The question posed:
Anybody know how much power the 7.3L block heater uses. Trying to figure out how much I’m spending on electricity to have it plugged in all night Vs. only for a few hours in the morning. Thought about buying a timer for the outlet. What do y’all think?
My response:
Most of the information I’m seeing online suggests the OEM block heater for my 2000 F-250 is 1,000 watts, or about 8 amps. Multiply that by the number of hours it’s plugged in, and you get how many amps it uses.
So, 3 hours in the morning= 24 amp hours; 10 hours overnight = 80 amp hours.
Depending on cost for electricity in your area, it might be worth looking into more.
Once it warms up the block as much as it can with 1,000 watts, it’s going to just keep the block warm, and while it’s best to plug it in when you get home and leave it plugged in overnight, I’ve read many stories and posts of people setting it up on a timer to go on 3-4 hours before their intended start time, and that working quite nicely.
Also, all the googling I’ve done says the 7.3L PS is designed to start by itself in as low -22, but it’s ‘best practice’ to plug it in at 5 degrees or less. Many folks say they plug them in at 15 or less; I personally plug it in anytime the temp is going to be below freezing from sundown to sun up, BUT, I don’t pay for electricity here.
For testing, I would get a ‘kill a watt’ monitor (https://www.amazon.com/Suraielec-Calculator…/dp/B08GSPLZBN) and use that to see how many amps you use with it plugged in overnight vs just a few hours, then do the math for cost per KWH at your house and see if the price is worth the trouble, or the timer.