When should you use a block heater on a diesel engine?

A general rule of thumb is to plug in your engine block heater when the weather reaches -15° C or lower, just to be safe. If you drive a diesel vehicle, you may need to plug in the engine block heater before temperatures drop that low.

How long does it take a diesel block heater to work?

A 1972 University of Saskatchewan study found that a block heater will get an engine about as warm as it will ever get after about four hours. After that, the extra heat is lost to the cold air outside.

Does a block heater keep diesel fuel from gelling?

To avoid a diesel from gelling, you can plug the vehicle in using an engine block heater. If you don’t have one already fitted to your truck, these can be fitted at your local dealership.

Will diesel Ungel on its own?

While gelled fuel sounds bad, the good news is that diesel fuel will return to normal as soon as the temperature goes back up above the gel point. Pushing a vehicle into a garage and leaving it for a few hours is typically all that is required to fix the gelling problem.

How cold does it have to be for diesel to gel up?

Diesel fuel gelling has the potential to occur when temperatures drop below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, although the exact temperature it happens at will vary from fuel batch to fuel batch.

Should you drive diesels hard?

A hard driven diesel burns the soot that both hard & soft driving generate but which only hard driving will burn up leaving it to cause damage in a gently driven car. 3. It is about turbo boost. An small engine with lots of boost produces more soot than a bigger less boosted engine producing the same power.

Can diesel freeze while driving?

The fuel tanks can actually gel while driving. Diesel fuel gelling happens when the paraffin usually present in diesel starts to solidify when the temperature drops. To help prevent this from happening, it is important to always treat your fuel system with a reputable anti-gel additive.