Engine blanket?

[cdt]

Anyone know if and where you can buy an engine insulating blanket from?

Are they different from a mylar blanket you'd have for hiking?

[rev-erend]

For one moment - I thought you very thinking of putting a blanket on your engine.

I did this years ago (Austin A30) and forgot and ended up with the blanket wrapped around the fan and the belt.. real mess.

[cdt]

No, I was thinking of putting a blanket (not just any old blanket) on the engine - they do this in very cold countries. Presume it is a bad idea?

[brummiewedge]

If you are in scotland then only a tartan one will work.
Any where else just co-ordinate with the interior.

[cdt]

If it gets really cold (probably won't as I'm in the midlands), I've now got a mountain survival thermal blanket to put under the engine bay. It melts at 250 degree celsius - so it should be okay?

Is there a temperature below which the car isn't likely to start, or shouldn't temperature matter? It seems much harder to start when it is below zero.

[number 7]

You might find one of these useful www.kenlowe.com/pre-heaters/cars/index.html

As long as the car is parked somewhere you can run a mains lead to. Used one in our old 350, on a timer, worked great.

7.

[KJR]

number 7 said:

You might find one of these useful www.kenlowe.com/pre-heaters/cars/index.html As long as the car is parked somewhere you can run a mains lead to. Used one in our old 350, on a timer, worked great. 7.

How easy are these to fit, in my case to a 400SE wedge ?

[number 7]

KJR said:

How easy are these to fit, in my case to a 400SE wedge ?

If you're a reasonably competent diy'er, will be easy enough. I mounted mine in the space where the screen wash bottle sits, and just moved that reservoir forward a bit. Ideally you want it lower than the engine, to stop any air from rising to the pump, but there are not many places it will go in the engine bay. They don't get hot enough to open the 'stat, but IIRC it was c. 40-50 degrees c. which is a good start. I think we used to run it for c. 1 hour before we needed it.

7.

[dickymint]

number 7 said:

KJR said: How easy are these to fit, in my case to a 400SE wedge ? If you're a reasonably competent diy'er, will be easy enough. I mounted mine in the space where the screen wash bottle sits, and just moved that reservoir forward a bit. Ideally you want it lower than the engine, to stop any air from rising to the pump, but there are not many places it will go in the engine bay. They don't get hot enough to open the 'stat, but IIRC it was c. 40-50 degrees c. which is a good start. I think we used to run it for c. 1 hour before we needed it. 7.

Bought one last week off fleabay. Not fitted yet though. Mine heats the system up to 85C and also switches on the heater for the final half hour or so. Can't wait to get it going.

[number 7]

dickymint said:

Bought one last week off fleabay. Not fitted yet though. Mine heats the system up to 85C and also switches on the heater for the final half hour or so. Can't wait to get it going.

Sounds more sophisticated than the Kenlowe - IIRC it used 3KW heater - to get to 85 deg. c. I would think takes a lot more than that - and how does it switch on the heater?

7.

[dickymint]

number 7 said:

dickymint said: Bought one last week off fleabay. Not fitted yet though. Mine heats the system up to 85C and also switches on the heater for the final half hour or so. Can't wait to get it going. Sounds more sophisticated than the Kenlowe - IIRC it used 3KW heater - to get to 85 deg. c. I would think takes a lot more than that - and how does it switch on the heater? 7.

Mine is Kenlowe - 2.7kW. With interior heating option as explained here....www.kenlowe.com/pre-heaters/cars/automatic.html

Mine is an older version of this (round cannister style with seperate pump). The new type can be bolted down whereas the older type can't be bolted down due to vibration issues or something.

[tasmania]

I've got one off a series 2 350i
Give me a mail on [e-mail]
TaS

[powerblanket]

PowerBlanket electric outdoor heated blankets will perfect for what you need.
http://powerblanket.com/Thawing/c4/p29/ExtraHot-Su...

[powerblanket]

powerblanket makes a whole line of electric engine warming blankets.
http://www.powerblanket.com/engine_blankets-a-38.h...

[GV]

OMG....

[cdt]

I love the fact my thread has been bumped up twice now, each time a year in between. If you search for "engine blanket" in Google, this thread is the 2nd result.

[BillSimo46]

To CDT, How did the survival blanket work on your engine? Any problems with combustion? Thanks, Bill

[JR]

The Power blanket looks quite good but $270 dollars doesn't.

Just check that you have plenty of anti-freeze, spray the engine bay with WD40 shortly after a good run and make sure that you have a healthy battery.