ok guys so here is the deal, I am tired of freezin my a$$ off every morning on my way to school, it has been hitting around -10 here on a regular basis and my truck is not a fan of cold starts. So from what I have gathered there are a few different types of block heaters with the freeze plug style being the best is this true? I am tired of wasting gas and ruining the environment with having to let my truck warm up for 15 or so minutes every morning, but the motor. So any opinions on block heaters would be nice. Sorry for the long post

 

I'm not sure if the freeze plug style are the best but they are certainly the most common by a huge amount. Must be a reason for that.

 

Toyota OEM freeze plug block heater is just about the best one you can easily get for our trucks (it is one of the highest wattage heaters on the market for freeze plug use) and it is relatively cheap at the dealer too.

 

Any NAPA store will have your freeze plug style heater. Personally I prefer the silicone oil pan heater as the way to go. All the block heaters I have used (quite a few) really do not heat your oil very well. Warm oil at start up is a good thing. Plus you mount the pad on the bottom of your pan and as we all know heat rises. Warm engine too.
My two cents worth

 

so what is the difference between the different types of heaters, heating wise. Will one type heat the oil better than a certain type, will some make the heater heat up quicker, will one make cold starts easier?? I have heard the freeze plug style is a pita to install, is this true?

 

Freeze plug ones are harder to get to it's true, and you'll need to top up the antifreeze after install but they tend to work the best when it comes to heating the most of the block and giving you warm heater output fastest because the warmed coolant is constantly circulating around the engine.
This also helps keep everything in the engine "loose" by reducing cold metal contraction.

Those cheap types that magnetically stick to the oilpan heat the oil (sort of) so they can help get the oil flowing the fastest but they don't do anything for the coolant so you'd still have to wait for it to heat up before you got any warm air and they don't really heat the whole block so the block can get quite cold causing it to tighten up which makes for a harder start... also they can drop off or come loose potentially damaging your truck or someone else on the road.

If it's really that cold you might want to get one of those "battery blanket" warmers as well they will help you get the most amps out of the can when you go to start up.
If you can park with the front of the truck against a wall/door as well it will help the heater by reducing the airflow around the engine. A cover/tarp can also be a good idea that will also make cleaning off the truck in the AM a breeze...

 

so how hard is it to install the freeze plug type heaters? what company makes a good one?

 

havent ever had a block heater on a gasser but i know for are diesels they are a life saver. if you get it. instead of having it on all night go to walmart and get a timer so it will come on a couple hours before you leave your house. i know it will be warm cause my powerstroke will be warm after about 2 hours of being plugged in

 

sweet thats probably what ill end up doing/. Any one have experience with one on the 22r?

 

trust me you'll like it go out in 10* weather fire your truck up and have instint heat out of your vents

 

You also have a third option, there is a style that goes into your lower radiator hose and heats your coolant.

Up here in AK most people prefer the freeze plug style if they are only running one. The block is the highest density place to put it and it holds a bit more heat that way.

Most people I know run a pad + freeze plug + battery blanket. You'll never have trouble starting that way and you'll warm up real quick.

I run a pad on the oil pan and one on the transmission in my diesel in addition to my factory freeze plug heater. That gets it started at -30 no problem.

My work truck won't start at -10, its a V8 gas chevy, plug in the freeze plug heater and it starts just fine, it still takes about 10 minutes for the heater air to get warm, not sure what wattage it is.

 

Not really as hard as folks say once you get to the freeze plug... it's just the getting at them that's a major PITA...
as for who makes the best ones for our trucks it's the Toyota OEM part. It's one of the highest wattage ones around and it's very reasonably priced too.

 

Good advice on the block heater and battery blanket from the Canadian & Alaskan

Also don't forget to use a 5w-30 or 5w-40 synthetic oil - the petroleum-based stuff turns into sticky syrup when very cold - that could be a big part of the problem starting. Not to mention your motor gets very little to no lubrication for the first few minutes of running - not exactly a good situation.

The synthetic oils flow much better at cold temps.

 

Really good point, I only run 5W30 or 5W40 in the winter, also synthetics in tranny/case/diffs. Makes quite a difference.