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- - Block heater (https://www.buickforum.com/forum/engine-internal-16/block-heater-8125/)

What is the best cold weather block heater?

Id like a tank heater rather than a soft plug heater. Lower radiator hose or heater hose?

byron

The best heater I ever had was as I recall "T"eed off the heater hose and ran to the engine block. Started up better than Summer, instant heat and sometimes -30 in the Saco River Valley, ME. Don't by mistake connect water to oil port lmao, makes for muddy antifreeze.

Lower radiator hose, not all that great. Think if I had to redo would try the oil heater version. Warm oil would be very beneficial for cold morning startups and easiest to install.

https://www.amazon.com/oil-pan-heaters-Automotive/s?page=1&rh=n%3A15684181%2Ck%3Aoil%20pan%20heaters

Remember the battery hot plate heater when wife had '66 Beetle, not that bad.

A block heater is nice to have and a little work to remove a freeze plug and install, however, I have also used lower rad hose heaters and they did the job and were easier to install. The main thing is to warm up some of the engine . The warmth will travel to the block and whether you are heating the oil or the coolant, it is better than no heater.
Be aware that they can use sometimes up to 1500 watts of power and the circuit should be wired to handle that load and also be GFCI protected.