Real quick oil pan heater question....

Northof60

Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2008
Location
Whitehorse, YT <--Just South of the middle of now
TDI
2002 Jetta
I live in the Yukon. I have an Oil Pan heater, Battery Pad and Battery Blanket. The car gets plugged in any time it gets shut off for an extended period of time. If a plug is not available it gets left running. Our average Temp this winter has been -30C. I have only had two issues to note.

One: The cord on the ends of the plug are very fragile when cold and they break. The solution is to always have a spare cord end available ($2 at your local electrical shop) and monitor the cords. Which leads to issue two.

Two: The wife didn't plug it in one evening @ -35 and attempted to start it in the AM. Needless to say I was replacing a starter @ -35.

I agree with the statement "Whatever it take to get it running in the morning" My focus with my setup is to keep oil warm so it flows at startup and keep the battery warm so I have the power to crank it over. The heated seats take care of the 'comfort' part of the equation until the cabin is up to temp.

Just my IMHO from a guy who has two seasons. Winter and Not winter.:)
 

Jack Frost

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2007
Location
Rural Manitoba
TDI
2009 Clean Diesel
Being a former Winter-peger in Snowy-toba, I have some experiences to add.

The ideal situation is to have both a coolant heater and an oil pan heater. But if I was stuck with only one, I would choose only to warm to block. I have tried it all ways and done measurements with laser thermometers. Time and time again, I found that oil pan heaters loose a lot of heat to the air and very little gets into the block. Net result is that the car does not start well at very cold temperatures. They are great for warming the oil and that never hurts. But, even synthetic oils congeal at cold temperatures - not just as much as others.

However, giga watt coolant heaters need some caution. A 1500 watt heater (12.5 amps) is putting a 15 amp cirucuit on its hairy edge. A 15 amp circuit is only intended to carry 15 amps for short periods of time. Should you plug a 1500 watt heater into a shared outlet at work, and someone else puts in their 600 watt heater, a fuse should or might trip and you both will be calling the tow truck.

Another point. Just because your block is warm does not mean one can forget about the effects of cold weather on your car. I once started up when it was -40 C. Backing out of the driveway, a hydraulic hose exploded as I turned the steering wheel. With a warm block and a warm interior, it is too easy to forget that the rest of your car is lubricated with molasses.

That said, a high amperage heater when used with a timer to bring the engine block up to a normal summer tempertures (say 20 C), will consume vastly less electricity than a smaller one that operates continuously. To use these heaters for anything more is only a comfort issue. From your motor's point of view, summer has become your cold starting season.
 
Joined
Jun 1, 2008
Location
Chicagoland
TDI
2004 golf
IMO, a frostheater warms the oil a bit. And it warms the head, actually the head becomes HOT to the touch. The tranny gets warm too, apparently as shifting is instantly smooth and not cold/notchy/

And as for gelled oil in the galleys, im not so sure... Hot oil "runs off" hot engine parts pretty quick and im sure after a few hours most of the oil is drained back into the pan.

Example, I can check my oil a few minutes after shutdown, and it will read visibly lower than if I let it sit for a few hours. I used a magnetic oil pan heater years ago on a different car, but it just didnt do much at all. Seems possibly safer than an adhesive one.
 

XXX_er

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2008
Location
northern B.C.
TDI
2002 golf
Northof60 said:
One: The cord on the ends of the plug are very fragile when cold and they break. The solution is to always have a spare cord end available ($2 at your local electrical shop) and monitor the cords. Which leads to issue two.


Just my IMHO from a guy who has two seasons. Winter and Not winter.:)
I heard it was either winter or getting ready for winter ?

On that note there are extension cords and there are extension cords ,I find you can't get the plug into some of them at -25 .

I got a a nice 50fter from princess auto that is always easy to plug into and whatever material the cord is made of it stays more pliable at low temps .

A plug-in circuit tester is a good thing to have if you are on the road & plugging into strange places
 

TDI March

Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2010
Location
Grimsby, ON
TDI
2006 Golf
Sorry if I am beating a cold dead horse but I was wondering if the consensus that coolant heaters are preferred to oil pan heaters remains.
 

coalminer16

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 11, 2008
Location
Central Wisconsin
TDI
Golf 2004
Yes. Several TDI's have started on fire from the poil pan heater turning the plastic belly pan or other build up in the area on fire. Get a frost heater and be done with it.
 
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