1 Attachment(s)
Testing OEM block heater: how hot after how much time plugged in?
https://mirageforum.com/forum/attach...1&d=1592569825
Mirage #2, The Even Fancier Metro, came with the OEM cartridge style block heater.
I'll have to confirm this, but I think it's a 400 watt unit. (EDIT: confirmed below by klroger - it's 400w.)
I was curious how fast it warmed things up, so plugged it in and checked the coolant temp every 10 minutes (via a ScanGauge).
Elapsed time
(minutes) |
Coolant temp (F / C) |
Temp change (F)
from previous |
0 |
40 / 4 (ambient, cold soak) |
0 |
10 |
42 / 6 |
2 |
20 |
49 / 9 |
7 |
30 |
57 / 14 |
8 |
40 |
62 / 17 |
5 |
50 |
67 / 19 |
5 |
60 |
71 / 22 |
4 |
70 |
75 / 24 |
4 |
80 |
78 / 26 |
3 |
90 |
80 / 27 |
2 |
100 |
82 / 28 |
2 |
100.5* |
100 / 38 |
18 |
* That last reading was after starting the engine and letting it idle for 30 seconds. I figured the water jacket / block wouldn't be heated uniformly by the block heater, so circulating the coolant past the temp sensor would be a good idea to get a final reading. (I don't think that 30 seconds of idling actually added 18 degrees F worth of heat to the coolant).
It looks like around the hour-and-a-half mark the amount of heat being added has slowed down a lot. And at some point it's going to reach equilibrium, losing heat as fast as it's added. Though we weren't quite there yet.
Edit... graph!
Attachment 19904