Hi Dan,
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan
I'm in Houston, average annual temperature here is 70 deg.F. As I understand it, you want the block temperature over 165 deg.F. Even on the hotest days here, the block won't be above 110 deg.F. So it seems like if I use a block heater all year round, then I can always start the car at >165 deg.F.
Is anyone else this nuts? In the end I don't think I will do it for two reasons: - Don't think there is a Toyota dealer within 500 miles that knows what a block heater is or how to install it.
- My friend lost his house in a garage fire (electric kids car), so I'm not that confident that block heater won't burn down my house (and new Prius with it).
Anyway, any thoughts or block heater use all year round, or is it not worth it above 40 deg.F., which is usually the lowest temp we see. |
You are hitting on one of the problems I have with block heaters, the lack of thermostat control. Most folks are using a timer but that isn't the type of control I think is needed.
My plan is to configure thermostat for both my block and transaxle pan. This will ensure they are kept at a reasonable starting temperature, not the optimum nor ambient.
In the case of my NHW11 Prius, that temperature will probably be at or above 40F for the ICE and probably the same for the transaxle pan. With my thermistor hack, I can quickly switch to 'hybrid mode' during the two minutes of warm-up but not have to waste so much 'heating the outside.'
BTW, I didn't see any "Prius" in your description or signature. What'ca got?
Bob Wilson