block heater power supply

EdJonesJeeper said:
Setting a timer tonight. Is two hours before I crank enough time to warm it up or should I go more?

LBZ is a 1000 watt heater.
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I wouldn't do shit.

Let it idle for a minute. But that's it.
 
I think he was referring to the time the block heater is turned on.....

left mine plugged in from 5pm last night to 6:50am... brrrr... took about 7sec for the oil pressure gauge to move :D
 
Hurley said:
I think he was referring to the time the block heater is turned on.....

left mine plugged in from 5pm last night to 6:50am... brrrr... took about 7sec for the oil pressure gauge to move :D
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I considered plugging my 7.3 up last night...then I changed my mind and moved some stuff around in the garage and backed it inside. Garage was 55* this morning, started up like a dream:D.
 
I would always plug it in a night before bed. I never fooled with a timer. I don't think it uses that much electricity, and it sure isn't going to hurt the truck.
 
I drove my Ford Focus home last night. Cranked up like a charm this a.m. :D

I left our C7 equipped Freightliner unplugged last night as well. Even at 2 degrees, she cranked right up without drama.
 
EdJonesJeeper said:
So why don't you plug yours in? It's nice to have the heater working before I get out of the newbiehood.
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It's usually parked on the street. It's a hassle. Sooner or later, you will drive off with the plug still connected. It doesn't "need" it. And last, but certainly not least, I'm hardcorez like that. My toes might be cold, but I don't care.

But seriously, I would not have waited for the light. I would not have plugged it in. I would have just turned the key straight-off, just to see what happened.

And if my experience held true, it would have lit straight off, no problem.

And I'd also never actually done the math on the electrical cost until the other day. I always figured it was more money than that.
 
Easy hint for ext cord. Loop it over driversside mirror. Keeps you from forgetting it and driving off!

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk
 
bulrid8 said:
Easy hint for ext cord. Loop it over driversside mirror. Keeps you from forgetting it and driving off!

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk
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Or get a Kussmaul Auto Eject plug. Overkill for around here, but if you lived farther north where you plugged in often it would be worth it. We have them on our firetrucks to keep the batteries up/run the fridge in the ambulance.
 
GotWood said:
I feel like a dumb ass (nobody needs to chime in on that) because i just found the plug on mine today. I'm going to start leaving it plugged in because I regularly leave out in the emergency situation. It's always bothered me to crank, then immediately take off to drive a mile then shut down to get into a fire truck.
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Yes, it does prove to be a good use for that. I use to keep my 7.3 plugged in all the time in the winter when I was in the VFD.
 
shawn said:
That sounds more like a bad water pump or low coolant level. If the truck is overheating, the heater should be working awesome.

Cummins motors should get a new water pump as PM every 100k. They're cheap, easy to change, and they're likely to die about that often, anyway. Might as well change it out when you're doing the coolant flush. I think a brand-new Bosch set me back $25.

Fun fact... if you assume that a block heater pulls 1500W... running it for 8 hours at $0.10 per kW/h works out to $1.20 a day. Pretty cheap when you think about it.
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You where correct, bad water pump and thermostat, at first I thought it was just a loose radiator cap. I have about 98K on it so it was due. I actually brought it to the Dodge Dealer to get it pressure checked and they confirmed it. They offered to fix it for $800, American not Pesos. $95, including coolant, and an hour later I got it done. They also wanted $220 for the block heater cord, $15.99 on Ebay. Dealerships unreal.
 
Awesome. Glad to hear you got it sorted out.

$800 is ridiculous money. The hardest part about the job is getting the serpentine belt back on.
 
Shoot....I fired mine up at 8 degrees with no problems. I thought about plugging it in to melt the snow off the hood, but I didn't. It DOES take forever to warm up, but oh well. I've been extremely pleased with how reliable and trouble free it's been.

Oddly enough, even with a 195 thermostat in it, the gauges reads 160 in the winter and 175 in the summer. The probe in in the left rear of the head.
 
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