-20F is -29C
-18C is -0.4F

 

in the cord according to previous posts.

 

Thanks, but what part of the cord, the plug end by the heater, or the plug end that plugs into power?

 

The thermostat is at the male plug end.

Careful! The designers didn't add a thermostat to jack up the price of the car. There is a reason for it. If you don't know that reason .... don't tamper with it.

 

Thanks, Good Advice.

 

OK the element is what, 300w - 400w heater, gets about 400 degress maybe in the air, not that hot immersed in water. Why is it controlled with a thermostat? It would seem to me plugging it in about 1 hour before driving, even on a day when the air temperature is at freezing, would not hurt a thing.

Cutting off the male end of the cord and replacing it with a normal plug is not a good option, most replacement male end plugs are pretty lame. Wish I could get a normal cord without the thermostat that would have the required end for plugging into the element.

 

I don't know the reason for the t'stat but .... for boiler applications, if there is propylene glycol in the boiler, the hot surfaces break down the antifreeze. So it may be that excessive use of a heating element in automotive coolant (ethylene glycol) that gets too hot breaks down the antifreeze and increases the risk of your system freezing to slush.

 

Thanks for that "M",.... I would like the option to plug the car in on days when it is freezing or below, an hour before I drive home from work. Then the heater would start working to warm me up, and the gas mileage would increase. I understand that for those who plug the car in outside all night long, I was one of those, may cause some of the issues stated in your post. I'm currently looking for a decent male end plug,.... and if I find one, I'm going to change mine, but I will keep in mind all the concerns that could cause harm doing it this way. Thanks!..

 

I don't understand why you want to cut off the thermostat? Doesn't it just turn on the heater if the ambient temps fall below freezing? If it is in the male plug, it has nothing to do with the temp of the heater itself, just the outside air.... It would prevent it from coming on when it's warm outside.

 

Thanks !

If I'm reading all the information correctly on here, the thermostat is set to allow the element to heat, only if the outside air is "0." I would like to have the element heat when the temperature is at, say above "0," but below freezing...