the_grace•1mo agoTop Commenter

I'll take a grid heater delete over a block heater any day in Wisconsin winters

I know everybody around here swears by block heaters for cold starts. But after 3 winters running a deleted grid heater on my 5.9, I haven't had a single no-start down to -15°F. Block heaters just warm the coolant, and if your batteries are weak or the oil is thick, you're still cranking forever. Grid heater gives you instant hot air right in the intake. My buddy Tim spent $400 on a new block heater install last year and still needed a jump pack twice. I spent $0 on the delete and just plug in my battery tender. Has anyone else tried running without a block heater in serious cold?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_christopher1mo ago

Tim's problem was he used the wrong block heater wattage, rookie mistake.

grace891mo ago

Drew's got a point, that's a rough cold snap without any help. Hope Tim's rig starts okay now that he's got the right setup.

drew_reed621mo ago

-15°F? Tbh I'm kinda shocked you got away with that on a 5.9 without any block heater. My buddy Jake tried the same thing on his 2012 Cummins and it sounded like a dying tractor for 10 seconds straight at -10°F. He had to swap in some 0W-40 and even then the starter was dragging bad. You must have some serious battery setup or garage kept that thing.