As the titles shows.. I got a Kat's Magnetic heater from my grandpa... I plan on slapping it to my oil pan as a blocker heater...

it's 200watts and says it provides 300 degrees of heat at the contact area which is about 2x4 inches... has anyone used these and if so what should I expect? I'm kinda scared to use it over night.. does anyone want to tell me I'm stupid and should have bought a block heater? I got this free and would like to use it

 

i wouldn't think you'd need it unless its about zero or below. even then i'm not sure i'd use it overnight. seem like a waste of electricity and $$$.
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...9105_200339105

 

if i was going to use a heater, i'd probably put it on a simple timer like this from walmart, and set it to come on about 1 hour before i planned to leave every morning.

the other thing is to assume that you (or wifey, or child, or grandpa) will someday drive off with it still plugged in. so - position it so that it will disconnect with minimal damage to truck or house. lol.
http://www.abccables.com/24-hour-electric-timer.html

 

I plug my factory one in at night and leave it on simply because my apartment complex has electrical posts every two parking spaces, so I don't pay for that electricity.

If I was paying for it, say I was using a garage, then I would do what dhvaughan suggested, with the timer.

 

I've got 2 different heaters. One is an inline lower radiator hose, which I have plugged in for 4 to 8 hours before morning depending on how cold it is. And it works well.

I also have the magnetic heater that gets up to 250 degrees. I tried that one once connected to the bottom of the oil pan. It did not work at all for me.

I should let you know that I need this due to in cold weather my van won't start. So I needed to heat it up to get it to start up. I've also used a space heater pointed at the engine which worked. I recently was told to use a hair dryer on the computer which also worked too. So I now have a ECM on order. Hopefully this has been my problems. Don't no what your reason is for needed it, but the inline coolant heater worked best for my needs. But will use enough electricity. It wouldn't work under 3 to 4 hours depending on temperature outside.

 

So heating up the computer worked, great....hope the replacement solves your problem...make sure you update your thread so others will learn from your work..

 

The interior of Alaska gets cold enough to need multiple heaters: oil 150-300 watts, Block 650-825 watts, trans heater if Auto 300 watts, battery tender or battery blanket heater, and cab heater for the week and poorly dressed. They are used to different levels at different times of the year depending on the temps. If you are living someplace that experiences -20f for more than a couple weeks you might need winterization. Heating your oil pan will do very little to heat your entire block. If you have the Cummins you should already have the bare minimum a true block heater. Here we leave them plugged in overnight once it reaches 35 below, that’s Cummins. At 20 below I plug into a timer that puts it on for 4 hours before it cranks. Right now it’s 0 in the mornings. I have half the oil pan heat plugged in and have it heated for 2 hours and it starts like it was summer. If you live some place warm buy some good synthetic and a good battery and treat your hydraulic components gently when you start everything up in the morning (no sharp steering to get out of the drive way... it's common to hear that a guys popped a steering line or turbo line). As it is here, diesels need the heat because they will not even warm up very well until they start moving and working, high idling lubes the engine some but never gets it to operating temp. If you are going to get a block heater, as a firefighter I don't recommend the lower radiator or the circulation heaters. Small mistakes on installation or poor maintenance have resulted in plenty of responses on my part. Keeps me busy but it's not fun for you to explain to the insurance company.

 

I would say use it when it's below freezing, as stated above.
Lots of people have them here (electrical plugs hanging out of the grille). But it gets to -20 for about two weeks.
I think I might just bring my truck in the house and not drive during that time
Seriously though, I will probably need to get a block heater. We'll just have to see how it does. So far it been good starting with temps as low as 25. Twice the cranks of 100 degree weather (like four vs two), but still quick and 'perky?'.

 

I have the same one plus a block heater for my truck. I have pluged it in all night but i dont know if it will burn the oil or not.

 

Hey if you guys are tired of the cord hanging out of the hood, look what I found:
http://www.genosgarage.com/prodinfo....ber=WD-BHP9402