Post #1171451

2025-12-09 04:47 UTC

Edit: Answered as far as being possible, though power draw feasibility is still uncertain. Thanks y&#39;all! -- My current car has an engine block heater, which I love. Leave it plugged in overnight, and in the morning the engine warms up nice and quick in winter. Except the plug (which to my non-expert eye looks like a standard NEMA 5-15P) comes out the front grill of the car. That&#39;s ideal in my current situation, where I&#39;m plugging it into an extension cord that&#39;s plugged into the grid. But I&#39;m working on a utility van/vanlife plan right now for my next vehicle, where the nearest and most convenient power source will be onboard. This leads to my question: Is it possible to install an engine block heater such that the plug exits into the passenger compartment (inside the vehicle), preferably without having to run an extension cord around/under the exterior? (I&#39;m not looking for the engine block heater to be plugged into the car&#39;s fusebox/battery. I&#39;d just like to plug it into the independent electrical system I install inside the van.) (I know very little about cars and even less about engines, but I&#39;m trying to rectify that. Also, I&#39;ve tried looking this up online and have come up empty, though maybe I&#39;m not wording it correctly. If AskFedi doesn&#39;t answer it, I&#39;ll probably have to call a service centre directly and ask.) :boost_requested: #AskFedi #CarRepair #CarMaintenance #VanLife

Replies (4)

@FeloniousPunk@beige.party 2025-12-09 04:50

@pockets Sure, it could be done. It’s just a matter of running a wire through the front firewall and into the cabin. There’s more than likely a wiring harness which already does this, just piggy-back on the route.

Open ##1393768
@pockets@lgbtqia.space 2025-12-09 14:47

@FeloniousPunk Well, the first thing I'd do is ask if it's something they could/would do, and ask how they'd do it. Also, I'm pretty practiced at prefacing things I say with "I'm sure you know more about this than I do, but... maybe... could it be done [this way]?"/"Is that what you said but in different words?"/"Is [that] [better/cheaper/easier/more reliable] than doing [this]?" (I'm old hat at throwing myself under the bus to get a pro to look at things from a different perspective while still not offending their expertise or ego.) @captainvellalives

Open ##1393776
@Serpico@framapiaf.org 2025-12-09 06:36

@pockets I'd be curious to know how much power ( wattage/amp ) such block heater draw, I imagine it's substantial, considering how much mass ( oil, metal ) to heat there is. It seems right to look into it and compare with how much power you'll store on board of the van ( batteries ) before deciding whether outside or inside power supply is the way to go.

Open ##1393777
@pockets@lgbtqia.space 2025-12-09 13:10

@Tamagoman Thanks for the information.

Open ##1393779