How long does an engine coolant heater need to be plugged in?

[Rockbadchild]

A common misconception.

Heat "moves" toward cold, in any direction, it does not "rise".

Heated Air, water or any fluid or gas, will tend to "rise" as it is less dense than the cooler air, etc., which is probably where that idea comes from.

both are true its not a misconception BlueKnife only should've specified heated liquid instead of heat (perhaps a mistake on his part perhaps a misconception but still true in the scenario he is talking about) the first is conduction for solid the second is convections for liquid and gases.

 

[Black Dog 2]

I had one of the engine heaters that gets cut into the radiator hose. I would plug it in and hour or two before I wanted to start the tractor and it didn't seem to help at all. Did I need to leave it plugged in longer? Like over night? Was it a junk heater? Do they not really work below O degrees? Should I have had a battery heater?

I would recommend one that heats either the engine block or the oil in the crankcase. Factory ones work the best. Also check your glowplugs. Just remember when you make a place warm the rodents will nest there when it gets cold and for some reason, they like to chew on the wires.

 

[rich21]

I live in Idaho, temps can get to 30 below I have a magnetic oil pan heater and leave it plugged in at night and have not ever had cold start issues.

 

[alpacalips]

In my experience 5w40 synthetic gives a noticeable increase in cranking speed when the heater hasn't been plugged in. It flows a lot better than 15w40 when it's cold.

 

[Bob Gibson]

Block heaters are probably better than those in the hoses. If the one in the hose is in the top hose, it probably will not help at all, the thermostat will not open and the heat is radiated out by the radiator, they should be installed in the lower hose so that the heated water can get into the block.

 

[yomax4]

I tried to install a frost plug heater in my little 3cyl Iseki diesel and after popping all of the plugs I couldn't find a jacket that was big enough for the heating element. I had to put in all new plugs and go with a lower hose heater that I usually plug in for 3-4 hrs prior to use. When it's -25 I still have to get creative to warm the fussy tractor up like a tarp and Mr Heater risking a fire. Many horrible days doing that over the years. No more winters for me. I'll be sitting by the pool in a few weeks.

 

[joea99]

both are true its not a misconception BlueKnife only should've specified heated liquid instead of heat (perhaps a mistake on his part perhaps a misconception but still true in the scenario he is talking about) the first is conduction for solid the second is convections for liquid and gases.

Not to get into a battle over this, but both are not true. "Heat" does not rise. All stop. Only heated fluids or gases "rise", or give rise to "convention currents".

I commented not as an attack on BlueKnife but to correct a possible misconception. While I recognize what he may have meant, people make "short cuts" like that quite often and it eventually leads to stuff that is "wrong" becoming "fact" or ingrained as "common knowledge".

Conflating different concepts leads to wrong conclusions. That is true across the board, not just in "sciency" things.

 

[wayout]

I use a inline heater and oil pan heater, also I make sure the battery is charged before I hit the plugs, I plug the 2 heaters in at night, but have the breaker for the plugins, turn them on in the morning, if I do not want to use it I do not turn the breaker on, l check the top rad hose to see if it is hot if it is, it is time to start the tractor, but my HI is a 1957 it has a bottom hose from the block to the rad for a inline heater and the pan heater warms the oil to 100 so it tuners easy, the temp. out side can be more than 1 check of the top rad hose, they work great together, my way, everyone has their own, but check to make sure the heater is working before it gets cold, better to change it in warm weather, it should have arrows showing how to put it in the hose

 

[Onecountry]

View attachment 825650
If you clean snow at 6am set the timer to start at midnight. If it's colder out start earlier

What brand is this timer? Noma? Where did you pick this up?

 

[strykerAKAmack]

Works Great on bottom of oil pan .Amazon has em . I plug in An hour before using old case 480c fires right up no matter what the temp