Block Heater

[flyfishn]

I had a block heater installed. I need to add an extension cord to it as it is very short. I figure 4' with a wee bit extra. Figuring on zap strapping it to the bull bars.

Would I be looking for any specific gauge?

I will just add a male and female ends to the 4'.

Thanks

[Adam]

I put block heater through the engine hatch so that it hung in the passenger foot well. Then I'd run the extension cord from the house to the block heater and shut the passenger door on the cord. There was enough space so that the cord didn't get squished. It was a little bit of a pain having to poen the passenger door every time I wanted to plug in, biut on the plus side I never drove off with it still plugged in.

[Green1]

extension cord gauge is one of the big mysteries of life, it seems most extension cords I have found are rated to carry less current than your standard household circuit breaker, which seems to me to be a ridiculously dangerous situation.

That said, most any 3 prong extension cord I have ever seen is rated higher than the draw of a block heater (though many 2 prong extension cords may not be)

So in short, you're probably ok buying any old 3-prong extension cord, however as with most things electrical, the heavier gauge the better.

[patty]

i just use a regular 3 prong extension cord with three female plug in s on one end. i plug in the block heater, battery blanket and sometimes a small basement heater (to keep locks and door seals from freezing shut). also i keep a spool of a 100 ft extension cord in the deli (which iv had to use on two occasions!)
iv never had any problems with brakers flipping or flames or melting of cords so your probably in the clear.

[delicat]

With Jay (Tardisdeli) we brought the cord from the block heater to the area under the driver's seat then cut a hole in the sheet metal and installed a marine plug so that the house extension attaches to the van directly. Might have a few pictures in some previous post... Best install in my mind!

[Firesong]

Just installed one myself while I had the exhaust / intake manifold out.
It had me a little stressed for a bit. Wasn't expecting those darn
frost plugs to be so sturdy. Anyway it's all done too. Now
I have a oil pan warmer and a block heater in.

J

[Adrock]

#14 is what most household circuits are fed with. 14/3 cab tire is what the extension cord will be. If you are running close to the 15 amps (say in patty's case) you would probably be better off to find a 12/3 cord. Definitely if you are running it 100ft plus. However given that resistance decreases with temperature and you only use the block heater in the cold I don't see there really being much of an issue even across long distances. You will use slightly less power if you have larger conductors.

What I would recommend though, if the block heater has a way to get to how the original cord is terminated inside is just buy a piece of 14/3 cab tire and one male plug end (unless the one on your heater is reusable) and then reterminate the new one where the old one was. Then you have 1 cord, as long as you need to get to the front of the vehicle.

[Erebus]

With Jay (Tardisdeli) we brought the cord from the block heater to the area under the driver's seat then cut a hole in the sheet metal and installed a marine plug so that the house extension attaches to the van directly. Might have a few pictures in some previous post... Best install in my mind!

Mine has the Jay special too. Battery charger & block heater & interior 110v outlets all combined with outside input. Love it. So far, block heater isn't plugged in yet, but will be shortly.

Previously I had a lower rad hose heater which was installed before it became known that block heaters could be put it. The rad heater had a long extension cord tthat runs under the Deli and comes out on the rear bumper. I'll probably switch it to be common with the other plug-ins so one cord does it all. And with the outlet just behind the driver's door, it is really, really hard to drive away with it.

http://www.delica.ca/forum/delica-to-th ... tml#p47450 You can see the plug in the first photo in this post, black round thing behind door and tire.