Block heaters? Battery warmers? Oil pan heaters?

[Dan Grec]

Of the choices you name, the block heater is the best of them. Combine the use with synthetic motor oil and you'll be good to go.

Past about -35C even synthetic motor oil looks and spreads like butter. It's fun to play with actually.

Regular dinosaur oil does that somewhere around -25C.

Like I said above, keep in mind you have absolutely no heating on your transmission, diffs and transfer case, so those are all using oil with the consistency of butter for a long time when you first start driving.

-Dan

 

[Kmrtnsn]

Past about -35C even synthetic motor oil looks and spreads like butter. It's fun to play with actually.

Regular dinosaur oil does that somewhere around -25C.

Like I said above, keep in mind you have absolutely no heating on your transmission, diffs and transfer case, so those are all using oil with the consistency of butter for a long time when you first start driving.

-Dan

A block heater spreads enough radiant heat to prevent motor oil from congealing down past -40. Just idling an engine a few moments at subzero temps before driving warms the ATF and Power steering fluids enough that both systems function fine. Operating in -40 and below is well within the design parameters of any modern car or truck. My biggest complaint was driving off on 10 ply, bias construction tires to go to work first thing in the morning in winter. It seemed like forever before they were warm enough to be round again.

 

[digitaldelay]

I will be switching from Mobil1 5w30 to 0w30 for the first time this winter. Along with the usual block heaters and battery blankets, I should be good.

Jason

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

 

[comptiger5000]

Personally, for very cold weather, I'd go with a block heater (either freeze plug or circulating type, but not overly huge), a pad heater on the oil pan, pad heater on the trans pan and a very small pad to warm the battery. That should be enough to keep everything that'll care about the cold warm enough and avoid lubrication issues on startup.

 

[smlobx]

Many people who work in extreme Northern Alaska (oil fields etc.) just leave their equipment running full time. At -40°F it is very hard to start anything.

What kind of rig do you have??

 

[comptiger5000]

Many people who work in extreme Northern Alaska (oil fields etc.) just leave their equipment running full time. At -40°F it is very hard to start anything.

Sometimes this is just the best option. If you don't need to be able to jump in and go at a minute's notice and have somewhere to plug it in, I'd just go for the heaters and plug it in. If no source of power is available (and a fuel fired heater isn't an option) or you need it ready to jump in and go any time, or you're only somewhere that cold for a night or 2, it might be better to just keep it running.

 

[Joe917]

Letting a diesel run for long periods with little or no load is a great way to shorten engine life. This is why Webasto and Esparcher systems are preferred over idling. They use far less fuel than idling and keep the coolant hot so the trucks heating system still works normally. Perfect for a rig you will be sleeping in.

 

[DanCooper]

I've always used the manufacturer's circulating/block heater, and the silicone heating pads, one under the battery and one on the oil pan sump. Brown and Sons in Fairbanks used to sell them as a package, along with a three-plug pigtail and a handful of zip ties. If you want a cover for the radiator/grill, you can have Alaska Tent and Tarp put one on while you wait in Fairbanks (a lovely little town) that will snap off for the summer.

In my experience, battery blankets are messy and dirty, and the heating pad under the battery is more efficient. Plus, when you "glue" the heating pad to the bottom of the oil pan sump, if you hold it in place with duct tape, you can have the joy of leaving the tape on way past the time it dries, and for the next year or so strands of tape will slowly hang beneath the engine until they fall off. That alone makes your vehicle look like it is owned by a Rugged Individual, or maybe someone from Anchor Point.

 

[Silverado08]

I used to live in Edmonton Alberta for many years and never bothered pluging the block heater in winter as my 08 Silverado started just fine even in coldest temps on first click,,use 5w30 regular oil..those new engines are just that good..with one coil on each cylinder it has plenty of firepower to light the gas,,
Using synthetic oil might be worth it,though..

Diesel would need to be plugged in no doubt..

 

[Dan Grec]

I used to live in Edmonton Alberta for many years and never bothered pluging the block heater in winter as my 08 Silverado started just fine even in coldest temps on first click,,use 5w30 regular oil..those new engines are just that good..with one coil on each cylinder it has plenty of firepower to light the gas,,
Using synthetic oil might be worth it,though..

Diesel would need to be plugged in no doubt..

I shudder to think of the damage you were doing to your engine when you cold started it at -40.

It's often not about if the engine will start, it's about if you want it to.

-Dan

 

[Root Moose]

As long as it works till he sells/trades it does it really matter?

<devil's advocate />

 

[Dan Grec]

As long as it works till he sells/trades it does it really matter?

<devil's advocate />

I suppose it doesn't, though I personally like to look after my vehicles as much as possible so that
a) I spend less time and money on maintenance while I have it and
b) I can keep it for a very long time, and spend my money on more important things.

-Dan

 

[Buddha.]

When I was about 20 I lived in northern MN (-30F) and drove a old dodge neon with 200k on it. I never did maintenance on that thing, there was no block heater or anything on that. The only time it failed to start right up was when I misguidedly put 91 octane in it. I had to give it a shot of either on a cold start till that tank went through. The throttle would freeze in the open position if I cruised down the highway without varying the throttle position enough but thats different story.

 

[BigSwede]

I've never had to start a vehicle at -40, but I have started cold vehicles at -30F. I have used Mobil One for many years but never had a block heater or anything. Never had any engine problems or even oil burning as a result.

Did you know Minneapolis is at about the same latitude as Ottawa?

 

[Schitzangiggles]

Past about -35C even synthetic motor oil looks and spreads like butter. It's fun to play with actually.

Regular dinosaur oil does that somewhere around -25C.

Like I said above, keep in mind you have absolutely no heating on your transmission, diffs and transfer case, so those are all using oil with the consistency of butter for a long time when you first start driving.

-Dan

Mute the volume or you will want to stab sporks into your neck to make it stop...
Depends on the oil and how long it has been used.
Note in the video that the conventional oil doesn't begin to move until it warms up beyond -35f because it is not in a cold room.We ran tests in a cold room and the conventional oil NEVER flowed. I didn't produce or was involved with this video but a quick search and you that still run conventional lubricants in extreme temps are not doing yourself or your equipment any favors.