I'm looking for feedback regarding the block heater, as I live in central IL and park outside. Specifically, I'm looking for information regarding:

1. The benefits (FE, engine longevity,etc),
2. The cost (what have people been paying, and where), and
3. The installation (didn't some guy on this forum have a terrible time trying to install one?).

Thanks for any help!

jds

 

jds;

1- If you are concerned about FE, and engine longevity then let me assure you that the topic of a block heater warrants no additional research or data. This "horse" of a topic has been beaten to death for decades. For fuel efficient cars (like ours) it is an absolute necessity and common sense. Please, do yourself a favor and get one!

2- It varies from case to case. The best and most cost effective path is to get it online and then have your dealership install it. If you are concerned about having a Honda warranty attached to the part then buy it straight from Honda. If you are a Canadian then you should have gotten this when you purchased your HCH-2.

3- If you want the job done right, have the dealership do it. In the other hand - if you prefer to do it yourself - the online parts retailer will often give you reasonably good instructions on how to properly attach the block heater. This also includes info on the factory strap points so that you can safely route the power cable around the moving parts.

Look, the cost of powering up the block heater is negligible when compared to the benefits obtained in winter driving. Use a wall mounted timer (like the ones sold by Intermatic) and this way you can have your car properly warmed up 3-4 hours before your morning drive out - all without wasting too much electricity.

Heck, I even have the car plugged in during the fall and spring. The bottom line is that if you want to polute less, consume less gas and have a longer living healthy engine you will get and use a block heater.

Cheers;

MSantos

 

Thanks for the info MSantos, that's exactly the sort of stuff I needed.

I thought of a #4. Do you (or does anyone) have a picture of the plug? Where does it come out? From the grill?

 

Sure. I've posted a few pics just to give you an idea.

un-plugged


plugged-in


Engine wiring. Sorry the lighting was not ideal inside the garage.


And here's an energy saving idea - the block heater timer.



Cheers;

MSantos

 

Thanks again. I think I'll have the dealer do when I get my oil change next month.

 

Just one thing to add. While I love my block heater and use it regularly, the cost of the electricity will outweigh the gas savings. I've been keeping data for 8 months, and while I haven't compiled it all yet, I can assure you that even at 9 cents per killowatt-hour, which is what I pay, the payback isn't there. In many parts of the country the electric cost is higher. But having the almost instantaneous warmup is great, and the increased gas mileage does help to defray the cost of the electricity.

Btw, my heater pulls 400 watts, in case you want to figure roughly what it will cost you to run it for 3-4 hours per night.

 

Yes, it is possible that it may not pay for you.

It certainly depends on how low the temperatures in your area get and the nominal cost of electricity in your area. I and many others pay much less for electrical energy than what we pay for petrol and natural gas - so unlike in your case - block heaters often do make sense.

Nevertheless, we have been making this math for several decades both at a federal and provincial level and even today, the benefits far outweight the costs - particularly for vehicles with smaller engines. For the last 15 years we've been advocating the use of block heaters in order to get people to reduce the tendency to idle their vehicles and increase the urban winter pollution levels.

I believe Jordan was concerned about fuel economy and engine life. With these objectives in mind (plus a few others I mentioned) a block heater will certainly pay off for him as it does for most of us - especially if used strategically with a timer.





Cheers;

MSantos

 

Even IF the electricity costs are a few cents higher per month (I don't see how it could be much more than that):

Would you rather pay your local electric company a few more cents, or would you rather pay some Billionaire Saudi Prince who has 57 diesel Mercedeses in his garage and 5 billion dollars in his checking account?

 

I think I am going to have a block heater installed on my 2006 Honda Civic and maybe my 2005 Honda Odyssey as well. The days that we have had cold weather, my fuel economy took a big hit. The dealer where I bought my HCHII quoted me $120 installed. I could probably even get this a little bit cheaper from them. I would set up a timer as well.

 

I've had my heater for the last tank. This is not a clear factual comparison - But - previous tank was about 50 mpg. Last tank today about 53 mpg. It's been 10-20 degrees colder on my last tank. Work commutes and a few longer trips on both tanks. Car will go up to 9 bars on the temp gague in about 1/2 to 3/4 mi. with block heater. It used to take about 5 miles. It's warm in the car a lot sooner. My lifetime mpg went up .1 mpg instead of down with the colder weather (over 30 tanks). I hope this helps.