Block Heaters?????

derrickalda

derrickalda

Well-known member
Dec 18, 2005
833
0
42
East Tennessee
www.hicountryoffroad.com
What are you using? freeze plug type, magnetic, inline type, dip stick, something weird?

likes / dislikes

i had trouble last winter and wised up for this winter on got a block heater. the nickname of where i live is, "the ice box of the nation." it gets in the -40 at night quite offen up here. i was at the auto parts store getting oil for a change when i remembered i wanted to add a block heater for this winter. well i opted for the magnetic since thats all they really had for my vehicle. well my google/DWeb research for magnetic heaters are starting to make me doubt the magnetic type.

id like to hear some thoughts about your experiences with block heaters....
 
95.D1.Rick

95.D1.Rick

Well-known member
Apr 20, 2004
402
0
Cumberland Co., ME
I looked a few years ago when I had a d1, and used to park it outside in northern Maine. The only ones I saw were those stick on, or magnetic to the oil pan. They looked cheap and weak, I think warming the coolant with an internal element and having it circulate by convection is ideal, but couldnt find what I was looking for. I ended up making a simple home made unit, that a neighbor was using with success. Found a box that fit around the oil pan, lined it with HD foil, and used a 100w incandescent inside the box. Had it on a timer to go on 3 hours before I got up to leave, and it mad ethe difference. Put some legs on the box to keep it in place. Crude, but simple, cheap and effective. I used to bring the battery inside during the cold snaps, that was huge also.
 
HunterAK

HunterAK

Well-known member
May 19, 2005
1,721
0
Anchorage Alaska
Go to www.roverconnection.com and check out the genuine LR block heater kit that they have. Freeze plug type. I just installed mine yesterday. I had the exact one on the engine in my DII before I swapped it. Worked great. Easy to install. Took 30 minutes.

I also have a Moroso heating pad on my oil pan. Got it through JEG's. It's nice as well. I know it's overkill, but I may get another pad for the tranny pan.
 
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JEEPETR

JEEPETR

Well-known member
Aug 31, 2004
52
0
Maryland
www.putfile.com
DiscoveryXD said:
i like my heater core from AB, but i'm always scared the darn thing is going to pop out at a horrible time....
Click to expand...

Why would it be any more likely to "pop" out than the factory freeze plug would be? Aren't they both an interference fit?
 
Bannon88

Bannon88

Well-known member
Nov 3, 2004
1,967
0
50
Columbia, IL
Not that it gets too cold in STL, but I has a magnetic heater from Wolverine heater and it works just fine when it gets cold.
 
derrickalda

derrickalda

Well-known member
Dec 18, 2005
833
0
42
East Tennessee
www.hicountryoffroad.com
the magnetic should work fine for me, but the more i read about the freeze plug type the more i think ill install one. because i get about 700 inches of snow, and its its cold 9 months out of the year. i like the fact it will keep alot of the frost and snow melted on my windshield......since i have the magnetic ill probably use both.

thanks guys for all the info....im sure this is helpping more then just me
 
derrickalda

derrickalda

Well-known member
Dec 18, 2005
833
0
42
East Tennessee
www.hicountryoffroad.com
so i have a block heater on my work truck and a magnetic one on the pan of my rover. they sit beside each other in the driveway. went out to start my work truck and it didn't act any different as when it's not plugged in. got in the rover just to see and it started up nicely. my work is a gas V6 88 chevy, though.....hmm
 
Lucasd2002

Lucasd2002

Well-known member
Jan 7, 2006
1,674
0
Atlanta-ish
I was kinda thinking about picking up a freeze plug heater. Anybody have it for under $100? The usual suspects and roverconnection are all $100+.


edit: Oops, thanks Sven.
 
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U

uberhahn

Active member
Apr 20, 2004
43
0
Though for a different application, check out http://www.tdiheater.com. Made for VW Diesel engines, it's the only inexpensive heater that actually circulates coolant. Should be able to modify and fit on a disco. I have one on my TDi Jetta. I set it on a timer for about three hours before startup in the morning - no more frosty hands for 15 minutes...

uberhahn
 
tanabnd

tanabnd

Active member
May 4, 2005
30
0
Wellington, CO
There are a couple of theories on how a prestart heater is useful, and it depends on the application and the results you want. I spent a good deal of time on the phone with a AB rep regarding the Gen LR block heater last year when I was determining what to do. This is basically going to heat your antifreeze so your in-car heater generates heat quicker, but there is minimal cold start protection (There is some minimal heating of the block which raises the temp of the oil a bit, but not substantially).
However an adhesive pan heater, like the one I went with from Wolverine (http://www.wolverineheater.com/) was easy to install on the '99 D1(I was actually installing it when the clock struck midnight on Jan 1st this year, I love these trucks.) , and performs the duty well.
My ideal pre-heat start system would be a battery warmer, and Wolverine heater and a attachable device to the coolant line which keeps circulating and warming the fluid as it passes. That would eventually warm up the entire block prevent hard cold starts, and heat for the driver.
 
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