Quote:
Originally Posted by oldtamiyaphile
It's well known that water has a much lower heat capacity than oil and that therefore oil temps take longer to reach optimal than oil temps.
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I think you have this backwards. Water holds 1 cal/gram°C. Oil hold from .4 to .5 cal/gram°C depending on the oil. That means if we have both fluids of equal volume that are heated at the same rate, the oil would heat up roughly twice as fast.
https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/s...ity-d_391.html
That being said, heating your oil is a great idea. It will reduce oil pump losses which have to be pretty high with real thick oil, and they reduce engine wear.
Personally, I would try to find a 12V pad heater if solar is the only way you're going to power it. It just makes the system way more simple, and less components to break in the future. I know we like to think all electronics should last forever, but they don't sadly.
I think more of us don't do this, because we can get much more powerful block heaters. Standard block heaters are 300-400W, and more is better IMO. If you can warm the block, it'll warm the oil. If you warm the oil, but the block is cold, it'll cool down the oil. Ideally, you really want to do both.
I also see no reason not to run the heater all the time. As long as you don't overheat the oil its not going to hurt anything.