HELP! S10 Block heater - Ha! Done!

[bennelson]

Here's pictures of the frost plug itself once I was done with it.

[LUVMY02CREW]

Congrats Ben!!

I've been thinking about adding a block heater to mine...I've got the 4.3. From what I've been reading here and other places, this shouldn't be tooooooo awful bad a mod and your tips about the butterflypiece should help out.

Our winters are no where as bad as yours are, but not having to idle warmup for so long would be great. We probably will get as much snow all winter as you had in that first snow pic

[bennelson]

If you are considering doing a block heater yourself, figure out where that frost plug is first, and how accessible it is.

Mine was really hard to get to, but the same engine in my wife's car is super easy to get at!

The 4.3L engine may be easier in that the engine comes out closer to the side of the truck, but other things may be in the way as well.

[bennelson]

I just went for a ride in the truck.

This is the first drive where the truck was sitting overnight since the block heater install.

The temperature gauge did read right from turning the truck on. Usually, the temp gauge needle would have been buried.

The truck did seem to warm up quicker. I also noticed that it just didn't feel as sluggish as it usually does first thing in the morning in the winter. Last night wasn't terribly cold though, so it's all subjective.


Edit:
Here's what the truck looked like this morning

Of course the block heater extension cord is covered in a layer of ice!!!

I am planning on using a timer, going into a Killawatt to turn the block heater on in the morning. The Killawatt will track total energy used by the block heater AND the timer.



I've read enough on ecomodder about block heater times. I am planning to start off with the heater running for 3 hours before I leave in the morning. After doing that for a while, I can experiment with other lengths of time as well.

[almightybmw]

crap. erased what I was typing. okay, try again!

Ben, at -20 my old protege only needed 45 minutes to be warm, and 3 minutes of idle to be blowing hot air and melting snow/ice. at -40 it was more like 1.5 hours, and 5-8 minutes of idle to blow hot. Hopping in and driving after 1-2 minutes of idle left me hot after 3-5 minutes at -40. I was always toasty when I made it to school
I did have cardboard blocking 90% of the radiator, so that helped.
I think I had a 400W block heater, 250W oil pan heater, and a 1500W ceramic space heater in the passenger foot well. I didn't want to run it too long, it'd suck the power down! The space heater in the cab made the biggest difference in comfort.

15 (min) to 45 (max) minute block heatup, 1 minute fast idle, I drove away happy from +20 to -30. (colder than -40 is like a special hell we reserve other methods for).

[TomO]

Congrats Ben on your (eventual) triumph! Learning experiences are always a good thing, even though they may be trying and tough during the process.

That timer that you show is the same unit that I use for my block heater in my VX. It was $4 at Lowes and well worth it. Been using it for a year now and couldn't be happier.

[Tango Charlie]

I run my block heater about 3 hours, as well. Gives me 100+*F coolant at start-up.
All the cheap timers (like the one you pictured) I found are not grounded.
I had to use an adapter to plug in my extension cord. Other than that, it works great.

[TomO]

Originally Posted by Tango Charlie

All the cheap timers (like the one you pictured) I found are not grounded.
I had to use an adapter to plug in my extension cord. Other than that, it works great.

Grounded Dual outlet timer $9.98 at Lowes
There are some out there, if you have a Lowes near you.

They don't carry the same model that I have anymore but mine was grounded for both plugs on the unit. And was $3.99 but only a single outlet. It handles the 400W heater I have on it just fine for a year now without even getting warm or making a sound.

[Tango Charlie]

thanks!
I'll check that out next time I'm wandering the isles.