[quote=ElanC]
Quote:
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Originally Posted by gonavy
Assmuing I drive 350 miles a week, it would take about .75mpg increase in my FE to pay off the electricity @ $2/gallon. Easily achieved. QUOTE]
The block warmer is not going to improve your FE over the whole 350 miles. It will only make a difference until your unheated engine warms up, which is probably 5 out of your 50 daily miles. So by your calculation you need to improve FE by 7.5 MPG during those 5 miles to have it pay off.
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Of course its only the 1st few cold miles that it makes a difference- but it can be a huge difference for those few miles. My FE needs to increase OVERALL (per tank) by .75mpg- I should have clarified that.
So if it gets me from 15mpg I got for the 1st 4 miles this morning in 25deg to 23mpg for those 1st miles, I win. My guess is it will pay off, but maybe not by much.
Add to that the increased comfort for those 1st few very cold miles... some things are worth paying a little more for.
For my wife's Explorer the gains will be far greater- all of her morning trips are <5 miles, and I know she idles it to "get it warm" even though she denies it