Picked up an M110 block heater

[Big_Richard]

What is the purpose of a block heater on a gas engine, though?

no matter the fuel the engine uses, 90% of engine wear happens due to cold water jacket temperatures at start up (so the block heater manufacturers for enormous stationary engines claim) These devices are almost mandatory on those multimillion dollar devices so i reckon its a good idea for us too 

They make engine oil heaters aswell as coolant heaters.

also, aside from the extra wear, you eliminate the condensation created from running an engine cold, which actually turns corrosive to both the engine internals and the exhaust system.

never running an engine cold is one reason taxi engines can get 3 x or more the milage of a normal cars engine before rebuild

[Casey]

Do you get the same benefit by plugging in the heater an hour (or some other amount of time) before starting in the morning, or should you try to keep it plugged in as much of the time as possible (e.g. overnight)?

As with parking in a garage versus outdoors, the most difficult part is figuring out what to do when you're not at home.

[Big_Richard]

NFI about that as I've never owned one, but its my understanding the dammage occurs from running the engine cold, I would think that letting it get cold when you've no plans to run it for a while would be acceptable. I would just have it warm before the internal moving parts start to move personally.

I've no idea what one would do if the car wasn't parked at home, i guess that's where the old school independent fuel burning heater would come in handy. However my preference would always be for a modern electric unit as those old fuel burners would be extremely dangerous if left unmaintained.

[koan]

On my W124 there was one under the coolant reservoir, and I found one on a W116 at the junkyard in the middle of the big thick hose on the right (as in US passenger) side of the radiator.

How effective is the heater in the radiator hose, do you use it?

I would have thought it couldn't do much to heat the block as the thermostat is closed.  The Webasto unit has a pump that circulates water through the block and cabin heater.

koan

[Casey]

How effective is the heater in the radiator hose, do you use it?

I never used the W116 one...  But the W124 had at least one bad glow plug, and when it started getting cold at night, it simply would not start, unless I plugged it in for an hour or so first.

I replaced the glow plugs, once I realized that was the problem.  Then I no longer required using the heater, but I often used it anyways - without it, the engine would sound a lot more "harsh" when initially started.

[MB_Mike]

This particular heater that I purchased only needs to be plugged in about an hour or so before start up. Anymore and it really is just superfluous.

[Big_Richard]

can you please show us photos when its fully installed 

[1980sdga]

I want a Webasto. Just because...

[Big_Richard]

I want a Webasto. Just because...

Sounds like you want your car incinerated

block mount it on a peice of wood for the mantle peice, i think that'd be safer 

[Casey]

I noticed a 110v wire tangled up near the radiator on my 300CD today.  It's not to a coolant heater in the usual place.  When I'm feeling less pissed off at the car, I'll have a look to see where it's going.  If it's a good setup I'll put it in the W116.

[MB_Mike]

can you please show us photos when its fully installed 

Yes I will.

I want a Webasto. Just because...

Sounds like you want your car incinerated

block mount it on a peice of wood for the mantle peice, i think that'd be safer 

I have a Webasto in my 126. Is there really cause for concern? No inclination to test it up to this point, but thought it would be handy in the future.