Block heater timers

[Carnoobie]

I just got one and the guy at Rona said (this is Uberhaus brand which is Rona house brand) you can only run it on one car so you need one timer for each car and only to run a white ext cord out of it.

I said I have a yellow ext which is about 20ft and they said thats too long. He said only run white ext cable from it which I dont know whats so special about them. I always thought white ones are for indoors and I doubt they hold up in -30 weather like the heavy duty ones.

Is it true? I dont see how running a 20-25 ext cord is too long?

 

[HerrStig]

How many amps does it draw? Extention cords have an amp rating which should be on the label of a new one. At Christmas, lots of GREEN cords get sold around here.

 

[rslifkin]

Any extension cord that's rated for enough amps should be fine. The longer the cord, the heaver gauge I'd want it to be (for a 25 foot, 12 gauge should be fine, longer than that and 10 gauge might be worth the cost).

 

[Carnoobie]

It says on the timer.

15amp, 1875W Resistive load
8amp, Tungsteon lamp

Whatever that means, im guessing the timer is 15amps then?

Originally Posted By: rslifkin
Any extension cord that's rated for enough amps should be fine. The longer the cord, the heaver gauge I'd want it to be (for a 25 foot, 12 gauge should be fine, longer than that and 10 gauge might be worth the cost).


Mine now is definitely not a 12g, I think its 16.

So ill run to home depot and get a 12g or even 10g if I can find one. They look expensive though. And im guessing i should look for one that matches my timers amps? Which looks like 15amps.

I see all the ext cords labelled as "Block heater cords" to me they look just like a standard ext cord, what makes them so great?

 

[Carnoobie]

Wow $57 for a 12G, 15amp cord. holy ****!

 

[HerrStig]

You need a cord rated at 15 amps minimun, they are usually very well made, probably more so in Canada where your "CE" standards are higher than our "UL" approval rating. You get thicker wire in the high amp cords and usually better quality male and female connectors. Worth it.

 

[Carnoobie]

Originally Posted By: HerrStig
You need a cord rated at 15 amps minimun, they are usually very well made, probably more so in Canada where your "CE" standards are higher than our "UL" approval rating. You get thicker wire in the high amp cords and usually better quality male and female connectors. Worth it.


Ya found one but $57!!! Good riddance. Since I cant find a 15ft, whats the lowest gauge you would go with on say a 25ft? Is 14 or 16 ok? Cause all the cords I see are usually 13A + 16g.

So if you use say a 13A, im guessing it wont run 100% power from the outlet to the block heater?

 

[KlooksKleek]

Originally Posted By: Carnoobie
I just got one and the guy at Rona said (this is Uberhaus brand which is Rona house brand) you can only run it on one car so you need one timer for each car and only to run a white ext cord out of it.

I said I have a yellow ext which is about 20ft and they said thats too long. He said only run white ext cable from it which I dont know whats so special about them. I always thought white ones are for indoors and I doubt they hold up in -30 weather like the heavy duty ones.

Is it true? I dont see how running a 20-25 ext cord is too long?


And how much current does your block heater draw? That's also key to determining if the extension cord and timer can carry the load.

They vary. I had a coolant heater for my Jetta TDI that was 750 watts, although most engine heaters seem to be in the 1250-1500 range.

 

[Carnoobie]

Originally Posted By: KlooksKleek
Originally Posted By: Carnoobie
I just got one and the guy at Rona said (this is Uberhaus brand which is Rona house brand) you can only run it on one car so you need one timer for each car and only to run a white ext cord out of it.

I said I have a yellow ext which is about 20ft and they said thats too long. He said only run white ext cable from it which I dont know whats so special about them. I always thought white ones are for indoors and I doubt they hold up in -30 weather like the heavy duty ones.

Is it true? I dont see how running a 20-25 ext cord is too long?


And how much current does your block heater draw? That's also key to determining if the extension cord and timer can carry the load.

They vary. I had a coolant heater for my Jetta TDI that was 750 watts, although most engine heaters seem to be in the 1250-1500 range.


Not sure how much my block heater draws, will be impossible to find out cause i dont know the brand to even look it up. I would say its Max 1000W but probably 750W.

I did get 33 resistance from the multimeter when testing it.

 

[rslifkin]

A 14ga 15A is probably fine. When it comes to electrical wiring, it's better to oversize than undersize, as undersized wiring will heat up more in use.

 

[Carnoobie]

Ok i found out, my block heater is 400W

Originally Posted By: rslifkin
A 14ga 15A is probably fine. When it comes to electrical wiring, it's better to oversize than undersize, as undersized wiring will heat up more in use.


It will overheat in use but will that shorten the life of the cord? And will it still be able to pass 100% of the current through the cord?

 

[KlooksKleek]

Originally Posted By: Carnoobie
Ok i found out, my block heater is 400W

Originally Posted By: rslifkin
A 14ga 15A is probably fine. When it comes to electrical wiring, it's better to oversize than undersize, as undersized wiring will heat up more in use.


It will overheat in use but will that shorten the life of the cord? And will it still be able to pass 100% of the current through the cord?


Sheesh, 400W is quite low relatively speaking and virtually any extension cord can safely carry that load. Heck, those ordinary 16-guage brown or white household extension cords that are tucked behind virtually every couch in America are usually rated at least 1000w these days (I realize a non-grounded two-conductor indoor extension cord is not the proper product for this application, I'm just offering a comparison).

Repeat: 400w is not a difficult load to carry.

 

[JimPghPA]

From a UL web page:

"A 16 gauge extension cord less than 50 feet in length can power a 1625 watt (W) appliance. A 16 gauge cord that is longer than 50 feet in length can only power an appliance up to 1250W."

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400 Watts / 120 Volts = 3.333 Amps

3.333 Amps is well below the maximum that 16 Gauge cord can handle. So 16 Gauge cord would work.

So would anything thicker than 16 Gauge. But there is no need to spend extra money for a thicker gauge cord if the total electric load is less than 1625 Watts for less than 50 feet of cord, or less than 1250 Watts for greater than 50 feet.

 

[Carnoobie]

Originally Posted By: KlooksKleek

Sheesh, 400W is quite low relatively speaking and virtually any extension cord can safely carry that load. Heck, those ordinary 16-guage brown or white household extension cords that are tucked behind virtually every couch in America are usually rated at least 1000w these days (I realize a non-grounded two-conductor indoor extension cord is not the proper product for this application, I'm just offering a comparison).

Repeat: 400w is not a difficult load to carry.


Oh I see, ok so the 16g, 13Amp cord I have now should be good enough? I guess a 15amp cord wont give me any benefits?

Even though my timer is 15amp and cord is 13amp, so my guess is that since my block heater will only require 3.33amps, then 100% of the max output will still be able to reach the heater from the outlet?

Originally Posted By: JimPghPA
From a UL web page:

"A 16 gauge extension cord less than 50 feet in length can power a 1625 watt (W) appliance. A 16 gauge cord that is longer than 50 feet in length can only power an appliance up to 1250W."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

400 Watts / 120 Volts = 3.333 Amps

3.333 Amps is well below the maximum that 16 Gauge cord can handle. So 16 Gauge cord would work.

So would anything thicker than 16 Gauge. But there is no need to spend extra money for a thicker gauge cord if the total electric load is less than 1625 Watts for less than 50 feet of cord, or less than 1250 Watts for greater than 50 feet.
Good point thanks for pointing that out. Glad I didnt pick up the cord.

Honestly, now that i found out im only 400W, is the timer even needed? Im not sure if it is to be honest cause 400W would be very cheap for power bill.

 

[Oldswagon]

It's still a waste, generally, to run it more than 3 or 4 hours. The engine will only be heated to a certain temperature then plateau. So, even though 400W isn't a lot, your still wasting energy and money. Plus running it for shorter periods will probably extend the block heater life.

I used to run both our cars from a timer with the same power rating as yours and never had an issue. I even ran a 1500W tank heater years ago on one of my old cars with no issues. I have several 12 gauge extension cords (25') that I normally use. At work, I use a Canadain tire "block heater" cord and it works fine (I think it's 14 gauge).

Watch CTC, they have sales on there 12 gauge extension cords. Costco has decent prices too.

 

[KlooksKleek]

Carnoobie:

The 16-gauge cord is a perfectly acceptable choice for your 400-watt block heater, electricity-wise. Use it with confidence.

 

[hemitom]

Your timer is not 15 amps! its rated to carry a current load of no more than 15 amps or 1875 watts. the same as any normal wall outlet in your home, wired to a 15 amp breaker. so for example you could safely run a 1200 watt kettle and your block heater at the same time with your timer.

Also i do not know your electricity prices but at 10 cents a kilowatt it would cost you 32 cents for eight hours of block heater use.