Freeze Plug on 97 dodge ram

The center hole is the correct place for it. If you want LOTS of heat and can afford the electric bill, put one on each side.

It only costs more when you plug them in. Just don't plug the driver's side in until it's /really/ cold out.

Driver's side? Isn't that backwards, always plug in the driver's side first, then the passenger's side when really cold? That way the driver's side of the truck warms up faster, right?

Most block heaters are about 700 watts, so two would be 1400 watts. Say eight hours, that's 11.2 KWH. At six cents a KWH (that's a low number, you probably pay more) that's about $0.67 (vs $0.34 for one)

The heater core is on the passenger side.

I pay 10¢ per kilowatt-hour but my state average is 8.91¢. It's high for the state but still under the national average of 10.4¢.

Always someone rains on my parade!

True, true... Also, I don't know about you, but around here (NH) I rarely plug in for more than two hours unless it is *really* cold out. Even two hours makes a world of difference.

What really helps is an outdoor outlet with a smart timer on it. You can set it to kick on the block heater about two or three hours before you usualy leave and both save money and not have to worry about it. In my case, the timer is indoors, so I can both disable it easily, and turn it out when off manually as needed.

Don't let a little rain stop you.

Or you could move to Georgia like I did. It's supposed to go up to 60° today.

I just have to stop replying to you, that's dirty fighting!

I suppose that this summer, when it is 95+ with a RH of 100% I can zing you with how it is 80 and 55% RH!

Yep. That's a typical summer day here.

i live in georgia but have a block heater on three of my trucks. since we go to new hampshire every febuary and kolo"rad"o once per winter i figure it is worth the extra couple of bucks.

i decided to do this the winter of 1993 when we were in cadillac vermont and awoke to -29 degrees temperature not including windchill. the nice tow truck driver that got us started up said, "all those dodge dakotas have trouble when its below minus 20."

ever since all my trucks that i travel in get a block heater. the winter we decided to go through wisconsin and north dakota on our way to canada i added a battery heater. the guys at the local dodge dealership thought i was loony buying a mopar battery heater. the morning we woke up in north dakota to -47 degrees and half of the vehicles in the motel parking lot were not cranking, ours fired right up. it was worth every penny that morning.

important piece of advice. remove the battery heater during the georgia summer even if you are smart enough to not plug it in. just the extra insulation will cook your battery the first day the thermometer breaks 100 degrees. don't ask how i learned that.... michael

Meanie! Rub in that warm weather...

OK, you're forgiven... WHere in NH?

Battery heaters are (very) useful, as much use as a block heater. I'll agree with the fact that they also insulate the battery, so in (very) hot cliimates that observation can be valid. One alternative is a bottom pad heater for teh battery, one that goes under the battery and not on the sides.

we go to north conway every febuary. the wife has been sick for the past three weeks so our trip is on hold this year until we see if she is going to get to feeling better. michael

That is a real pretty area, winter or summer.

Before I retired from the Coast Guard in 2005 in Portland, Maine, one of our favorite trips was to the Kancamagus Highway in New Hampshire....never made it to Mount Washington......(thinking out loud)

Dave

Roy wrote:

I like it better in the summer myself... But I'm biased since I have it all year round!

i have spent a good deal of time on the kancamangus hwy. mount washington is really nice in the winter if you catch it on a day when the winds are reasonable. was on the summit in 100+ mph winds one particular trip and that was plain miserable. michael

we have all the summer we want down here in north georgia and north carolina. we like the skiing and ice climbing around conway. the white mountains have the best low altitude winter mountaineering i have ever experienced. michael

Not terribly near Mt. Washington, but today I had to walk around my parking area and pick up all the next door kid's toys and toss them back towards their house! Winds? Naw, just a gentle breeze.

Can't blame the neighbors, they are new to the area and don't realzie that a gentle winter's breeze is about 40 MPH or so, and that anything not tied down (including the kids!) will blow eastwards!

If you want an experience, you can volunteer to work on top of Mt Washington at the weather observatory in the winter. That one week tour of duty will give new respect to the term "Winter Weather" (note the caps!)

Yup, and a whole new meaning to term wind chill.

Roy

every time i have been on washington it has been blustery. in the winter if they predict less than 70mph winds at the summit i consider it perfect weather. over 100 is miserable, especially if the temps are less than 0 degrees farenheit. michael