Engine Block Heater temps?

[rayray offroad]

hey guys i live in nj and have an 11 plug it in at night around 28-38 degree weather but when i get in the truck in the morning the temps for oil and coolant are only around 50-56 degree. now i used to have an 04 and temps in morning would be around 80-90 degrees is there something wrong with my heating element or are these new 6.7 not getting as hot as those 6.0. thanks guys and also please let me know what your temps are at?

[fdchief]

same here... when i have plugged mine in its usually around 60 degrees when i get in it in the morning according to my h&s....

[olypopper]

Your block heater is only going to heat your engine up so much. Here in Alaska we add pan, battery and transmission pan heaters. I wouldn't even bother plugging in at the temps you are plugging in at. Your wasting electricity. The only reason to plug in in those temps would be if you are short tripping lot's and need to have heat in the cab a little faster. These engines do heat up surprisingly fast.

These newer strokes seem to be happier starting in subzero temps than previous models.

[rayray offroad]

Hmmmm thank you

[mowdoc]

oly is correct, you don't need to plug in until it gets down to zero or something colder than you have now. The actual temps are in your owners manual for when you need to plug in. These newer diesels (all brands) are much better cold starters than in the past.

There is a certain advantage to having 50 degree oil at start-up though so I would not call it wasting electricity!!! You keep her warm and she will serve you well.

[van-boy]

i have an 05 and i plug it in when temps get below freeing. starts at 3 and i unplug when i leave around 5 or 6. the heaters were good enough to keep frost of the front windows. im thinking ford went to a cheaper heater to cut down on the 18 cents per truck.

[olypopper]

If it's oil temp/oil flow you are worried about then install an oil pan heater. Heating up with a block heater is only heating your coolant. Your oil is still cold in the pan until it has had a chance to cycle through the block and oil cooler and get warmth from the coolant there.

[fdchief]

i do it simply cause its nice to have a warm truck to get into on cold mornings .... and when i get a call for the fd at 3am and its 10 degrees outside its nice to hit the remote start before i throw my clothes on and by the time im in my truck is nice and toasty

[hood72]

My truck did not come with a block heater. I was really suprised about that in my experience every Diesel car / truck has had a plug in. I did notice when I bought mine from the Ford dealership there is a 400W and a 1000wand the only way to tell ( I guess other than going to the dealership and getting a printout of how your truck is equipped) is to look on the part of the heating element that a wrench fits onto its in very small writing but I saw mine said 1000w

[Lrdchaos]

If its below 35 I plug my truck in. Figure it's easier on the engine to have warm fluids.