So I figured out how to install my block heater

Ken:

I would have to install either a mechanical temperature gauge for the motor, or get a scantool that can give me temperature readouts, before I trust even blocking off the grille.

Usually by the time the Idiot Lights turn on, the damage is done.

As far as the CVT area, I'll agree the powertrain will be more efficient if warm, but I was thinking about the inverter itself.

jay

 

I agree about the inverter, cooler is better.
But, we limit it up to 50C which is same as summer, so it should be OK.

Ken@Japan

 

on the way home tonight, normal route had a delay so took the long way home and by the time I got to the top of the hill and travelled across the top the MG's were just over 50C, MG1=57C and MG2=53C this mirrored the MG Inverter temps. ICE was as high as 94C and the heater was just a pumping out the heat. I'll keep watching the temps and will open up the grill if necessary but I doubt that it will be required. OAT+7C

 

Evan:

OK, I'll bite, How in the world can you get upper 50mpg's??? Is your driving on flat, unpoputated roads with no stop signs/roads??? Please tell...

I'm in So. Oregon and I travel 7miles to work. Approx. 2 miles is downhill from 2200ft elevation down to 1300ft, then back to 2000ft to work. Then I reverse the the commute at night. I plug in the EBH at night and give it a 4 hr. soak. I don't yet have a scantool or Canview. I blocked off most of the upper part of the radiator with S-Core, a plastic version of cardboard. Morning lows have been in the low 30's highs in the 50's. I 'only' average 43mpg. I try to accelerate from stop signs/lights somewhat briskly, except in (Coastal) EV mod mode which trips the ICE to engage. I use the EV mode as much as possible until the "SYSTEM" kicks it out. I try to brake gently and long before stop lights/signs to get the best benefit from Regen Braking etc.

Can you, or anyone else, share your magic with the rest of the class.

Grateful every time I fill up!!!

KennYOregonhttp://priuschat.com/style_images/1/folder_post_icons/icon6.gif

 

My commute is about 13 miles. Temperatures are now mostly 30 to 40 in the mornings.
I was getting 55 mpg going to work typically in summer. Now I get about 48 to 50 mpg.
This is way better than I got last winter, due mainly to the new block heater.

I use EV only in two places, where I have traffic, lots of crawl and stop up to a light that is slightly up hill. Rarely get over 10 mph. Then when I pass that light I go up a hill I let the engine start for so I can stay with traffic. This is just a short distance. Then back to EV where I am essentially going down hill for a ways, through three more traffic lights I virtually always have to stop at sometimes more than once.

Rest of my trip is engine on, maybe 3 miles of 30-40 mph and the rest going 55 to 60 moh on a highway. My trip has a total of 10 traffic lights where I have to stop at most of them.

Last winter I got under 40 mpg when temps were down around 0. Without the block heater I estimate at current temps I would get only 43-45 mpg.

There is quite a bit of variation, but the worst case is when I have long stops at the lights near my house when the car is not yet warm. I let the engine keep going then to get it warmed up.

Start and end points are within a couple hundred feet but I think work is the lower elevation.

I accelerate slowly, mostly no arrows.

Only other thing I do besides my block heater and radiator and engine covers, is I use a scan gauge, or now a can view! I use it mostly to monitor engine temps.
I start with a med low fan speed on the heater with recirc mode. This remains till the car is up to 170 degrees. Then I can use more heat and bring in fresh air, provided the engine can stay warm enough. When I bring in outside air I use only one of the two lowest fan speeds to save engine heat. Window defrosting needs may require me to vary this but most days this works.

Any extra heater use till the car is good and warm shows up as a signinficant mpg drop. I'm not too cold because I use electric heat to warm the cabin before I leave.

I have a time switch that feeds the car block heater and another timer.
This timer turns on after an hour and a half, so I wind up with 2 hours of block heat and 30 minutes of cabin heat typically when I leave for work. When It gets colder I may increase the block heat time.

I have a back route I can regularly get over 60 mpg with in summer. In winter I avoid that route, since it is too slow and engine can't stay warm, so my highway mpg becomes best!

 

Judicious indeed! Well, the phrase, "Your mileage may vary" comes to mind right about now. Perhaps I'll add an extra hour to the block heater warm up, 'cause it's still taking nearly 5 min. until I get good cabin heat after a nighttime of cold soaking and 4 hrs. of EBH On-Time.

I'm considering getting the CAN-VIEW, so I can monitor the coolant temp, etc., etc. more carefully but I also need to identify whether I've got the several hours it takes to install it avail. any time soon. I know the Scan Gauge (is that the same as ScanTool?) is a simple plug and play item, but then I'm only getting a small (albeit important) snapshot of the car's functioning avail. for viewing.
Decisions, Decisions.

Thanks Evan and tomdeimos too!

KennYOregon

 

I swapped out the pre-production CAN-view and installed the production unit in less than 42 minutes which is how long the video of the installation is. Probable install time is about45 minutes for a first time install.

 

Up until this point, I have been working at the block and the heating element from underneath the car. However, I couldn't get a good enough grip on the cable to plug it in.
So...
I reached around from the top of the ICE. If you reach in from the passenger side of the car, there is a hole just below the windshield. Contort your body and arm so that you are hugging the ICE and you should be able to feel the newly inserted heating element.
Since I could see my hand between the HV inverter and the ICE, I fed the power cord between the firewall, ICE, and HV inverter. I was able to plug it in on the second try.


I ran the cord just to the right of the hood latch and down the front of the radiator along the post and out to the lower plastic grill. Looks good.

I've got a _very_ accurate Watt hour meter called Smart-Watt from Smart-works, but I won't have the ability to use it until Tuesday. I'll have accurate Watt readings on Tuesday. Just wait.


On with the pictures...

The first picture is where I reached to get access to the block heater hole.

The second picture is the view looking directly up from the ground

The third picture is where the hole is.


Oh by the way... DO NOT TOUCH the element once you have installed it to see if it is working - is it working! I burned my thumb and have a blister on it now...

 

I just purchased a Engine Block Heater thru Toyota Depot, has anybody used the dealer to install it? If so, how much was the installation cost? I can't believe my MPG drop 4-5 MPG due to the cold weather.

 

If you read all of this post you will find your answer.

 

Again, it is not a good idea to block the radiator itself.
The key is keeping the engine room warm.

If you do so, you'll see huge rebounds to charge the battery back to it's desired level.
Your average mileage value will be worse.

Ken@Japan

 

I had my local mechanic do it one hour charge (that was the mininum) 52 as I recall with tax etc. I might have gotten away with a lower price if I had it done with an oil change at the same time.

 

After reading this thread, I had my Toyota dealer do it. $111.00. Ouch. That might have been worth the skinned knuckles.

To be fair to the dealer, I just said "do it" and did not ask about or try to negotiate the price. The service writer said he heard a lot of grumbling from the mechanic, so I'm guessing it was not an easy job.

Just FYI, YMMV.

 

I don't know but if you put the car on a lift it would be a piece of cake. The installer ran the wire around the connection points of the plastic front radiator cover in such a fashion that it does not move around. I open the hood and plug it in. I am thinking about getting a space blanket to cover the engine and prevent a chimney effect with the slightly open hood and the heated block. That might increase block heater effect.

 

Thanks to all who contributed to this post, I installed my heater in about an hour. Without your help I would have spent days under the car without ever finding the hole where the heater goes; let alone have it inserted correctly and plugged in. The next order of business is making a partial radiator block out of coroplast. I just used the last piece I had lying around making one for my Insight, so I guess I have to go looking for more roadside sign blight. Recycle junk signs, improve mileage, and improve the view in one easy step!

 

So if this is your first post since you joined in May my question to you first after a welcome is how long have you followed this thread?

 

I had a similar experience at about 42F. I got it up to full hybrid in about .4 of a mile, then dipped in and out of the optimal temp zone with radiator blocker for the first 4 miles before Belle would stay above full hybrid temps for the rest of the trip. Belle cools off fast! I hate to think what is going to happen when the temperatures drop!