block heater

[rubberwrench]

should heater be put on block or oil pan. MAGNETIC HEATER

 

[showcrop]

I say oil pan. my reason is that these are not very powerful and will take a lot of time and you need as close to full contact as you can find, so I find that place on the pan whereas on the block the surface is rarely as flat as the pan. I usually allow a good 18 hours and it has worked well for me

 

[buickanddeere]

Four or five of those 200W-300W magnetic heaters . Air temperature and is the machine parked in a shed out of the wind? Type and size of machine.
It"s a long long way from the oil pan to get heat up to the cylinder head(s).
An oil pan heater can keep a hot engine warmish if applied after shutdown. I weather isn"t too cold and the machine is out of the wind.
No comparison to a 1000W tank or block heater .

 

[FBH44]

Never have wanted to punch holes or cut the water heater hoses. Why would it not work, since you want to heat the water, just put a heat lamp on the bottom of the radiator, or the aera where the water pump pumps? Heat it up someplace where the warm water will rise and recirculate?

 

[buickanddeere]

A heat lamp on the radiator??? Now I know for certain you are either joking or a troll. 175W or 250W light bulb on hundreds of pounds of cold metal in freezing temperatures.....yup you are nuts.
Anybody scared to install a block heater or an external tank heater should be working for the government.

 

[JD Seller]

You may as well take a lighter and hold it under your oil pan for them to do any good. They are usually only 200-300 watts. Most tank and block heaters are 750-1500 watts.

The trouble is that the block/pan will radiate all the heat off the small heater can produce in very cold weather. Maybe in a little further south area they may work. You will need to wrap the engine to help hold the small amount of heat the magnetic heater produces for it to have any luck at all of working.

Your much better off to install a tank heater, block heater or one in the bottom radiator hose.

 

[FBH44]

dang, B&D, don"t sugar coat it. just a thought... sorry.

 

[showcrop]

(quoted from post at 06:18:05 12/13/13) A heat lamp on the radiator??? Now I know for certain you are either joking or a troll. 175W or 250W light bulb on hundreds of pounds of cold metal in freezing temperatures.....yup you are nuts.
Anybody scared to install a block heater or an external tank heater should be working for the government.

Hey, don't condemn a light bulb totally. I am in NH and in 1970 when we had thirty below for four days and I had to get to work early, I put a light bulb next to the block, with foil covered cardboard next to it. Then I covered that over with some old blankets. I went out at ten, started her up and got her warmed up, and at six AM I was running when many others were not. In fact a room mate totaled his car getting it boosted and burning.

 

[Billy Shafer]

Onan tried that with the J engines they made. JD is correct. Might as well build a fire under it.Block heaters in the coolant hose have been around for years. On standby generators with no problems. Universal and Kim Start make good ones. A heat lamp would work if you have no other choice. But a block heater will be better.

 

[Mike (WA)]

Hey, wait a minute- don't YOU work for the gumment, B & D?

BTW, I've used the light bulb and blanket trick, and its worked for me, too. 'Course, I was wearing my troll suit at the time.

 

[buickanddeere]

A light bulb, aluminum foil, cardboard and blankets . Sounds
like a fire hazard.

 

[Bill(Wis)]

ITDBE, (In The Days Before Electricity) farmers used to build small fires under their Fordsons to pre-heat them. Just a small pile of kindling wood was all it took.

 

[Bill(Wis)]

If you still have your magnetic heater in the box with the sales receipt, take it back and get a tank heater. 1000 or 1500w. My neighbor parks his 45 year old Ford 5000 (best tractor ever made, save for a select few ETDs) that was all worn out when he bought it 30 years ago, outside with a tank heater hanging on the side of the engine. He starts it every day to haul out the manure.

 

[Bill(Wis)]

But,,,,we talked about this above,,,wouldn't the fire heat the engine??? ????

 

[old]

As has been said those magnet heaters are pretty much just a waste of $$. Ya they work after a fashion but that is about it. If you can not take it back put it on the side of the block so it heats the coolant.

 

[Brad Buchanan]

Better watch out!

Troll suits are made out of manure.

 

[Ken Macfarlane]

I've had 0 luck with them on oil pans, it doesn't warm the intake or the heads enough to get a diesel started.

I remember trying to thaw out a Meyer E-41 snowplow pump that had water in it. 24 hour with a blanket over mag heater and it couldn't melt the ice. The heater itself was hot as hates but couldn't get it xfer'ed to the pump unit. Heat gun to the rescue.

Those heat guns work ok as an intake preheater too, take filter off and heat the intake up nice and hot.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Hey! I work for the Government and......Oh wait, you're right!

 

[rusty6]

Definitely the external block heater is the best way to go. Depending on your needs, if you need a fast warm up for daily use then you might need the big 1500 watt model. I can heat up my old gas tractor engine block in an hour with one of those. For long term, stand by use, such as keeping an engine warm for those unexpected trips, a lower watt heater like an 800 would be better. Use less energy that way.

 

[ih_bug]

the magnetic heaters work but you need good contact to transfer and at least 24hrs if you can find a good clean flat spot on the oil pan and make sure its below oil level. this will warm the oil so it flows easy but you should also have a coolant heater.
I use both where I can but the magnetic one really works well on the hydraulic oil of the sawmill and woodspliter you just have to plan ahead at least 24hrs.

 

[notjustair]

The heat is beside the engine with a magnetic heater. Think of a campfire. The side near the fire gets toasty but your backside it still cold. It has no contact with the heat.

A hose or welch plug heater is submerged in the liquid. There is total transfer. That's why I can use mine for two hours and they start right up. A block feels warm with a coolant heater because the warm metal is a byproduct of the warm liquid. With a magnet you are expecting the metal to HEAT the water. Not efficient unless you build a small bonfire and heat a larger area.

 

[hrRoss]

plug in block heater and magnet heater on the oil pan at same time to warm the oil up too