Make sure you come up with a system for the extension cord that pulls free automatically if you forget about it and back out......................

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

I was wondering if anybody knew of an engine heater that ran off 12v so I could just hook it to my battery.... I live in a city center where I can't park it somewhere with a plug... I wanted to run a timer so it'll kick on right at 5 am and run off my battery power...

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1973 Dart Swinger Super 6 with 71k
1976 Datsun 280ZX with Mopar I-6

You could run it through an inverter. The only problem is that block heaters are typically around 600 watts of power consumption which will pull 50 amps (ignoring losses) from your battery. You'll suck the battery dry in pretty short order at that rate.

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David Kight
'62 Valiant Signet, White
'98 Dodge Dakota
'06 Jeep Liberty

Growing older is unavoidable but growing up is strictly optional.

Agreed. Your battery would be flat in no time.

A friend who lived in Northern Canada once told me that the city puts AC plugs on poles near the parking meters. Seems it get so cold there that people who are parked for more than an hour or so (in the daytime!) will plug in their block heaters before going shopping.

Brrr!

While you're talking about block heaters vs inline hose heaters,

What do you recommend for the inline hose heaters? Warming up/idling is sucking LOT of gas on 5220 carb in my 2.2L caravan. Yes, the carb is set right but it's old and drawing lot gas at idle. Eventually will go EFI.

Cheers, Wizard

I've had both the "mini" inline heaters and the "tank" type. The tank ones are kind of like a Campbell's soup can with a hose fitting mounted on each end of the can. Those have worked well for me.

The mini ones, which have a heater the size of a tennis ball with a short inline hose fitting on top, haven't worked well for me. The one I put in my wife's Honda burned up a month after I put it in.

I've never used these preheaters for the purpose of making the cabin heat come on faster. I used them so my car would start easier when the temperature dipped below zero degrees f. On those few 25 below zero mornings the heaters would ensure the slant (and later, my 2.2 K-car) would start when my neighbors cars wouldn't!

-Mac