Block Heater ??

[RVFunlovers]

I have never tried using my block heater. Today I went to move my coach from my driveway to its heated storage place and it was about 15 degrees out.

I turned the block heater on via the vegatouch. I did not plug in the block heater in the engine compartment. My aqua hot was already set to electric and diesel.

My coach inside and basement were 50 degrees.

An hour and 15 minutes after turning on the block heater the engine temp showed 27 degrees when I turned on the ignition. I needed to get moving so I pushed the start button and the coach started right up. I thought the engine temp would have been 75 or 100.

My Aquahot was working just to keep the coach warm. I did not have my fireplace or any electric heaters running. So maybe the Aquahot just did. Not have more heat to give?

Is this normal? Maybe I needed 4 or 5 hours of block heater? Or to just use the electric block heater?

I have generally hear we want the engine warmer before we start it.

[alank]

Just my thoughts on this but heating the entire coach to 50* with 15* outside temperatures is a considerable load, even though the AquaHot is up to it.
Consider that the engine block is a huge chunk of iron and starting at 15*, it's going to take a while to warm up. The fact that you got over 10* in an hour doesn't sound out of line. The electric element heater is about 5000 btu's of heat and for those temperatures, I would consider 4 or 5 hrs, or overnight would be reasonable.
You used the AquaHot pump which pups engine antifreeze through the boiler fluid which is about 190*. I have no idea what 15* fluid going into the boiler tank would come out at, temperature wise, plus some temperature loss getting to the block. I've never seen any claims about the btu's of heat that a circulation pump will produce for engine preheat.
I've recently worked on my basement heater and could always hold onto the Aqua Hot boiler fluid lines of either loop without burning my hands, so i think your 10*+ temperature rise in an hour is about right.

[DR60]

I worked on large generators and in freezing temps I wanted the block heater on overnight. Not only to warm the engine and oil but to drive out moisture from the electronics. DR

[brobox]

Having lived in Anchorage and Denver, 4 hours would have been minimum for me at 15 degrees. There is a lot of oil in a 605 to be heated.

[Ricci]

Hi Hal - Both the AH and the electric block heater work by heating the coolant in the engine block. That's a lot of fluid to heat. Then it has to transfer that heat to the large engine block. Then in turn the engine oil starts to warm via it's contact with the other warmed parts. Short answer is that nothing on board the coach is going to raise the temperature of all that in a few hours. In extreme weather you always need to think ahead.


Tom

[Bobby Dowdle]

You needed to turn on the block heater last night to achieve the heat level you were looking for this morning. That's why you will see truck in yards plugged in the evenings. So, it keeps it warm for a quick start up.

[Gary.Jones]

I'm not familiar with your newer VegaTouch control and on my coach the VegaTouch does not control the engine pre-heat block heat (or I don't know it can be) and I must plug it into the receptacle in the engine compartment. And I live in the South now and only rarely would have to deal with those night temps, but if it was me, and I needed to leave the next morning I would have plugged the block heat "in" the night before and let it run all night to warm the mass of oil and block in my 605 up to a more "working" temperature before I rolled the motor over.

In those temps, I also would have increased the temp in the coach to 70 degrees so the inside would have been warm for the move. My basement is set to ~ 50.

I don't have a lot of experience with getting rolling in cold temps, but that would be how I'd plan for it.

Gary

[Tony Wilson]

On my 2018 CS this screen controls Aqua Hot pre heat for engine.

[ArtJoyce]

at 15F I would have plugged a block heater in for 4 hours, or plugged it in the night before a AM pull out. You have 10+ gallons of coolant plus a lot of exposed metal that is not insulated.

[RVFunlovers]

This was a lesson learned for a block heater rookie.
What I am learning makes since.
I was moving the coach at about 3 pm.
I should have turned the heater on that morning when I woke up or the night before.

It is easy to turn on from my nebula app.
I just failed to allow enough time.

Maybe this is a sign to stay in warmer weather in the winter. ��

[Ricci]

Hi - Just be sure if you are using the electric block heater to turn it off or unplug it prior to starting the engine. If using the preheat off the AquaHot do the same.



Tom

[DSL417]

And don’t run it once on the road (the one you plug in in the engine compartment). It takes way to much of the alternator charge produced to charge coach and chassis batteries.

Also, don’t believe it is needed/useful until temps overnight drop to 10 degrees far or less. Subject discussed significantly back in the 13-15 time frame.

[dbircky]

My block heater doesn’t run off batteries, only from 120 v. It’s either plug in or run the generator. The AH diesel or electric can run with the block heater for a quicker warm up.

[wolfe10]

Originally Posted by DSL417

And don’t run it once on the road (the one you plug in in the engine compartment). It takes way to much of the alternator charge produced to charge coach and chassis batteries.

Agree, you do NOT want to run it once the engine has started.


But, I would be very surprised if the 120 VAC block heater was wired to an inverter-powered circuit.