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Breezy2006 · 12-29-2019, 06:35 AM

I have our 2017 Dutch Star plugged into shore power in storage and just realized that I left the block heater on for the last five days. Strangely the engine is only mildly warmer than the outdoor temperature. Do these heaters turn off after a while if left on for a continuous period? The outlet in the engine compartment was tested for power so I turned off the block heater then turned it back on to test.

timekeeper · 12-29-2019, 06:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Breezy2006

I have our 2017 Dutch Star plugged into shore power in storage and just realized that I left the block heater on for the last five days. Strangely the engine is only mildly warmer than the outdoor temperature. Do these heaters turn off after a while if left on for a continuous period? The outlet in the engine compartment was tested for power so I turned off the block heater then turned it back on to test.

It is my understanding they reach a predetermined temp and stop heating.
Some owners keep them on all the time in severe cold temps in storage ect.
IMO I am 99% sure you did no harm.

twinboat · 12-29-2019, 07:15 AM

We had block heaters on all of our equipment.
None of them had any kind of control, they just ran all of the time.

Being about 700 watts, in a huge cooling system, they never got too hot.

FLJOE · 12-30-2019, 06:39 AM

I'm pretty sure they will run all the time. When we took delivery I didn't realize mine was plugged in (no separate switch in Ventana). Our electric bill at our Florida winter site was about $30 more than comparable coaches. After about 3 months I figured it out and unplugged it.

lwmcguire · 12-30-2019, 07:03 AM

All of the heaters we used were 1000 watts so easy to calculate you're operating cost

Unless there's an external control they are on when plugged in

They are simply an electric water heater element

Your load control may switch the outlet off depending on configuration

Rev. Roy · 12-30-2019, 07:45 AM

The block heaters have a safety feature that disables the heating element when the ambient temperature is above 40 degrees to prevent burning them out. The light will stay on but it won't heat the block. I am not sure what year they added this so older RVS may not have this.