Engine oil heater (max oil temp)

estrada5.9

estrada5.9

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Due to the recent move to the tropical state of North Dakota I've been working on ways to achieve normal operating temps as fast as possible. My wife enjoys a warm cab for some reason.

I just put a Wolverine engine oil heater on her 03. When it was -20f out in the morning it took double the time to see max oil pressure around 22 seconds to see 80-85psi with delo oil.

With the cold cab and molasses like oil a engine oil heater seems like a good investment.


THE QUESTION FOR THOSE WHO DON'T LIKE STORIES:

What's the max temp the oil can get before being degraded for lack of a better term and will a 250 watts oil pan heater achieve this at a outside temp of 32?

I plugged in the block and oil heater on a N.O.T. pickup and touched the oil pan it was much hotter than normal (of course) within a few minutes.

Will I cook the oil with it plugged in when the vehicle is up to temp?
 
Oil pan heater's are great, we've put them on for year's and never had any issue's. Seems to me we always used 500's. If you really want to heat it up good put a tank type 1500W engine coolant circulating heater. When you shut it down leave the defrost on and the window's will be clear in the morn and practically operating temp.

1500W+500W+750W=thank you from the power company...LOL

A good synthetic dual grade oil goes a long way, anything that we have that might have to cold start on it's own get's 0W-40. Everything else that we know can be plugged in will stay with 15W-40 + pan heater.
 
I think if it was me I would run a Espar heater and run 5/40 in the winter or 10w30 as some manuals specify.

But for a good pan heater use a Moroso heater.
 
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Lucky for me my wife plugs in at home and work for free so more the electrical heaters the better.

I keep telling myself I'll do a diesel fired coolant heater someday but I hate clutter and fear the mess one will make of the engine compartment.
 
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You be surprised there fairly small.

It says your in Williston , you work for a frack company?
 
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No a construction company building locations for oil wells.

I would like one that could be hidden away and programmable I know espar has a 7 day timer.
 
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Have a buddy up there that works for Slumber J

Back on topic. The Espar heater is roughly 10"x 8" give or take an inch.
 
140 degrees is the typical point of where you can't hold your hand on something. Take that into consideration.

I would choose a good synthetic 5w-xx or even 0w-xx for those kinds of temps. Years ago I would run the amsoil 5w-30 in my 01. -15F in the 2 or 3 days sitting, she fired up unplugged, didn't notice excessive time for oil pressure. I had an oil pan heater and the block heater hooked on a single plug that I typically used. I just wanted to see it start in the -15.
 
Your not going to beat a pan heater/block heater for function and simplicity. The Wolverine heater's are as good as they get, first one I ever installed is still used ever day all winter.
 
Thanks for the input guys.

Combination of the block and pan heater is nothing sort of amazing. Summer time like rise in oil pressure this smorning and faster warm up.

Outside temps today were just bellow freezing (practically t-shirt weather) and the engine coolant temp was 109 degrees upon startup at the end of the day and 149 degrees after a ten minute (she likes a warm cab remember you minimal idle time Nazi's) warm up still plugged in.

Almost looking forward to some "arctic" weather again to see how the temps are when its bellow 0 and windy.
 
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With the temps in ND, mine never had issues. The ambient temp got so cold the oil heater never had a chance to burn it. Hell the block heater might have kept the coolant above freezing LOL
 
-9 today in the morning. 60 degree coolant temp and oil pressure at max in 7 seconds as opposed to 20 or so like before.
 
-28 today in the morning with -43 wind chill.

60 degree coolant and a hair over 6 seconds to max oil pressure.
 
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