I have the oem engine block heater on my PIP. Does anybody know what's the wattage of this heater? Thanks!
I installed one and I'm fairly sure it was rated at 400 watts. I recently bought a small Kat's 150 watt oil pan heater, p/n 24150. I haven't installed it yet. I plan on using a short 3-way plug behind the grill to run both on the one connector I have tucked in the grill slats just below the front license plate. I use the OEM heater with a timer set for a 4 hour warm up. SO NICE !!! And good for the car.
Thanks for your answers! I think I'll buy a kill-a-watt to verify that but 400W would be fine for me if I want to use it with a 900w car heater (sold at canadian tire) both plugged on the same timer (rated at a 1850W capacity).
It's been too cold to install this stick on heater. It calls for a certain min. temp when installing, then sealing the edges with high temp silicone sealant. I don't have a heated garage. I hope to get this done at a friends garage this winter..... But you can't monitor oil temp to see its effectiveness. But I sure enjoy the block heater! It's good for engine life, fuel economy,,, and me !!
Ah. Ok thanks for the info. I am just getting into all this. Purchased the block heater from PriusChat last week. Purchased the Garmin ecoRoute HD last night. Blocked my grill with pipe insulation today.
PZ, Nice! With ecoRouteHD at least you will be able to see the effectiveness of the block heater and you'll be able to see when it's time to remove the grille blocks. And from what I've read the fuel economy page on the ecoRoute will get more and more accurate with each 'At the Pump' input from you. The car's display never agrees with real calculated figures. It will tell you how much it will cost you to go to 'Granma's' house, and how much you spent on fuel on each trip. The one thing I don't like is the analog gauges have a limited selection. I wish I could have 'instantaneous fuel consumption' as one of the small gauges. But Garmin is good about SW updates,, so there is hope..
Thanks! Watching the engine temperatures are exactly why I am adding the ecoRoute HD. I have noticed the Prius factory mileage and fuel calculations seem to be a little generous on their part. I have looked into the ScanGauge and Torque app as highly recommended but am already using a Gamin that is luckily compatible with the ecoRoute HD. My Garmin is mounted on a ProClip left mount. I use iPhone. So the most economical upgrade for me to watch temperatures is the Garmin ecoRoute HD at $89 on Amazon. Also, adding ecoRoute HD wont clutter up my dash more as I will not need to add a display, so it just made sense to me to go that route. I do have concerns I won't be fully happy with my gauge options but I am willing to give it a try and hoping they will add upgrades as you mentioned Garmin is good for. I would like to turn off my reverse beep though.... From what I've gathered the Garmin doesn't do that?
Right, you need the Torque app ($5) and an OBDII-Bluetooth adapter, < $20 on amazon and a smart phone or tablet. It takes some time to get it all configured, but it is worth the effort to get rid of that bleepin beep.
