At what temperature do you plug in your block heater?

[GreensvilleJay]

ALL batteries lose a serious amount of power when cold, and you NEED that power to spin the engine. While a warm engine spins over easier, it ain't goin to go round and round , when the batteries weak.
The other problem is a cold battery doesn't like to be recharged at a fast rate.

 

[John T]

Never used one.
2017 BX starts every time. If it's real cold I will cycle the glow plugs a couple times.

battery tender on the battery.... thats it.


Never plugged in my powerstroke diesel either.

I think block heaters are generally unnecessary. (Unless you live in Alaska or Siberia)

If your battery is strong and the Glow plugs work properly.

 

[lynnmor]

Never used one.
2017 BX starts every time. If it's real cold I will cycle the glow plugs a couple times.

battery tender on the battery.... thats it.


Never plugged in my powerstroke diesel either.

I think block heaters are generally unnecessary. (Unless you live in Alaska or Siberia)

If your battery is strong and the Glow plugs work properly.

It is not just about getting the engine started, warming is better for the battery, starter and all of the moving parts inside the engine.

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

....I think block heaters are generally unnecessary. (Unless you live in Alaska or Siberia)....

Minnesota and Wisconsin get hit with an Arctic blast, so there's that...

The northern areas may not get above -10°F for three months, where I'm at in Central Wisconsin 0°F isn't uncommon, -10°F is occasional, and metal at those temperatures undergoes a lot of expansion to get to operating temperature, so plugging in likely does some good.

 

[GrumpyFarmer]

I use a temperature sensing battery maintainer, and bought a block heater and hearing pads for the engine oil and transmission though with the well replacement didn't have time to install them yet. I have a remote-controlled outlet though never thought of using an indicator light--excellent idea @PHPaul, thank you!!

Huh? What did you say?

I am sorry I could not help myself. I know what you meant. Happy Turkey Day!

 

[John T]

Minnesota and Wisconsin get hit with an Arctic blast, so there's that...

The northern areas may not get above -10°F for three months, where I'm at in Central Wisconsin 0°F isn't uncommon, -10°F is occasional, and metal at those temperatures undergoes a lot of expansion to get to operating temperature, so plugging in likely does some good.

Minnesota falls under the Alaska umbrella....

 

[jimh406]

I rarely use the block heater. The first year, I put it on a timer when it got to our colder temperatures. I didn't seem to use it in those conditions though.

When it's really cold (10 or less), I don't use tractor to plow because we don't usually get much snow in those conditions and my Polaris Ranger has a cab and plow on it. When it's warmer(20s and 30s), my L2501 starts easily with just the glow plugs.

If I was going to use it in colder temperatures a lot, I'd put it on a timer. It does help the tractor warm up faster which probably is better for the engine/hydraulics.

If it is sunny very much, my shed warms up everything in the shed including the tractor every day.

 

[McMXi]

I ordered some battery insulation "blankets" from Amazon yesterday. I plan on wrapping the batteries in the F-250 and both tractors so I made sure to order enough material to do that.

I'm a fan of block heaters and use them regularly throughout the winter, and that's for both tractors and the F-250. Like some others, I have a 50A water heater timer that I use to control an outlet and anything plugged into the outlet. When the old barn was still standing and the BX lived in it, I used to have a light that was plugged into the timer outlet so that I could see that the block heater was on. The barn was 75 yards from the house and I could see the light from the kitchen window. I did that for five winters with the BX and a winter with the MX6000HST. I would have the outlet turn on at 6am and 5pm for one hour in preparation for needing the tractor to move snow. Worked well for me.

Once I get the pole barns built I'll be doing something similar again.

 

[JonM]

when its below 20f i plug my truck and tractor in. no sense in cold starting even though both will do it just fine

 

[McMXi]

when its below 20f i plug my truck and tractor in. no sense in cold starting even though both will do it just fine

I have the same thought process. I know my equipment can and will start without the aid of the block heater (not the case for the F-250 prior to my recent work on it), but why make it harder on everything than it has to be. The truck and tractors will start more easily, and they'll get up to operating temperature faster if they've been plugged in for a couple of hours or more.

 

[torch]

curious, no battery warming blanket ??

I use them: car, truck and tractor. A short extension cord with block heater and blanket plugged into that mounted to the vehicle, then the longer cord to a remote controlled (tractor) or timer (road vehicles) outlet. Road vehicles get at least 3 hours on time before expected use, tractor minimum 1, preferably 2 hours. The smaller engine and battery don't take as much time to warm up.

EDIT: we don't seem to get -40° overnight temps around here any more; we rarely even get -30° the past few years. So the heat soak may be overkill these days. But old habits die hard...

 

[Russell King]

Do you plug in when the vehicle not at home, like when you are at work and it is less than your chosen temperature (x degrees)?

 

[torch]

The car/truck are plugged into a block heater timer that only comes on when both the time and temp conditions are met (eg: <-10°C and between midnight to 9 AM). The tractor is plugged into a remote controlled outlet that can be turned on an hour or two before I'm due home if the cameras show it's snowing.

 

[nbryan]

The car/truck are plugged into a block heater timer that only comes on when both the time and temp conditions are met (eg: <-10°C and between midnight to 9 AM). The tractor is plugged into a remote controlled outlet that can be turned on an hour or two before I'm due home if the cameras show it's snowing.

Or like:
"Hey AI Cloud Dude!
Two hours before I'm scheduled to get home check my live home weather conditions and energize vehicle block heaters if moderate snow detected."

 

[L35]

My tractor doesn’t have a block heater and starts into the negatives, if I did have one I’d plug it in 2 hours before use anytime it was teens or lower.

 

[JonM]

forgot to add i use one of these https://thepowerbadger.com/ to control when it gets to heat the block. it wont activate if its too warm. typically i use the tractor at 8am so i have it ready to go each morning.

you can get cheap electricall timers but im not sure those are really safe

 

[torch]

forgot to add i use one of these https://thepowerbadger.com/ to control when it gets to heat the block. it wont activate if its too warm. typically i use the tractor at 8am so i have it ready to go each morning.

you can get cheap electricall timers but im not sure those are really safe

That's very similar to the one I have. Temp + time criteria. Mine doesn't have that "standby" PWM function though. Mine is just on or off.

 

[Trash Panda]

My L2501 rarely gets plugged in, just because of how things work out a lot of the time.

Glad she has no problems popping off well into negative temps so far.

 

[McMXi]

forgot to add i use one of these https://thepowerbadger.com/ to control when it gets to heat the block. it wont activate if its too warm. typically i use the tractor at 8am so i have it ready to go each morning.

you can get cheap electricall timers but im not sure those are really safe

Now that's slick and I'd probably order one or two if I didn't work from home, or if there was a rebate in Montana like there is in Wyoming. I use a 50A water heater timer which is anything but a cheap electrical timer, but that Power Badger would be an upgrade for sure.

 

[BruceMc]

you can get cheap electricall timers but im not sure those are really safe

Outdoor timers are pretty common around here and I've never heard of problems. It just becomes routine - you get home from work, plug in your car/truck, and the timer goes off sometime in the early morning before your commute.