Remote Start Installation

[FTL_Ian]

Looks like the block heater would be useful while the vehicle is parked at home, but how to get the vehicle started from a parking lot?

[Dreepa]

Dude it is not that cold that you need a block heater.  Maybe up in Coos...

[slim]

Dude it is not that cold that you need a block heater.  Maybe up in Coos...

If you have a Diesel engine you might want a block heater but if you have a gasoline engine and use 5w30 oil you should be fine with letting the car idle for a few minutes to get the oil up to lubricate the engine parts. All a block heater does is heat the oil in the oil pan so when you start the engine the oil is pumped easier to be distributed through the engine. A diesel engine uses the heat and pressure of the compression stroke to ignite the fuel and if you have a warm block the fuel will ignite easier and you will ignite more of the fuel which means that you will need to use the starter motor less to get the engine running. A gasoline engine uses a spark to ignite the fuel air mixture and does not use compression to ignite the fuel so a block heater would not benefit the gasoline engine except for allowing the oil to lubricate the engine quicker. When I was growing up on the family farm we had a diesel tractor that we used to  use a block heater.

[Russell Kanning]

An oil pan heater or block heater would be nice, but you can survive without one. We haven't lost any southerners yet .... you will get by.

[slim]

An oil pan heater or block heater would be nice, but you can survive without one. We haven't lost any southerners yet .... you will get by.

Well there was that one person but he wasn't really active for liberty.

[Insurgent]

Dude it is not that cold that you need a block heater.  Maybe up in Coos...

If you have a Diesel engine you might want a block heater but if you have a gasoline engine and use 5w30 oil you should be fine with letting the car idle for a few minutes to get the oil up to lubricate the engine parts. All a block heater does is heat the oil in the oil pan so when you start the engine the oil is pumped easier to be distributed through the engine. A diesel engine uses the heat and pressure of the compression stroke to ignite the fuel and if you have a warm block the fuel will ignite easier and you will ignite more of the fuel which means that you will need to use the starter motor less to get the engine running. A gasoline engine uses a spark to ignite the fuel air mixture and does not use compression to ignite the fuel so a block heater would not benefit the gasoline engine except for allowing the oil to lubricate the engine quicker. When I was growing up on the family farm we had a diesel tractor that we used to  use a block heater.

Not quite correct--what you are thinking of is the magnetic heaters that stick on to the bottom the oil pan. A block heater actually installs in to the engine block and heats the coolant and thereby the entire engine block itself. It can be -40 out and she'll still still turn right over. This is what I used in Minnesota on my old '82 Oldsmobile.

While it is true that a newer motor running 5W30 oil will likely have little difficulty starting on an average winter day, a block heater will positevely ensure that it will. Plus, cabin heat will be available within a couple minutes since the engine will already be pretty warm. The downside, of course is that these use a fair amount of electricity, on par with a hairdryer. One trick that I learned was to put the block heater on an outdoor timer, set to come on 2 hours before I needed to be to work.

[Insurgent]

Looks like the block heater would be useful while the vehicle is parked at home, but how to get the vehicle started from a parking lot?

This is something you will likely have to concern yourself with when it is constantly below zero, depending on how well maintained your vehicle is. When it got below -10 in Minnesota, we would leave our offices every couple hours and start our vehicles and let them run for ten minutes or so...and repeat.

[Lloyd Danforth]

Looks like the block heater would be useful while the vehicle is parked at home, but how to get the vehicle started from a parking lot?

This is something you will likely have to concern yourself with when it is constantly below zero, depending on how well maintained your vehicle is. When it got below -10 in Minnesota, we would leave our offices every couple hours and start our vehicles and let them run for ten minutes or so...and repeat.

In some very cold areas people leave their diesels running all night.  They use very little fuel idyling, but, because they are so effecient, they just about maintain running temp.

[Lex]

Ian, you can also just wait until it gets cold and see for yourself if you need all of these gizmos. It's not like the auto shops are all closed when it gets too cold you can still shop and get work done on your car in the dead of winter ;-) And maybe after you go through one winter you'll decide you don't really need all of this stuff.

[Pat K]

One thing you should check before winter is the cars battery.

[Lloyd Danforth]

And anti freeze.  Also, there might be a hotter thermostat for your car, but, that is a minor matter.