So I figured out how to install my block heater

The radiator is one unit. You can see the side tanks to see the separate sections.

Be sure to reinstall the radiator plastic cover for summertime. It keeps the air flow going through the radiator more instead of over the top.

 

Here in Norway we have had a company producing complete pre-heating systems for cars for as long as I can remember, called DEFA. Yes - we do live in a cold country up here for about 4 to 5 months a year...

DEFA also makes heaters for the Prius - but normally they are installed by the dealers. If you are interested, here are a few links:

http://www.defa.com/heating3.php3?lang=3&ndid=

http://www.defa.com/doc/800/859.pdf

Henrik

 

tomd & all:

I removed the plastic cover and installed a 'shorty' air block in front of the radiator (a piece of "S-Core" (corrugated plastic - like cardboard but made of plastic) which spans nearly the width of the radiator and is about 5-6 inches short of the bottom of the radiator and secured it with one cable/zip tie to the area near the hood latch.

Question: I will be taking on a long trip to No. California where the day and nighttime temps are quite moderate compared with So. Oregon, is it advisable to remove the radiator block for long freeway driving as well as replace the radiator cover?

Thought, ideas, suggestions. Let 'em fly.

KennYOregon

 

if your going to be on the highway the whole trip take it out and put it back in on arrival home, I think it really makes a big difference in town and on the highway the whole drive train gets fully warmed up, the problem in town it never arrives at normal thermostat opening temp and can stand all the blockage to get and keep it at opening temp.

 

I agree take it out for a trip in warmer weather, unless you have a temperature gauge to really see what is needed. I use a scan gauge, and will soon switch to a can view for temperature monitoring.

The heat load varies over a very wide range depending on conditions. You need to be careful about engine cooling when:

ambient temps are over 50 degrees.
You drive at any sustained speeds over 65 mph
You drive at most any speed up sustaiined grades.
You need the AC on for any reason. With the condenser blocked it should be kept off.
You do repeated fast acceleration.

I have not had to adjust my radiator blockage except at temps over 70 but I rarely do sustained driving over 55 mph locally, and I have no mountains to climb.
And I leave some of the radiator unblocked. When it gets really cold like below 0 F I may block more, but would then set it for each day as needed. Till then my 75% blockage works pretty good for my current conditions.

 

Finally got my block heater fully installed! I removed the top cowl and wipers with motor, and put an extension cord through the firewall, so I can plug in the block heater and my cabin pre-heat with one plug! Time switch is ready on the house outlet too.

Now that I have accessed the block heater from both top and bottom, I think the install from bottom is easiest overall, unless you have some other reason for removing the cowl and wiper mechanism. But if you have large arms, there is plenty of room to do it from the top, with a bit of dissassembly. Can't see much either way.

So here are a few pictures of my winterizing:

Here's a picture of the block heater, or most of it! Had trouble aiming the camera.
At least you can see the clip that holds it pretty clearly.

[attachmentid=835]

Here's the extension cord going through the firewall. The foreground yellow wire
is just my work light:

[attachmentid=836]

And here's the carpets on my radiator and over engine front:

[attachmentid=841]
[attachmentid=837]

And a view of my pad on the oil pan (the white thing):

[attachmentid=839]

And no pre-heat for the engine intake this year, but here is where it would get the hot air:


[attachmentid=840]

 

I am looking at the pictures, and I am not sure that I have done the radiator blocker correctly. I used an old fold up front wind shield heat screen. Shiny side in cut to fit 30 inches by 11 inches. I put it behind the central support strut, right against the radiator. It took a bit of doing, but in front of the strut was a few wires going to a round disk thing. Did I put this in the right location. I have to say it is working quite well. On a short freeway run I went into 184 F on the ScanGage for coolant temperature, I run about 168 F around town and clearly faster heating of the ICE. Any thoughts?

 

Ideally it would be nice to leave the radiator alone, with full air flow, but direct it all out under the car away from the engine. It is the engine we want to keep warm. The radiator thermostat should keep the cold radiator from cooling the engine.

Unfortunately there is no practical way to do this with so many hoses and wires in the way of wrapping up the engine in insulation. Though I remember some poster in Japan stuffed insulation everwhere filling up the whole engine compartment. Pictures were here last winter.

So blocking the radiator lets it run warm, and also blocks the air cooling of the engine a bit, so it can stay warmer and warm faster. But it also blocks the AC condenser and the inverter cooler, both of which would like to stay cooler.

My coverage method leaves a gap I estimate at 20 percent or so right down the centerlne. Your method covers this more fully. I also leave some air at the bottom so the inverter can run cooler. I think your 11 inches if mounted at the top would do the same? I forget the measurements on the top radiator section.

Key is the scan gauge can watch the engine temp and store the max! If ti runs under 160 at typical speeds you want to cover more maybe. If it runs over 190 at high speeds and loads, you may want to unblock more, well before the fans turn on.

Ideal would be an automatic damper which I plan to add, but ran out of time this year, since I need to remove the bumper to install it.

So your speeds, loads, and ambient temps will determine how much to block with a fixed setting. In Canada or Alaska more blockage is needed than around Boston.

So if you can keep engine warmer driving slow around town and not overheat going up hills on the experssways, you have things set just right for you.

I find the carpets really easy to use, but I have thought of the heat shield method too. I don't think there is just one way to go here. Just monitor those temps, since the engine warms up really fast going at speed up a mountain!

 

I measured the radiator with a tape measure. As I recall it was 30†x 14†. I cut the screen to 29’ X 11†and covered the edges with foil tape punched some holes in the top edge. I had some heavy wire used to secure chain link fencing to the poles. They were the right length so after getting the screen in place I pulled it up at the top edge so the bottom 3 inches of the radiator is uncovered. I hope that is keeping the inverter cool. This morning it was 34 F outside and the car took quite a while to get to 157 F. Last night I had it on the freeway for a short trip. It was 50 F outside, traffic was heavy so I was driving 55-60 mph mostly 55, and the coolant temp got to 180 briefly mostly in the 170s. I have seen the coolant temp with out the screen at 190 while climbing a hill on the freeway at about 65 mph.

 

well I took the uggly route to plugging things off, total cost $6.57 CDN. How'd it work well just great today. Left home in the cold +3C with the block heater giving it it's best shot ICE temp after about 40 seconds was 21C by the time I got to where the car would normally go into S4 I was at 87C and that's about where it stayed for the whole commute to work. Highest temp was on the way home and my attack of the big hill and it got to 97C with MG2 inverter temp at 47C. This is all in the normal range of things. Now for the only down side to the whole thing is the OAT thermistor is in the warm zone so doesn't read properly, said it was 15C when I know damn well it was 3C. I can live with that. Up side, heater just cranks out the heat. What did I do? stopped at the local building supply store and bought 1 1/2" pipe insulation and cut it to length and stuffed in the grill openings. Yup butt uggly but works really great. My car has lips. I'll trim them a bit this weekend so it's not so blattently uggly but there there till spring.

 

So, we, Japanese, did block the front grill as I wrote post#130 on this thread.

Please find the attaced picture how we did.

Ken@Japan

 

hdrygas,

Be nice to get inverter temp readings. When I covered things up last year I checked what I could with temperature meters.

for the engine side note the following temperatures from the service manual:

(section 16)
water valve opening temp 80-84 C 176-183 F
water valve full open lift checked at 95 C 205 F
water valve fully closed at 77C 171 F

cooling fans start to run at 100 C 212 F approx (ac off)

 

Yow!! warm_room.jpg is *hilarious*! Warm, cozy, snuggly HSD.
.
I see you've got a warm-air redirect hose in there too... looks
very similar to mine.
.
_H*

 

Well it is clear that this would be easier than what I did. There appears to be a lot of holes under the engine will that allow air to come up into the compartment?

 

Ken, if that fiberglass insulation you stuffed into the engine compartment??? If not, could you please advise. Also is that a windshield sunshade and do you use it as a thermal blanket and drape it across the engine? Please advise.

Again, thanks to all for the pictures, suggestions, trials and the funny butt ugly Prius Lips story Frank.

Thanks again for a great board.

KennYOregon

 

It is a sponge material in the engine compartment.

You're rigjht. The blanket is used to cover whole engine room.

Ken@Japan

 

Frank:

Hehehe paint them red!

That's a good tip. I've already cut a piece of canvas for the part of the grille below the bumper on my '04. I was trying to figure out how to do the top slits and the pipe insulation will work great.

jay

 

I would be very worried about stuffing so much insulation around a motor, unless it was operated in Arctic conditions. Wouldn't Mineral Wool be a lot safer than fiberglass?

Would it even be desirable to have insulation around the inverter? I thought the inverter was supposed to run a tad on the cool side anyway.

 

I think so too.
But, the temperature is controlled up to 50C, so the sponge material is not bad.

Again, it is controlled up to 50C as same as in summer time we observed.
There is a gear train in that area, and we know it is better to keep the gear train warm to reduce the power loss.

Ken@Japan