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Old 08-26-2010, 09:56 AM   #4 (permalink)
Daox
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Location: Germantown, WI
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I just ordered the katz 80W heater this morning. The bad thing is, I don't think its going to work very well now that I did the calcs (of course AFTER I ordered it).

First, I assumed the whole battery was made of water. I know this is not correct, but we're just getting a ballpark figure here. So (10-1/4" x 6-13/16" x 8-7/8") = ~2.6 gallons or 21.7 lbs.

80W heater will give me 80Wh in an hour (duh ) = 273 btu.

273 btu / 21.7 lbs = ~12.5 degree F increase.

Since my block heater is sized to heat up as quickly as possible, I only have about an hour to preheat. So, it looks like I may need some additional heat somehow, and insulation is going to be very important.
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