# Block Heater



## REAM1 (May 25, 2006)

I know this may sound out of the norm, but up here in the Great White North (especially now), would our X-Trails require a block heater? Some of the domestic vehicles have these block heaters already installed.

Regards,

REAM1


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## Rockford (Jan 28, 2005)

REAM1 said:


> Some of the domestic vehicles have these block heaters already installed.


...and so does your X-Trail. I've never used ours.


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## REAM1 (May 25, 2006)

That is good to know. Next question, where could I find this plug?


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## BrianJ (Nov 3, 2006)

Mine was tucked in the bumper opening beside the licence plate (passenger side). You can trace the wire with the hood open if that doesn't work


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## Riceking (Nov 21, 2006)

Do you guys in TO need a block heater these days? In Edmonton, half of us plug in at night when it gets below -18 or -20. Don't forget windchill doesn't do any to a car like it does our exposed skin.

I swear when I was a kid in the 80s there were -40C days! Now you only see down to -30C.

Rice


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## flynn (Jun 23, 2006)

Riceking said:


> Now you only see down to -30C.


*Only*?? Brr. :crazy:


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## Rockford (Jan 28, 2005)

Riceking said:


> Do you guys in TO need a block heater these days?


I don't think so. Like I said, we've never used ours. Nights where it gets below -20 are very rare in this neck of the woods. 
But anything approaching -10 and you'd think the world was coming to an end the way people and the local media harp on it. Then we constantly hear about how we're in the middle of a "cold snap" or worse yet, a "deep freeze". :lame:


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## The Mad Hat Man (Oct 3, 2006)

is that global warming?


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## Riceking (Nov 21, 2006)

The Mad Hat Man said:


> is that global warming?


Could be... or as the city gets bigger maybe there's an urban heat island effect from the concrete and buildings?

The coldest day recorded in Edmonton was -49.4 C (1886) and I don't know if a block heater would've helped...


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## The Mad Hat Man (Oct 3, 2006)

Crikey!

we have bad weather here in the UK, too ya know. We got frost on the ground today with lows of -3!  Mite even get snow later this week.


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## REAM1 (May 25, 2006)

Hey My Fellow Albertan!

I know I am not as cold as you are out there, but I was just curious to know if these vehicles carry one regardless.

REAM1


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## Riceking (Nov 21, 2006)

If you take a look under your rig you might see it. Look at the picture of my Datsun truck below you'll see coolant leaking around my block heater!
-Rice


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## littlefish (Jul 1, 2006)

I plugged my block heater in several weeks ago and it helped my 90 Pathfinder start easier. Also helped on the warmup- did not take as long to get warm air. Got down to 28 where I live in Houston. Lordy - that was cold! Best of Luck...Littlefish


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## flynn (Jun 23, 2006)

The Mad Hat Man said:


> Crikey!
> 
> we have bad weather here in the UK, too ya know. We got frost on the ground today with lows of -3!  Mite even get snow later this week.


Was -3 overnight here too. Had to find the button for the rear-screen heater because I've never used it before. If we get snow because it's winter (shock, horror) it will be on the news and the whole country will grind to a halt.


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## shabalia (Dec 27, 2005)

The block heater on for a couple of hours makes an amazing difference. It is nice in this cold weather to just start the car and go, without any protest. Before I started using the heater, I was so glad for the heated seats because everything else took soooo long to warm up. I have the block heater on a timer most of the time but even a hour plugged in is great. Also if you have a lot of ice on the windshield, it is much faster to scrape.


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## Enufsaid (Aug 21, 2006)

flynn said:


> If we get snow because it's winter (shock, horror) it will be on the news and the whole country will grind to a halt.


Well, we did - and so did the country. Train & road travel disprupted, airports closed etc  I mean, just look at the huge depth of snow in my garden...................:woowoo:


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## flynn (Jun 23, 2006)

Enufsaid said:


> Well, we did - and so did the country. Train & road travel disprupted, airports closed etc  I mean, just look at the huge depth of snow in my garden...................:woowoo:


Gosh, fancy that, snow in winter and _almost_ freezing. Britain is now closed until further notice. 

Keep warm.


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## The Mad Hat Man (Oct 3, 2006)

road traffic report - "do not go out unless absolutely necessary" - ffs its 2-4" of snow!

major disruption to rail system - dont yu guys in Canada wish you had it this bad? 

maybe there is an argument to say if this freak weather is likely to become more common due to global warming - we should all get 4wd vehicles - wunda wot the governments take on that is?

anyone driven a prius in it yet


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## Riceking (Nov 21, 2006)

According to Enviorment Canada; when a car has been plugged in for 2 hours in -25 C weather, you save up to 25% in fuel.
EnviroZine - Print Version


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## flynn (Jun 23, 2006)

Riceking said:


> According to Enviorment Canada; when a car has been plugged in for 2 hours in -25 C weather, you save up to 25% in fuel.
> EnviroZine - Print Version


They say: "vehicle sitting at -25 °C was warmed using a block heater for two hours and then driven over the simulated urban driving cycle".

As it's a percentage would help if they said a percentage of what. I'd guess to mean much you'd need to know how long and what the urban cycle was. If the journey was just 5 miles you'd expect the _percentage _saving to be much more than if the journey was 500 miles though the actual volume of fuel the same. From the point the engine would have reached operating temperature without prior heating I can't see there being any saving.


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