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Block Heater

61K views 42 replies 23 participants last post by  greentraverse  
#1 ·
Does anyone have the engine block heater installed? It takes miles to start getting heat in our car. My wife will warm it up for 10 minutes and the heat is barely warm with temp gauge above the 160 degree mark. She has to drive a couple of miles after a 10 minute warm up to start getting good heat. The temp was 16 degrees this morning with a steady 30+ mph wind, so it was cold. I wonder if its more cost effective to have the block heater plugged in and a 5 min. warm up and get heat faster. I had one in my Suburban and right after I unplugged it the defrost would be a little warm on start up.
 
Discussion starter · #10 ·
I called my dealer yesterday and they said the heater is set to maintain a certain coolant temp. They claim it will run if its 30 or 0 outside. As long as the coolant is colder than the heating element it will warm it to whatever temp its set for. I was reconsidering having it added if it won't work above zero. Does the end of the plug look like a standard plug or does it look like something larger?