Civicnoobie

What do you think is better and why? Ive been told inline is better because it could be -30 and after plugging it in for 2-3 hrs everything would be warm on the engine, valve cover, lines etc, the car would blow warm air almost instantly, whereas block heater doesnt stand a chance.

Inline is a bit more ($50 vs $90) but if its much better than i think its worth it.
If I find out forsure on Wed that my block heater isnt working then ill replace it but really thinking about going inline if its safe - is it a pretty safe install on our cars?

The good thing about inline for the install is that you dont have to drain the coolant bolt by the oil filter where if you did block heater you do. If you drain the block how much % of your cars coolant will come out?

Anyone have experience with in-line heaters? Im hoping all it is, is a bad cable and just put a new one on.

mikey1

unless santa claus is your next door neighbour at the north pole, i would bother

Civicnoobie

You wouldnt bother? why?

The more i read about inline heaters, the more complex the install sounds.

pjb3

It's been a long time since I used either one and technology may have changed, but I doubt there is much difference between them. The inline heater I used spliced into the heater hose and used convection for circulation. Unless the in-line heater has some sort of pump the actual amount of circulation is minimal. In both cases you are heating water and the hot water rises and is replaced by cooler water. How much actual circulation would depend on where the heater is in the coolong system. If you placed an in-line heater between the block and heater core you may lose most of the heat inside the car and little back to the block. If the heater is in the heater hose returning water to the block it would then depend on where it enters the block. How much you can actually raise the temperature of the block depends on how many watts the heater is, then surface area of the bock, the outside temperature and the wind chill. You also have to reallize that coolant does very little to warm the oil in the pan and the bearings.

The company I work for has an office in Bismark North Dakota and the parking lot has electrical outlets for people to plug in their cars. If I lived there I would consider a heater since the electricity would be free but I would not bother with the expense of running it at my own home. If it were me I would use a synthetic oil which has a low pour point, it would probably make more difference.

mikey1

no need for any type of heater unless its constantly -50c where u live

Civicnoobie

Hmm so sounds like inline hose heater is fairly complex to install. Probably not worth it eh?

Like I said, it could just be my cord for all I know that needs replaced. If so, easy and cheap fix.

I would love to go back to full syn (was running Mobil 1 5W30 for 1.5yrs), but after last month having replaced all my engine seals (cam, crank, valve, spark etc), with new OEM ones, i went with Syn blend High milage oil (Castrol GTX High Milage) cause i was worried about continuing using syn and getting another leak down the road cause syn is very thin oil and greater chance of leaks.

Also, my car has 163K KM and considered high milage so was told the high milage oils have addictives in them that will benefit the engine more than a full syn oil would.

I would love to go back to full syn if i can. But all this switching back and fourth cant be good and dont want to risk anymore leaks cause of the much thinner oil.

Coldest it gets here is -40.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

my car leaked on 5w20 dino but not on 5w30 syn.

Civicnoobie

Hmm interesting, you running full syn now? You think if my block heater is bad, i should just ditch it and go back to full syn?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

im using redline, one of the very few oils that are true synthetic in usa (amsoil is another). my car does burn synthetic so i have to watch the level. usually i need to add 1/2 qt every 6 months. with dino, i could go a year and it would still be full. not a huge deal. just that darn vtec using up the oil haha.

GolNat

iTrader: (7)

Yea they have additives that swell the seals to stop leaks. Maybe your seals leaked before because of miles, and it sounds like you live where it is cold. I use full synthetic 5w20 w/ 157k miles.

Civicnoobie

Well i guess you cant run an inline engine hose heater on our cars anyway. That sucks

If it is the heater, i could go back to Mobil 1 5w30 but no car will start smoothly in -30 no matter how good the oil is.

pjb3

An inline heater is not complex to install. You cut a heater hose and connect each end of the hose to the heater. You do have to read and follow directions since I believe the heater has an inlet and outlet so you would want to make sure coolant is flowing in the right direction. Replacing a block heater in a freeze plug is easy as well, It really just comes down to how much room there is to work.

Civicnoobie

Did some calling around and the store has one but the rad hose is 1.5" and not 1 1/8" which is the size we need. Would it be ok to run a 1.5" rad hose?

Honestly, if it is the heater, i might just say screw it and go back to full sync. I dont know yet. Still debating if this lower rad hose heater is worth it. I wanna know how safe it is, cause i hear stories about it being a bad idea to run these.

I really dont want to drain the block cause i just changed my coolant a month ago and would have to put in another gallon ($25 for new honda coolant) and then havew to bleed the air again.

But if you do a heater hose, you have to drain the rad dont you? If so thats 50% of the coolant right there.

I would go oil pan heater but theyre like $100 and from what i was told dont work nearly as well as even a block heater.

johndeerebones

Drain it into a clean bucket and pour it back in. I personally wouldn't mess with the heater hose ones. Go to a tractor supply or similar. They have a bunch of different sizes. Smaller for heater hose, bigger for radiator hoses. For maximum effect go to the lower hose. Heat rises, if its up high it wouldn't do as much. Freeze plug heaters work fine too. The oil pan heaters do what block heaters are intended to do, warm things to knock down wear and tear on startup due to thick oil, they also help with starter strain on startup due to the increased friction of the thick oil. They won't warm the coolant hardly at all. By and large the absolute best thing you can do is start you car up and let it run a few minutes before you leave. Quick heater etc is nice, but really isn't the desired outcome, just a side effect.

mikey1

163km is nothing, stop worrying so much, cars and engines are designed to deal with extreme conditions, i live where it is commonly -30c in winter, i have 250,000km on mine and have always used standard 5w20 since new, i have never once used any type of heater, and i have never once had a problem starting my car, you are just being paranoid, relax, if your car/engine is well tuned and taken care of you have nothing to worry about, just warm the engine for a few minutes after startup before driving

Civicnoobie

Do you think its risky or bad idea to run hose heaters? Can problems result from it?

And from what i was told these hose heaters wont do anything for minimizing engine wear on the startup? It just basically pumps out heat right away, something no other heater can do as fast. If they wont protect engine wear well then its pointless cause thats the main reason of plugging in to begin with, to lessen the strain on engine and starter.

Do the oil pan heaters really work? Theyre not cheap, $100 here for the cheapest one (Canadian Polar Pad), I hear mixed thoughts on whether or not a thin heat pad can heat up through the outside of an oil pan and up to the engine. But the install is nice cause dont have to drain any coolant, but again $100 for a damn heater, no thanks

I always thought idling the car at cold startups is bad? Cars running, thick oil, slow to get to places in the engine. I have neighbours who warm up their cars for half hour on -30 days.

I still have a feeling that my block heater is actualy still working but just needs new cord. If so, then cheap fix from Napa $17 (Honda wanted $45 for a new cord!!!!! Hahahah). Tomrw morning mech will get under and test it out. Going to pick up the cord tommorow before going and had one helluva time just trying to find out what the end on the cord looks like. From what i found, it should look like this? Honda said its all the same plug for all their cars and years.

Im hoping the gold piece i shouldnt need to replace.



But if it is the block heater, then i probably should go back to Mobil 1 syn then. Right now im on Castrol GTX syn blend High milage oil (which is mostly conventional, something like 80/20 ratio I believe). I do miss the benefits of syn.

Im just worried that mech will get pissed cause i told him 2 days ago, will replace the block heater if its bad, so he was pre-booking 2hr job, but if I go and get him to test it out and find out its the block heater and I dont do anymore work after that he might get upset cause its like a 15min job.