this post was submitted on 05 Jan 2026
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-21 this morning and my truck screamed why you do this to me while starting it despite having had the block heater on for 3 hours.
The only reason to go out in -30 is because it was -40 yesterday
Is a block heater that it sounds like? Something to warm up the engine block?
Makes my pampered ass wonder what the operating temps are for ICE engines now.
It's an electric heating element. It warms up the engine, helps a lot.
I will add there are other heaters you plug into the car for where you need to make sure to unplug before too long. Block heaters tend to only heat up to a point, pan heaters are like an element on the stove so gotta make sure to not burn anything.
Where I grew up you didn't want a vehicle with some engine heater but block was the usual. No reason to live in that area if you can't afford a block heater for sure...I had a cheap car with a pan heater it sucked but was like 1/3 of a paycheque.
Remember those (I live southwards now) you get warm air soo fast too. A -30°C steering wheel is a bitch.
Operating temps? Generally speaking, ICE is fine once started. Consider piston aircraft, it's nippy up there.
Starting temp is where the real challenge is. Fluids (oil, gas, coolant) will be thicker, which makes the engine turn over more slowly - or not at all. Diesels especially struggle with this as their fuel can gel when it's cold enough. The battery will also be cold, which makes the engine turn over more slowly - or not at all.