oil pan warmer vs block heater

What is the difference between a block heater and an oil pan warmer? How can you tell them apart? How much electricity do these use? And finally, is it worth the price in electricity to avoid cold starts on the jeep in -25 F weather? Thanks for everyone's help in advance, it is always appreciated.

 

The oil pan warmers I have seen around here are magnetic and attach to the bottom of the pan. As the name implies they will warm the oil. A block heater on the other hand goes into the cooling system somewhere. Either into a heater hose, or by replacing a freeze plug. Eletrical consumption depends on the watts of each unit and how long they are left on. Then there is a battery warmer. A heat pad that goes under the battery to warm it up.

Freeze plug type heater:


Link to Tank type and pan heaters
http://www.usahardware.com/inet/shop/home/automotive/engine_heaters/8130/list.htm

 

I have seen an oil heater that replaces the dip stick.
Are they worth it? Probably in extreme weather situations.

 

Better off to get a real heater.. I have seen many of those things burn the oil, and IMO they are a waste of moolah

 

Used to have one, worked like a champ. one thing though, get out of the habit of wiping the dipstick with a paper towel when you pull it out

 

It realy depends on how often you run your Jeep in the cold weather. With your water cooled engine, I recomend the block type heater. They keep the entire engine warm, not just the oil. On an air cooled engine your only real choice is the oil pan heater. I have used one of these on my VW Baja and it worked well. The one on my 53 Willys wagon with the buick 225 V-6 works even better! Both of these rigs were my Daily Drivers at the time I was using the heaters. If you only drive the Jeep on every other weekend, then maybe you could plug the heater in the night before your trip. The problem with leaving the heaters on all the time and driving the Jeep infrequently, is that these heaters do not warm the oil up enough to evaperate off the water that will condence in the pan overnight due to the oil being warmer then the air around it.
Here in the dry High desert it takes longer to get much water in the pan then it did when I was in Westeren Oregon.
So in answer to your question, If you drive it daily and the temperature is often below freezing, Yes they are worth their weight in gold. They will not only make starting easier, and the cabin heater work almost instantly, but they will drasticly reduce the wear on your cylinder walls. If you drive the Jeep infrequently, then only plug it in the night before you will drive it. A battery heater/blanket warms the battery and gives you almost all the amperage that the battery is rated at. This makes the Jeep start easier! Always warm the engine up before putting them under heavy loads.
One of my neigbors had a CJ-3 that he used to plow snow with. He never used a block heater nor did he warm the Willys up. He also rebuilt his engine every 3-4 years. hmmm.
I hope this answers your questions, Matt W.

 

If you are contending with sub-zero conditions you definitely need the heater (block or pan). Otherwise you aren't going anywhere until the spring thaw. Winter in Fairbanks you find yourself plugging them in any time you stop, cause it doesn't take long to freeze them otherwise. You see a lot of running vehicles in parking lots. (not as much now with the price of gas, but back in the late 60's and early '70's when I was still in highschool gas prices were bunches lower)

In an emergency-type situation, like you are out somewhere away from the local current bush, we used to take a small pan that would fit under the car, layer it with charcoal, light that off and when you got a good bed of coals going, slide it under the center of the oilpan for about 20 minutes. Would usually warm things up enough to get the oil to flow. (cold thickened oil will not let an engine even begin to turn over) Probably not the smartest thing in the world to do, maybe.R)

 

I had a block heater on my old Willys Utility Wagon. It having a 6 volt system, it wouldn't start in the winter up here at Tahoe. I used a plug-in timer for it and would have it come on a few hours before I would usually start it. The best part was I had heat from the heater almost instantly.

 

would something like this be good?
thank you for your time.
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-67261-24966-0/2?mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Febaymotors%2F1000-Watts-EXTERNAL-TYPE-ENGINE-HEATER%2C--%2523-171000_W0QQitemZ380095205758QQcmdZViewItem

 

Yes that would work fine. It goes into one of the heater hoses an warms the water while circulating it throughout the engine.

 

here we dont get truly subzero weather often at all.
so i think this would be enough.
besides the fact it is cheap n easy..........