Magnetic block heater

[andrewimbrogno]

I've read many post on block heaters and whether or not u need them. It gets pretty cold here in canada and i'm planning on plowing some snow with my B6100. I was just wondering if a magnetic heater attached to the oil pan would be a good idea. Seeing as how i dont really want to install anything to complicated on the machine i figured that would most likely be the best thing. Any people who use magnetic block heaters? or any information about the pros and cons of them, 1 con obviously being that it doesn't really heat the bock

 

[BRIGUY]

andrewimbrogno,
I've had one for about 17 years (200 watt I think) I have used it for a few different things over the years. Here is my take. They will work similar to the adhesive backed sump heaters only not quite as well. Magnetic heaters don't have as good a contact and efficient heat transfer as the sump heaters.

Pro It will heat your lube oil, so it will flow better and reduce start up wear.

Con It will not effectively heat the whole engine like a block heater so your warm up time will be almost as long as without the heater. Crawling under a vehicle in the snow or wet garage floor to stick the heater to the pan when you are tired, gets old fast.

In a perfect world the best setup would be a block heater with a small (125 watt) sump heater. Warm block and warm oil.

Magnetic heater will be of some benefit, MUCH better than a dipstick heater.

 

[andrewimbrogno]

Thanks for the post. I figured a magnetic one will be better than what i currently use....which is nothing. Just wonder how much wattage should u use on my tractor.

 

[Junkman]

All this talk of heaters brings back memories of the winter of 1961. I was living in NH and it was very cold.... so cold, that my 1955 Chevy wouldn't even crank fast enough to start and it had a new battery in it. Had the car towed into town where they put it in the service station garage. Then they took a shovel full of coals out of the coal stove and put it under the oil pan. After about 20 minute, you could hear the oil boiling. The car started and I drove it home. After that experience, I never let the car go for more than 24 hours without starting it. Cold engines don't like to turn over, and even if they do, the fuel needs warmth to atomize properly. Any heater is better than no heater. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[TobyH]

In a perfect world the best setup would be a block heater with a small (125 watt) sump heater. Warm block and warm oil.

In a perfect world the best setup would be a garage with a heated floor to keep your machine 72 degrees! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Robert_Parent]

No, no.... The perfect place would be where its 72 year round and you would not need a heater! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[gsxr1100]

I bought a block heater for my BX22. This will be my first years since I want to try it and see how the differance is. It only can help..with starting at least...

The block heater is not to hard to install. it is like doing a collant drain with an added bolt to remove.


I know what I had my Powerstoke diesel I used the heater only so I could defrost the windows in about 20 seconds. You could hear the coolant boiling since the heater was about 1,100 watt...as the G&E bill showed it was about that much watts.

 

[ZackaryMac]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( No, no.... The perfect place would be where its 72 year round and you would not need a heater! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif )</font>

Amen to that one, brother! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[HarleyScooter]

I have been looking into the same thing. You might find some of these sites interesting.
www.padheaters.com/faq.html
http://www.usahardware.com/inet/shop/home/automotive/engine_heaters/8130/list.htm
Frank

 

[BRIGUY]

I have 250 watt pad heaters on 2 of our vehicles, and they work great. We moved last year and I no longer have a heated garage but it is in the works.

before ordering a pad heater make sure you have a flat surface on the bottom of the pan large enough for the footprint of the heater (many pans are ribbed). One on my vehicles I had to mount on the back of the pan and it may not be as effective.