I haven't put enough mileage on my truck to warrant an oil change. It's still got the 15W-40 Delvac in it. It's getting below 20F which I think is the limit for this oil. Has anyone used an oil pan heater? I can get one from NAPA for $39.99, and it says it will heat to 300-400F. Is this too high for oil? How long should I have it on before I go to start the truck? It's gonna stay cold here, and I've got another 3,500 miles to go on the oil.
Oil Pan heater use
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I used a ~500W magnetic oil pan heater on my '97 Camry when below 32F. Mine also said it would heat-up to >300F, but that was mainly a safety warning about laying your hand directly on it. I do not believe it will heat the oil in the pan near that high. I left it on all night, and I enjoyed easier starts and faster warm-up in bitterly cold weather.
Check your oil pan metal. If it is aluminum, then you will have to get one that sticks-on, rather than magnetic.
Check your oil pan metal. If it is aluminum, then you will have to get one that sticks-on, rather than magnetic.
15W40 has a viscosity You don't want to burn the oil with a mega heater.
Charlie
Charlie
Oil pan heater in Delaware sounded fishy. Tennessee? Wow.
I tried mine today just to see how quickly it would heat the oil up. It was 19*F and in under 2 hours I had the oil up to ~130*F, not bad. It is a Wolverine heater, nice easy installation and it works well. I bought it for the trips to the Adirondacks where I've had to start up in -30F temps.
Paul 2007
I use Wolverines on all my vehicles, Wolverines are expensive.
A Wolverine Pad can be done for around $100.00 bought separate, I see Kats stick on heaters (same principle as Wolverine) for $25.00 USA currency at places like Northern Tool online.
These peel and stick on pads are great, plug and unplug, no crawling under to put on or take off, very effective cold weather oil flow with no burning.
Wolverine guarantees the oil will not burn even if the vehicle sits in extreme cold temps long term before being plugged in with heat pad. There are some pan heat systems that demand the heat pad be plugged in immediately at engine shut off when oil is already hot or oil will burn or scortch if allowed to get extremely cold before plugging pad in. Kats and Wolverine are safe, I sleep at night with my heat pad plugged in knowing it is engineered not to burn the oil with very low wattage per sq inch pad.
In my research Kat's peel and stick system is identical to Wolverine, infact Kats impresses me because their pads are actually bigger than Wolverine with the same wattage as Wolverine which disperses the heat more evenly on pan. I would prefer that and plan on ordering some for future vehicles.
Both products have charts to tell you what wattage to use according to sump campacity to ensure you dont overheat. Stay in the range of watts according to oil sump capacity and system will be safe.
I use my heat pads on auto and manual transmissions too, you need about half the wattage for trannys.
A 125 watt heat pad will warm 4 litres oil, 250 watt up to 11 litres oil, very economical, I use them with block heater for optimum warm start in extreme cold. Easy install, great cold start benifits, no hassle except plugging them in and unplugging.
Cyprs
I use Wolverines on all my vehicles, Wolverines are expensive.
A Wolverine Pad can be done for around $100.00 bought separate, I see Kats stick on heaters (same principle as Wolverine) for $25.00 USA currency at places like Northern Tool online.
These peel and stick on pads are great, plug and unplug, no crawling under to put on or take off, very effective cold weather oil flow with no burning.
Wolverine guarantees the oil will not burn even if the vehicle sits in extreme cold temps long term before being plugged in with heat pad. There are some pan heat systems that demand the heat pad be plugged in immediately at engine shut off when oil is already hot or oil will burn or scortch if allowed to get extremely cold before plugging pad in. Kats and Wolverine are safe, I sleep at night with my heat pad plugged in knowing it is engineered not to burn the oil with very low wattage per sq inch pad.
In my research Kat's peel and stick system is identical to Wolverine, infact Kats impresses me because their pads are actually bigger than Wolverine with the same wattage as Wolverine which disperses the heat more evenly on pan. I would prefer that and plan on ordering some for future vehicles.
Both products have charts to tell you what wattage to use according to sump campacity to ensure you dont overheat. Stay in the range of watts according to oil sump capacity and system will be safe.
I use my heat pads on auto and manual transmissions too, you need about half the wattage for trannys.
A 125 watt heat pad will warm 4 litres oil, 250 watt up to 11 litres oil, very economical, I use them with block heater for optimum warm start in extreme cold. Easy install, great cold start benifits, no hassle except plugging them in and unplugging.
Cyprs
Hi bepperb,
Happy New Year!! It's been colder this year than the past few winters. Over Christmas, it was 17F for a couple of nights. Not cold for Wisconsin, but cold here. IIRC, Ford says 15W-40 down to 20F, and then 10W-30 down to some really, realy cold temp. Probably try a 10W-30 year round once I use up my stash.
Happy New Year!! It's been colder this year than the past few winters. Over Christmas, it was 17F for a couple of nights. Not cold for Wisconsin, but cold here. IIRC, Ford says 15W-40 down to 20F, and then 10W-30 down to some really, realy cold temp. Probably try a 10W-30 year round once I use up my stash.
I installed a 600watt block heather and have a 300watt Katz magnetic heater under oilpay. We've had some subzero mornings and I set the timer for 2 hours before startup. I've used M1 for years and never had trouble with startup. I was hoping for quicker warmups and less startup wear and tear. Truth is I haven't noticed a difference in warmup time from the subzero mornings when I don't use it. Not too impressed but then again I can't measure reduced wear and tear.
Originally Posted By: D-Roc
I use a Wolverine Model 40 on on my Cummins. Works great, even with 15W40 in the winter. And it's cold where I live...
I call it cold when it gets below 60*F!!!
I use a Wolverine Model 40 on on my Cummins. Works great, even with 15W40 in the winter. And it's cold where I live...
I call it cold when it gets below 60*F!!!
Thanks for the responses. I think I'll end up setting the heater on a timer for about an hour before I plan to leave. I hope we've left the worst of the previous decade behind. My wish for all our BITOGers (and the rest of humanity) is to be well and happy. May the New Year in a new decade show us how to "Be All You Can Be".
Originally Posted By: Steve S
Originally Posted By: D-Roc
I use a Wolverine Model 40 on on my Cummins. Works great, even with 15W40 in the winter. And it's cold where I live...
I call it cold when it gets below 60*F!!!
Wow...60F. It was -39 celsius overnight a few weeks back...it just hurts when its that cold.
Originally Posted By: D-Roc
I use a Wolverine Model 40 on on my Cummins. Works great, even with 15W40 in the winter. And it's cold where I live...
I call it cold when it gets below 60*F!!!
Wow...60F. It was -39 celsius overnight a few weeks back...it just hurts when its that cold.
Shew I can't imagine starting up at cold temps like that. I definitely wouldn't be able to use my beloved Rotella-T Syn 5W-40 in temps that cold. Well, I probably could, but there'd be better choices out there.
0W-20 if I was a 5 minute trip person in those temps, no matter the vehicle, lol. But then you have to think about the trips that you may have to take that are 20+ minutes, and running 0W-20 in your average, say, 80's F350 with a 250,000 mile 460 V8 for that long. It'd be best for the 5 minute trips, but could possibly cause damage on a long trip, so you'd have to be prepared with the correct oil for your situation(s).
Eh... fun stuff, but I guess it's a little easier using 5W-40 RTS where I live year round in everything. Gonna be 12F tonight. My 86 F150 5.0 EFI starts fast/east at those temps with the 5W-40 RTS, but what do you think it'd sound like at temps like you have without a heater? Shew..
0W-20 if I was a 5 minute trip person in those temps, no matter the vehicle, lol. But then you have to think about the trips that you may have to take that are 20+ minutes, and running 0W-20 in your average, say, 80's F350 with a 250,000 mile 460 V8 for that long. It'd be best for the 5 minute trips, but could possibly cause damage on a long trip, so you'd have to be prepared with the correct oil for your situation(s).
Eh... fun stuff, but I guess it's a little easier using 5W-40 RTS where I live year round in everything. Gonna be 12F tonight. My 86 F150 5.0 EFI starts fast/east at those temps with the 5W-40 RTS, but what do you think it'd sound like at temps like you have without a heater? Shew..
I'm running PC Duron 0w-40 and am using a Wolverine 250w pad and the factory 1100w block heater. No problems so far. I've seen -30C a bunch of times so far this winter but things have been lingering around -20C.
The wolverine pad was easy to install and looks like a really good quality product.
The wolverine pad was easy to install and looks like a really good quality product.
Originally Posted By: Paul2007
I haven't put enough mileage on my truck to warrant an oil change. It's still got the 15W-40 Delvac in it. It's getting below 20F which I think is the limit for this oil. Has anyone used an oil pan heater? I can get one from NAPA for $39.99, and it says it will heat to 300-400F. Is this too high for oil? How long should I have it on before I go to start the truck? It's gonna stay cold here, and I've got another 3,500 miles to go on the oil.
Those pan heaters are nice. I use them on my drag cars to get the oil up to temp in the staging lanes. Anyways, having the heater on a daily driver gets the oil nice and warm so it will flow faster on those cold mornings. You can turn it on and let it heat up for 10-15 minutes.
I haven't put enough mileage on my truck to warrant an oil change. It's still got the 15W-40 Delvac in it. It's getting below 20F which I think is the limit for this oil. Has anyone used an oil pan heater? I can get one from NAPA for $39.99, and it says it will heat to 300-400F. Is this too high for oil? How long should I have it on before I go to start the truck? It's gonna stay cold here, and I've got another 3,500 miles to go on the oil.
Those pan heaters are nice. I use them on my drag cars to get the oil up to temp in the staging lanes. Anyways, having the heater on a daily driver gets the oil nice and warm so it will flow faster on those cold mornings. You can turn it on and let it heat up for 10-15 minutes.
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