Nothing combustible nearby to catch fire.
But also have an interconnected smoke alarm in the garage. Works.
If none is home, car is gone.
make sure there are no rubber hoses or plastic nearby that can melt. or electrical wiring.
A block heater might be $200, get an estimate and stop this dangerous hillbilly I can do it with a goodwill frypan and blanket. What temp to you set the frypan?
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how about just getting an oil filled radiator style heater for your garage. it would be a lot safer.
350ºF. Neon lamp indicates wheheating.
Just under the oil pan and transmission. Away from the plastic splashield. Barely get warm.
Most people use the popular Kill A Watt meter. But there are other brands that don’t lose the stored usage when unplugged.
Considered an oil-filled radiator on itside to fit. But doubt it would work.
3-car tandem garage has a high ceiling so little heat would geto thengine.
Garage doors are not insulated.
This warms everything more than the magnetic oil paheater which burned out.
Attached to a rope so when I back out, it came off.
Plus $300 to $400 to install. The core plugs on the engine are difficult to access particularly on the all-wheel-drive models. Not worth the cost/benefit.
Yes buthis is a real meter inside a thick glass bowl with spinning rotor disk and cute little number-diahands. What could be.tter?
There is a way to calculate power usage by timing the rotor disk revolutions.
But I can just read the meter every day. Power company had us read our meters and mail a post card.
Absolutely nothing!
We had a big snow storm in my area and I lived in the country at the time and couldn’t get my car, a Ford Maverick, through the driveway to the garage, so I left the Maverick at the end of the driveway. Overnight, while the Maverick was sitting outside, the temperature dropped to -22 F (that is 22 degrees below zero). I got a call the next morning to help a colleague that had frozen pipes. I waded out to the Maverick, turned the key and the engine fired up. I let it warm up about five minutes before driving off. Now my 1971 Maverick had a conventional breaker point ignition and 10W-40 oil.in the crankcase. It was the better part of a week before I could shovel out the long driveway and drive the Maverick into the garage. The outdoor temperature remained well below zero, yet the Maverick started right up every day.
A couple years later, I moved into town and my house only had a carport. I had a 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass with the 260 cubic inch V8… We had a cold snap where the temperature dipped to 20 below at night and never got above -5 F during the day. I was able to start the Oldsmobile. The Oldsmobile did have a modern high voltage ignition. I had 10W-30 in the crankcase, and no trouble starting the engine in the morning or starting it to get back home after work.
Now I will admit starting an engine in sub zero weather may put extra wear on the engine, but I ran that Oldsmobile 240,000 miles in the 33 years I owned the car and I never had to add oil between 5000 mile oil changes.
Unless a person lives above the Arctic Circle, I don’t really see a nerd to keep a modern gasoline engine warm with electric heat sources overnight. Today’s engines use 0W-20.oil, are fuel injected and have high voltage electronic ignition. I don’t think today’s engines have to be kept warm with electric frying pans.
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Yes, Mobil1 0W-20 full synthetic.
No time to warm themergencyehicle’s engine. Highway speedsoon after start.
I think you are being overly concerned about the engine because it is an emergency use vehicle. I just hope it does not bite you in the butt with the electric frying pan. I am not sure how safe it is. what happens if it shorts out and causes a fire? I think you will be just fine without it. now if you want to do something useful. I would get a battery maintainer. something like this to prolong your battery. just a thought.
Unless the outdoor temperature is below zero, I don’t think taking right off and going highway speed is putting undue wear on an engine. Besides, the car is in a garage. How cold does it get in the garage? Do you have a thermometer in the garage so you can read the temperature?
I am looking for a big outdoor thermometer to hang in my garage that advertises Wolf’s Head motor oil.
UL requires thathe skillet circuithermofuse open if it gets too hot.
But I should put it on a 10-amp fuse if it ever doeshort. It is on a GFCI outlet.
Since the vehicle is driven every day, would the battery maintainer be of any use?
Would love to find an old Wolf’s Head Motor Oil red alcohol thermometer to go along withelectric meter!
Did someone have a clock with a neon border?
yes. just hook it up when not in use like at night, if you get a call just disconnect it. it keeps your battery at a full charge. it is like a trickle charge. its automatic and shuts when the battery is at its peak. they have them that you can hook it up to your battery with clamps or you can get one that plugs into your cigarette lighter port.
I have to disagree, my rule of thumb is if it going to be 15 degrees or less I use the block heater. Maybe old school, the theory was most engine wear occurs on cold starts.
I don’t think short circuits on a circuit properly protected by a circuit breaker or fuse cause fires. Overheated wires that are too small to carry the current are the main cause of fires. If 18 gauge wire rated for 7.5 amperes has a 1500.watt load, the wire is going to overheat, but a 15 ampere breaker won’t trip.
A GFI won’t protect a circuit. It trips when the current flowing into the GFI through the hot wire is more than the current flowing out through the neutral wire. If there is another path to ground the GFI will trip. However, it won’t trip on an overloaded circuit.
I would think that a battery tender to keep.the battery in a state of charge makes more sense than trying to keep the engine warm.
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@Barkydog The block heater may do some good as I realize that most wear on the engine occurs on a cold start. That is why manufacturers recommend 0W-20.oil. However, I started my 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass many times when the temperature dipped below 15th degrees and I drove the car 33 years and 240,000 miles and was running strong when I sold it.
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Just talking about my experiences in ND where when it gets to 20 or 40 below a block heater helped starting immensely, and in parking lots they had outlets to plug your block heater into. Of course engine wear was secondary to be able to start up and go, though I used the 15 degree or below to try and save engine wear when not in ND