Last night I was building myself a cool new heater cord charging pole ( I'll have pics later ) and it got me thinking .

Heater cord, or remote start, which is better ??

I got to thinking bout the whole 700 watts thing, and even on a 2 hour timer, it still costs money every day and it's only effective when you can plug it in. So I started thinking about the added benefits of a remote start. Sure, it costs money to have one put in ( or put it in yourself ) but after a while, it seems to be more beneficial ( cost effective ) to go the remote start route. Plus you can use it all the time, and your truck will be all warmed up when you hop in anyway.

Whadda ya think?

 

Mayfair,
Its all in cost and convienence. What do you want to spend and how bad do you need it??? Im the Do-It-Yourselfer type and dont feel like ripping the dash apart and installing the remote starter. I loved the one in my chevy but really dont want to go thru all the B.S. again. I am sticking with the heater. I plug it in when I am at home. I work 24hr shifts and cant plug in so I start my truck 10-15 min before the end of my shift. My truck is warmer when plugged in than when it idle's for 10 min.

Just my opinion, and you know what they say about them.

 

I would guess the amount of diesel burned at idle is of more cost than the electricity required to run your block heater. Plus this wet stacking issue we hear about. I have yet to buy a heater cord and do not have remote start. I ran my truck last night for 10 minutes with the idle held via the CC at 1100. After 10 minutes the temp gauge had not even moved. The heater was blowing fairly warm air though. I think outside temp was about +15. I would vote for the heater cord. Warming the truck up without even running the engine sounds like the best plan to me. I will be picking up a cord soon. I park in the garage at night so I haven't been real concern yet. Would like to have one though.

 

another thing is the oil is already warm and is more easily pumped through the passages when you fire the engine off. plugging it in is better in my eyes.

 

The whole post was meant to be a topic of discussion. I thought it was a prety cool / interrestig topic. Like I said, I just finished painting my warming pole. I'll try and get some pics when I get home if it's not raining too hard.

 

[sm=ttiwwp.gif]

You know, I just couldnt resist.


I'd like a remote start but I can't really justify the cost. I do the block heater myself.
For a 2 hour warmup, it cost me about .12 in electricity.
Hmm, at 200 bucks for a remote starter, I can do 1600+ warmups. That like 100 years of warmups for those of us in the South...

 

I have the heater cord and its nice. But there are those times I cant plug it in and wish I had a remote start. Just buy both[sm=gears.gif]

 

yeah, I agree... buy both. the remote start is cool and all but i'd imagine that having your motor closer to op temp is better and will get you under way quicker.

 

1 question. i plug my truck in at night but the temp guage hasnt moved at all when i start it. is this normal? it fires right up and the pig tails r only on for about 3-5 seconds. my heat isnt hot but its warm.


back on the thread topic. i have the heater cord. i want a remote start so at night i can leave the defroster cranked up and leave my truck plugged in so i can start it and have the frost/snow/ice off my windows by the time i go outside. the remote start is on my x-mas list so we'll see what santa brings.

 

Salute!

I have both block heater and remote start (later was given to me and installed free of charge by stealer as well as a few other goodies) the starter can be programed to start at cerntain ambient temps which starts the truck and allows it to run for specified time period. Long ago in another far away truck I had a circulating heater tied into the truck heater hose which heated and circulated the coolant, was real nice at -40deg to go out to truck hit the ingnition have the glow plugs(chevy) run about 10sec and was ready to go engine was warm and interior was nice and cozy

Carzykid, thats normal (re: temp gauge).