Does using block heater reduce wear on engine?

[TUDrewser]

I've spent the last two days searching and reading on this topic and there are a lot of posts with various views and opinions. Mainly, here's what I've learned/gathered so far:

• Maybe use the block heater in the 30's
• Def use the block heater below 30
• Apparently, the glow plug system is fine (in good working condition) for starting the truck well below zero, but plugging it in brings heat faster and gets the op temp up to normal range faster.
• Use a timer on the heater to start 2-3 hours before you'll need the truck
• Heater uses about 1000w, which (depending on rates) comes out to about $.10 an hour
• Diesel engines run less efficiently when cold (like any engine)
• Shorter commutes make more sense for pre-heating the engine (15-20 miles or less)

My question is this...does using the block heater in, say, 30-50 range, do anything to increase the longevity of the engine? In addition, could it possible help with fuel economy?

My thinking is this...because diesel (or all) engines are designed to work at a specific operating temp, the faster they get to that temp the better (for both mechanical longevity and efficiency). This obviously wouldn't matter at 50 and up because it doesn't take very long to warm up the engine. However, here in Phoenix we do have several months of 30-45 degree nights...not by any means cold, but $.20 seems a small price each night if it makes the engine happy. Seems this would especially be the case in a commute of 15-20 miles each way.

Thoughts?

[tomturf]

not sure bud? but def. some good hine sight on what you are thinking? some guys will help you here shortly

[IanThrones]

If your truck is plugged in when you start it the cold thick oil will thin out faster when it hits the warm block and this = less stress on the oil pump faster flow of oil which means better lubrication which means less engine wear so in my mind I will say yes it does increase engine life

[snakyjake]

Originally Posted by IanThrones

If your truck is plugged in when you start it the cold thick oil will thin out faster when it hits the warm block and this = less stress on the oil pump faster flow of oil which means better lubrication which means less engine wear so in my mind I will say yes it does increase engine life

But....what if you're using a 5w or 0w oil? It will be as thin as water on startup. AND...as the engine heats up, the oil thickens.

[SteveKran]

YES!!!!! We have a keepwarm system on both our 5898hp V12 diesel generators here at the nuclear plant. Here's a little bit of interesting trivia for ya...

The importance of the keep warm system is based on engine wear due to starts of the engine with its support systems not up to normal operating temperature. The manufacturer has published data on wear rates for engines without keep warm systems. On engines without prelube/keep warm systems, each start is equivalent to 30 engine hours of wear (assuming jacket water temperature < 86°F). The following data is given for engine wear equivalents with the keep warm system at various temperatures:

Jacket Water...........Lube Oil Temperature..............Equivalent Engine Wear
>86°F < 113°F...........>113°F....................................15 HRS
>113°F < 140°F.........>113°F....................................15 HRS
>140°F.....................>113°F....................................(.5) HRS


Obviously these are rough estimates and do not include fast starts and fast loadingwhich would increase the wear.

Pretty damn neat if you ask me. BTW, each diesel has 1 turbo per 6 cylinders. Each turbo is too big to fit in the back of my pickup!



Hope that cleared things up for ya

[Dirk]

Originally Posted by snakyjake

But....what if you're using a 5w or 0w oil? It will be as thin as water on startup. AND...as the engine heats up, the oil thickens.

Depends on the engine. Most people have no issues with 5w-40 rotella T. I have seen injector/icp issues with 0w or 5w oils in modded engines.


In general, using the block heater below 30* is a good idea. Otherwise, just allow it to idle longer before driving to make sure oil is flowing throughout the engine/turbo. The LPOP in the powerstroke is fairly high volume. So even cold 15w-40 will move fairly quickly. If you are up north in 0-15* weather, 5w-40 rotella is a smart choice.

[JohnO]

I don't know how true this is with diesel engines, but it is definitely true with gas engines.

A lot of problems occur not by starting an engine cold, but by driving it cold. It causes the engine to heat up rapidly, and certain parts of the engine get much hotter than others until the the engine finally reaches operating temperature. Different metals expand at different rates before they reach operating temperatures, and that tiny bit of difference can cause wear on moving parts as they get squeezed tighter than they normally would. I believe this is very true of tight fitting moving items like valve guides.

Plugging it in slowly warms the engine when it's not running. You don't get that sudden thermal shock of a lot of temperature change hitting just parts of the block, and you don't get the rapid temperature rise on several types of metal. I do know that people who have put a lot of miles on gas engines always list a slow warmup as something they do in winter.

I ran an analysis last winter when diesel was over $4. Found that plugging it in when the temp was as high as 40 still got me a net gain - saved enough on fuel when it didn't have to warm up as much to more than offset the cost of the electricity. A two hour plugin was just about right, cost me around $.25 in juice, saved me over a dollar in fuel.