Engine Block Heater Install - Did I do it right?

[Green Hokie]

Wayne (& David),

Good morning & thank you! I was hoping the EBH Guru would chime in.
I'm fairly certain the heating element is receiving power and working properly, since the top of the engine block was almost too hot to touch after that initial 2 hour heating period yesterday. However, I'll also check/feel around the cylinder itself right after plug-in just to be certain. As a side note, I was expecting the hole for the EBH to be located more in the central part of the engine block and not right at the very edge/end of it. This was the only reason why I had some doubt about where I had installed the EBH.

I don't have a Scangauge or Can-view to check the coolant temp. This may have to be my next mod. Instead, I'll just have to pay attention to other things like how soon I can glide without first having to bring the vehicle speed to 35 mph or higher, instantaneous mpg readings and of course the first 5 minute avg mpg bar. If I will indeed be in stage 4 after a mile or two of gentle start-up driving, then I should be able to glide any speed below 35 mph (assuming the battery has a decent SOC, of course). I'll certainly test this later this morning.

Regarding the plastic protective wire loom. I actually wrapped the entire power cord with it, up to the point where it tapers into the plug. Guess you can't really tell in the previous photos I took. Here are a few more I took this morning. Thanks again everyone for the feedback!

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[christob]

I read the various posts about the EBH with a lot of interest and a touch of envy! I live in a mid-rise condo with garage parking, and have no ability to plug in anything, anywhere in the garage. (Seeing a show on the Tesla roadster made me think "I'd buy a little house, with solar panels, just to have that car!") Can't even use a vac to clean the car, down in this garage! (Nor is there a hose connection, for lovingly hand-washing my Prius. But I digress...)

Anyway, I'm just curious what the experience has been, re: what the EBH adds to the monthly electric bill, drawing on the house current, for a full warm-up process? And, what is the trade off, pre-heating the block using electricity (which is most likely generated by the public utility... presumably with coal, but hopefully water or wind power?) vs. the mpg gain you get in the early part of a drive, in the pre-heated Prius?

[Green Hokie]

Hey ChristoB,
Sorry you are not able to take advantage of this engine heater. I'm not sure what impact its usage will have on my electric bill. I think someone in this forum already ran the numbers and it seemed to make sense to use it... at least for some people.

As an update, I did some more testing this morning and drove my Prius around, after running the EBH for 3 hours. Wayne was correct. The car warmed up nicely after about a mile or so of gentle start-up driving. I could easily put the vehicle into glide mode, even at low speeds (below 35 mph). I don't know if this meant the car was already in stage 4. However, there's no question this was a significant improvement. My first 5 minute bar was around 40 mpg. I'm definitely liking this EBH!

I do have one more question for you EBH users. What type of timer did you get? I just bought the one shown below from Lowes. As you can see, it's rated for a resistive capacity of 15 amps. Therefore, it should be plenty adequate to handle the start-up load from this EBH. What do you think?

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[FireEngineer]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Green Hokie @ Jul 6 2007, 09:21 PM) [snapback]474398[/snapback]</div>

I do have one more question for you EBH users. What type of timer did you get? I just bought the one shown below from Lowes. As you can see, it's rated for a resistive capacity of 15 amps. Therefore, it should be plenty adequate to handle the start-up load from this EBH. What do you think?
[/b]

That timer is more than enough, come to think of it it looks like the one I have.

When you notice no restrictions going into a glide you are in stage 4 and warmed up.

Wayne

[JimboK]

I have an Intermatic timer too, with the same mechanical timing mechanism and on/off thingies. The difference is that mine is designed for outside use (for an outside plug of course), with the whole thing contained in a plastic cover.

[Green Hokie]

Wayne/Jim, Thanks for the clarification & confirmation. I'm actually going to return this analog timer for the digital version (also an Intermatic). Decided I want a little more precise control of the on/off cycles.

[likesmpg]

How is it that the wire from your EBH is so long!? Mine is only about half that, and I want to re-route it next to the fog-light because I'm tired of opening the hood every night.
I also opted for a digital timer for better control, so far seeing as much as 40-45 mpg 5-minute bars with only 1.5 hour warmup, but it's sitting in a garage that doesn't get below 70-degF at night so that probably helps

[hobbit]

It's nominally 400 watts, and may drift down to 350 watts worth of
resistance as it heats up. At the outside, you run it for 3 hours
you've chewed down 1.2 kW of energy. About ten cents in most areas.
.
_H*

[Green Hokie]

Hobbit, thanks for confirming some of the numbers. I figured it would make sense (from an economic standpoint) for most people to use it on a daily basis.

Likesmpg, I didn't realize there were variations in power cord length from one EBH to another. I purchased mine from metrotpn.com back in May. Got my Intermatic digital timer (model DT27C, $18 at Home Depot) and used it for the first time this morning. Worked like a charm!

[tdmalek]

So, how would you rate the difficulty of the installation from underneath? Ive got big arms and it looks pretty tight in there. BTW, nice pics - the first pic should help me find the slot should I attempt this.