Can anyone tell me if can hear the block heater when plugged in? I have not come across a vehicle that I could not hear, Is it that quiet ?

 

Unless the G has something completely different, you should NOT be able to hear your block heater. It's just an electric element that warms the coolant. No fans, or pumps etc. Can you hear your electric stove?

 

First off...a block heater does not heat your coolant. Let's be clear about that. It is an element that heats your engine block.... hence the name block heater....Dah !

Second of all...yes you most certainly can hear a block heater when it is plugged in as it is an element that is going from extreme cold to hot and in most ALL vehicles will create a ...hissing sound. Does anyone with a little more mechanical experience have anything to add to the thread...if you have no mechanical history...please do not respond.

 

It is your oil that is heated by use of an block heater ...as it is the oil that needs to be warmed up as to be able to turn your engine over easier. Your coolant is already in a think liquid state and remains that way ...unless you don't have any ...antifreeze in it...and straight water. It is your oil that is warmed up in your....engine block....again..hence the name ...block heater....resulting in an easier turn over of your engine and prevents any cylinder scarring as a result of poor oil lubrication......because it is as stiff as tar when it is -20 or more out.

 

What you are thinking about is a ....circulating heater.....that heats and circulates your antifreeze....not the same thing.....at all.

 

Ok cocky. I'll return to my shop and keep my mouth shut...I've gotta check my headlight fluid anyway

So what you're saying is that the element is getting hot enough to BOIL your OIL? I'll trade you block heaters then, but I'll have to have a 220V circuit installed outside my shop door to run such an apparatus.

Remember, YOU are the one who was asking for help. For those who searched for an answer and stumbled up this thread, I'll clear it up for you.

A conventional block heater generally replaces a FROST PLUG in the side of the engine. See photo here http://www.justanswer.com/nissan-inf...pe-vq35de.html
Notice how high up the block the block heater is? At this point in your night, when you're nestled snug in your bed, the oil is at the bottom of the engine in the so-called "oil pan" and the little element in the block heater is warming the coolant up. If you look up who to change a block heater, you'll notice you have to drain the coolant.
Oil pan heaters heat oil. Block heaters heat coolant in your engine. A circulating heater heats coolant but is usually external and uses natural convection currents to warm cold coolant(coming from a hose from the bottom of your block), which rises to the top of the heater and into the top of the block through a hose. We often see these in the oil patch here in northern Canada - where we regularily reach -50°.

All that being said, I've read a couple reports of some people hearing their block heater when they plug it in while the engine is cold but I certainly never have - cummins, chev, ford, mitubishis, subarus, hyundais, toyotas yadda yadda.

 

Just responding in the same manner the answer came....Good you're from Canada...just as i am. Who is talking about... boiling.... the oil. ...and you are right it does heat the antifreeze...that heats your block...that in turn makes your oil coated cylinders.. turn over easier. For it is the stiff oil that creates the resistance in a cold engine....not the antifreeze. And I don't know how old you are but if you have never heard a block heater before...I'm thinking you are not very old....because this is the first vehicle that I have owned out of 12 that I have not been able to hear the block heater working...... no electric stoves involved.

 

 

Hope you are talking about your personal shop....and not a garage.... if you have never heard a block heater before.

 

Is it supposed to sound like a diesels glow plugs before u turn the key on?? Like a little pulsing sound??

 

No... just a hissing type sound...and for Jfdid.... turn on one of your... electric stove element... to high...let it turn red hot then put a pot of water on it...that is the sound it should make. I can't believe no one has ever heard their block heater before.... all I want to know is if someone that ....owns ....a G37 can tell me if they can hear their block heater when it gets plugged in.

 

One more thing jfdid.... turn your electric stove element to high let it turn red hot then turn it off and you tell me if it makes a noise or not....if it doesn't ...I would go get my hearing checked out....and that my friend is the same sound that a block heater makes. So in answer to your statement...yes my electric stove does make a sound...and yours does too.

 

I am 30 and never seen a block heater. Growing up in Arizona FTW.

Only time I ever even heard of a block heater was 3 years ago when I bought my Jeep. Ordering it and salesman asked if I wanted the engine block heater option, so I asked him what it was, he said he didnt know, so I said no.

 

My statement was not referring to whether or not you've ever heard of a block heater...it was referring to actually hearing it operate. When you plug in a block heater you should be able to actually hear it ...as to whether or not it is working....I can not hear mine in the G37 ...and so I am asking anyone that owns a 2009 G37 as to whether or not they can ....physically hear ...their block heater working when they plug it in.

 

I cant hear my block heater operate over the sound of my wife screaming as the 120 degree leather burns the skin off her legs.