When to plug in an engine block heater

I've never plugged in a block heater in almost 3 decades of trucking.

 

Trucking most of my career in Wisconsin, I'm no stranger to the cold. There's nothing deader(sp?) than a cold diesel. Heating the coolant in the block also warms the oil, some, unless it's 20 below and blowing, about as cold as it got in the Badger, then I never shut the truck off. Dipstick heaters have a bad habit of burning the oil, or a fire, and I've seen flat heating pads you glue to the oil pan, IDK, plugging a truck in most cases ALWAYS got it started, unless it blew the breaker, which slowed things down considerable,, whether it kept running or built up air, was always a gamble.

 

Depends on what you are running under the hood too, the newer isx will start. But get cranky below freezing, them yellow motors or a detroit (at least older)turn about once and they are running, where an 855 you may need to spin her once with the compression release and hit the button to give her a snifter,

 

I remember one 5 degree morning the day after the Superbowl, most guys were having trouble getting started, in comes Bruce who's old R model was parked away from the fences and heater plugs.

He jumps in and hits the starter and you see this cloud of white smoke shooting out of the exhaust to the popping of , maybe just one cylinder firing and the old Mack shaking like a whino just waking up from a bender.

Everyone stares as that old truck starts hitting on another and then another as the white cloud is starting to get grey.

Finally all 6 are hitting and the stack clears up and Bruce jumps in and takes off...first truck out the gate that morning!

 

dup ...bad co0nnection.