Engine Heaters - Radiator Hose vs. Block

[scurvy]

I've got a kilowatt Zerostart tank heater plumbed in to the lowest spot of the coolant loop on the Golf and it's wonderful. Set it for 3 hours before I leave in the morning on a heavy duty appliance timer in the garage and the car fires right up without issue and I get nearly instant heat. Really boost fuel economy for my 9 mile commute in the winter.

FWIW, this one operates solely by thermosiphon and has no pump or check valve. If you take care to install it at the lowest point in the coolant loop without any hose sags it works perfectly with zero moving parts.

 

[sciphi]

To update: Installed the coolant hose heater into the Buick. Tested it out last night. It got down to 42*F or so. The coolant was at 100*F at the coolant temperature sensor (opposite side of the block from the heater) when I went out at 8 AM this morning after letting the heater run for 3 hours on a timer, and the car fired up instantly. It warmed up to operating temperature much faster.

It's not the most efficient, but it does the job.