Winter startup

ok ok, i think we can all agree that the effect of windchill on different people will affect each one differently... either way, cold is cold and i think we have determined that neither temps or wind contributed to the OP's issues

 

Yep. Old fogey here. Raised back in the day when whippersnappers had respect for their elders, and teachers listed the number-one classroom problem as gum-chewing.

Problem is, if you only learn what you think is important, you may find there's a lot of stuff you need but don't know because you chose not to learn it.

So rather than take offense and rant about how "this is how we speak in southern Washington State," (which I doubt) you could instead take it as a friendly comment and let it pass. It's quite true that languages are composed of dialect groups, but it's also true that the standard dialect is useful to know and serves as a lingua franca between groups, and that knowing the standard dialect will increase your employability and earning potential, making it that much easier to buy a Prius.

 

Well Hello Daniel.. you don't scare off too easily? :lol:

I have read your posts and I respect your input concerning other issues as well as those corresponding with me.

I appreciate that you haven't gotten so offended that you will no longer speak.... There's nothing like a little high spirited conversation to help give me my second wind after a hard days work!

There are many many things I have choosen not to learn in this life and others I have. I am not one well versed in trivial knowledge. Many take pride in knowing as much of it as they can, many times I think to impress their friends. I take pride in knowing what is valuable to me to know.

In the work place.. no one can know it all.. thats why we have branched off into specialites and we all draw from the skills of each other. Even so in life, I don't try to know it all... just whats my business or what interest me. I work in a specialty field as a living and I appreciate being very skilled in one area far about those who try to do it all. I get paid more than them too!

I do terrible on those jeapardy games..
But I know what I know pretty well and I also know enough to know I don't know alot too! That too comes with age. And I don't know if your older than me, but I'm old enough that I don't like thinking about it too much!

And I do respect you Daniel.. not for your age, cause I don't know how old you are, but for the character I have picked up from your post and that you are willing to continue conversation.... that speaks tons!

Most just write people off they can't click with and because of that, they never learn anything! Churches are very bad about that... so they stay in the same level of revelation for ever and get stagnant.. but thats another subject.

We have alot in common.. only not about issues of war and politics... but otherwise I think so. Besides that.. we both like the same car!

Thanks for being civil and showing your maturity by not going into overload on me!
I sense your age has brought wisdom... with many, age brings nothing cause folks refuse to grow and change and even converse with anyone who is not like them.

And to kinda get back on track, this same mentality of not being about to see different viewpoints and adjust settings accordingly is why GM is in the pickle they are in.
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But to change the subject just a bit.... I have often wondered if a block heater would even be worth the hassle and money? I live where it rarely gets below 32.
I doubt I would be saving any gas to speak of by starting out warmer.... esp since prius has a reservoir that stores heated coolant anyway.

 

Henry (hdrygas) has one and lives in Olympia... milder weather than you if you live far enough inland...probably about the same. on the colder days we were having like the past few weeks, he was getting a good 60º headstart on me...in fact, when his thermos empited it was actually LOWERING the water temp...so the heater did do a lot to boost his mileage. his commute is like mine, not really very long and mostly at 35 mph. tough for the Prius to warm up when its kicking to electric frequently. he was averaging a good 2-3mpg higher than me...

 

-6 F this morning (-21C). prius didn't notice a thing. defrost worked pretty good too.

 

I guess what I'm trying to figure out "is it cost effective"

what i mean is if you see a 2 - 3 mpg difference.. is that per tank and is it due to the heater?... because if its per tank, knowing the car will heat up on its own anyway if a few minutes, that would mean in the beginning of the commute the savings would have to be tremendous to average out 2-3 over the use of the whole tank?

Unless the whole tank was used making 2 - 5 mile trips?, Where the car never really had time to heat up good?

For most people that have 15 to 20 minute or more commutes... it may not pay off?

 

I should leap in here. (By the way don't bother to correct my English and spelling, with my dyslexia, I have been ignoring that stuff for years. I can't even hear criticisms any longer. You can tell by the far off gaze in my eye. ) Back on topic or at least the block heater and mild climates one. I am following the example Frank Hudon in Vancouver BC. Same climate as here, a Marine Climate. My commute is just over 8 miles, so is the grocery store, my mothers nursing home and most of the places I go. Occasionally I will do a longer drive to the other side of town. I stay away from the roads that have 45-50 mph speed limits. The block heater is on a timer and runs for 3 hours except when I am on call when I leave it on all night. That would be one in 4. Summers warm but not hot with cool nights. Winters cool not cold lots of rain little snow except in the mountains. We just had a cold snap and had some lows in the upper 20’s, mainly the lows are in the low 40’s with highs in the upper 40’s and low 50’s. In summer with out the block heater the car was up to temp about 2 miles in to my commute in the am. In early Fall with the block heater and lower but not winter temps ¼ mi to get to 157 F and my best life time tank at just over 60 mpg. During the cold snap with radiator blocker and block heater I just had a tank at 48.9 mpg and it took about 2 miles to get to 157. One evening when it was cold I forgot to plug it in and it took 7 miles on the same roads to get to 157. I have found because I have no stops until late in my commute so I find that I cannot pulse and glide until I get to 157 unless I need to stop for 10 sec or more. Now the temps are up I am getting 55 mpg and I am up to 157 with the blocked radiator in ¼ mile. Conclusion the block heater is helpful in our climate.

 

i think the key is the length of the commute. in the summer time, 8 miles is more than long enough to overcome the warmup penalty... in the winter time, it aint. so if you drive oh say... 30+ miles one way, forget the heater... but for us, need it. on the cold days, i struggled to hit 160º. at 35 mph, i have to drive over 11 miles to warm up that far. but its tough when the ICE is starting at 50-60º

 

Hum.. that makes sense...

 

Even when the temp is around 0 here I'm still able to get 25-30 MPG in the first 5 minutes, which consists of 3 traffic lights and no speed over about 40 mph over a distance of about 1 mile. I havn't tried it w/o the BH yet. I should do that and see what happens. I really want to but a radiator block in but gotta get a can-view first so I can monitor the engine temp.

 

Do you mind if I ask what you do for a living?