For some time now I wondered why Toyota hasn't put the block heater in the coolant thermos vs the engine block. I know its already part of the casting to have the pocket there (yes I know it has to be machined out too). But, wouldn't it make more sense to put it in the thermos? It could be a much lower power unit and/or run much shorter amounts of time. With it being insulated, the solar roof guys could heat up their coolant if need be in the winter when the solar roof isn't being used for cooling the car. I bring this up because I recently pulled an extra thermos from a salvage yard and I am thinking about doing it. I was hoping someone here has seen a cross section of the tank? I'm guessing for insulation its either a foam filled cavity or vacuum sealed. I'm looking for any info or suggestions on how to go about doing this. Are there any major hangups to doing this like the thermos is physically sealed and heating it would pressurize it?
Preheating the tiny bit of coolant in the thermos is no where near preheating the entire engine block in terms of helping the engine warm up.
What about heating the coolant in the radiator? This seems more effective to me than a block heater. I'm thinking about this as my Prius did not come with a block heater for some reason... http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...block-heater-available-in-priuschat-shop.html Thoughts? Thanks, Stockton
Well, in my 2008 I've now installed two block heaters and both have failed after 2 years each (very cheap plug at the heater IMHO). So I am certainly considering alternatives. If a unit like this can really end up circulating coolant as NoMoShocks says - I'm certainly interested in looking at this alternative.
I agree. Look into getting the block heater. Unless you really enjoy stress, aggravation and contortion, or maybe know someone who's done their own, I'd just bite the bullet and let the dealer put it in. Safer if anything goes wrong, too.
Was there enough slack left between the plug and the point where the cable was tied to the frame (to allow relative movement between the engine and the frame which I was told could be inches)?
