Quote:
Originally Posted by MetroMPG
Did you discover anything that'll change how you use your coolant heater?
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Not really anything I didn't already know from your experiments, but I do have hard numbers for my engine that I can crunch. I'll have to sit down and use my fingers and toes to count a few things once I do an
idling warm-up test.
It may seem that plugging in isn't worth while past 90 minutes, but the truth may be different: Short durations of heating only warm up the coolant, but the more time that goes by, the more heat is soaked up by the engine block. So even though the coolant's temperature isn't rising as fast, there is still heat being accumulated in the engine. Of course, once the block gets warm it starts to radiate more heat, and an aluminum block is probably better at radiating than at accumulating, so for now I'll work on better thermal insulation.
I also learned that going outside to the car every 15 minutes is
not compatible with doing lots of other things at home at the same time (cooking, baking, cleaning, etc.). Thankfully I'll only have to do this one more time (when I get a heating pad installed).