Floor Heat Pad?

[Goldenstate]

The new Fusion has a happy home in the garage but it still gets cold in there with the winter weather upon us. Cold starts at 40-50 degrees are still far from operation temperatures. With only about 2-3 months of cold temps in Central CA, a block heater might be more trouble than the rewards provided.

I am giving serious thought to a garage floor heating pad on the floor under the engine which can be turned on a few hours in advance of a start. The heat just might be enough to warm up the engine and oil making for a faster arrival at operating temperatures.

Has anyone tried such a method to facilitate improved mileage from a heating pad on the floor?

I can remember my father speaking of building a fire under the oil pan of his father's hand crank Fordson tractor just to bring the oil temperature up to the point where it could be cranked and started. This was in Nebraska where it gets real cold in the winter.

[Daox]

That sounds extremely inefficient compared to a block heater. I doubt you'd get much preheat at all. There is just too much open area and air space.

[Fat Charlie]

A mat to insulate the car from the cold floor might be better than just heating the garage. But if you're going to apply heat, a block heater will do the job with the least amount of heat added.

[roosterk0031]

I'd just use a flood light or heat lamp, a heat pad won't do much, you want the heat transferred thru conduction (best), radiation 2nd best, convection worst. Any light bulb with a reflector will get much more heat into the oil plan than a warm pad on the floor.

Borrowed parents 79 Bonneville years ago in the middle of winter for a few weeks, it didn't like to start in the mornings, used a 1-200w work light under it's oil pan outside and never a problem.

[spacemanspif]

50 degrees is NOT cold. I wouldn't worry about it, are you seeing that much of a drop from the cooler weather?

[Frank Lee]

Agreed that +50F is not cold. -50 on the other hand...

Pad on the floor would waste too much energy heating concrete. If you could prop it up so it's plastered to the bottom of the car- like set it on a piece of foil-faced foam board on legs- that might work. Or use a coolant heater. Or a lamp. Or forget it.

[dirtydave]

What about the hot plate from an old coffee pot and JBWeld?

[Hersbird]

There are oil pan heaters that are easier to install then block heaters and use less power. Most people like block heaters because they enable quicker defrosting of windows and heating the interior then just warming the oil. Some people use both.

[Goldenstate]

Most interesting, never heard of an oil pan heater before, just a block heater. I like the idea of the oil pan heater being easier to install. Will have to do some research on oil pan heaters and see what there is to offer.

[Daox]

A lot of block heaters these days are very easy to install. With most everyone using aluminum blocks these days, there is simply an extra hole bored in the block. You put some thermal grease on the block heater and it slides into place with a clip to hold it there. Run the extension cord where you want. Bam, you're done. No draining the coolant or punching out freeze plugs.