Any suggestions on engine heaters?

[David Buchner]

This poor Outback Sport can't get plugged in overnight; needs to be
thawed out all at once in the morning. As fast as possible, please.

Has anybody tried putting in an aftermarket heater of the kind that goes
in a coolant line? ("tank heaters" they're usually called -- although
there's also the lower radiator hose kind... heat the coolant and
circulate it through the engine) I have one on my ancient diesel Fordson
tractor, and it gets the whole thing almost to operating temperature, in
about 3 hours, at around 20 below zero.



Also -- have any other high-latitude-persons with Imprezas noticed a
decided lack of enthusiasm in cold-weather starts? Once it gets below
zero, this thing is really slow-cranking. Should I be thinking about a
bigger CCA battery when it's due (soon, at this rate)? Or bigger cables?
Or is the starter motor just kinda wimpy?

(I swear I saw that car give me a dirty look after I jump-started it
with the pickup at -35 this morning. She clearly preferred to sit there
quiet and frozen...)

 

[Meester Idunno]

Also -- have any other high-latitude-persons with Imprezas noticed a

decided lack of enthusiasm in cold-weather starts? Once it gets below
zero, this thing is really slow-cranking. Should I be thinking about a
bigger CCA battery when it's due (soon, at this rate)? Or bigger cables?
Or is the starter motor just kinda wimpy?

My '02 WRX gets grumpy in the cold too. The coldest it's been this year
in my part of Massachusetts is -12F, and the Impreza starter turned the
engine over so slowly it almost felt like I had to turn the key with
more oomph (yes, I know there's no relation.) It gets like this for my
car at any temperature below 15.
It has always started for me in those temps, but it doesn't sound happy
doing it with all the valve clatter, increased idle speed, and cold
belts and pulleys. My manual gearbox gets so gummed up that it usually
take 3 to 5 seconds for each shift until things get warmed up (less than
5 minutes); a lot longer than the sub 1 second shifts the car usually
feels right doing.

Byron

 

[TG]

You want the block heater that goes into the coolant drain plug in the
bottom of the engine. Got one for $37 at NAPA

 

[Sven]

You want the block heater that goes into the coolant drain plug in the
bottom of the engine. Got one for $37 at NAPA

I had a Kenlowe preheater on my last car, a Landrover.
http://www.kenlowe.com/pre-heaters/cars/index.html
It worked very well indeed. I haven't fitted one to my Forester
because the engine bay looks very full and I'm not sure there is
enough room (UK S Turbo). Unfortunately, I haven't found a block
heater that will work on 240v or I would have fitted one.

 

[walt woytowich]

This poor Outback Sport can't get plugged in overnight; needs to be
thawed out all at once in the morning. As fast as possible, please.

Has anybody tried putting in an aftermarket heater of the kind that goes
in a coolant line? ("tank heaters" they're usually called -- although
there's also the lower radiator hose kind... heat the coolant and
circulate it through the engine) I have one on my ancient diesel Fordson
tractor, and it gets the whole thing almost to operating temperature, in
about 3 hours, at around 20 below zero.



Also -- have any other high-latitude-persons with Imprezas noticed a
decided lack of enthusiasm in cold-weather starts? Once it gets below
zero, this thing is really slow-cranking. Should I be thinking about a
bigger CCA battery when it's due (soon, at this rate)? Or bigger cables?
Or is the starter motor just kinda wimpy?

(I swear I saw that car give me a dirty look after I jump-started it
with the pickup at -35 this morning. She clearly preferred to sit there
quiet and frozen...)

David;
I've recently taken advantage of a cold spell to check the time
needed to warm up a Ford 3.8L engine, using a 600 watt in-line
heater and a600 watt OEM block heater. The In-line heater uses
a built-in axial-flow pump to circulate the heated coolant at the
rate of about 4L/min.
Ambient temp during the test averaged-29C, engine temp was -24C when
the test started.
After the in-line heater had run 15 minutes engine temp was -15C
after 30 min. -9C, 1 hour -5C, 2hours +1C.

When the block heater was tested under similar conditions the
temperature sensor showed a slightly higher temp than with the
in-line,
BUT when the coolant was circulateted (by pumping) the correcte
engine temp was 3degrees C lower than with the in-line heater.

About "tank" and lower-rad -hose heaters; I'd like to see some
performance figures!!!

I have a spare in-line heater you can have for the price of postage.
It goes into either of the heater hoses and is about the size of a pop
can. BTW it's made for 5/8" heater hose. If you prefer to phone:
(613)584-2523.
Walt

 

[TG]

I hate any additional connections to fail...that's the main reason I use the
block heater. TG

 

[walt woytowich]

I hate any additional connections to fail...that's the main reason I use the
block heater. TG

news:(e-mail address removed)...

TG> > (e-mail address removed) (David Buchner) wrote in message

TG
Consider the fact that when a block heater fails, springs a leak, or p
pops out of the block, the owner can face a hefty repair bill.
On the other hand, installation and replacement(if required) of an
in-line heater can be done by anyone who can use a screwdriver.

Walt

 

[J999w]

What would be really nice is a coolant heater that runs of an auxilliary
battery. Then you could be assured of a nice start when AC mains aren't
available. Even if it was on a timer, that would be sweeeeeet !

I imagine, a power inverter would do the job. Dunno about the timer.

Power consumpiton? Dunno, heck, I'd line up a couple batteries in the back of
the '92 Legacy wagon if it would ensure I'd get home from work okay !!

jw
milwaukee

 

[Sven]

What would be really nice is a coolant heater that runs of an auxilliary
battery. Then you could be assured of a nice start when AC mains aren't
available. Even if it was on a timer, that would be sweeeeeet !

I imagine, a power inverter would do the job. Dunno about the timer.

Power consumpiton? Dunno, heck, I'd line up a couple batteries in the back of
the '92 Legacy wagon if it would ensure I'd get home from work okay !!

jw
milwaukee

Have a look at these links:

http://www.flameengineering.com/Preheater_12voltDC.html
http://www.eberspacher.com/Car_Heating.html

Sven
Nottinghamshire, UK
Forester S Turbo

 

[David Buchner]

You want the block heater that goes into the coolant drain plug in the
bottom of the engine. Got one for $37 at NAPA

Is that the big black plug to one side of the oil pan, with a big allen
wrench hole in it?

Does that seem to heat it up pretty quickly at sub-zero temps? Because
I'm in a situation where I can't supply it with power overnight.

 

[David Buchner]

I have a spare in-line heater you can have for the price of postage.
It goes into either of the heater hoses and is about the size of a pop
can. BTW it's made for 5/8" heater hose. If you prefer to phone:

Thanks, much -- but I think I'm going to go with the one that screws
into the bottom of the engine and see what that does for me.

 

[David Buchner]

What would be really nice is a coolant heater that runs of an auxilliary
battery. Then you could be assured of a nice start when AC mains aren't
available. Even if it was on a timer, that would be sweeeeeet !

I imagine, a power inverter would do the job. Dunno about the timer.

Power consumpiton? Dunno, heck, I'd line up a couple batteries in the back of
the '92 Legacy wagon if it would ensure I'd get home from work okay !!

I like how you're thinking. These are the kind of cold-weather mods I
can imagine a niche market for. Somebody who'd take in your car and
outfit it with various electric heaters, aggressive tires, maybe a
bigger heater, stuff like that. Another candidate for a heater: the
gearbox. This morning it felt especially sticky. You know it's cold when
the engine stalls when you let out the clutch in Neutral.

 

[David Buchner]

Have a look at these links:

http://www.flameengineering.com/Preheater_12voltDC.html
http://www.eberspacher.com/Car_Heating.html

Thanks. These are ones I didn't come up with in my websearch.

 

[David Buchner]

My '02 WRX gets grumpy in the cold too. The coldest it's been this year
in my part of Massachusetts is -12F, and the Impreza starter turned the
engine over so slowly it almost felt like I had to turn the key with
more oomph (yes, I know there's no relation.) It gets like this for my
car at any temperature below 15.

Wow. It sounds like exactly the same kind of deal. I wonder what it is.
It's soooo sloooow. I'm really wondering about higher-cold-cranking-amp
batteries. Because when I hooked it up to the (running) pickup's
battery, it cranked a lot faster.

 

[Tony Hwang]

Wow. It sounds like exactly the same kind of deal. I wonder what it is.
It's soooo sloooow. I'm really wondering about higher-cold-cranking-amp
batteries. Because when I hooked it up to the (running) pickup's
battery, it cranked a lot faster.

Hi,
My kids MY00 Impreza RS starts OK in -30C weather up here in Alberta.
What cold cranking? Your battery must be weak or small size. Last 10
days or so we had non-stop cold days, -30C(wind chill -40C or so).
Never had trouble.
You can install SMALL trickle charger and plug it in(uses lot less
electricity than block heater) or plug in block heater on a timer.
Or get a biggest battery you can have in that car.
Tony

 

[vic]

I got mine at dealer for $35 cdn and it's very easy to install

 

[David Buchner]

My kids MY00 Impreza RS starts OK in -30C weather up here in Alberta.
What cold cranking? Your battery must be weak or small size. Last 10
days or so we had non-stop cold days, -30C(wind chill -40C or so).
Never had trouble.

Hmmmm...

It's whatever battery the factory puts in 'em, and 2 years old now.
550cca? I don't know. I do know that there's one with about another 100
more amps in that size -- and that's what it's getting when it's up for
replacement.