Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Lee
Having seen and pondered the various attempts to preheat engines/transmissions and the pros and cons... I did some digging and came across this:
Engine Blankets & Battery Heaters - Powerblanket
Seems to me it could be a one-stop solution for not only simultaneously heating the engine and trans... but everything underhood! 
... some heat for the battery, belts, hoses, belt-driven accessories, etc. would be nice too!
I'm tempted to get one... |
I always encourage experimentation but there is an efficiency challenge of heat transfer. The block heater is a small rod just under three inches and about 3/8 inch diameter that fits in a recessed hole so the 450-500 W all goes into the block.
I also used two JC Whitney pan heaters on the transaxle and at least half of the surface was in contact with the pan. But both pan heaters broke their electrical connection at the heating pad (lessons learned.) Too much vibration between the engine/transaxle and the body.
Now if the bottom of the engine compartment was enclosed and the pad were inside, it would likely work. That would also solve the vibration problem, hardening and breaking the copper conductors.
GOOD LUCK!
Bob Wilson