Modern cars and trucks are engineered to sustain and function in any weather. However, extreme temperature drops can affect batteries and fluids, resulting in severe damage to the engine. An engine blocker heats select parts of the powertrain to make cold starts less stressful on engine components. Read on to learn more about engine block heaters.
What Is an Engine Block Heater?
During winter, the temperature drop makes the engine oil thicken and turns it into a sludge. This reduces lubrication and causes the engine parts to scrape against each other. Cold starts and idling are also common when the weather is cold. All these factors can damage the engine and its parts. Engine block heaters can reduce such damages and help preserve engine life. They keep your engine moving when the temperatures are freezing.
Engine block heaters warm the engine and its fluids, allowing the engine to start without sustaining any damages. With a heater, the engine fluids and the battery reach the ideal temperature in no time.
When you warm your vehicle before starting, you also reduce the rate of emissions and increase fuel economy. In addition, the heater warms the car’s coolant and keeps your car’s cabin warm even in winter.
Who Should Use an Engine Block Heater?
During the winter in Oswego, IL, hard freezes can damage your engine. Using a heater on such days can prevent damage and protect your engine. If you leave your vehicle idle for a long time, you need an engine block heater to keep your vehicle in working condition.
Diesel engine vehicles may need a heater as they need more heat to ignite the fuel than gasoline-powered vehicles. If you use non-synthetic oil in your vehicle, a heater is essential to warm up the engine before starting it on cold days. Installing a heater is one of the best winter hacks to preserve engine life.
When to Use an Engine Block Heater
You need a heater on days when temperatures are below five degrees Fahrenheit. When the temperatures are not very low, you do not need to run the heater overnight. Instead, you can plug it in a few hours before you start your car.
Using an engine block heater effectively can protect your ride’s engine and ensure your car has a long life. Running it for about two hours can help keep your engine within the optimum operating temperature.
Types of Engine Heaters
Depending on your vehicle type and its needs, you’ll have to choose an engine block heater that’ll work best for you. Though block heaters heat the entire engine, you can choose heaters that directly heat just the oil or the coolant. Some engine heaters are easy to install, and you can reuse them on several vehicles, while others are not reusable and need to be installed by a professional.
- Frost plug heater sits in the space of a frost plug in the vehicle’s engine block. It heats the engine coolant directly and needs to be installed by an expert.
- An engine-warming blanket is a special blanket that sends heat into the engine block. These are easy to place on top of the engine or attach inside the engine hood.
- Dipstick heaters replace the oil dipstick to heat the oil directly.
- Oil pan heaters heat the oil pan, which then heats the oil. You can attach it to the oil pan using magnets or bolts.
- Circulating and non-circulating in-line heaters heat the coolant directly. The former circulates the warm coolant throughout the engine.
- External heaters attach to the engine block and heat it directly. You need a professional to install this heater.
Warm up the engine to preserve the engine components and prevent damages. If you need help with installing a block heater in your GMC vehicle, call Coffman GMC. Our experts are equipped and ready to keep your ride as good as new.
630-518-4217
