Heated Dipstick

Sammanfattning: Starting an engine in low temperatures creates unnecessary wear on components due to the insufficient lubrication of cold engine oil. A cold engine produces more emissions and consumes more fuel. Not all cars are equipped with engine heaters and installing an aftermarket heater is both expensive and time consuming. The aim with this project is to develop a universal engine heater with the ability to heat engine oil efficiently. Installing the engine heater should not require any special tools or expertise. To create a universal engine heater the construction is flexible similar to an electric cable and the length can be modified. The lower part, in contact with the engine oil, contains a resistor with an outside cover of steel to efficiently transfer heat. The challenge is to create an engine heater that is efficient in heating the engine oil while being small enough to fit in most cars. The surface area of the heater plays a large role when it comes to transfer heat efficiently. To heat 6 liters of engine oil from - 20 ° to -6° C takes roughly 2 hours with conventional surface area. By doubling the area by using another design, the same temperature can be reached in about 30 minutes.