep my truck plugged in all of the time and never noticed a difference in electric usage that I can attribute solely to the truck. It's ok.

And when it's single digits if my block heater can keep my coolant at ~60 degrees which is also ran through my DEF tank it's got to be keeping it from freezing at least a little less than outside temps would. That's assurance enough for me.

And in a single remote start cycle my temps are at least 100 and I feel better driving in those circumstances vs fighting to get temps up from 15° or so

solarvic · Dec 24, 2015

Mharrison said:
With our Temps staying down in the 30's around here at night lately I am considering plugging it in just to keep everything warm and a little more safe upon start up etc. My question to all of you is are you seeing a bump in your electrical bill whiI le using it? I have heard it can be spendy. Or should I put it on a heavy duty timer to turn on just a couple hours before I leave in the morning?

solarvic · Dec 24, 2015

I just got my block heater wire installed and measured the electrical usage with my kilowatt meter. It uses 400 watts per hour, or 9.60 kwh per 24 hour time span. I don,t know the rate the electric company charges as my solar panels fulfill all my electrical needs and first Enenergy pays me every may for any excess electric I did not use. But I think the rates are about 10 cents per kwh. So the block heater should cost about .96 cents
per day. I am going to did out my outside timer that I used in my chicken house. Solarvic

marcm · Dec 24, 2015

maybe its just me, but with all the talk of DEF freeze up in the colder areas and the fact that all ED's have a block heater, how hard would it be to install a 110v electric DEF heater than runs off your block heater cord. Makes sense if your plugging your truck in its probably cold enough to freeze the DEF and an easy fix at factory. but what do we know, we're not engineers lol

jdn112011 · Dec 24, 2015

marcm said:
maybe its just me, but with all the talk of DEF freeze up in the colder areas and the fact that all ED's have a block heater, how hard would it be to install a 110v electric DEF heater than runs off your block heater cord. Makes sense if your plugging your truck in its probably cold enough to freeze the DEF and an easy fix at factory. but what do we know, we're not engineers lol

I had a similar plan for a low temp silicone heat pad that won't melt the tank but would help. I just never got to it before winter. Next year I guess. And yes the idea is to basically have a triple tap inside the bumper and then I have a retractable extension cord inside my bumper coming out of my tow hook with reversed polarity so I would have one single retractable plug in and multiple heaters to the engine. Pending the ED gives me such hassles this winter

Mharrison · Dec 25, 2015

I don't see your DEF freezing being that big of an issue....if the system knows it's frozen it will simply run with out it until it thaws out with the def heater/sending unit. The engineers knew it to be a possibility so all the def systems should have about a 10 minute window for it to start functioning or you may run into a limp mode.

jdn112011 · Dec 25, 2015

Hence why people with short commutes have so many issues. One it's high soot points then you have 8 gallons of frozen fluid that is only thawed by your coolant lines. How long does it take for a 160-200 degree line to thaw an 8 gallon tank? Sure bet it exceeds a 5 mile commute where the truck won't even see operating temp

Engine Block Heater

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Administrator

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Active Member

Active Member

Well-Known Member

Active Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Member

Member

New Member

Well-Known Member

Active Member

Well-Known Member