block heater draw??

[Ryan_V]

how many watts does an engine block heater draw?? I'm going up to the pond this weekend and want to know if the honda 2000 generator is enough. never had to worry about it, but the old truck will be pretty grumpy this weekend sitting outside!!!

[End of the Line]

If I remember around 1250Watts, But start up draw may be higher, It should work, but make sure the generator is warmed up and nothing else is plugged into it for about 1/2 an hour.

[BobT]

If you have a decent ohm meter you could calculate it. Connect one meter lead to each flat blade of the plug going to your block heater and measure the resistance. Now calculate using the following formulas.

Volts / ohms = ampheres.

Volts * ampheres = power

Since this is an AC circuit, watts is not an exactly correct unit but close enough for your needs.

Bob

[Macgyver55]

There are not many block heaters available over 1500 watts although I've seen them as big as 1800. The ones we use on our big trucks (diesel) are rated at 1250. The average on cars I believe are 850 to 1000 watts. Either one should easily work with your 2000 watt generator. The ones we use are able to warm up an engine to a reasonable starting temp in around 3 hours.