block heater question qsb 5.9 380

[Mike Mason]

my qsb 5.9 380’s came with block heaters installed. not pan heaters, but block heaters. located in san diego, is there a benefit having them plugged in during winter months to help cut down on corrosion, etc..

thanks

mike

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[Mike Mason]

thanks for the replies. ill keep the block heaters off as I have done since we owned the boat. thanks

mike

[Tony Athens]

Cummins supplied Block heaters ( in the 1000-1500 watts range) used in a marine environment are NOT SAFE..

It took me over a decade to sort thru these.. Their wattage to too high to be cycled on and off using shore power and in the high moisture environment in your engine room, I now fundamentally recommend NOT USING THEM..

IMO, keep your your total wattage asked in your engine room to about 500w or less regardless of the engine (s) or type of heater you employ.

Tony

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Jeffry Fitch

[firehoser75]

Hi Mike,
My 6BTA has a block heater, but I added an oil pan heater. Granted, where I live is much wetter (rainy), and cooler (average temps like Seattle) than where you are, but using the low wattage pan heater (250 watts) keeps my engine and engine room warm and much dryer than without. I have a remote sensor that measures ER temps and humidity. I run the pan heater whenever we have shore power. It also makes “cold” starts easier with less smoke.
The Wolverine is not expensive, is easy to install (DYI as long as there is an A/C outlet in your ER), and does not use much power.
Here in the winter I run a dehumidifier, several fans, and a small electric heater, so I do care about my overall power draw. We have a 30 amp system, and I don’t want to run over 20 amps continuous. Most of the time, I read about 10-12 amps.
By the way, this is what Tony recommended (the oil pan heater) to me a couple of years ago.

[Author]

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