My SS is 7 years old and the block heater has never been used (by the looks of it, and I know it was stored every winter) So my question is.. is it safe to just all of a sudden use it? Thanks

Trevor

 

An engine block heater is a good idea in my mind....I say go for it! Especially in Canada.....

Brad

 

Just do it, it should be fine.

 

I had a block heater on a Semi short out and catch grease on the side of the block on fire. It made for an exciting few minutes. Just keep an eye on it when you first turn it on for a few minutes any you should be fine. Block heater failures are really rare.

 

I just used mine for the very first time a few weeks ago. By the looks of the way the cord was still tightly wrapped up, the previous owner(s) never used it.

I think it's an excellent way to prolong the life of your engine, especially since these engines take so long to warm up in the winter with their huge cooling system capacity. My wife's Honda only holds 4qts of coolant so it gets up to full temp within 2 miles, even in winter, but my car takes at least 7-8 miles to get up to operating temp (unless I use the block heater)

If it weren't such a pain to keep opening and closing the hood every time I connect and disconnect this thing, I'd consider using it in the summer too, then the engine would be up to operating temperature so much quicker.