If you are a car owner that stays in a country that experiences winter, you must have noticed how bad winter affects your car. During winter, starting your car in the morning can be very difficult without the aid of a block heater or a battery warmer. One thing you must be aware of is that your battery fluid easily gets frozen during winter thus making it hard for you to start your car in the morning but a battery warmer can help keep your car battery warm and insulated during winter. A block heater is another device that is used in cold climates to warm the engine of a car before it is started.
The major difference between a battery warmer and a block heater is that while a block heater helps to maintain the warmth of car engines, a battery warmer helps to preserve a car battery from freezing and it also makes a car battery last long. A battery warmer makes it very easy for you to start your car during cold winter mornings and it promotes an effective discharge of current.
What is a Battery Warmer?
A battery warmer or a battery blanket or a battery heater is like a low-heat blanket that is wrapped around a car’s battery so it will remain warm during winter. Usually, a battery warmer comes with a plug and a power cord that can be easily fixed on any extension cord or wall outlet if there is no electrical wall socket in your garage. Also, a battery warmer comes with Velcro tapes at its edges that help to close tightly around your car’s battery.
If you can wrap your battery warmer sound your car’s battery throughout the night, your battery will work perfectly the next day. You will only have issues with its performance if your car’s battery previously had issues that you haven’t fixed.
During winter, the fluids in the battery of a car usually get thickened and may freeze, and this will reduce the speed the battery of the car uses to generate current. So, the job of a battery warmer is to give consistent heat to the battery of a car so that the liquids in it stay unfrozen. So, with the aid of a battery warmer, starting your car won’t be stressful.
Another beautiful thing about a battery warmer is that apart from aiding a faster starting and cranking of your car, it also extends the life of your car’s battery, insulates your car’s engine from the damage done by winter, saves your fuel, and minimizes battery wear.
Buying a battery warmer is worth it. You will enjoy the numerous benefits it comes with if you use it well. With a battery warmer, you won’t have to have issues with starting your car during winter. You will also need a battery warmer if you stay in a country like the United States of America where its temperature reduces too many degrees below zero during winter.
It is not advisable to use a car battery warmer when the temperature of a place is beyond the freezing point.
What is a Block Heater?
A block heater is an electrical equipment that is made to keep a car’s engine or motor oil warm if a car is not being used. It is a device that is commonly used in places with cold climates like the United States, Scandinavia, Russia, and Canada.
If a car’s engine or motor oil is not warm during winter, the car will have issues with starting unless a block heater is used to keep the engine of that car or motor oil warm. Using a block heater will put less stress on the engine of a car thus enhancing its performance.
A block heater is also used in an aircraft engine to keep it warm during winter. There are certain places where a lot of people use block heaters. So, their car parks have electrically designed outlets that are solely for the purpose of keeping block heaters well charged.
Here are some of the benefits of using block heaters.
- It makes starting a car’s engine easier.
- Due to enhanced oil circulation, the engine of a car will experience less wear.
- Block heaters also help to minimize the time needed for a standby generator or diesel engine to attain its complete power output during emergencies.
- Block heaters also place a lower load on the battery and starter of a car, thus, extending their service lives.
- It takes out your need for a remote starter, thus saving emissions and fuel.
- With the aid of a block heater, the cabin heater in a car can produce heat faster to defog your car’s windscreen and aid comfort.
- It increases the speed at which the engine of a car gets to operating temperature thus reducing fuel consumption and emissions.
- Minimizing the condensation of fuel on cold cylinder walls when a car is started thereby lessening exhaust emissions and saving fuel consumption.
Why Should You Buy a Battery Warmer or Block Heater?
You need to buy a battery warmer or block heater if you stay in a place with a cold climate that usually encounters temperatures below ten degrees Fahrenheit. Having a battery warmer will keep the battery of your car warm while a block heater will help keep the engine of your car warm.
Buying a battery warmer will help enhance the recharge time during winter because it helps to warm car batteries and it will also help to preserve the remaining cold-cranking amps. It also aids the installation in sub-zero temperatures and effective direct heat transfer.
Also, buying a block heater will help you warm your car engine and motor oil. It will save you the lower the emissions from your car and reduce the amount you spend on buying fuel.
Battery Warmer vs Block Heater–Differences
A battery warmer and a block heater are different in various ways but they are both electrical devices that enhance your car’s performance during winter.
A battery warmer is like a blanket that is wrapped around a car’s battery to keep it warm during winter. It hinders a car’s battery fluid from freezing easily and it also helps you to start your car without much stress. Battery warmers can be easily installed and they are there to make life simple for you. You can plug in your battery warmer in any safe outlet.
Just the same way you need hot coffee to keep you warm during winter, your car’s battery also needs warmth during winter to enable it to work perfectly and only a battery warmer can make that happen. Battery warmers prevent battery fluids from getting frozen during winter, thereby enabling you to easily start your car’s engine the next morning.
Another amazing thing about a battery warmer is that it prolongs your car’s battery life, prevents your car’s engine from winter damage, and helps you save fuel.
If you don’t want to make mistakes when choosing or buying a battery warmer, do well to take a measurement of your car’s battery and choose the battery warmer size that fits the measurement you took.
While a battery warmer warms up the battery of your car, a block heater warms up the engine and motor oil of your car. That is the basic difference between them. Also, a battery warmer needs to be wrapped around the battery of your car but a block heater doesn’t require any form of wrapping. All you need to do is plug the cord into your car and wait for a few hours before you can start your car.
So, an engine block heater is a unique electrical device that is made to warm your car’s oil or engine when you are not using it. There are several brands of block heaters you can find in the world and many of them use different techniques to provide warmth for your car’s engines.
Battery Warmer vs Block Heater–Pros
There are so many pros of using a battery warmer and a block heater.
They are both useful to car owners that reside in places with cold climates. Especially places that have temperatures below ten degrees Fahrenheit. While a battery warmer helps to keep the battery of your car warm, a block heater helps to maintain the warmth of your car’s engine.
A battery warmer extends the battery life of your car. While a block heater helps to keep the engine and motor oil of your car warm.
A battery warmer also helps to preserve the remaining cold-cranking amps and enhances the recharge time during winter by keeping the batteries of your car warm.
Using a block heater also reduces your car’s emissions and helps you save the amount of money you spend on buying fuel by ten percent.
Battery Warmer vs Block Heater–Cons
You cannot use your car immediately, you plug your block heater into it, you will need to wait for about three hours for your car’s engines to fully get warmed before you can use it. Also, you are not allowed to plug your block heater overnight into your car because it drains electricity.
Also, you might have issues with being electrocuted while using either a battery warmer or a block heater, especially if you are not being careful.
Also, battery warmers and block heaters are not needed in temperate places. They are only useful in areas that experience winter. So, their usage is only limited to certain areas.
Also, cars that have block heaters or battery warmers in them won’t need to buy an external one for their cars.
How to Make Your Decision?
For you to make your decision about buying a battery warmer or a block heater, you need to consider the kind of climate you have in the place where you live. If you stay in a temperate area, you won’t have any need for a battery warmer or a block heater but if you stay in a place that has a cold climate, and you own a car, you will need to use a battery warmer or a block heater often. So, if you stay in a place that usually experiences a temperature of twenty degrees or less, a battery warmer would be needed so that the liquids in the battery of your car don’t get frozen.
The brand and the cost of the battery warmer and block heater is another important thing you should consider when making a decision about buying a battery warmer and a block heater. Ensure you buy from a trusted brand so that you will enjoy cost-effective quality products.
Conclusion
Starting your car in places that have serious freezing temperatures can be quite difficult. But with the aid of a battery warmer, your car’s battery can have all the warmth it needs to work perfectly and also, a block heater can also help to keep your car’s engine and motor oil warm.
If you are a car owner that stays in a place with a cold climate, buying a battery warmer and a block heater is worth it. It will save you from a lot of stress and cost. If you use a block heater often, it will reduce your car’s emissions and help you save the amount of money you spend on buying fuel by ten percent. A battery warmer prolongs the battery life of your car.
Most times, in areas with cold climates, even with a completely charged battery, your battery can easily get drained because of the cold weather that’s why you should always carry your battery warmer with if you stay in those kinds of cold areas so that your battery can still have full cranking power no matter how cold the weather is. As soon as the temperature of the place you live in reduces to zero degrees Fahrenheit, your car’s battery can experience a sixty percent loss of its starting power. So, at this point, that cold engine will need a lot of current from the battery for it to get started.
If you stay in a place with a temperate climate, there is no point in buying a battery warmer and a block heater because you won’t have any need for it.
Ensure you maintain your car battery warmer and block heater very well so it will serve you for a long time.