Magnetic oil pan heater

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2014: Magnetic oil pan heater
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By jason macintyre on Monday, December 08, 2014 - 06:41 am:

Living in Canada the temperature this time of year gets a little chilly and the T's get stiff. To aid in starting the cars I've purchased a magnetic oil pan heater. My question is there and danger of the magnetism of the heater will affect the magnets on the flywheel? And yes the heater will be removed once the car is running.
Thanks


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tim Wrenn on Monday, December 08, 2014 - 08:34 am:

Jason, I can't answer your magnet question, I'll let that up to the more experts here. But I can at least tell you that last year when I was researching the very same subject of magnet block heaters, I became a bit discouraged upon reading review after review of how they could tend to carbonize the oil right in the spot of where the heater makes contact. Same thing was said for the electric dipsticks. So far I don't use anything, other than putting a 100 Watt lamp shining on the manifold area. One time I did place one of those 300/500Watt shop lamps underneath the engine near the transmission case, on 300, and it seemed to warm the underside of the engine up fairly evenly.
Just a thought.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Don Lyon, PDX, OR. on Monday, December 08, 2014 - 12:17 pm:

An oil heater shouldn't be hot enough to carbonize oil-its heating the oil at low temp, not cooking it. Where did the info come from on carbonization? Don


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By G.R.Cheshire on Monday, December 08, 2014 - 12:33 pm:

When I was stationed in Fairbanks Ak.we used a water heater installed in the lower radiator hose, worked fine put a trickle charger on the battery and my 49 chevy always cranked even at 25 below when some of the modern cars would give up.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tim Wrenn on Monday, December 08, 2014 - 07:17 pm:

Don, seems to me and my awful memory that I Googled reviews on the subject, and came up with a variety of them from a variety of places, mostly car buff websites. It was over a year ago, so unfortunately I don't remember specifics of origin, just the specifics of the concerns.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Kriegel Mishawaka Indiana on Tuesday, December 09, 2014 - 09:40 am:

I put a 2 dollar used heating pad in a heavy plastic bag, taped it to the bottom of the clean oil pan with duct tape in Iceland. Put insulation on the outside so heat directed into oil pan. Car started right up in bad blizzards. Cost about 3 dollars

We also had to park cars trunk into the wind or engine compartment would be packed full of snow and car fan engine would not turn over


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Stan Howe Helena, Montana on Tuesday, December 09, 2014 - 12:57 pm:

In my opinion, the oil crystallizing is somebody's BS. Warm oil will move away and be replaced by colder oil. I've used those magnetic heaters for years on tractors and pickups we were trying to get started on cold days. I can't imagine one of them getting hot enough to cause any damage to the oil. I personally like the tank heaters if it is something you want a permanent installation on. They warm the engine and circulate the coolant but probably don't heat the oil. I've had a couple tractors over the years that I had both the stick on heater on the pan and a tank heater on the coolant to get them to start at 30 below so we could go feed cows. I have a probably 50 year old one on my Willys pickup, plugged it in a couple weeks ago when it was about 20 below here and the pickup started right up after about half an hour.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By jason macintyre on Tuesday, December 09, 2014 - 10:35 pm:

Yes thank you.... not to be rude what about the original question?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Frank van Ekeren (Australia) on Tuesday, December 09, 2014 - 11:38 pm:

Original question, is a good one. Jason, all I can tell you is, storing magnets, keep away from,

Power lines.
Other magnets.
High temp.

My ref book does not stipulate the distance that can effect the magnet.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By jason macintyre on Wednesday, December 10, 2014 - 06:42 am:

Perhaps on the oil pan furthest from the flywheel wound be sufficient distance to be safe? The magnet on the heater is not over powerful.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Seth from NC on Wednesday, December 10, 2014 - 07:38 am:

LOL it's 45*F here in the South and somewhere in the 30's with the wind chill and I 'bout froze walking in to work from my truck. I just do not even comprehend this "below zero" nonsense.

I've driven my speedster down here in what we call the cold and it's not too terrible, but when I do I'm dressed up like Randy from A Christmas Story and have the same complaint about not being able to move my arms.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ken Todd on Wednesday, December 10, 2014 - 10:18 am:

"Perhaps on the oil pan furthest from the flywheel would be sufficient distance to be safe?"

Probably, with the magnet stuck on the oil pan the magnetic field is basically routed across from one pole to the other so there shouldn't be enough flux to affect the magneto magnets.

Seth, I have the opposite problem when I "go south", anything over about 80º I melt, especially ifn the humididity is high.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Erik Johnson on Wednesday, December 10, 2014 - 10:39 am:

Most of the oil in a Model T motor at rest sits in the transmission sump. Putting the heat source furthest away from the flywheel is probably not very effective.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Shawn Hayward on Wednesday, December 10, 2014 - 12:51 pm:

Jason
I can't see that happening as they have been in use for years , and I have not heard of them discharging generator or starter magnets


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Noel D. Chicoine, MD, Pierre, SD on Wednesday, December 10, 2014 - 11:38 pm:

I don't see how heating the cup or two of oil in the oil pan dips is going to help the car start any easier. It wouldn't circulate oil to the rest of the oil under the flywheel. If it was attached to the underside of the hogshead, where all the oil is, it might warm the oil enough to make spinning the transmission easier. It might also be close enough to affect the magnets. Heating the water with a heater on the lower hose might circulate and heat the head and block, which might also heat the oil by transfer but again the majority of the oil is a ways away from the block, in the bottom of the pan under the flywheel. Just my humble opinion.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By jason macintyre on Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 07:27 am:

I guess I was not specific enough. I certainly did not intend in to sound like I'd place the heater on the pan where the dippers are. I meant on the sump opposite to the flywheel. Heating a cup oil oil would do nothing. Sorry for the vagueness


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