How long do I use my block heater

I take my truck home every weekend. Now that winter is upon us (-5F tonight for the low), when I pull in and park, I plug up the engine block heater, oil pan warmer, fuel warmer, and battery inverter/charger. Stays plugged in for the weekend at home. Starts like a warm summer day, and the batteries have a nice full charge. I leave the Webasto running while at home and the fridge running as well. Year round, when I go home, the inverter/charger gets plugged in. I like giving my batteries a full complete charge each weekend.

 

Don't use the block heater with the truck running, as coolant bubbles can form and allow a hot spot on the element leading to rapid failure.

As far as when to idle, just play it by ear. Most of my trucks did fine down to -10 below if the wind wasn't blowing. Below that and you start having issues with enough cranking power as the oil starts to thicken up significantly and battery voltage drops. As long as it cranks quickly and builds oil pressure soon after starting it'll be ok.

 

If it gets close to 0 I would suggest a winter front that has adjustable holes. Close it up tight any time you park. It will make a huge difference. Do you have an oil pan heater?

Investing in a two piece espar system is a good idea too. The espar engine heater will have that engine at 130-1400 after a couple hours. 3X the heat of a block heater and it pumps the coolant. Instant heat. It has started my truck at -40.

 

I have considered the Espar coolant heater as well. That is a solid idea.

 

Something else to consider, I run semi-synthetic oil in the winter; it makes a tremendous difference in cranking speed and time to full oil pressure.

 

I run a semi syn year round. I can get it in bulk, delivered to my door, at a very cost effective price. I have that one covered already for winter. Great idea for those that haven't considered it before. Mine has a cold flow pour point of -42F. That will cover any thing I run into.

 

why not just full synthetic oil?

 

Well, good question. I guess because the pour point between the semi-syn and the full synthetic I could choose from my supplier is only a couple of degrees difference. The add pack in the either oil is identical. And a drum of the semi-syn is $138 cheaper than the full synthetic. Current price from my supplier... a 55 drum of full synthetic is $1118.15 and a drum of semi-syn is $980.65.

When one compares the technical data sheets side by side, the differences are very minor. The Semi-syn uses 25% Group IV PAO synthetic combined with a Group II+ conventional. The full syn uses 25% Group IV synthetic combined with Group III synthetic. And truth be told, every full synthetic is either a straight Group III or a combination of Group IV and III. There is not Group IV only synthetic, as an additive package is too hard to keep in suspension on only Group IV. Some Group III is required to balance the add pack. At least my supplier admits that compared to other brands that seem to want to hide that fact. And the Group II+ and Group III oils are very close in performance. Differences only show up lab. In the real world, no one is going to be able to tell the difference in their engine. The Group II+ is less expensive to produce than the Group III. Delo's ISOSYN label on their oil you see at the truck stop is a Group II+. The semi-syn I get has a low end pour point of -39F and the full syn has a low end pour point of -42F. Not enough of a difference to justify $138. Several other of the test factors are very close like the NOACK rate, bearing scar rate, TBN, etc.

So.. it is all about cost benefit. Just isn't enough of a benefit there to justify the cost of getting the full synthetic. Either one I choose, I get free shipping to the house, and a few used oil sample kits thrown in for free also. For the cost of the full synthetic, I can get the same amount of semi-syn and a 5 gallon can of diesel fuel additive.