Mine was located near the battery. Open the hood, take a look at the right side, you should find it.

 

the power cord should be all wrapped up near the fuse box i think?

all canadian patriots have them at least...great things, i use the one in my caliber all winter

 

the power cord should be all wrapped up near the fuse box i think?

Fuse box, exactly ! :smiley_thumbs_up:

Pardon my ignorance but I am not sure what a block heater is for. Is this for extremely cold climates?

Yes, but extremely, like what? I mean, here, I plug my Patriot if night temperature will go below -20C (-4F). Usually, on January/February, it can go as low as -35C (-31F) / -40C (-40F).

Having a engine cold like it, trying to start it will drains the battery faster and battery is already cold (cold == less power) which it doesn't help. Also the engine will wear faster (oil is very thick) at the startup process. Finally, warming up the engine is much longer.

It's a good idea to plug it to protect the engine, to give a chance to the battery and to have a heat quickly in the cabin

 

Pardon my ignorance but I am not sure what a block heater is for. Is this for extremely cold climates?

 

Ah so it plugs into an outlet in the garage? I guess in Miami I don't need to worry about it but it's nice to know it's there--I will look for it

 

I dont think all patriots have this option. I've never seen it on mine.

 

The neat thing is that you'll have warm air from your heater nearly instantly! I had a diesel with a heater, we didn't live in a freeze zone, but I sometimes was called out in the middel of the night, so always plugged it in just for that purpose.

 

Instantly? No.
The block heater keeps the block and the oil warm. The coolant/antifreeze in the rest of the system (tubes, heater core, radiator) are still cold. So no go on the instant heat.

I have the block heater and I plug mine in during the winter months. Yes it keeps the engine block warm so warming up the engine and antifreeze time is drastically reduced. However, because it can get so cold, the battery takes a hit. Even with the block heater plugged in, some nights when it gets close to -35 degrees C or colder the Jeep still seems to struggle to start and its because of the battery. I have an automatic trickle charger I might rig up to the Jeep on those freezing cold nights.

 

I believe a block-heater is a must for all Canadian sold vehicles. I couldn't find anything in writing through a quick google search, but I'm sure it's out there somewhere... It's one of those safety things the Canadian government likes to make mandatory, like day-time running lights. Although a block-heater is really only needed in -30C or lower temps. They should have battery heaters instead...

 

Hey jeelo! I'll grant you I don't know exactly how the Patriot's system works--never plugged mine in. But the unit in my GM diesel (of 20 years ago...) got warm enough to cause the water to circulate. And many aftermarket heaters worked within the cooling systems--a heating unit placed in the lower radiator hose. The thought being was to circulate 160+ degree water, thus warming the block. With diesels, the mission is to get the engine interior warm enough to ignite the fuel.