Engine block heater

[jayman]

DEWFPO previously said:

I've been looking at a ZEROSTART or KATS 1,000 w unit. They are circulating coolant types. I just can't sem to find a coolant flow diagram for the FJ and the cooling system on this engine is a little more complicated than most.

You and I have both found out the genuine Toyota 400 watt heater is pretty wimpy. It's barely adequate for the 1.5 litre motor in my Prius, so it just barely assists starting in very cold temps

One solution is to have a heated garage like I do. However, I doubt that more than 5% of FJ owners - or Prius owners - have that luxury

Due to the complication of the Prius cooling system, including coolant storage thermos, electric coolant pumps, inverter cooling circuit, etc, I know it's impossible to use a Temro or other circulating coolant heater.

I just got back from my garage and gave the heater hoses a once-over. I didn't notice anything like a mix valve or flow valve. According to the FSM the air temp is regulated by an air blend door, not by varying the coolant flow. The last page of the FSM excerpt I attached suggests this

I have a 1,500 watt Temro on my diesel tractor at my hobby farm. Even at -40, a couple of hours and the block is nice and warm, and it starts instantly and quickly warms up. I use a 1,000 watt Temro on my Ford work truck, and after two hours plugged in, it also instantly starts. You can then watch the temp gauge start leaving the bottom peg almost immediately

[GDmovingtoAlaska]

Living just outside of Fairbanks, I have a battery pad heater, oil pan and transmission pad heaters, and a block heater. I ordered the block heater out of Dallas before I left New Mexico and moved up here in October. They shipped it really quick. I have the box at home with all the information on it. It was orginally from Canada. Up here the thoughts on the in line coolant circulation heater is to stay away (waste of money). Of course every where you go up here you can plug in. They all work great for me. It has been -33 already and no problems at all.

[DEWFPO]

GDmovingtoAlaska previously said:

Up here the thoughts on the in line coolant circulation heater is to stay away (waste of money).

Can you provide any more detail on this? Thanks, DEWFPO

[DEWFPO]

jayman previously said:

You and I have both found out the genuine Toyota 400 watt heater is pretty wimpy. It's barely adequate for the 1.5 litre motor in my Prius, so it just barely assists starting in very cold temps

One solution is to have a heated garage like I do. However, I doubt that more than 5% of FJ owners - or Prius owners - have that luxury

Due to the complication of the Prius cooling system, including coolant storage thermos, electric coolant pumps, inverter cooling circuit, etc, I know it's impossible to use a Temro or other circulating coolant heater.

I just got back from my garage and gave the heater hoses a once-over. I didn't notice anything like a mix valve or flow valve. According to the FSM the air temp is regulated by an air blend door, not by varying the coolant flow. The last page of the FSM excerpt I attached suggests this

I have a 1,500 watt Temro on my diesel tractor at my hobby farm. Even at -40, a couple of hours and the block is nice and warm, and it starts instantly and quickly warms up. I use a 1,000 watt Temro on my Ford work truck, and after two hours plugged in, it also instantly starts. You can then watch the temp gauge start leaving the bottom peg almost immediately

I can't help but think the aluminum block & heads of the 1GR-FE give off 400 watts of heat faster than that little heater can put it into the block (especially with it being on the far, rear corner of the engine). It's a shame Toyota didn't drill the passenger's side head for a second heater. There is room there for another one and it would be as easy to install as the driver's side.

Yesterday it was relatively warm at +23F and I used the newly installed 400 watt block heater in my Bobcat Toolcat with a 2.0L Kubota, Turbo-Diesel. It's obviously a cast iron block and I had it plugged in for what turned out to be about 2-2.5 hrs and when I cranked it up, the temp gauge was at the normal operating temp mark on the gauge immediately. I was pleasantly surprised. Of course the temp went down as the engine started and the coolant circulated throughout the cold block but there was instant heat. Of course that did nothing for the ~12-14 gallons of cold dino hydro oil in the new machine's system.

DEWFPO

[jayman]

The Bobcat operators up here will either put a Temro into the lower coolant hose, or the heater hose - assuming yours has the heater. For the TDH fluid, they usually use a stick-on heater

[Brazenhead]

Regardless of whether or not anyone believes that a block heater is necessary, or the fact that it's only 400 watts and seems useless it definitely has a noticeable difference during cold starts.

For the past week it's been pretty cold around here, all the way from 3 fahrenheit to -49 fahrenheit with the windchill. I only plug the FJ in for 1 to 2 hours before starting and notice that it starts with a lot less hesitation. On one cold morning this week I forgot to plug it in and when I did start it, it felt rough! I felt sorry for the truck and apologized for not plugging it in.

On a side note, when it gets that cold the seats feel as cold as a block of ice and as hard as concrete. (Next year calls for the addition of heated seats)

If anyone is interested in ordering a block heater from Canada, I was just quoted $129.06 Cdn and you can refrence part# PU14000900

[hpiguy]

I was quoted $61 for the heater and a total of $155 installed at the dealership. If it's this easy to do myself though I'll just go that way.

I know from experience that when I used the heater, I always plugged it in overnight. I never let the engine cool down, then plug it in and expected it to get warm that way.

I plugged it in while it was hot and the heater helped maintain the engine heat all night long.

I think the ones in my Pontiac and GMC were 1000 watts though and it went into a frost plug, not the top of the block.

[Brazenhead]

hpiguy previously said:

I was quoted $61 for the heater and a total of $155 installed at the dealership. If it's this easy to do myself though I'll just go that way.

I know from experience that when I used the heater, I always plugged it in overnight. I never let the engine cool down, then plug it in and expected it to get warm that way.

I plugged it in while it was hot and the heater helped maintain the engine heat all night long.

I think the ones in my Pontiac and GMC were 1000 watts though and it went into a frost plug, not the top of the block.

The only issue with plugging it in overnight is the amount of power it draws. It would add a hefty amount to a utility bill after plugging it in every night.

[jayman]

One thing to keep in mind with the "block" heater on the FJ, or the Prius for that matter: it does *not* directly heat the coolant

The heater fits into a machined hole in the aluminum block. You smear a thermal transfer grease onto the heater, shove it into the hole, and a retaining clip secures the heater to the block

[smk_sho]

jayman previously said:

One thing to keep in mind with the "block" heater on the FJ, or the Prius for that matter: it does *not* directly heat the coolant

The heater fits into a machined hole in the aluminum block. You smear a thermal transfer grease onto the heater, shove it into the hole, and a retaining clip secures the heater to the block

well thats really stupid... the motor cant hold heat due to the aluminum as was stated earlier, toyota should have done better research on this. i live in regina saskatchewan and ive plugged it in all night and it starts slowly in the morning. -45* with the windchill. ive checked a few times to make sure the cord was plugged in and even went so far as to replace cords and finally did a resistance check on the block heater. us northerners need more.....
peace...