C block heater

My daily commute is 5.5 miles and I spend 2-3 of them with a cold engine. Looking to get a block heater and this one is listed in the PC store for the C but it does not list the C as a compatible model.

PriusChat Shop : Toyota Prius Engine Block Heater [Prius EBH] - $59.00

Anyone have any experience with this heater and a C?

It should work, the c uses basically the same engine as the gen 2.

FYI,
Following is a copy of my post.

Ken@Japan

So it will work.. Just in a different spot?

Bumpies. Has anyone verified for real this cylindrical block-heater works on the c?

I installed mine last week. Purchased from the PriusChat shop. Installation takes about 20 min, you need to remove the tranny breather valve (or whatever it's called) to get the heater cylinder to line up with the cylinder hole. Then it just slides in no problem.

Also, the heater installs in the nearly identical spot as the images posted above.

Perfect, thank you.

can I get a video guide so i don't have to pay 100 dollars for labor? please

Bump for install video or pics showing what needs to taken off to reach valve.

Thanks.

I ordered the block heater but haven't had time to fool around with stuff I've never touched before....lol..double bump

Okay, after taking a look on the car this actually looks really easy. I am going to order the heater today. I will post some pics showing how to install when I'm done for anyone who wants them. But I think if anyone takes a look under their hood and compares it to the above pictures that should be enough.

thanks bro...I'm retarded when it comes to cars....

Yeah you rock.

Hopefully the heater will arrive sometime before the weekend and I will do the install on Saturday.

Okay. This was really easy, so I think anyone should be able to do it themselves and save the install money. It took me maybe twenty minutes.

First let me say, I know nothing about cars, and in no way am giving authoritative information. Just an account of my experience which seemed to go well.

First, I removed the Coolant hose that is located above the hole where the block heater goes in. This was probably not necessary, but made accessing the area alot easier. A fair amount of coolant came out, it was messy and sticky. There is likely a better way around this, but I figured this was the quickest.

Then I removed the valve referred to in Nic's post above. You can see in the picture where the valve was (there is coolant puddling around where it was located). This was by far the only "difficult" part. I used a pair of standard size C type vise grips, if I had a smaller pair it would have been a bit easier. The size of the vise grips only allowed me to turn the valve about 1/8 of a turn at a time. I have large hands so the process was cumbersome and a bit frustrating. Not because it was hard, but because I knew with the right tool it would have been alot easier.

Once the valve is off the heater slides right in. I also included a pic of the valve for clarity.

One question I have for anyone else that has installed these. Where did you run the wire to? Right now I have mine run to the area just right of the hood latch. There was some empty space there so I coiled the extra wire and secured it there. What else have people done?

So, have I missed the cost vs. benefit analysis on installing this device? Seems that actually warming the battery would be more efficient use of electric's cost. This small ICE will warm up quite quickly relatively speaking.

Gasoline is a very inefficient way to warm the engine. It's also much more expensive per BTU than electricity. Not only does a block heater save money by saving gasoline, it greatly extends engine life. Oil circulates sooner and quicker in a warmed engine. The engine wear from a single cold start is equivalent to hundreds of miles of steady-state warm engine freeway driving.

You said it better than I could have.