Engine heater

[Jeadiex5]

Just a thought....for those of us who have been having the frozen mayo issue due to short drives, has anyone given thought to an engine heater of some sort? Even a small ceramic heater under the hood on the coldest part of winter as a preventative precaution. Was just wondering if this was just a pie in the sky idea or would it help.

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[Purplefade]

Maybe a little of both... some help and some pie in the sky.

The issue is unless you run the engine and engine oil up to heat saturation, where the water/moisture in the system will start to evaporate or burn off, you can end up with “mayo” and a block heater won’t get you anywhere near that heat point.

That said, a block heater may reduce the time it takes the engine and engine oil to heat up thus reducing the overall drive time required to reach saturation and better avoid the “mayo” affect.

I’m sure we’ll have some of the pros hop in here as well




2005 X5 4.4i (04/05 build date)
Titanium Silver w/Black Interior

[andrewwynn]

It would probably take 2-3kw to get enough heat to keep the engine warm enough to be very useful. I've been wanting to do something especially when it's closer to zero F outside but I don't park in a garage making it even more difficult.

I found a heater BMW made for the x5 I only found sold in Canada that attached directly to the block but never found one for sale.

The best heater I did find was one that taps into the heater core hose and circulates heated water through the block. I think they might have a 2kw version that would keep the block warmer so it will warm up much faster.

Actually the very best are the webasto heaters but they are an investment. They produce a ton of heat and can preheat an engine in 20-30 minutes

[Bmwe5320023.0]

Looks like there's no block heater on X5, that's a bummer! Even though I'm in canada, I guess the car came from the states as the display is in imperial units.
Temperatures -38 I wish there was a block heater.
Interestingly enough my E39 has one

[Clavurion]

So there are no electric (120-240 V) pre-heaters which use circulation pump available in North America?

[Bmwe5320023.0]

Does anyone have a picture of a block heater on E53? I can't seem to find it on Google.
It would be easier to tell if you have one if you know exactly where/how it looks.

[andrewwynn]

There used to be a product you could buy in Canada that fit into the egg crate on the side of the block.

I tried to find without luck a few times.

Somebody wrote up an inline heater setup that III think used the aux water pump and some clever valves.

I tried to find freeze plug style heaters but I don't think my block has the plugs even though I found heaters that supposedly go into them.

Hovering right around -15c here and I would love to preheat my engine.

The webasto is the way to go but pricy and complex I've been considering a pad heater on the oil pan with fiberglass over the stiffening plate.

[Bmwe5320023.0]

Ahh it was -39 Celsius today. Started X5 after the night shift and it cranked really slow and made a painful sound. Then warmed it up for half an hour and started driving, it was blowing cold air, even though coolant temperature was 100 degrees. Also started smelling like fuel very strongly outside the car and the heated steering wheel button stopped working.
This cold is gonna kill my car lol!

[Clavurion]

Here in Nordic countries there are several options for electric pre-heater. One of the most used nowadays is TT-thermo heater with built in circulation pump. This can be connected for example on the coolant hose from engine to water valves. Traditional manufacturers like Defa and Calix also have there own models.



Fortunately 3.0d has Webasto from the factory and can easily be coded as pre-heating version. Battery charger and battery heater also in use so no problems even in -30 C.

[Bmwe5320023.0]

That looks good!
Can anyone recommend something for north America?