element is at 12 oclock, cant go any other way, really. i bought 3 new 5 gallon buckets (clean), and probably drained about 11-12 gallons from the petcock on the bottom of the radiator. And when i popped the freeze plug out, maybe 2-3 oz. were lost. a regular screwdriver, pliers, and a small hammer worked perfectly to pop out the freeze plug. Lubed up the o ring, and cranked down the allen head bolt on the heater to 25 lbs. poured the coolant back into the overflow tank, and wallah. i just went out to touch the block, (hasn't run in over 3 hours at 30 degrees outside) and, either side of the block is VERY hot. I dont think there will be a starting issue tm morning. But,..... to create that heat id imagine it is sucking up a fair amount of electricity. Overall- a very simple project.