I installed an oil pan heating pad

[SlickGT1]

Well the reason I say this is because I am from Russia, and those heating pads were common. Pretty much everyone had them. Everyone plugged them in all the time. Some people never shut the cars off. Metal, gaskets and all other stuff on cars has been upgraded in the past 20 years, so I don't think this will cause damage.

What is the max temp that the pad reaches? If it doesn't reach close to 150F. I doubt it can cause any damage or warping.

[TheGodfather]

Originally Posted by SlickGT1

Well the reason I say this is because I am from Russia, and those heating pads were common. Pretty much everyone had them. Everyone plugged them in all the time. Some people never shut the cars off. Metal, gaskets and all other stuff on cars has been upgraded in the past 20 years, so I don't think this will cause damage.

What is the max temp that the pad reaches? If it doesn't reach close to 150F. I doubt it can cause any damage or warping.

Sounds promising.

I don't believe the packaging or website states its max temperature. I have sent an email to the company with all of these questions. Hope to hear a response soon.

[HateBimmer]

" Specifications: CP 512 Model : 3.5 X 5.125 X .075 inches.

The pad just barely fit onto the oil pan, there is a small amount of pad, <1cm on the corner, that does not have any contact with the metal pan (which is not recommended.) "


You mentioned about "<1cm on the corner, that does not have any contact with the metal pan " i am wondering the pad is too long or too wide? as plan to install one too?

ThANks,

[TheGodfather]

Originally Posted by HateBimmer

" Specifications: CP 512 Model : 3.5 X 5.125 X .075 inches.

The pad just barely fit onto the oil pan, there is a small amount of pad, <1cm on the corner, that does not have any contact with the metal pan (which is not recommended.) "


You mentioned about "<1cm on the corner, that does not have any contact with the metal pan " i am wondering the pad is too long or too wide? as plan to install one too?

ThANks,

Too wide.

[weekend camper]

My completely un-expert opinion is that is rated for ~250watts -- or about the same as putting two or three 100watt light bulbs underneath it all night. I can't imagine thats going to do damage, given your outside temperatures. If it was rated 1200+ watts, then I'd probably be more worried about too much heat.


Can you grab a friend's IR temp gun for a reading? That would put your mind at ease.



PS please report back from time to time about how the pad is holding up -- the pad sounds like a good idea for those that need it.

[TheGodfather]

Thanks JCL!

You have provided me with some incredibly useful and to the point information.

I have considered wrapping or covering the battery area under the spare with some sort of suitable (i.e. fire/chemical resistant) insulating material. I have also seen some of those interior heaters kicking around at Canadian Tire.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by TheGodfather

Thanks JCL!

You have provided me with some incredibly useful and to the point information.

I have considered wrapping or covering the battery area under the spare with some sort of suitable (i.e. fire/chemical resistant) insulating material. I have also seen some of those interior heaters kicking around at Canadian Tire.

There is no advantage to insulation around the battery because there is no heat there. Get a battery blanket. At -30 a battery has a small percentage of the power and reserve it has a normal temperatures. A 50 watt blanket really helps and they are cheap

[BB_cuda]

The aluminum pan conducts heat well. Not just to the oil but also outward to the rest of the block. 250 Watts is not that bad considering you have convective losses (that means heat lost to the air around the pan). I'm a heat transfer guy. Now if you were to take away the convective loss (i.e. be in space ha-ha) 250 W would be quite alot. I bet your oil isn't even getting to 35-40C. Perhaps you could find a way to install a thermocouple or use an IR camera.

[BB_cuda]

One other thing you could have done was installed a thermostat in series to the heater. what that would mean is one of the two leads would have a open/close function when you reach a certain threshold temp. Mcmastercarr might have one. If you had it open at say 40C, you wouldn't have to worry with warping. The heater would just cycle off and on all night. I still think it wouldn't be too warm. I could do a computation. One thing though, how hard does the wind blow? That makes a big heat loss.