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EcoDiesel Block Heater Installation

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I'm still waiting for the block heater. Should be here this week. Already got the electric cord. I'm going to use a timer on the outlet for when I want to heat the motor.
That's what I've done in the past. I'm sure you're vigilant but make sure you get a good quality timer, with some headroom. My uncle's garage and half his house burned down from a faulty (and properly rated) timer. Took his '67 C10 with it.

Around here it's about 5-6¢/hr to have it plugged in.
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That's what I've done in the past. I'm sure you're vigilant but make sure you get a good quality timer, with some headroom. My uncle's garage and half his house burned down from a faulty (and properly rated) timer. Took his '67 C10 with it.

Around here it's about 5-6¢/hr to have it plugged in.
Thanks for the heads up.
The timer I'm using is the same one that I used for the pool filter. That pulled a lot.
 

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How many amps does the block heater pull? Sounds like a lot?
 
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How many amps does the block heater pull? Sounds like a lot?
Not much, it's labeled 400 watts. I'm not an electrician but at 120 volts that should be about 3.5 amps, somebody can correct me if I'm wrong. I've been trying to find my electric meter to plug in and see what it actually pulls but I seem to have misplaced it with all my 10 mm sockets
 

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Not much, it's labeled 400 watts. I'm not an electrician but at 120 volts that should be about 3.5 amps, somebody can correct me if I'm wrong. I've been trying to find my electric meter to plug in and see what it actually pulls but I seem to have misplaced it with all my 10 mm sockets
3.5 Amps is right and it will fluctuate +/- 0.1 Amp as it cycles. It heats up to 100* +/- 4* and turns off and on as needed.
 

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Installed the block heater in my diesel today. Simple job uh. Unscrew the block plug and screw in the block heater. Figure 45 minutes tops. Ehh 2 hrs later. I'm done. Got the old plug out with no problems. Start to thread the new block heater in. Didn't feel right. Took it back out and found the first 2 threads started the cross thread. Chased the threads and cleaned them up with a file. Put it back in and it seated. Torqued it to 75 ftlbs. That's where it felt like it bottomed out. Ran the power cord from the bumper back along the frame. Found hooks on the back of the bumper and on the frame for the power cord. It took just over a half gallon of anti-freeze.

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Thanks for this- installed my own heater today… have used it on 3 other Jeeps in the family too.

found mind to be a slight PIta… the aluminum heat shield above the plug had to be bent out of the way to get the socket to fit… no big deal- except it’s a pain to get Up there and bend…. Lol

also noted- these eco diesel blocks are a bit sandy…. Not ford powerstroke sandy…. But more than many other motors I have worked on.

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The block heater works really good. Last night the temps dropped into the teens. Had the timer set to come on at 2am, and go off at 5am. I climb in and start the JT at 5:15am. It fired right up. The temp gauge showed 100F. Going down the road. I noticed the temps drop to 77F, then start to climb back up. I figure the drop in temp is the coolant from the radiator coming into the block. I'm going the change the timer to come on at 1am to see if there is a raise in temps.
 

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Having the block heater on a timer is working out. Have it set to come on at 2am. Off at 5:15am. Both the water and oil temp is just around 100F when I climb in to go to work. The down side is if I remote start. Sometimes the heated seat and steering wheel doesn't come on.
 
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Having the block heater on a timer is working out. Have it set to come on at 2am. Off at 5:15am. Both the water and oil temp is just around 100F when I climb in to go to work. The down side is if I remote start. Sometimes the heated seat and steering wheel doesn't come on.
That's odd. I think I read somewhere that the temp sensor is actually up in the grill? I know my outside air temp is often off by 20° or more when I start the truck and it takes a while to fix itself, whether or not my block heater is plugged in. Silly problem to have on a $60k truck.
 

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Since it's been getting chilly here in the 20s I started to feel bad about starting it up so I just pulled the trigger and placed an order. For those curious the manual recommends one if you are in an area where the sustained temp is lower than -10 F for a period of time and required for starts lower then -20 F.

Sometimes the wife wants to make a quick trip somewhere so this should help mitigate the wear from that. Normally we do our short trips all in a row so the engine stays at temp.


Edit - temp correction between F/C
 
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Almost

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also noted- these eco diesel blocks are a bit sandy…. Not ford powerstroke sandy…. But more than many other motors I have worked on.

Jeep Gladiator EcoDiesel Block Heater Installation 670E5B53-CE67-40BC-9085-12973863D263

I was curious about this since I had the dreaded clogged heater core on my JK. Now I think I will go ahead and do a proper flush this spring once it warms up. Thanks for the tip.
 

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Will it bother anything to leave it plugged in for extended periods of time? Other than the added electricity cost?
 
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