this post was submitted on 05 Jan 2026
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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.