Help me Select an Oil Pan heater

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Oldswagon

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I am going to be installing an oil pan heater on my 1993 Suburban within the next month. I have read through the archives on this site, and I still don't have all my questions answered.

My 'burb has a 350 with a 5 quart oil capacity, with one of those quarts being in the filter. So, the Oil pan should have no more than 4 quarts in it at any given time.

What is the appropriate sized heat pad for this size sump? I want ensure I don't use a pad too hot for the capacity, to prevent the oil additive package from breaking down.

Secondly, I know that Wolverine pads are talked about to a great extent. I have seen "Polar Pads" at the local Canadian tire store. Are these pads any good, or should I stick with a Wolverine? The are slightly different in dimension from Wolverine, but are rated at about 14 watts per square inch just like the Wolverine pads. Does anyone know any Wolverine pad dealers in Ontario, Canada?
 
I have a 6 quart capacity with one quart in the filter. I am running a 250 watt Wolverine. I was going to get the 125 watt (6 qt is upper range for 125 watt and lower range for 250 watt), but the person at Wolverine told me the 250 would work better. I am happy with the 250 watt. The 125 watt would definitely have been too small. Call Wolverine and see what they recommend based on your capacity and how cold your winters get.
 
I found this company based out of Toronto:

http://www.padheaters.com/

I believe they sell Wolverine brand heaters. I emailed them and they responded (very quickly), that the 250 watt is best for my application. Here is their reponse:


Thank you for visiting our web site and requesting pricing on an oil pan heater for your Chevrolet truck.



Oil Pan Heaters

Our oil pan heaters are thin, flexible heating pads that are permanently bonded to the bottom or side of the oil pan. The heater has the special adhesive already on it, by simply peeling off the protective backing and pressing the heater firmly in place on a clean, flat surface, the heater is ready to be used. Note the heater must be installed on a smooth flat area, free of grooves and ridges. Only to be installed on metal oil pans.



No special tools or skills are required. Everything for a complete installation is included with each heater.



An Oil Pan Heater is far superior to a block heater and more efficient as a block heater only "warms" a part of the engine not all the engine.



An Oil Pan Heater "heats" the complete engine starting at the bottom.

The hot oil heats the crankshaft, which in turn heats the connecting rods, pistons and cylinder heads. Remember "heat" rises.



In 2 hours, our oil pan heaters can raise the engine oil temperature 100F / 40C.



By installing an Oil Pan Heater, your vehicle will start easier and there will be less engine wear.



Based on an oil capacity of 5 quarts, we recommend the model 16 with an output of 250 watts.

The model 16 measures 4” x 5” and requires a smooth flat surface on the side or bottom of the oil pan for installation.

The model 9.0 measures 3” round and requires a smooth flat surface on the side or bottom of the oil pan for installation

The model 9.1 measures 1.5” x 6” and requires a smooth flat surface on the side or bottom of the oil pan for installation.



Filter Heater Model FH-50

Our FH-50 is a flexible heating pad designed to be installed on fuel, lube oil and hydraulic filters. It is easy to install and remove as it is held in place with Velcro straps.

The heater operates on 12 volts, produces 50 watts and draws 4 amps. It is designed for filters with a diameter of 3.5" to 5.0".



Battery Warmer

They are of similar design as the oil pan heaters, without the adhesive. They are installed under the battery so they are very easy to install. The BH-60 is 60 watts, which will keep the battery warm and prevent overheating. The BH-60 measures 5.5" x 8.5" and is suitable for most vehicles and trucks. By installing a Battery Warmer, the efficiency of the battery will be increased to give you reliable starting ability on the coldest days. (not to be installed in insulated battery boxes).



Heater-Stat

To automatically control the Oil Pan Heater we offer the optional Heater-Stat, model HS-3. The HS-3 will turn ON the heater(s) when the ambient temperature falls below 35F/2C and will stay ON until the temperature warms up to 45F/7C. The HS-3 is rated for 1800 watts, so one unit can handle an Oil Pan Heater and our Battery Warmer.



Pricing

Model 9 Oil Pan Heater $72.00 CAD

Model 16 Oil Pan Heater $85.00 CAD

Model BH-60 Battery Warmer $33.60 CAD (when purchased with a heater)

Model FH-50 Filter Heater $85.00 CAD

Model HS-3 Heater-Stat $25.00 CAD



Special –

Model 16 starter pack $129.00 (comprising heater, battery warmer & heater-stat)

Model 9 starter pack $119.00 (comprising heater, battery warmer & heater-stat)



So, it looks like the best option for me is to use the 250 watt heater. They even sent a PDF chart for a 350 Chev with the 250 watt heater installed (although it says it has a 6 quart capacity).

Any other input appreciated.
 
I guess they recommended 250W model due to the larger size of engine (more metal) to warm up not strictly by the oil sump size if you are more interested in heating up the engine than just the oil itself.
 
Last edited:
No, I'd still go with the 250 watt. The Wolverineheater.com site says the 125 watt is for 3-6 quart capacity, but the 250 watt is for 5 to 13 quart. My 250 does not heat up the whole engine, but mainly the oil because after a cold start you can feel colder oil draining back down the pan after it runs through the engine.
 
Well, then it looks like I will definitely order a 250 watt unit. There is no point at even looking at the CTC "Polar Pad" units since I have no idea what kind of quality they are, and I can get the Wolverine for much less money.

Thanks for the advice.
 
I just did an oil change on my truck today, and I discovered the pan is not perfectly flat on the bottom. There is a small inclined plane about 2/3 of the way across the pan bottom, with a maybe 1/4" height difference over 1" distance. This only gives me about 3.5" x 6" of flat surface on my oil pan.

Do these oil pan heater need the pan to be perfectly flat, or can they contour slightly? If they can't, it looks like I will have to get the 125 watt 3" round pad. I already ordered the 250 Watt, but it is on back order, so I should be able to change the order.

As a note, I actually measured a spare Olds V8 oil pan I have, which I knew was approximately the same size a a Chevy sump. What I didn't know was that while the Olds is flat, the Chevy isn't. If the Chevy was flat, I would have had ample space for the 250 watt.
 
Mine had a part number stamped into the bottom, so my pad is on the lower side of the pan. I don't think they are all that flexible to go over a contour unless it is pretty gentle. The guy at Wolverine can advise on that too.
 
Oldswagon. Go ahead and install the 125 watt. See how it works. If you find it is just not giving the kind of heat you want, you can always add a second 125 watt on another part of the pan. I have a 3-foot heavy duty extension cord from the grille back to inside the engine bay. If you do that, both heaters can plug in there. I was even thinking of getting a 125 watt for the tranny. On these cold mornings I can barely get it to shift into second until it warms up a bit.

I notice in light snow there will be large areas on the hood clear of snow when the heater is on. This am the areas were not clear. Apparently the rain last night (hit freezing near midnight and 22 this am) shorted my plug and kicked the GFCI. The Xmas lights were out and the timer said the circuit went out at 10 pm, so I had a stone cold start this am.
 
I double checked my Pan, and it looks like I have closer to 3.75" of clearance of flat surface. According to the Wolverine Website, the model 16 is 3.75" on the narrowist side, so it should just fit.

I also called back the dealer in Toronto, and he said that if the contour is gentle, which it is, I should be able to slightly bend the pad. He said that the pad cannot be bent for severe edges, but can work on gentle curves or rises.

I am going to stick with the order for the 250 Watt, and make sure I test fit it before I actually install to see how it will work. One thing that is keeping me away from the 125 Watt is that it's even higher watt's per square inch than the 250 Watt.

I should also mention that my truck does have a block heater installed as well. I intend on using both the block heater and the oil pan heater. I use the block heater on a timer, and I figure that with the 250 Watt Oil pan heater, I can put it on a timer as well, whereas a 125 Watt would probably have to run all night.

Opinions, comments, appreciated! Thanks for all the input so far.
 
One other consideration (which is at least already in the back of your mind with your dislike of the smaller pad that has higher heat per sq inch): is it better to leave the pad on all the time, or just turn it on a few hours before taking off?

If you leave it on all the time you are always ready for those spur of the moment trips to the beer store or wherever. The electricity used is not that costly for the benefits derrived (IMO). If you only heat it up before taking off, consider if it is worse for the oil to be heated up with that high of temp from dead cold. I would think normal engine warm up would more gradually and evenly heat the oil, but who knows. This may be a non-issue, but I have seen it raised that some thought it could cook some of the oil, but if there is convection in the pan, probably not. Anyway, I find it nice to always be ready.
 
TallPaul:

that is an excellent point. Genreally, I don't do too many unplanned trips, but they do happen. On work days I only drive to and from work, since I work 12 hour shifts. Once I am home, I usually don't go back out. In these cases, a timer makes sense since I know when the truck will be used next. Then again, when I am at work, I have outlets with free power, so I could leave it plugged in all day with no worry of increased cost for me.

The "cooking issue" is something that I have thought a lot about. I read through many of the archives, and it seems there is no certain answer on convection in oil pans. My only saving grace is that I do generally run short OCI (I am too set in my ways to do extended drains), and I run a HD oil with a robust additve package and high TBN (Esso XD-3).

Right now, I am thinking I can have two options 1) Use the block heater and oil pan heater on a timer 2) keep the oil pan heater plugged in during non-use all times (when possible), and timer for the block heater. I am not sure which is the best option, but #1 is certainly simpler.

It would be nice to have more input, but it doesn't look like there are too many oil pan heater users on this board.
 
I just picked up a magnetic 250w at Princess Auto.
Managed to get the sale price, so it was just under $50.
It warmed up here, so I only had it on the pan one night.
The handy thing about the magnetic aspect for me was that it was late, cold, dark, and I did not want to jack the car up, clean the pan off, attach a sticky heating pad, run the wire.
The magnetic one has an option to secure it. It has a screw hole which is used in conjunction with some muffler strapping, and tied up using oil pan bolts.
I will probably procrastinate on securing it, cause I just don't like jacking up the front of my car
frown.gif

I think for now I won't mind getting down on the ground to stick it on when I need.
I hope
laugh.gif
there won't be a "cooking" issue.
I thought I might test it out with an old kitchen pan with some leftover oil and see what happens.
 
Quote:

I wonder if using an oil pad will burnoff moisture in the oil from short trip driving?

Click to expand...


Good question. If was just open directly to air ..sure. But in the exit path in the engine, it would probably just drop out again when hitting another surface ...if I've reasoned it right
dunno.gif
 
My feeling is it would not burn off moisture from short trips as I don't think it gets quite that hot. Also how does the moisture burn off on a long drive? I am thinking moisture burns off pretty good at 212 F and you only exceed that in some areas in the upper engine near the combustion chambers. Perhaps the burn off only occurs there. The pan heater, I doubt gets the oil much more than 100 to 140 F. I went out on a 5F day when the pan heater had been on at since I had parked it from a 16 mile trip 5 hours before. I pressed a thermometer bulb against the pan with aluminum foil behind it and then backed by a heavy winter glove. I believe the thermometer went to about 85F. The details have slipped my mind but were posted somewhere at this site a year or two (or three??) ago IIRC. Anyway, if I got 85 F outside, must have been a good bit warmer inside. Anyway, back to the short trip moisture, perhaps it reduces the amount of moisture loading on short trips because the oil and engine are not quite as cold at the onset, but I don't believe it would be a significant reduction.
 
I got the oil pan heater installed a few days ago when I did an oil change (wow, I put a lot of miles on during the holiday season). It fit on the pan perfectly, any bigger and it wouldn't have worked. It was almost as if it were custom made for the pan. Installation was relatively easy, and you MUST follow the instructions closely. Plugging it in for a short period during the installion as per instructions really helped the adhesive work properly.

With the oil pan heater, the block heater and XD-3 0W30, I figure I should elminate most of the start up wear for my old 350.
 
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