So I figured out how to install my block heater

Ken, I have been thinking about your post. I saw the pictures of your mod. I wonder if all that insulation in the engine compartment restricts the flow of air through the radiator and engine compartment both. If air can not get out of the radiator is that not in the end is it not the same as blocking the radiator? Enlighten me. What is the difference?

 

It is also important to avoid the ICE cooling down while engine is shutting down or vehicle is parking.

Ken@Japan

 

OK I am converting from C to F, but the temp that I get for full hybrid is 157 or 69.4444. What controls the HV ECU the coolant temp or the catalytic converter or both. With the engine compartment stuffed with insulation does that not slow the air flow through the radiator? I am trying to understand this. I am doing better with the radiator blocker on the upper 2/3 of the radiator. Help me understand the difference in your experience and mine! I agree with the cool down issue and it really causes problems for me during the day when I can not plug in my block heater during the day. My employer is not supportive, thinks it is a joke that I want to improve my M.P.G. with my block heater.

 

Sure!
The coolant temp is controlled by the thermostat and the radiator as same as the conventional ICE.
We know the Stage-2 is over above 157 F or 70 C, then goes to Stage-3.
As I mentioned the thermostat starts to open at 82 C, the coolant does not go to radiator until that temperature. The radiator is still cold and does nothing until 82 C.

Hope this helps,
Ken@Japan

 

One thing I notice blocking my radiator is it works great on my commute. But if I take a longer trip it works for like 1/2 hour and then the radiator coolant gets hot and the cooling is diminished so driving fast risks some overheating if you don't watch carefully.

If I find the right insulation, I may try out Ken's method next year. Just haven't found anything yet I feel comfortable stuffing into the engine compartment yet. But I do have a bit of that with my pad on the oil pan. So this year I can block a bit less of the radiator. I am staying warm enough so far with about 50% of radiator blocked.
Rest of insulation on the engine.

I adjust radiator block as needed to insure I stay under 192 degrees F on the coolant temp. I hope the inverter is OK and assume it will be with 50% of it's radiator always unblocked and temps below 50 deg. F

Currently with temps in the 30 to 40 range, I get 190 at 65 mph on flat highway, and maybe 150 deg driving in town at 30-40 mph, after warm up. Seems about best I can do without an adjustable louver. If I could keep engine warm and not block the radiator there'd be much less to worry about.

 

If you feel fine about blocking the radiator, I'm fine too.

However, let me comment some...

In the old days, there are a lot of problems about thermostats, then people block their radiators to avoid over cooling of the coolant.
Now, if the thermostat works well, there is no need to block the radiator.

Please refer to following page...
http://www.samarins.com/glossary/thermostat.html

Any opinions are welcome.
Regards,
Ken@Japan

 

Tom:

Although I will probably not try stuffing insulation in the actual engine compartment, I would probably go with mineral wool. As far as I can tell mineral wool resists flame. I sure wouldn't try a fiberglass batt product, it will melt at higher temps and make a huge mess.

I made a winter front at the hobby farm last week: it's a rubberized felt product commonly used in paper machines to transport the fibre in the wet end. It has to be changed periodically and I got a couple of rolls.

I have the lower grille blocked off with that black rubberized stuff and from a distance it blends right in. I used some black electrical wire to secure it and I'll have to use something different next winter, it looks fugly up close.

Sometime this week I'll swing by Home Depot and pick up a length of 1/2 inch pipe insulation to block off the upper grille, as per Frank Hudon's suggestion. I haven't noticed much difference around the city, but on the highway I get a LOT more heat out the vents.

If you don't have a scantool or mechanical gauge - and I don't - it's important to block off the exterior of the grille, not the actual radiator itself. This way if things do get too warm the electric fan can still turn on and try to cool things off.

jay

 

Thanks Jay, for the mineral wool idea. I like the concept of insulating just the engine.

I block currently about half my radiator, partly so if the fans ever come on I will get adequate cooling.
I figure half at winter temps should work better than the whole radiator at summer desert temps.

 

OK I am getting it. The radiator is doing nothing until we get over 80C 179.6F call it 180. I do not have the lower 1/3 of the radiator blocked so hopefully the inverter will be cooled. I do not do much freeway driving so I have not seen temps over 196 F 91.1 C. I am going to have to put more thought into this. As Lewis Carroll said "curiouser and couiouser"

 

Just ordered my block heater last night. I think that I'm going to try to install it from the top since I don't have any safe way of getting the car high enough off the ground. I'm sure I'll be consulting this thread quite often right up to and during the installation. After that perhaps a radiator block. Depends I suppose on how effective the block heater is at improving the MPG. I have a short commute (about 5 miles/15 minutes) and I've noticed a pretty substantial drop in the 1st 5 minute block on the consumption screen when it's cold out. It hasn't gotten really cold but morning temps are in the high 20s and low 30s.

 

I've learned that the hard way while on the road for work and staying at motels. I eventually got a little plug-in outlet checker.

You may want to consider those commerical electrical cords with lighted ends. I think it's a small neon bulb inside. As soon as you plug the cord in, both ends light up and you immediately know the outlet is live.

They are a bit pricey though.

 

Sweet. Yeah, this last week we've had a cold snap and I'm seeing 25-35 MPG in the first 5 minutes. It's usually 50-75 MPG the second 5. That's just a function of traffic lights and lady luck.

 

It's been getting really cold here at night and I've been using the block heater almost every day.
On the days that I use the block heater, I usually average about 30-40 MPG within the first 5 mins and greater than 50 MPG there after.
On the days that I have forgotten to use the block heater, I usually average 15-25 MPG within the first 5 min, 25-45 MPG in the 10 minute range, and finally 50+ MPG in the 15 minute range.

The other added benifit to the block heater is the cabin warms up _much_ faster than normal.

I'm getting my watt-meter connected to it tomorrow tonight to see what it draws right after the car was driven and then what it draws over night.

EDIT: I forgot the watt-meter at work, again, so I'll get those readings tomorrow night.

 

Cool. I'll be interested to hear what you have to say on that subject. I was assuming that I'd also get a timer to control the EBH.

 

Does anyone know if a 230V version of this heater is available for Europe? Presumably it must be offered in Finland etc...?

 

Apparently, DEFA of Norway offers one. I'm unsure of the mains configuration, more than likely it ships with a bare end cord and you have to supply the proper mains plug.

http://www.defa.net/heating.php3?lang=

 

OK!
The Wattmeter is connected. It doesn't seem to matter what the engine temperature is... the EBH draws 408-412 Watts.

The ambient temperature was 0.6 C. A DS2438 was used to capture the temperature.

Here's the Wattmeter that I used:
Smart-Watt
It was calibrated to the Radian Watt hour Standard -> %0.01 error. The Smart-Watt is no more than 0.5% inaccurate.

 

Very cool. Thx for the data. Now the question is how often will it run. I assume that it shuts off when the engine reaches 47 deg C (isn't that the target temp). The other interesting thing would be for a given OAT how long does it take for the engine to reach the target temp.

 

That smart watt device is cool. Checked out the web site. I didn't see any pricing there. What does one of those guys cost? So do you have a wireless hub or router in your garage?