Have you ever seen a power cord hanging from a car grill? This is a sign that the car likely has a heating unit installed. If you've ever spent time driving on a cold winter's day, you've probably come across a heating block or two.
Its main purpose is to warm the engine to increase the chance of starting and working well in cold weather. You can have a look at some of the block engine heaters suggested by experts like Hot Head Heater.
Another benefit of block warmers that many people like is that they allow hot air to flow through the vents in the car more quickly, which helps with misting and, perhaps most importantly, keeps it in the car.
There are several ways to heat a car in cold weather
Not only are there several types of car block heaters that you may encounter during your career as an auto mechanic, but there are other alternatives such as using a remote starter or even a ceiling with an electric motor. That's right, there's an electric blanket for a car engine!
With block heaters, there are contact heaters that screw into the engine and heat both the coolant and oil in the car, as well as coolant heaters that replace the freezer plug or work as a radiator hose to heat the vehicle coolant. Depending on the type of coolant heater, it can also slightly warm up the oil in the car or circulate coolant to help distribute heat.
Sometimes referred to as block heaters and sometimes categorized separately, there are also oil heaters that keep engine oil warm.