Improvised Block Heater

Hey, it's your car. These houshold irons aren't made that well, I wouldn't trust them for anything more than their intended purpose. Maybe it will fail nicely, maybe it won't.

"ethnic engineering"

would you be willing to take the iron inside, plug it in, and leave it on its hottest setting while you go to work for the day?

most people wouldnt. hell- id bet some people would turn around and go home even if it has an "auto-off" feature.

Ha! Ha! This is great!

I just realized that you are the part of the reason that so many products have those funny disclaimers on the package!

On another note, you could sue the iron manufacturer for NOT labeling 'Do not use as an oil pan heater for your car' after it melts down along with the house.

And think of the 'laugh' factor....you'll make Leno, Letterman, the Today show along with the Darwin Awards! You'll be famous for just about as long as the Top Ten takes to display onscreen!

I say go for it, man! Yeah! Do it, do it, do it! Can we nickname you 'The Beaver'?

- mike -

- Nehmo - I confess, I'd feel a bit apprehensive. But the iron with its cord outside are above concrete, and the oil pan isn't flammable. I probably even could put a butane torch on the pan without any ill effect.

Maybe I should explain a more. I practically always wake up a good three hours prior to starting the truck. I wouldn't leave the iron on all night; I'd position the iron in the evening, and then plug in (inside) the end of the extension cord as soon as I woke up. If the truck caught on fire, I'd probably notice before it spread to stack of lumber I park next to.

- mike -

- Nehmo - Those people would have less stress if they trusted more in technology.

I've seen those figures too, Nehmo. I have never been able to find a documentation for them though. I also tried to find documentation for the claims that small particulates in the oil are responsible for a large share of the wear that occurs. Oft quoted, but I have not found a source for the data.

This iron application would probably work most of the time, if you use an old one without the safety features. Ditto the light bulb. Have used it occasionally for 50 years and never burned up anything. Still, the hazard exists.

You can always use the old iron to wax your skis.

What do the instructions with the iron say about using an extension cord? Most that I've seen advise against extension cords with the irons.

BUT, I guess you don't believe that either.

Me.

Amen! Let him do what he wants. This is a classic troll spoof, eh?

Everyone is missing the critical question... ***WILL IT GET THE WRINKLES OUT OF MY OIL PAN????***

Please advise, the last time I took my Yugo to the tailor's he charged $4.50 to steam clean the coolant system and I am trying to avoid paying it again just for the oil pan.

Another technique I used to use is to open the hood and breathe really hard onto the starter, but I started to get dizzy on really cold days so I had to stop. I still think someone with larger lungs could probably do it that way.

Also, I am considering just lighting a small bonfire under my car to dry it off after it rains. I was a boy scout so I know how to prepare a safe fire pit. Opinions on type of wood to use?

Dave

I guess it would work in a pinch.

Could actually be really expensive though, not cheap and easy.

You need to compare the watts of the iron with the watts of a block heater. Both use a lot of electricity.

'Real' block heaters are cheap as well.

Mike

Nehmo Sergheyev wrote:

You Guys must live awfully boring lives if this entertains you :-))

While the ethnic version is no longer PC perhaps the euphemism, "farmer rigging" could be substituted. At any rate, given that block heaters can be purchased for less than $20.00 and installed in minutes, I fail to see the savings from using an old iron. The cost/risk factor is pretty high given that irons were not meant to be used in that fashion or for that duration.

Given the 1000 watts of a typical iron, this sounds like it could be a bit TOO much

- BOB -

- Nehmo - It's an old iron that didn't come into my hands with instructions. I had previously thought that it was ours, but now I think it must have been in this house when we rented it. It's a TIP - TOE made by YALE & TOWNE [their caps] NO. D8424B. If somebody wants to buy it as an antique, I'm taking offers.

Humh. I just looked it up. It's the one under 1946.

The extension cord? It's a 14/3 100' orange outside type. It can handle

They DO have aftermarket oil pressurizers ( 12 volt pumps (expensive ) , pressurized tanks ( cheaper, pressurized from the last time the car was running , and requires more oil on fill-up for the tank I believe )

The reason I never bought one is that they are difficult to install

They were in a race/street car catalogue If I recall rught

tim

Why don't you ask your insurance agent what they think about your idea, and then post their response. And if they say it's "OK", please post their name as well.

Have you considered setting up a cutting torch under the engine overnight. Just set it so the flame goes straight up. Or maybe use some of that pine firewood that hasn't aged enough to use in the fireplace. This should save you money on your electric bill too.

Do the words "HERES YOU'RS SIGN" mean anything to you

- Tyrone -

- Nehmo - The acetylene and oxygen would be too expensive, and there's no need for that hot a heat source. However, your concept has merit. They should make a small butane burner, or maybe even something that runs off gasoline. Make in wind protected and use an electric ignition. You could locate it anywhere if it heated the fluid in the heater hose line. A _small_ 12 V pump intermittently turned on by a thermostat and a timer could do the circulation. With something like this, you wouldn't need an extension cord or an outside power source.

Maybe I'm not searching right, but I couldn't find a Google hit on something like this.

Another possibility, if you have the space as I do with this truck, is to make a very well insulated container of, say, 5-or so gallons, and run cooling fluid in it and out of it with the heater hose line. Before you start the engine in the morning, you turn on a 12 V circulation pump. To avoid temperature shock on the block, you could arrange some system to gradually mix the cold cooling fluid in the engine with the still-hot fluid in your storage container.

I'm thinking about building something like this. Does anybody have any suggestions?