Goodwill $5.99. Set temperature to 350ºF.
Thick bed sheet on hood which also drapes down over the front to retain heat.
Hopefully better for thengine and transmission when departing on emergency transports at 0h-dark-thirty. (Engine sounds a little smoother!)
You lose 94% of heater transfer thru the air gap. All you are doing is wasting electricity, no garage?
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Garaged, so the warm air mostly stagnates under the hood.
The sheet seems good at keeping theat in. Also covers the gap in front of the windshield.
It seems to me that you should heat under the engine to warm the engine oil. If you use the electric frying pan, slide it under the oil pan. Put a long handle on it to make this easier. You might want an aluminum box with high sides and no top to direct heat upwards if the pan alone doesn’t do the job. Unless the temperature is below zero Fahrenheit in the garage, I doubt you need the heater at all.
You might consider Kapton flexible heaters. You can buy them with adhesive backing and bond them directly to the oil pan if you like. Apply DC power to activate the circuit. Use a variable DC power supply to provide enough power, but not too much. Experiment to see how warm the oil pan gets to determine where to set the rheostat. I’d cover the heaters with a heavy tape to prevent damage to the heaters from road debris. You would also need to run protected wires to a convenient place to install a plug.
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Thank you.
Electric skillet on its legs on the concrete floor mostly under the oil pan and a little under the transmission.
The problem is having to leavexpeditiouslyvith no time to lethengine warm normally.
If no emergency, in idle I back out and proceed to the stop sign.
Then gently accelerate.
Cold starts and hard driving right away is rough on a vehicle. I like what you are trying with the fry pan, cheap but marginally effective. If you have the time and funds, get an auto eject from Kussmal, this plugs into 110vac, you can then wire a heater on the engine. When the engine is started it automatically ejects, you do not have to think about it.
https://kussmaul.com/ejection-units/wp-auto-ejects/091-18WP-120
Thank you.
My patented electric skillet bedsheet engine warmer works well!
When started, thengine temperature gauge rises above the cold line.
By the time I drive out of our neighborhood athe 25 mph speed limit, it has attained normal operating temperature!
Nowilhave to determine how much electricity is used. An electricompany meter bought at a garage sale should work!
Must have been many moons ago a block heater was recommended, Do you need a go fund me to get one? What is your objection to a block heater?
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I was thinking something similar. Years ago a former neighbor had an electric dipstick heater that worked pretty much the same way.
The problem I heard in ND with dipstick heaters is it fries the oil. the block heater warms the coolant, or antifreeze as you prefer with the power consumption of a light bulb to keep the temp at 35 degrees.
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500 lb engine block. -0F temp. 100w heater? Interesting thermodynamics. Though, my led bulb uses 11watts.
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but it won’t heat anything. LOL
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Used to be you just ordered the block heater for $35 And be done with it.
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+1
… or someone can decide that it is preferable–beyond all reason–to substitute a high amperage frying pan several inches below his oil pan.
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How do you get that number? Where does the lost heat go?
If he can form a fairly well sealed cavity much of the heat will stay around, air gap or no.
Otherwise, how could one bake a cake?
I’m not saying a fry pan makes a great block heater.
I’m just trying to reduce confusion about thermodynamics.
Am I the only one who thinks that this frying pan idea is a fire hazard ( of course this RG troll is always posting things just to stir things up ). I really would not leave something like this on and unattended .
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Used to work at refrigeration company. Our group designed air sourced HE and liquid sourced HE. Did you?
What is HE?
Helium (from Greek: ἥλιος, romanized: helios , lit. ‘sun’) is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2
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Too difficulto install.
Expen$ive.
This works well for now.
(Wonder when the skillet thermostat will fail.)
It also heats the transmission a little.