Bozeman/Belgrade engine block heaters needed? (floor, moving, garage)

[CwittleZ]

I recently moved to Belgrade/Bozeman and was wondering if it is a necessity to have an engine block heater and/or engine oil heater?

[bigtrees]

Yup.

My family has always used a block heater.

Coldest day I experienced in Bozeman was -32. Not too many cars without an engine heater started that day.

[mtboy]

Definately! Also depends on age and type of vehicle. Most probably will start even on the cold days, however it is extremely hard on the motor when starting from very cold temperatures. Also, best to start it up for 5 minutes and let the motor warm up a bit before traveling to work.

[rickers]

You can put your block heater on a timer to heat up the block three or four hours before you have to go to work. The sooner you can get the engine warmed up the sooner you can get all that fog off the inside of the windows. It's really nice to have a garage so you don't have to sweep all the snow off the windshield all the freaking time.

[bigtrees]

Originally Posted by rickers

You can put your block heater on a timer to heat up the block three or four hours before you have to go to work. The sooner you can get the engine warmed up the sooner you can get all that fog off the inside of the windows. It's really nice to have a garage so you don't have to sweep all the snow off the windshield all the freaking time.

Yeah, but then you bring snow into your garage and have to shovel out (the inside of) your garage from time to time in the winter. You might also get some ice building and have to periodically sand your concrete so you don't slip on ice!!!

Just kidding, garages are real nice in the winter.

[Radek]

Originally Posted by rickers

You can put your block heater on a timer to heat up the block three or four hours before you have to go to work. The sooner you can get the engine warmed up the sooner you can get all that fog off the inside of the windows. It's really nice to have a garage so you don't have to sweep all the snow off the windshield all the freaking time.

Im looking forward to the garage this winter.

However, last year I parked my car in the North Hedges lot and never had a problem starting it, and I was driving M-F. So, its not that big of a deal in my experience.

That being said, i would've loved to have one.

[Joe Doer]

Many people don't like to have their fan on for the heater until the engine warms up. If you do that and have a small crack in your windshield, the hot air being blown onto a freezing windshield will cause the crack to expand into a full break. Let the windshield warm up gradually with the engine...or get a new windshield.

[rickers]

It's really nice to have a drain in the middle of the garage floor but not many folks have those. A lot of water does drip off the rig after driving in a storm.

[Joe Doer]

It certainly doesn't hurt to sweep off excess snow and kick off ice build up around the tires before moving inside

[Reziac]

Absolutely yes. You will thank yourself every cold day for this relatively cheap investment.

I had a really "hot" one in my '63 Olds. It not only warmed up the engine, but if I remembered to leave the interior heat "on" (back in the days of using circulating water to heat the cab, dunno what they use now) the inside of the car would be toasty warm in the morning, and the windshield might even have melted clear too, or at least would be easier to clear the ice off. And I never got a cracked windshield, because it stayed lukewarm so never got shocked from super-cold to hot.

I always plugged it in the moment I got home, so the engine never got really cold. That reduces thermal stress, since it doesn't experience such big temperature swings, which can't help but improve its lifespan.