Attention: Northerners...

I have been thinking about an engine heater of some sort. I would like to accomplish 2 things: 1) perhaps extend the life of the engine buy softening the effect of cold starts and 2) get a little jump on warm air out of the heater when I take off in the morning. Will a freeze plug heater do both? Will coolant circ type pump do anything for engine life? Will an external pan heater help at all with heater performance?

I don't need to get a 2,000 watt job that lets me blow hot air the moment I turn the key, and I am operating under the assumption that an oil pan heater and warm oil have to be good for the life of the engine (or at least the oil). Correct me if you have a different opinion!

Any model, wattage, brand or store recommendations?

 

I would go with the block heater. keeping the water warm will help heat the oil quicker once you start driving. Engine wear is relitivly high when the water temp is below 180 degrees.. so any time you help it get there faster lengthens engine life. Another good heater to have is a heating pad for your battery. The battery efficiancy drops WAY down below freezing.

 

I run the stock block heater, 250W oil pan heater (RTV'd onto the pan) and a 250W (i think) battery pad. These are the Yukon/Alaska pads. Nothing is nicer on the engine than warm oil going through at startup at -25C
The Yukon Alaska pada are available through Canuck Tire up here in the GWN.

 

I went with the oil pan heater, 150W. You can hear the difference in the way it starts on a cold day, sounding more like, well, a warm day!

I have it on a timer, so it can only come on from 5am to 8pm (don't to often go out after that) and then on a thermostat so it only comes on if it is below 45 degrees.

For $28 and an hour of my time (plus the timer and t-stat) I figure it can't hurt and maybe I'll get a few more miles out of the engine.

 

Hey Boz where did you get your pan heater?

 

I bought it through my local CarQuest auto parts store. It looks exactly like many others that I have seen online so I'll bet there is one company making this unit and it gets sold by many retailers.

In addition to the timer and t-stat I forgot to add in a tube of RTV, so maybe $50 all together.