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Pastimes : Car Nut Corner: All About Cars -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JDN who wrote (276)	4/7/1999 3:18:00 PM
From: Greg from Edmonton	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5787

A block heater, hmm. It's a heating element that is inserted into the coolant passage of an engine block. A block heater is installed in place of one of the freeze plugs on an engine. Think of it as an electric kettle for your engine coolant. Block heaters are powered by regular 120VAC house current through an extension cord running to the vehicle. It can be very frustrating when one forgets to unplug the extension cord before driving away! Back in my college days I drove a Chrysler V8 that was propane fueled. Propane is more difficult to start in the cold than gasoline is, and the car was equipped with TWO block heaters (one for each side). That setup would draw some major amperage, and would start to melt snow that sat on the hood.