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Any reason not to get the blocker heater?

Raven257

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It's a short term benefit (like shutting the engine off at signal lights) but it works. There's a reason manufactures say not to warm your vehicle up-start and go. At cold temps everything is worse-mileage, emissions and wear and tear. This morning it is 13deg F and I had some luke warm air at 2 miles- normal operating temp about 8 miles-slight down hill from my house (my car doesn't have a block heater).

The original question was, is there a reason to not get the block heater? I say no reason at all. Is it needed-no, does it hurt-no, can it help-yes.
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ShadowsPapa

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The original question was, is there a reason to not get the block heater? I say no reason at all. Is it needed-no, does it hurt-no, can it help-yes.
To the OP -
There's a good summary for you. Should be enough to make a decision on it based on your personal circumstances.

Don't worry or think about future value - base it on the hear and now.
 

wannajeep

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Based on your location (and even occasional trips to CO) I doubt you need it, even on a diesel. However if you've decided you do need or want it, I'd find out if the block heater option includes the heating element that the power cable plugs into, already installed in the block.

If all you need is the cable I think the Mopar one is around $45 so save yourself some money. BUT if you also have to buy and install the heating element, the $100 factory option is well worth it. Otherwise the install might require draining coolant, removing a freeze plug from the block, installing the element, refilling/burping coolant, time spent, and cursing while trying to reach hard to reach places under the hood.

If you need it, I'd guess the $100 is money well spent.
 

ShadowsPapa

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Based on your location (and even occasional trips to CO) I doubt you need it, even on a diesel. However if you've decided you do need or want it, I'd find out if the block heater option includes the heating element that the power cable plugs into, already installed in the block.

If all you need is the cable I think the Mopar one is around $45 so save yourself some money. BUT if you also have to buy and install the heating element, the $100 factory option is well worth it. Otherwise the install might require draining coolant, removing a freeze plug from the block, installing the element, refilling/burping coolant, time spent, and cursing while trying to reach hard to reach places under the hood.

If you need it, I'd guess the $100 is money well spent.
So how much is the cursing worth? Some will do that part for free........
 

wannajeep

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So how much is the cursing worth? Some will do that part for free........
LOL!

Last time I did the cursing it was installing a brake controller under the JK dash. Next time, I'll remove the front seat entirely, no joke. But there probably won't be a next time :D
 

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Hopefully I’m right around the corner from a diesel test drive so I can finally make a choice and join the club one way or the other.

is there any downside to spending the $100 on a factory block heater on either engine? Seems like a broader audience when it’s time to sell even if I never need it

edit I should add I special ordered an LJ with it a long time ago and it was replaced under warranty for leaking.

I own a condo in Big Bear, CA which almost never gets below 15*
Family owns a home in CO at 9300ft. I’ve only been there once in the dead of winter but there’s an slight chance it could happen gain. Below zero happens there.
@Op I'd say if you get the Pentastar then the block heater is just the difference between being warm 2 minutes vs 4 minutes down the road. It really doesn't make a huge difference for spark ignition engines.
However, If you get the 3.0 eco diesel, then I'd always get the heater. An engine based off compression ignition can use all the help it can get on cold mornings. I might be biased because I work with shitty old Detroits that take a blow torch and half a can of aether to start if it's below freezing, but personally if Im getting a diesel, it's going to have a block heater.

Only downside to owning one is sometimes the coils can burn out, and obviously the electric bill if you use it a ton.
 

ShadowsPapa

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@Op I'd say if you get the Pentastar then the block heater is just the difference between being warm 2 minutes vs 4 minutes down the road. It really doesn't make a huge difference for spark ignition engines.
However, If you get the 3.0 eco diesel, then I'd always get the heater. An engine based off compression ignition can use all the help it can get on cold mornings. I might be biased because I work with shitty old Detroits that take a blow torch and half a can of aether to start if it's below freezing, but personally if Im getting a diesel, it's going to have a block heater.

Only downside to owning one is sometimes the coils can burn out, and obviously the electric bill if you use it a ton.
It's the difference between oil there right now, and metal parts stressed by the cold. Even steel is stressed at sub-zero temps.
It's not a matter of "how fast it warms" or having it start easily, it's a matter of oil being warmer, getting to the parts faster, less strain due to the cold metal parts.
If I lived further north, I'd have gotten it, especially if I had to park it outside most of the time. I HOPE to get it inside eventually, so didn't order it, plus the fact that when it's extremely cold, at this point, I simply say I'm not going anywhere!

Anyway, that's why I ask people - where do you live, where will the truck be, that sort of thing.
 

kd1yt

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I had the Ecodiesel in a 2015 Ram 1500. As others have mentioned- and I can confirm that this was the case on the Ecodiesel in the Ram, the actual heater is already installed in every engine - it's not worth their bother to build/track some engines with it and others without it (assuming that they carry that over to the JT, which I assume they most likely will). So you will likely just need to buy and connect the (plug-on) cord.

I never did get around to buying a cord for the block heater for my Ram Ecodiesel, and it started reliably right down into some of the coldest weather here in north central VT (15-20 below zero F, actual, not windchill, is nothing unusual).

The one thing I did find with the Ecodiesel in the Ram was that, like most diesels, its efficiency means that it's very slow to warm itself up compared to a gasoline engine- not only slow to warm up, but possibly, in very cold weather, never reaching/ holding peak normal operating temperature- unless you are pulling a load or put on some kind of grill cover. My ordinary commute is 5-7 miles and in very cold weather, without a grill cover, it was 4-5 miles before substantial heat started coming out of the engine. An aftermarket grill cover solved that nicely. But there were some issues with the Rams that unless you got & used the right kind of grill cover that allowed some minor airflow in the right places, there was risk of damage to something (can't remember details, maybe the intercooler). The small V6 diesel with a not too massive block heats itself up better than other diesels I've had with much more massive iron blocks, like 5.9 or 7.3, but it's still just something to be aware of if you have never had a diesel before and expect to be spending time in cold climates. If you want fast heat (and, in other words, usable defrost), that may be a reason you may want the option that a block heater gives you. No need to run it nonstop overnight, a timer or remote control to turn it on an hour in advance will do what you need.
 

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https://www.justforjeeps.com/engine-block-heater-kit-jl-wrangler-jt-gladiator-.html

Studies show about 3-4 hours are all that's needed.
The idea is to warm the entire block and internals, not just make defrost work faster. It's for less stress on the engine mostly. Not human comfort but that's what people have turned it into with the internet.

I'd find it interesting that in 5 years a person takes their JT to the dealer with a leak and the dealer says "we have to replace your block heater" and you go - but I don't have one.........
With computerization it's nothing for them to have it in some and not in others, especially gas engines where it's less likely to be ordered in the lower 48. To include something in every gas engine where only 10% would likely order it is expensive. Car companies have been saving money by not installing items, using their computer tracking and build sheets for decades.
Could be wrong but I'll bet it's not included with every gas engine. That makes no sense.
 

kd1yt

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https://www.justforjeeps.com/engine-block-heater-kit-jl-wrangler-jt-gladiator-.html

Studies show about 3-4 hours are all that's needed.
The idea is to warm the entire block and internals, not just make defrost work faster. It's for less stress on the engine mostly. Not human comfort but that's what people have turned it into with the internet.

I'd find it interesting that in 5 years a person takes their JT to the dealer with a leak and the dealer says "we have to replace your block heater" and you go - but I don't have one.........
With computerization it's nothing for them to have it in some and not in others, especially gas engines where it's less likely to be ordered in the lower 48. To include something in every gas engine where only 10% would likely order it is expensive. Car companies have been saving money by not installing items, using their computer tracking and build sheets for decades.
Could be wrong but I'll bet it's not included with every gas engine. That makes no sense.
I was [mistakenly] assuming that the question was in relation to someone planning on getting an Ecodiesel JT- I was assuming that because I can't remember hearing anyone putting or using a block heater in a gasoline engine since I put one in a '91 Ford Ranger that I owned when I was the caretaker of a place on a dead end road at 2300 ft up on a ridge in Strafford, VT that faced straight into the usual direction of severe oncoming weather. I expect you are correct that the block heater's working parts aren't included in a standard 3.6 Pentastar gas engine.
 

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Mr._Bill

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Where does one buy the oem heater? I can't find it
I looked for a while, wanting one for my truck. I looked at the install instructions I found for one of the Pentastar V6 versions, and decided it was a lot of work to add. I think the time estimate was four hours. I decided to try one of these instead.
Zerostart 3.5 x 4.25 3400063 (Wolverine Model 16) Silicone Pad Engine Oil, Transmission, Reservoir and Hydraulic Fluid Heater, 3½" x 4½" | 120 Volts https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PM87W3I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_fuhJMHhY1pCie
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