On Sat, 14 Jan 2006, Bob M. wrote:
> Google for "magnetic block heater". I found www.padheater.com as one
> place that has a variety of stick-on heaters. You might need a
> thermostat in or near the block to control the heater, as you don't
> really want the engine sitting at 160F year-round, and some of these
> heaters are capable of that much heat, or more. Just make sure the
> engine block is magnetic; not all are. The stick-on variety makes more
> sense to me. I'm tempted to get one myself.
I have a 1995 Chevy Caprice which is equipped with a block heater,
and the block heater itself is a heating element rated at 600W which sits
in the cooling jacket of the engine. Now, you figure that 350 cubic inches
of exposed, uninsulated engine needs 600W to keep from freezing and you're
probably going to need less.
>From my experience in searching around, a dipstick heater is usually about
125W, but for that small of an engine, may be overkill. Another trick to
try would be to switch that halogen light for a 250W infrared flood light,
which they sell down at Home Despot and Lowes.
Directly connecting to the engine block will probably require
less wattage to operate than using a light bulb. To that end, you may find
that a power resistor, appropriately heatsinked to the case or a block
attached to the case may work just as well and operate off of DC so you
will always have the engine warm and ready to go if you operate the
resistor from a battery.
--
Kris Kirby, KE4AHR <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
"BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU!"
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