V-8 Block heater question

[MACK MAN]

I have a question my V 8 has two block heaters,can anybody tell how many amps the two of them together draw?Are they 1500 watts each? they seem to keep tripping my 20 amp breakers at my shop,not sure if they are pulling more than 20 amps or if I have a short in the heaters.

Thanks AL

[ThaddeusW]

I have a question my V 8 has two block heaters,can anybody tell how many amps the two of them together draw?Are they 1500 watts each? they seem to keep tripping my 20 amp breakers at my shop,not sure if they are pulling more than 20 amps or if I have a short in the heaters.

Thanks AL

Al,

Not familiar with the heater setup on a V8 but I assume that you mean you have two heaters and two plugs? I don't know the wattage off the top of my head but I THINK its something like 1500W for a diesel block heater. My B's block heater warms up the plug on a heavy cord so I assume its around 1500 watts. 1500W@120V draws 12.5 amps so two heaters will pull 25 amps. Try to find two separate circuits to plug them into and use two separate extension cords. Also, a 20A 120V circuit gives you 2400 watts of power. Maybe you have something else plugged into that circuit that isnt immediately obvious and is causing an overload when you plug the heaters in.

If you have two 1000w heaters then 20A is plenty. You need to measure the current of each heater to see if one of them is bad. Its tricky to do without an amp-clamp meter BUT can be done with a multi-meter (MM). Some MM's allow you to measure upward of 20 amps using the current socket but you must wire the probes in series with the heater which isnt that easy unless you have basic electric skills. In the current setting with the probes across the 120v, you will just pop the fuse. You could also put a 100W light bulb in series and with a volt meter and ohms law (volts equals amps times ohms), you can determine the current by the voltage drop across the light bulb.

[Rob]

I have a question my V 8 has two block heaters,can anybody tell how many amps the two of them together draw?Are they 1500 watts each? they seem to keep tripping my 20 amp breakers at my shop,not sure if they are pulling more than 20 amps or if I have a short in the heaters.

Thanks AL

MIne are 1000 watts each. I've not used them as my trucks are always in a heated shop.

Rob

[MACK MAN]

I should have told you that both heaters are on one plug.

AL

[Superdog]

_{That might be your problem,Al.The E9's I've been around have 2 plugs,one for each heater.}

[unclebilly]

You need to have these each on their own plug.

If they are 1000W each, this means that you are drawing 8.3 amps each, 16.7 amps for the 2 if they are on the same circuit. This should be ok, right?

How long is the extension cord between the wall socket and the truck? If it is 100', you have the potential to draw more current and you trip your breaker.

Your best be is to shorten up the extension cord or run 2 cords and split up the block heaters to 2 seperate plugs.

[GreenGiant2]

i always use the rule of thumb that 100 watts is a amp, so u have 30 amps, split your plugs up and put on different breakers.

[Timothy Maikshilo]

MIne are 1000 watts each. I've not used them as my trucks are always in a heated shop.

Rob

Yah Yah sure heated shop....rub it in My e 9 has two seperate plugs that I have to plug in different outlets. My "92" didn't have any block heaters. I found that strange.

[ThaddeusW]

Also, one thing to consider is the fact that the breaker might be prematurely tripping due to age. Old breakers do wear out and can trip at a lower current then they are rated for. The only way to solve this is to check the current draw or separate the heaters to two different plugs. The kill-a-watt is a home power monitoring device that lets you view volts, amps, watts as well as act as a watt-hour meter to see how much money what ever is plugged into it costs to run.