2026-2027 Engine Block Heater Thread : Questions/Answers/Products

[HeavyAssault]

So that time if year is upon us. I know it's going to be cold for some so let's make this thread a one-stop-shop for all engine block heater questions/answers/products.
Either Ford Tremor gas or diesel motor useful products, suggested process for application, etc etc etc discussed here. Share your setups, and what works!!

 

[Optimus🤖]

I've had many experiences that can quickly generate enough heat to keep the truck warm until spring.

 

[The Evil Twin]

Awesome idea, Heavy!
Let’s start with Block Heater 101.
Plug style (a la factory style) aid in starting the engine. Not heating the coolant. Although there is some reduced warm up time, it’s not what they are for.
Modern vehicles (gas or diesel) do not need them until it’s sub-zero.
Wind chill temperature does not matter. Your truck has no feels. So feels like temperature is irrelevant. I know we love our trucks, but they have no feelings. Sorry.
They do not need to be plugged in overnight. 3- 4 hours is sufficient. Timers are an effective way to do this.

I’m sure there is more. This is the basic stuff I always see questions about.

 

[LWS]

It really depends upon what winter means in your circumstances, I plug mine in normally below zero, but find it most beneficial below -20 and a necessity below -40. Even the 7.3 godzilla sounds like crap trying to start after sitting more than a few minutes at -60.

 

[HeavyAssault]

My "cold weather" experiences in using the diesel OE block heater (coolant heater) have been mostly good. I don't disagree with the 3-4 hours of use tends to be enough. It sure does change how the vehicle is able to function. My current 2022 seemed to take roughly 5-10 minutes of city driving to get up to 100*F Coolant temp to have the same effect of using the block heater. Given those experiences I'd say it's 50/50 up to the user. Plug it in, or just jump, start, a little run time, then hit the streets.

Moving to something I did think helped, proper extension cord gauge size. Get the biggest (lower number) gauge wire you are willing to buy at the length reasonable to the outlet distance. So don't buy some 16ga 50' cord for an outlet 10' away. Buy a 10 ga or 12 ga cord 25' or shorter.

 

[Legmar]

Awesome idea, Heavy!
Let’s start with Block Heater 101.
Plug style (a la factory style) aid in starting the engine. Not heating the coolant. Although there is some reduced warm up time, it’s not what they are for.
Modern vehicles (gas or diesel) do not need them until it’s sub-zero.
Wind chill temperature does not matter. Your truck has no feels. So feels like temperature is irrelevant. I know we love our trucks, but they have no feelings. Sorry.
They do not need to be plugged in overnight. 3- 4 hours is sufficient. Timers are an effective way to do this.

I’m sure there is more. This is the basic stuff I always see questions about.

I’ve found that i do have trouble starting the truck between 0-32 degrees if the diesel fuel is untreated. In that case, the block heater allowed the truck to start one day when it failed to start on its own around 5 degrees. If I treat my diesel fuel, I’ve had no issues starting down to 5 degrees even without the block heater plugged in.

 

[Legmar]

It really depends upon what winter means in your circumstances, I plug mine in normally below zero, but find it most beneficial below -20 and a necessity below -40. Even the 7.3 godzilla sounds like crap trying to start after sitting more than a few minutes at -60.

Negative 60?! You must be in NORTH Texas!

 

[Legmar]

I’ve found that i do have trouble starting the truck between 0-32 degrees if the diesel fuel is untreated. In that case, the block heater allowed the truck to start one day when it failed to start on its own around 5 degrees. If I treat my diesel fuel, I’ve had no issues starting down to 5 degrees even without the block heater plugged in.

For what it’s worth, I have no idea if the science here is valid… just anecdotal experience.

 

[The Evil Twin]

I’ve found that i do have trouble starting the truck between 0-32 degrees if the diesel fuel is untreated. In that case, the block heater allowed the truck to start one day when it failed to start on its own around 5 degrees. If I treat my diesel fuel, I’ve had no issues starting down to 5 degrees even without the block heater plugged in.

Was that in TX? Maybe they don’t treat for temps that low. Even untreated fuel is stable down to 20f. The cloud point is 14ish degrees.
I can say for sure that around here they do not treat down to 0f. One year when it was -5f overnight, I put some straight Shell fuel in a mason jar. It was opaque in the morning.
Another thing folks forget. Not you in particular. Is that when you travel north, the fuel you left with is probably not treated for the climate 500 miles north. My wife’s boss called one Christmas break because her husband’s truck wouldn’t start. They traveled from coastal southern VA to the Pocono Mountains. One bottle of 911 and they were in the road in no time.

 

[LWS]

Negative 60?! You must be in NORTH Texas!

Did you say Northern Texas or North of Texas, but just a few thousand miles. I spent a decade in Lubbock and can say for sure winter in Tx is much different than in Yellowknife. Funny, yesterday I was packing for an upcoming trip this week, and had to pack my winter PPE and tire chains for my tremor 350.

 

[Legmar]

Did you say Northern Texas or North of Texas, but just a few thousand miles. I spent a decade in Lubbock and can say for sure winter in Tx is much different than in Yellowknife. Funny, yesterday I was packing for an upcoming trip this week, and had to pack my winter PPE and tire chains for my tremor 350.

I spent my 4 college years in Lubbock! The weather out there is dramatic, and I loved it! Lubbock is a great town too!

 

[Legmar]

Was that in TX? Maybe they don’t treat for temps that low. Even untreated fuel is stable down to 20f. The cloud point is 14ish degrees.
I can say for sure that around here they do not treat down to 0f. One year when it was -5f overnight, I put some straight Shell fuel in a mason jar. It was opaque in the morning.
Another thing folks forget. Not you in particular. Is that when you travel north, the fuel you left with is probably not treated for the climate 500 miles north. My wife’s boss called one Christmas break because her husband’s truck wouldn’t start. They traveled from coastal southern VA to the Pocono Mountains. One bottle of 911 and they were in the road in no time.

Yep! 100% agree with this!

 

[Vecman]

Great timing on this subject. We may be moving to central Minnesota and I’ve been looking at installing this plus an onboard NOCO 10amp charger. Run both to a single NOCO plug in the bumper. Doesn’t seem like this addition is very expensive, but gives me some good options. Are there any downsides to using these items? I know the heater only needs 3-4 hours, but what if you just left it plugged in?

 

[NvNomad]

Even the 7.3 godzilla sounds like crap trying to start after sitting more than a few minutes at -60.

#!@#$! I'd sound like crap trying to start at -60F!

Long ago I had an even older '72 Wagoneer with the big 360ci V8. It came to me with maybe 115k on the clock but didn't use a lot of oil. However, on a cold Missouri morning (maybe -10 or -20F) it would start when nothing else in the neighborhood would. I guess it was loose enough that the oil viscosity didn't matter.

I'd go around the neighborhood and help others get their rigs started.

That old Jeep looked like crap -- it had body cancer so bad there was a hole I could crawl through as an emergency exit. But it served my family well when I was in grad school and we had no money.

 

[NvNomad]

Moving to something I did think helped, proper extension cord gauge size. Get the biggest (lower number) gauge wire you are willing to buy at the length reasonable to the outlet distance. So don't buy some 16ga 50' cord for an outlet 10' away. Buy a 10 ga or 12 ga cord 25' or shorter.

Plus one on this statement. Run your numbers. Heater wattage divided by mains voltage gives you draw current. A 1,000w heater draws roughly 10A. Then figure voltage loss for your drop cord run and keep it under 10 percent -- there's no sense in heating the wire. The Desk Reference will give you resistance per 100ft for available gage wire.

Ohm's Law is your friend.

Cheers, Tremorites! (Is that what we are called?)

 

[The Evil Twin]

Great timing on this subject. We may be moving to central Minnesota and I’ve been looking at installing this plus an onboard NOCO 10amp charger. Run both to a single NOCO plug in the bumper. Doesn’t seem like this audition is very expensive, but gives me some good options. Are there any downsides to using these items? I know the heater only needs 3-4 hours, but what if you just left it plugged in?

At a certain point, you reach equilibrium. The amount of heat you are adding is equivalent to the heat energy you are losing (through conduction and convection. It doesn’t hurt anything except your electric bill. It’s like nine 100 watt light bulbs being turned on.

 

[Vecman]

I like the timer outlet idea, but sometimes I’m lazy

Is the heater element easy to install myself?

 

[The Evil Twin]

I like the timer outlet idea, but sometimes I’m lazy

Is the heater element easy to install myself?

Yes. You will lose about a half gallon of coolant though. IIRC the element is ORB sealed, but you want to use a teflon paste on the threads anyway. Makes replacing them easier. Take your wheel off for better access to the plug in the block and run the cable. The nice thing about DIY is that you can run the plug to a different location for tying into the charger.
There are plenty of options for the outlet. The one I use is WiFi and connects to Apple Home. I can set schedules or a count down. I use the count down timer. That way I can just turn it on when I get up and it stays on for 3 hours. If I end up not leaving, it shuts off. You can also have it set to turn on at 2 am and off at 7 am.

 

[Vecman]

Yes. You will lose about a half gallon of coolant though. IIRC the element is ORB sealed, but you want to use a teflon paste on the threads anyway. Makes replacing them easier. Take your wheel off for better access to the plug in the block and run the cable. The nice thing about DIY is that you can run the plug to a different location for tying into the charger.
There are plenty of options for the outlet. The one I use is WiFi and connects to Apple Home. I can set schedules or a count down. I use the count down timer. That way I can just turn it on when I get up and it stays on for 3 hours. If I end up not leaving, it shuts off. You can also have it set to turn on at 2 am and off at 7 am.

I was thinking about doing a coolant flush now anyway. 85000 miles, maybe not on Fords schedule timing but might as well if I’m gonna install this anyway. The upper system was flushed when they did my delete, but I can just do both now and move on

 

[The Evil Twin]

I was thinking about doing a coolant flush now anyway. 85000 miles, maybe not on Fords schedule timing but might as well if I’m gonna install this anyway. The upper system was flushed when they did my delete, but I can just do both now and move on

Perfect time to do a coolant service. For that process, might I recommend a Schwaben coolant vacuum tool? For the $90 it makes life so much easier.
Once you are ready to filler up, attach it to the fill neck and draw a vacuum. Let it sit for a couple minutes to make sure the system is tight, then let the vacuum pull all the coolant into the system.

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-schwaben-parts/coolant-refill-air-purge-tool/003466sch01/