Up here in Minnesota, block heaters are a way of life. Needless to say I'll install one. I used to drive a diesel car. I had a small heater, about 4 X 4 X 1 inch thick, with a very powerful magnet that I attached to the oil pan on very cold nights. (We're talking minus 15 degrees F) Does anyone use a heater like this? I figured the more heat the better.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(David Beale @ Sep 26 2007, 11:37 PM) [snapback]518320[/snapback]</div> A JC Whitney product: This one is on the transaxle oil pan. I'm using a regular Toyota block heater on the engine. Testing reveals they considerably shorten the warm-up. The small hole in the drain plug supports an on-going transaxle oil test. Bob Wilson
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(OutOfHere @ Sep 26 2007, 10:39 PM) [snapback]518299[/snapback]</div> I have a similar heater for my diesel powered tractor at my hobby farm, in addition to the coolant heater. From Spring to Fall I use Esso XD-3 15W-40 in the tractor and old Ford truck. For winter I run Esso XD-3 0W-40, a synthetic. At Wally World, a 4 litre jug of XD-3 15W-40 is around $11, the 4 litre jug of XD-3 0W-40 is around $20. Most diesel powered trucks/cars/heavy equipment run a much higher viscosity than 5W-30 used in gas cars. For example, your old diesel car probably ran a 15W-40, which is a *very* common diesel engine viscosity. According to my Esso Lubrication Handbook, their XD-3 15W-40 should not be used in ambient temperatures colder than -20 C, their primary recommendation for winter use is their synthetic 0W-30 or 0W-40. Otherwise, they recommend pan heaters. I use the pan heater on my tractor as it has a turbocharger, and even with the 0W-40 I prefer to preheat the oil. The tractor is almost 8 years old and runs perfectly, so I'm doing something right. For my Prius and my FJ Cruiser, Mobil 1 0W-20 is a superior winter motor oil. Back when Mobil used to publish detailed oil specs for Mobil 1, the newly-introduced 0W-20 had a MRV-BPT of around -60 F. The Mini Rotary Viscometer Borderline Pumping Temperature is the temperature at which the oil has "yield stress" of 60,000 centiPoise or greater. Mobil does still publish details on their regular motor oils. Their 5W-30 Drive Clean oil is rated 17,000 cP at -35 C. The 0W-20 used to be rated 12,000 cP at -40 C In the bitter arctic cold of Manitoba, NW Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta, NWT, and also MN, ND, SD, Alaska, etc, a synthetic 0W-30 or 0W-20 will provide good results even at a constant -40 C. A pan heater certainly helps, but I fear it would be diminishing returns. The EBH is a much better investment.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bwilson4web @ Sep 27 2007, 02:38 AM) [snapback]518370[/snapback]</div> Bob, Does your testing show that EBH shortens warm up (which I guess should be obvious), or specifically the transaxle oil pan heater? I imagine the latter would also be true but am just curious. Seems like a good idea.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Display Name @ Sep 28 2007, 08:02 AM) [snapback]518937[/snapback]</div> The EBH helps on the first warm-up and I've added a transaxle pan heater to further reduce warm-up losses. There is a UT Battelle report, ORNL/TM-2004/247, that maps transaxle energy loss versus temperature. Bob Wilson
