battery powered heater for a car

[Deleted User] · 20/12/13 - 14:56

does anybody know of a good battery powered heater that you could leave running in your car for 10/15 mins to help defrost the windscreen without having to run the car for ages to get enough heat from the engine?

Eater Sundae · 20/12/13 - 15:09

On a previous car which was very poor at demisting I used a cheap camping hair drier bought from an outdoor shop, elastic-banded to point at the screen.

However, I only used it once I had started the engine, to avoid any risk of flattening the battery.

150 watts = 150/12 Amps, ie =12.5 amps. At 15 minutes, uses around 3 amp-hours, which shouldn't be a problem for a car battery, but I don't think I'd want to risk it in winter.

Also, I've read warnings about the risk of hot air cracking a cold screen. Again I don't know if it is true. To avoid that risk I used my makeshift fan heater along with the cars ventilation to minimise any shock of hot air - once mixed it was just slightly warm.

Edit. Just to add. This makeshift solution gave very quick results. But I don't know if it was safe or if I was just lucky that I didn't crack the screen.

Galaxy266 · 20/12/13 - 15:16

If you are thinking about something like this:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/in-car-ceramic-heatercooler-a75fl

Then please don't bother wasting your money. They are useless!

You're much better off with a decent windscreen scraper and a can of deicer, believe me.

thefairydandy · 20/12/13 - 15:28

Funnily enough I was thinking of asking this in the advice section, because I just changed cars and the automatic system on my Citroen C3 is rubbish! It doesn't help that my journey is just 5 miles, so it doesn't get time to heat up.

My last car was far inferior for many things, but at least I could manage the damn heat controls!

Finglonga · 20/12/13 - 15:33

Hot water bottle on the dash board half hour before you leave.;-)

grumpyscot · 20/12/13 - 16:23

Finglonga wrote: »

Hot water bottle on the dash board half hour before you leave.;-)

But filled with WARM water, not hot!

flagpole · 20/12/13 - 16:28

grumpyscot wrote: »

But filled with WARM water, not hot!

on the dash board. not the windscreen. seems like quite a good idea to me.

flagpole · 20/12/13 - 16:38

Eater Sundae wrote: »

On a previous car which was very poor at demisting I used a cheap camping hair drier bought from an outdoor shop, elastic-banded to point at the screen.

However, I only used it once I had started the engine, to avoid any risk of flattening the battery.

150 watts = 150/12 Amps, ie =12.5 amps. At 15 minutes, uses around 3 amp-hours, which shouldn't be a problem for a car battery, but I don't think I'd want to risk it in winter.

Also, I've read warnings about the risk of hot air cracking a cold screen. Again I don't know if it is true. To avoid that risk I used my makeshift fan heater along with the cars ventilation to minimise any shock of hot air - once mixed it was just slightly warm.

Edit. Just to add. This makeshift solution gave very quick results. But I don't know if it was safe or if I was just lucky that I didn't crack the screen.

in respect of cracking.

what causes cracks is one part or side of the glass heating and expanding too quickly.

hot water is a bitch for this because the thermal contact is so high. like if you point your hand in boiling water it would hurt. but if you put your hand in a 100°C oven you would have minutes before it became uncomfortable.

so it's not the heat but the speed of change. i think you would struggle to crack a windscreen with a hairdryer even if you threw it. i would have no qualms about turning the hairdryer on my windscreen so long as it was from a couple of feet away. the heating should be sufficiently slow that as the surface heats it is able to dissipate through.

flagpole · 20/12/13 - 16:39

the real solution of course is a webasto engine pre heater.

Bungitin · 20/12/13 - 16:42

Forget it with batteries.

The 12v Car heaters are useless.

I did occasionally use a sump heater for while.

You can get diesel heaters for cars. (with timer!).

Picto · 20/12/13 - 16:44

I've installed an open log fire in my car to alleviate this very problem.

kippeh · 20/12/13 - 16:48

Picto wrote: »

I've installed an open log fire in my car to alleviate this very problem.

Do you find it easy to vent the vehicle of smoke?

butterworth · 20/12/13 - 16:51

loonattic wrote: »

does anybody know of a good battery powered heater that you could leave running in your car for 10/15 mins to help defrost the windscreen without having to run the car for ages to get enough heat from the engine?

I appreciate that this isn't the answer you are looking for, but 'good' ones don't exist. They are all shit. Holding up a lit match would generate significantly more heat than anything that you could buy.

Hope this helps.

Picto · 20/12/13 - 16:52

kippeh wrote: »

Do you find it easy to vent the vehicle of smoke?

Yes, i have a flue through the roof. Looks quite snazzy.

Si_Crewe · 20/12/13 - 16:59

Galaxy266 wrote: »

If you are thinking about something like this:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/in-car-ceramic-heatercooler-a75fl

Then please don't bother wasting your money. They are useless!

You're much better off with a decent windscreen scraper and a can of deicer, believe me.

Was just about to post the same thing.

Dunno what it's rated at but it's got a 15 amp fuse so the most it can be rated at is 12v x 15a = 180 watts.

When you consider that your average household portable fan is at least 2000 watts, it gives you an idea of how pokey these things are.

The hot water bottle sounds like a much better idea, if a bit of ice-scraping is really out of the question.

nanscombe · 20/12/13 - 17:08

Universal Large Winter Car Windscreen/Windsheild Frost Cover Covers All Your Windscreen - £2.05 (plus P&P I suspect)

Streetwize Silver Car Top Cover - Medium. (£14.99 Argos)

Halfords All Weather Windscreen Shield (£9.99 Halfords)

flagpole · 20/12/13 - 17:16

nanscombe wrote: »

Universal Large Winter Car Windscreen/Windsheild Frost Cover Covers All Your Windscreen - £2.05 (plus P&P I suspect)

Streetwize Silver Car Top Cover - Medium. (£14.99 Argos)

Halfords All Weather Windscreen Shield (£9.99 Halfords)

i have a garage.

i guess they are more expensive. but you can use them for other stuff. so it's swings and roundabouts.

Si_Crewe · 20/12/13 - 17:18

What's up with just sticking a couple of sheets of newspaper under your windscreen wipers?

nanscombe · 20/12/13 - 17:25

flagpole wrote: »

i have a garage.

i guess they are more expensive. but you can use them for other stuff. so it's swings and roundabouts.

Oh. Can you get your car in there as well?

[Deleted User] · 21/12/13 - 13:42

Finglonga wrote: »

Hot water bottle on the dash board half hour before you leave.;-)

brilliant.simple and cheap,i've just ordered one from amazon,only 2 quid.

Andrue · 21/12/13 - 14:32

thefairydandy wrote: »

Funnily enough I was thinking of asking this in the advice section, because I just changed cars and the automatic system on my Citroen C3 is rubbish! It doesn't help that my journey is just 5 miles, so it doesn't get time to heat up.

My Honda Jazz is the same. Much as I like them as a manufacturer the one thing Honda rarely get right is the ventilation. Since October I've had to drive pretty much everwyhere with the vents set to windscreen. That's noisy and tends to heat the car up more (even though it has 'climate control').

flagpole wrote: »

i have a garage.

i guess they are more expensive. but you can use them for other stuff. so it's swings and roundabouts.

Me too and I keep my car in it all the time. My CH boiler is in there so it's rarely below 10 degrees even on a cold morning. It's a bit of a pain in the evening though especially since these days I park at a railway station and really can't set off before the screen is clear.

Hey there!

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