Kenmore pre-heater

[glynlucas]

I've been offered a kenmore pre-heater for £20. Has anyone installed one of these on a Chim'?

With winter just around the corner and the thought of being able to rev the car without worrying about cold oil... it might just be worth it??

Any thoughts?

[Jem]

oooh - they sound interesting...

J

[swisstoni]

sounds like a good price anyway. These are quite expensive items if memory serves.

[adiandvic]

being new to ownership of a chim what the hell is a preheater... does it warm the oil prior to starting...???

[K4TRV]

adiandvic said:

being new to ownership of a chim what the hell is a preheater... does it warm the oil prior to starting...???

It doesn't - it prewarms the water, which will assist in getting the oil up to working temperature much faster - resucing enguine wear etc.

See UK version of silimar: www.kenlowe.com/pre-heaters/cars/whatwill.html

Original thread was for something similar but very cheap 2nd hand - if you have a mains plug-in next to the car I'd go for it. principle usage is for external temperatures well below freezing - Canadian/Scanadavian Winter-like temperatures - usage in UK would certainly allow faster warming and probably less engine wear on start-up.

You pays your money and............

Trev McM

[ian8542]

Worth fitting if you can find somewhere to plumb it in.
Fitted one to my Defender via a 16A plug and socket mounted timer, instant demisting and quick warm up.

[glynlucas]

Guys,

Thanks for replies. Sorry I got the brand name wrong! Kenlowe duh!
It does seem like a bargain and would certainly make me feel happier about starting the engine on very cold mornings. I'm just a little unsure about the image of plugging in the car... seems too much like a caravan or even worse, electric power!!

[TT Tim]

Really depends on whether you use the car all year. I used to have one on a timer so that the car was nice and warm in the cold mornings. It's quite a hefty heating element if i remember correctly - 2Kw

As has already been said, it preheats the water, NOT the oil so you still need to take it easy until the oil is upto temp too.

Tim

[ATG]

Does it have some kind of pump to circulate the coolant?

[ian8542]

ATG said:

Does it have some kind of pump to circulate the coolant?

Yes, contained within the casing.

[zumbruk]

I used to have one of these on my Range Rover. Yes, it was lovely coming out to a pre-warmed car. But ...

One day, the thermostat on it failed closed circuit. It then boiled the coolant, the seals in it failed and all the coolant leaked out, then the wiring insulation melted and tripped the house RCD.

So ... our alarm clock didn't go off, then having showered, suited & booted I come out to find the Rangey sitting in a pool of coolant, so I have to go back inside, change and strip the damn thing out in the blowing sleet.

Then Kenlowe were pissy about replacing it under warranty, claiming to have no record of me buying it (I should think the VATman loves that). When I eventually got a new one, I sold it.

In short, I wouldn't touch another one with a bargepole.