Oh look, a block heater!

[KeswickDave]

I recently discovered I have a block heater! Hurray for me...

Just wondering if anyone knows the wattage and/or amperage this thing pulls? I checked the owner's manual and it doesn't say much... "plug it in when it's cold" basically

I have other things plugged into my garage circuit though and don't want to risk overloading it.

Dave

 

[Marlon_JB2]

Not sure. Mom never complained about the electricity bill whenever I had mine plugged in, so it can't be *that* much.

Never worked for me either. But then again I did have the 2.8L CRD, so that MIGHT have had something to do with it. Only difference it made for me was quicker, easier starting.

 

[LibertyTC]

There was a black tag on mine below the capped prongs, that fell of, and it had the info on it.
10 AMP
1250 Watts (125 Volts)
That's enough where only a heavy duty grounded appliance extension cord should be used.
Got a bit cold there did it?
I have heard of Battery Blankets....but this is different...(sorry not a jeep)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_ozda/2248255558/sizes/o/
Hope this Helps! Stay Warm.

 

[wheeee32]

I wish mine had a block heater on it.

 

[kb0nly]

Looking around for block heaters myself i found that most say the oem heater is 600-800watts. So your looking at 5-7 amps draw with one of them on, if you know the cost per kilowatt hour where you live then you can do the math, how many hours per night, how many days per month, how many KWH of use, etc...

It doesn't add up to a lot. I had it figured out for my minivan with a 600w heater, during the winter the difference in the electricity bill wasn't much.

 

[RageOfFury]

Yeah my KJ has a block heater and I didn't even know it when I bought it. Was looking around the engine bay one day and found the wire tie wrapped near the firewall. So I neatly routed the wire to the front and out through the grill. Haven't used it yet and I have no clue how many Watts it draws.

 

[KeswickDave]

There was a black tag on mine below the capped prongs, that fell of, and it had the info on it.
10 AMP
1250 Watts (125 Volts)
That's enough where only a heavy duty grounded appliance extension cord should be used.
Got a bit cold there did it?
I have heard of Battery Blankets....but this is different...(sorry not a jeep)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_ozda/2248255558/sizes/o/
Hope this Helps! Stay Warm.

Thanks, I will check for the tag tonight - if that's the case, that's a fair bit of draw, the thing I'm concerned about is I currently only have one 20 amp circuit to the garage, so I will just have to be careful... if my compressor kicks in or I have a heater going or start up my saw I'm likely to pop a breaker.

One day when funds allow I hope to add a sub-panel to the garage, and could install a dedicated circuit for it.

A timer sounds like a plan, run it early in the morning when I'm not likely to be using air or cutting wood

 

[ridenby]

On farm tractor,road tractor,other equip. we did not leave heater plugged in over night,just plugged it in hour or so before starting.

 

[KeswickDave]

I was wondering what a decent amount of time to run it would be, if an hour or so is enough I could install an outdoor outlet with a switch inside... roll out of bed, flip the switch, sh** shower and shave, coffee of course, and she's all warmed up! Hmm...

I like to say I'm not lazy, I am just a fan of labor-saving devices... but really, I'm lazy.

 

[RageOfFury]

Thanks, I will check for the tag tonight - if that's the case, that's a fair bit of draw, the thing I'm concerned about is I currently only have one 20 amp circuit to the garage, so I will just have to be careful... if my compressor kicks in or I have a heater going or start up my saw I'm likely to pop a breaker.

One day when funds allow I hope to add a sub-panel to the garage, and could install a dedicated circuit for it.

A timer sounds like a plan, run it early in the morning when I'm not likely to be using air or cutting wood

Be careful playing with electricity...you'll anger Mike Holmes!(attn)

 

[LibertyTC]

Keswick Dave,
As long as you are running synthetic motor oil a block heater is not needed in most temps above -15C. If it gets colder than that, I would plug it in for 2 hours and it will be toasty warm. It will need more time if it goes to -30 or 40.
When I bought my 04 Kj Rocky Mountain, I asked the dealer if it had a block heater, they said "don't see one" and one was not listed on the build sheet. It was not until I removed the Throttle body air hose while doing the plugs, that I actually discovered it. It was neatly placed strapped on the passenger side over fuel rail, near firewall, never used, which is why the tag was still on it.
I later found out that all Jeep's shipped to Canada, supposedly have one.
The after market ones are often 600-800 watts, but the dealer part seems to be better at 1250 watts. More wattage = hotter and less time to get it warm. I am pleased to discover a quality block heater was installed.

 

[KeswickDave]

Be careful playing with electricity...you'll anger Mike Holmes!(attn)

Haha... Mike would have loved my house! My electrician (who is also a firefighter) figures he was the first one to work on it... was surprised the place hadn't burnt down in it's 60 years of existence. But it's all good now, I don't like to take chances with stray electrons.

Me and Mike...

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[KeswickDave]

Keswick Dave,
As long as you are running synthetic motor oil a block heater is not needed in most temps above -15C. If it gets colder than that, I would plug it in for 2 hours and it will be toasty warm. It will need more time if it goes to -30 or 40.
When I bought my 04 Kj Rocky Mountain, I asked the dealer if it had a block heater, they said "don't see one" and one was not listed on the build sheet. It was not until I removed the Throttle body air hose while doing the plugs, that I actually discovered it. It was neatly placed strapped on the passenger side over fuel rail, near firewall, never used, which is why the tag was still on it.
I later found out that all Jeep's shipped to Canada, supposedly have one.
The after market ones are often 600-800 watts, but the dealer part seems to be better at 1250 watts. More wattage = hotter and less time to get it warm. I am pleased to discover a quality block heater was installed.

Thanks for the info! I just discovered it by accident last week, like you said, it was not listed on the build sheet.

Yesterday's low was -14.7*C (5.5*F), which got me asking about it!

 

[Ry' N Jen]

Good show!
Even though it doesn't get too cold here, I plug in the KJ every night so I don't have to hear the starter groan in the morning!

 

[LibertyTC]

Ryan,
You sure that was the starter motor groaning?
Normally that's me groaning in the am, caused I missed breakfast, and am stuck in a traffic line up.

 

[Ry' N Jen]

Ryan,
You sure that was the starter motor groaning?
Normally that's me groaning in the am, caused I missed breakfast, and am stuck in a traffic line up.

That's funny Tim!

 

[Luke]

now I have to go and find mine ... although the new insulated garage keeps her pretty toasty so far ... It is definitely gettin cold up here!

 

[LibertyTC]

Luke Season's Greetings!
You are lucky to have an insulated garage. No wind,snow cleaning, and even if it got to -5 in the garage, who needs a block heater? I suppose you could always fire it on for a while to give it that warm up, before you back it out, for instant heat..nice!

 

[HoosierJeeper]

I might check mine for a block heater...I doubt I have one, but who knows...

 

[JeepKj03]

I love my block heater; put it in last year before winter came along. I have mine set on a timer to go off about three hours before I go to work. You can notice it is working nicely when you don’t hear the power steering pump whining. Drive about mile down the road and it’s up to operating temperature all ready. It saves the gas buy not staying in warm up mode as long.