This year we have a little one to take to the child minders so hectic mornings, and I have a diesel car which is slower to heat up than a petrol car. So I was thinking of some type of auxhilliary heater that can get things going. Any recommendations? - most of the 12V lighter socket ones seem to have poor reviews.
Simon.

In message ,
sm_jamieson writes
This year we have a little one to take to the child minders so hectic
mornings, and I have a diesel car which is slower to heat up than a
petrol car. So I was thinking of some type of auxhilliary heater that
can get things going. Any recommendations? - most of the 12V lighter
socket ones seem to have poor reviews.


Seems a waste of time, well for that reason anyway. Just chuck an extra
fleece blanket over them if you are worried. The small one will be fine.

Babies in buggies don't have heaters :-)


--
Chris French

On 24/11/2014 17:27, sm_jamieson wrote:
This year we have a little one to take to the child minders so hectic mornings, and I have a diesel car which is slower to heat up than a petrol car. So I was thinking of some type of auxhilliary heater that can get things going. Any recommendations? - most of the 12V lighter socket ones seem to have poor reviews.
Simon.

*Most* of the 12v lighter ones have poor reviews? Why only most? A
lighter socket can provide say 60w. It's like ****ing in the ocean.

Are you thinking of running a mains lead out to the car? Then, in
principle, any small heater with a thermostat will do the job, if left
on for an hour or two. The main problem will be stopping hot bits
melting the plastics in the car.

In article ,
sm_jamieson wrote:
This year we have a little one to take to the child minders so hectic
mornings, and I have a diesel car which is slower to heat up than a
petrol car. So I was thinking of some type of auxhilliary heater that
can get things going. Any recommendations? - most of the 12V lighter
socket ones seem to have poor reviews.

Of course they have poor reviews as they're useless. The most you can take
from a fag lighter socket is about 120 watts. The proper car heater is the
equivalent of nearer 5000 watts.

If your car is parked off road, an electric engine heater which is left on
overnight is the way to go. Or an auxilliary heater that burns diesel
direct. But neither a cheap option. However, a pullover is.

--
*Someday, we'll look back on this, laugh nervously and change the subject

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Mon, 24 Nov 2014 09:27:48 -0800 (PST), sm_jamieson wrote:

This year we have a little one to take to the child minders so hectic
mornings, and I have a diesel car which is slower to heat up than a
petrol car.

Surely the little one has a decent coat?

So I was thinking of some type of auxhilliary heater that can get things
going. Any recommendations?

Buy a car with an auxillary heater as an option.

Or put a portable fan heater in it as you start breakfasts but be
careful that the air inlet and outlets can't get blocked. Perhaps one
of the vertical ones rather than a traditional flat one.

Personally just put some clothes on. Yes, I do drive a diesel and
it's the best part of 10 mins before the heater starts to work.

- most of the 12V lighter socket ones seem to have poor reviews.

Hardly surpising as 10 A (about the safe maximum from a ciggy socket)
at 12 V is just 120 W. I have a 12 V travel kettle it takes about 20
mins to boil a mug full of water.

--
Cheers
Dave.

In article ,
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
sm_jamieson wrote:
This year we have a little one to take to the child minders so hectic
mornings, and I have a diesel car which is slower to heat up than a
petrol car. So I was thinking of some type of auxhilliary heater that
can get things going. Any recommendations? - most of the 12V lighter
socket ones seem to have poor reviews.

Of course they have poor reviews as they're useless. The most you can take
from a fag lighter socket is about 120 watts. The proper car heater is the
equivalent of nearer 5000 watts.

If your car is parked off road, an electric engine heater which is left on
overnight is the way to go. Or an auxilliary heater that burns diesel
direct. But neither a cheap option. However, a pullover is.

and gloves - and long johns.

--
From KT24

Using a RISC OS computer running v5.18

sm_jamieson wrote:
This year we have a little one to take to the child minders so hectic mornings,

Dress the child warmly and give it a hot water bottle (inside a cover).
Take duvets etc in case the car breaks down.

Bill

In message o.uk, Dave
Liquorice writes
On Mon, 24 Nov 2014 09:27:48 -0800 (PST), sm_jamieson wrote:

This year we have a little one to take to the child minders so hectic
mornings, and I have a diesel car which is slower to heat up than a
petrol car.

Surely the little one has a decent coat?

So I was thinking of some type of auxhilliary heater that can get things
going. Any recommendations?

Buy a car with an auxillary heater as an option.

Or put a portable fan heater in it as you start breakfasts but be
careful that the air inlet and outlets can't get blocked. Perhaps one
of the vertical ones rather than a traditional flat one.

Personally just put some clothes on. Yes, I do drive a diesel and
it's the best part of 10 mins before the heater starts to work.

As it happens, our 2009 Diesel Ford Galaxy seems to warm up quicker
than the previous Mondeo, but my wife's Yaris does seem to take a while
--
Chris French

On 24/11/14 18:09, GB wrote:
On 24/11/2014 17:27, sm_jamieson wrote:
This year we have a little one to take to the child minders so hectic
mornings, and I have a diesel car which is slower to heat up than a
petrol car. So I was thinking of some type of auxhilliary heater that
can get things going. Any recommendations? - most of the 12V lighter
socket ones seem to have poor reviews.
Simon.

*Most* of the 12v lighter ones have poor reviews? Why only most? A
lighter socket can provide say 60w. It's like ****ing in the ocean.

Are you thinking of running a mains lead out to the car? Then, in
principle, any small heater with a thermostat will do the job, if left
on for an hour or two. The main problem will be stopping hot bits
melting the plastics in the car.

If you were doing the latter, might as well go the whole hog and have an
engine pre heater installed like the canadians often do. What you spend
on the setup might be paid back in part by better fuel economy and less
engine wear.

GB wrote:

sm_jamieson wrote:

I have a diesel car which is slower to heat up than a
petrol car. So I was thinking of some type of auxhilliary heater that
can get things going. Any recommendations? - most of the 12V lighter
socket ones seem to have poor reviews.

*Most* of the 12v lighter ones have poor reviews? Why only most? A
lighter socket can provide say 60w. It's like ****ing in the ocean.

Look at Kenlowe Hotstart or Webasto Thermosystem or equivalents ...

On Mon, 24 Nov 2014 18:50:09 +0000, Chris French
wrote:

Personally just put some clothes on. Yes, I do drive a diesel and
it's the best part of 10 mins before the heater starts to work.

As it happens, our 2009 Diesel Ford Galaxy seems to warm up quicker
than the previous Mondeo, but my wife's Yaris does seem to take a while

I don't know what you are all on about - I have never had this problem
with diesel cars and vans.

sm_jamieson was thinking very hard :
This year we have a little one to take to the child minders so hectic
mornings, and I have a diesel car which is slower to heat up than a petrol
car. So I was thinking of some type of auxhilliary heater that can get things
going. Any recommendations? - most of the 12V lighter socket ones seem to
have poor reviews. Simon.

Well look at it this way - the 50/100 watts will make little if any
difference to the interior of a car, so a complete waste of money.

The only worth while addition to a diesel is a Fuel Burning heater to
pre-heat the cooling system. Around 6Kw of output, burning diesel fuel
and your car can be pre-heated before you even get in it. They don't
use much fuel at all, rather like a miniature boiler for your central
heating. Mine came fitted with one and I would not be without it, but
they are quite expensive. HGV's have them fitted, where they are called
'night heaters'.

--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk

Harry Bloomfield wrote in
. uk:

sm_jamieson was thinking very hard :
This year we have a little one to take to the child minders so hectic
mornings, and I have a diesel car which is slower to heat up than a
petrol car. So I was thinking of some type of auxhilliary heater that
can get things going. Any recommendations? - most of the 12V lighter
socket ones seem to have poor reviews. Simon.

Well look at it this way - the 50/100 watts will make little if any
difference to the interior of a car, so a complete waste of money.

The only worth while addition to a diesel is a Fuel Burning heater to
pre-heat the cooling system. Around 6Kw of output, burning diesel fuel
and your car can be pre-heated before you even get in it. They don't
use much fuel at all, rather like a miniature boiler for your central
heating. Mine came fitted with one and I would not be without it, but
they are quite expensive. HGV's have them fitted, where they are
called 'night heaters'.


Some canal narrow boats have them.

http://www.eberspacher.com/products/...r-heating.html

"sm_jamieson" wrote in message
...
This year we have a little one to take to the child minders so hectic
mornings, and I have a diesel car which is slower to heat up than a petrol
car. So I was thinking of some type of auxhilliary heater that can get
things going. Any recommendations? - most of the 12V lighter socket ones
seem to have poor reviews.
Simon.

If you think you're badly off, you need to try an electric car heater! :-)

If you think you're badly off, you need to try an electric car heater!
:-)




I've often wondered about them. I guess they are hopeless then? Big drain
on battery as well?

On Tuesday, November 25, 2014 8:09:48 AM UTC, harry wrote:
"sm_jamieson" wrote in message
...
This year we have a little one to take to the child minders so hectic
mornings, and I have a diesel car which is slower to heat up than a petrol
car. So I was thinking of some type of auxhilliary heater that can get
things going. Any recommendations? - most of the 12V lighter socket ones
seem to have poor reviews.
Simon.

If you think you're badly off, you need to try an electric car heater! :-)

Serious question - are the heating facilities in an electric car sufficient to make the car practical at, say, -10C ? The battery range must be drastically reduced I would have thought.

Simon.

On Mon, 24 Nov 2014 09:27:48 -0800, sm_jamieson wrote:

This year we have a little one to take to the child minders so hectic
mornings, and I have a diesel car which is slower to heat up than a
petrol car. So I was thinking of some type of auxhilliary heater that
can get things going. Any recommendations? - most of the 12V lighter
socket ones seem to have poor reviews.
Simon.

Is this to keep the inside warm, or to shift frost, snow and condensation
so the car is safe to drive without sitting for a while defrosting?

Cheers

Dave R

--
Windows 8.1 on PCSpecialist box

In article ,
sm_jamieson wrote:
On Tuesday, November 25, 2014 8:09:48 AM UTC, harry wrote:
"sm_jamieson" wrote in message
... This
year we have a little one to take to the child minders so hectic
mornings, and I have a diesel car which is slower to heat up than a
petrol car. So I was thinking of some type of auxhilliary heater that
can get things going. Any recommendations? - most of the 12V lighter
socket ones seem to have poor reviews. Simon.

If you think you're badly off, you need to try an electric car heater!
:-)

Serious question - are the heating facilities in an electric car
sufficient to make the car practical at, say, -10C ? The battery range
must be drastically reduced I would have thought.

Good question - most batteries don't work too well when very cold either.

Perhaps they use a wood burner to keep them warm? ;-)

--
*I used to be a banker, but then I lost interest.*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

sm_jamieson wrote:

are the heating facilities in an electric car
sufficient to make the car practical at, say, -10C ?

Perhaps they use a wood burner to keep them warm? ;-)

Put a windmill on top that rubs a couple of twigs together?

On 24/11/2014 18:09, GB wrote:
On 24/11/2014 17:27, sm_jamieson wrote:
This year we have a little one to take to the child minders so hectic
mornings, and I have a diesel car which is slower to heat up than a
petrol car. So I was thinking of some type of auxhilliary heater that
can get things going. Any recommendations? - most of the 12V lighter
socket ones seem to have poor reviews.
Simon.

*Most* of the 12v lighter ones have poor reviews? Why only most? A
lighter socket can provide say 60w. It's like ****ing in the ocean.

Are you thinking of running a mains lead out to the car? Then, in
principle, any small heater with a thermostat will do the job, if left
on for an hour or two. The main problem will be stopping hot bits
melting the plastics in the car.

When I had a CX estate with two inches of wet foam under the footwell
carpets, parked on a drive, and setting off every morning before dark I
left a 1 kw fan heater in the back, and switched it on for 20 minutes
while I had breakfast.

On 24/11/2014 22:17, Huge wrote:
On 2014-11-24, Andy Burns wrote:
GB wrote:

sm_jamieson wrote:

Look at Kenlowe Hotstart

Or better yet, don't.

Unless you like mending your car's cooling system at 07:30AM in the
blowing snow.

In any case, at best, it simply ensures the heater is working at full
power from when the engine is switched on. You are still getting into a
freezing cold car.

On Tuesday, November 25, 2014 9:57:19 AM UTC, David wrote:
On Mon, 24 Nov 2014 09:27:48 -0800, sm_jamieson wrote:

This year we have a little one to take to the child minders so hectic
mornings, and I have a diesel car which is slower to heat up than a
petrol car. So I was thinking of some type of auxhilliary heater that
can get things going. Any recommendations? - most of the 12V lighter
socket ones seem to have poor reviews.
Simon.

Is this to keep the inside warm, or to shift frost, snow and condensation
so the car is safe to drive without sitting for a while defrosting?


The main purpose was to help with scraping the ice off in the mornings. However, you soon get onto the whole issue of engine block pre-heaters, which heat the oil or coolant, and which have the dual effect of better engine life and faster cabin heating. The best option is a fuel-burning device, but very expensive. The least efficient, I would think, are heating pads that fix to the sump and connect to the mains.

Also, my car had a factory option for an electric cabin heater, which I could probably get retro fitted for a price.

This is crying out for a DIY option (some on youtube), but the insurance company might not be happy.

Simon.

On Tue, 25 Nov 2014 03:18:41 -0800, sm_jamieson wrote:

On Tuesday, November 25, 2014 9:57:19 AM UTC, David wrote:
On Mon, 24 Nov 2014 09:27:48 -0800, sm_jamieson wrote:

This year we have a little one to take to the child minders so hectic
mornings, and I have a diesel car which is slower to heat up than a
petrol car. So I was thinking of some type of auxhilliary heater that
can get things going. Any recommendations? - most of the 12V lighter
socket ones seem to have poor reviews.
Simon.

Is this to keep the inside warm, or to shift frost, snow and
condensation so the car is safe to drive without sitting for a while
defrosting?


The main purpose was to help with scraping the ice off in the mornings.
However, you soon get onto the whole issue of engine block pre-heaters,
which heat the oil or coolant, and which have the dual effect of better
engine life and faster cabin heating. The best option is a fuel-burning
device, but very expensive. The least efficient, I would think, are
heating pads that fix to the sump and connect to the mains.

Also, my car had a factory option for an electric cabin heater, which I
could probably get retro fitted for a price.

This is crying out for a DIY option (some on youtube), but the insurance
company might not be happy.

Simon.

Just to keep the cabin clear you would probably fine with a greenhouse
heater - just a low wattage sealed tube IIRC which puts out enough heat to
stave off frost.

Likely to be safer than a fan heater.

The main issue would be getting mains electric into the car without
compromising the bodywork.

I assume it is mainly the front screen because you can wind down the side
windows and you should already have a rear screen heater.

Those silver quilted external screen covers are quite good as well -
although probably not enough for more than a couple of degrees of frost.

Cheers

Dave R


--
Windows 8.1 on PCSpecialist box

On Tuesday, November 25, 2014 9:57:19 AM UTC, David wrote:
On Mon, 24 Nov 2014 09:27:48 -0800, sm_jamieson wrote:

This year we have a little one to take to the child minders so hectic
mornings, and I have a diesel car which is slower to heat up than a
petrol car. So I was thinking of some type of auxhilliary heater that
can get things going. Any recommendations? - most of the 12V lighter
socket ones seem to have poor reviews.

My diesel smart car has a built in 12 volt electric heater in the main
heater unit, it only operates when the coolant is below a certain temp and
you put the cabin heat thermostat up to full (the one occasion turning a
thermostat up helps warm up faster

it's only something like 500 watts, but it really does help, enough to get
warm air blowing on your hands and the screen a few seconds after starting
the engine,
as i said.... it is built into the heater housing and connected via a big
relay directly to the battery with some heavy wires (the battery in a smart
car is handily under the passengers foot well, right next to the heater
unit) those plug in jobbies are crap as they can only put out around 100
watts due to the fag lighter connection.


When i had my motorhome, i fitted an eberspacher 5KW water heater to run the
central heating and hot water tank (calorifier) used a litre of diesel an
hour on high - full 5Kw heat output, drops down 2 more speeds as the coolant
gets nearer 80 degrees, where it shuts off at about 85, and circulates the
coolant until it's below 70 or so, then fires up again... or until the room
stat stops calling for heat,
i had a separate fuel tank just for the heater, and used either red diesel
or kerosene depending on which was cheapest (when run on kerosene its output
was 4.5KW tho)

The early models used a standard glow plug to ignite the atomised diesel, so
pulled 20 amps at 12 volts when starting, which could take upto 3 minutes if
it's coked up and in need of a service, so they got a bad reputation for
flattening batteries if you tried to used them on a thermostat turning off
and on all night.

The new models use glow pins, which pull 10 amps max, and my unit ran them
for an average of 25 seconds per start up cycle (seen on the ammeter in the
controls panel of the motorhome)

Buuuuut, these things cost about a grand for all the parts to plumb one in
and get working, the bare heater unit can be had for around £350, but then
you need things like the exhaust pipes and silencers (for both exhaust and
intake) (otherwise they whistle like a jet engine, nice sound at first,
gets very annoying when it's making the noise for an hour at 5am) coolant
change over valves, fuel connections, timer or remote control and so on.

Webasto do their 'Thermotop' versions that are cheaper, i believe one of the
cheapest models doesn't use a fuel pump, it has a 1 litre fuel reservoir
that is connected to the engine's injecor leak off pipe, so it fills up as
the engine is running, then when the timer in the morning starts it up, it
just runs until it runs out of fuel, useless for a motorhome's central
heating system as some people found out after thinking they'd got a bargain
over us eberspacher users,
but ideal for it's intended use to pre-heat the engines coolant so the
interior is toasty when you get in (providing you remembered to set the
cabin heater temp to warm when you got out the night before... as they will
run the heater matrix fan whilst heating the coolant if you wire it in.


Then there are the electric coolant heaters like the kenlow hot start, you
need access to mains electricity, not usually a problem if you park on a
drive, but i recall some years back a load of chinese fake versions flooded
the market which caused no end of problems due to crap quality,


Or just put a fan heater in the passengers footwell, set on low heat on it's
thermostat, and maybe a timer in the garage it's plugged into to turn it on
an hour before you want to use the car,
You just need a safe way of getting the mains into the car, prolly just
squeeze it through the boot or door seal, but you could fit a proper
waterproof inlet socket in the bumper like the kenlow hot starts use....
could also connect up one of those small automatic battery chargers too if
you have problems starting the engine in the cold..... something i wish my
neighbor would do to his transit van, battery is always flat at 5am when he
wants to go to work, so he has to start the petrol car up, drive it to the
van, jump start it and so on, would be so easy to either fit a battery
isolator to stop what ever is draining the battery, or fit a charger and run
the main cable from the garage down the fence to the van.

On Tuesday, November 25, 2014 2:03:32 PM UTC, Gazz wrote:
On Tuesday, November 25, 2014 9:57:19 AM UTC, David wrote:
On Mon, 24 Nov 2014 09:27:48 -0800, sm_jamieson wrote:

This year we have a little one to take to the child minders so hectic
mornings, and I have a diesel car which is slower to heat up than a
petrol car. So I was thinking of some type of auxhilliary heater that
can get things going. Any recommendations? - most of the 12V lighter
socket ones seem to have poor reviews.

My diesel smart car has a built in 12 volt electric heater in the main
heater unit, it only operates when the coolant is below a certain temp and
you put the cabin heat thermostat up to full (the one occasion turning a
thermostat up helps warm up faster

it's only something like 500 watts, but it really does help, enough to get
warm air blowing on your hands and the screen a few seconds after starting
the engine,
as i said.... it is built into the heater housing and connected via a big
relay directly to the battery with some heavy wires (the battery in a smart
car is handily under the passengers foot well, right next to the heater
unit) those plug in jobbies are crap as they can only put out around 100
watts due to the fag lighter connection.


When i had my motorhome, i fitted an eberspacher 5KW water heater to run the
central heating and hot water tank (calorifier) used a litre of diesel an
hour on high - full 5Kw heat output, drops down 2 more speeds as the coolant
gets nearer 80 degrees, where it shuts off at about 85, and circulates the
coolant until it's below 70 or so, then fires up again... or until the room
stat stops calling for heat,
i had a separate fuel tank just for the heater, and used either red diesel
or kerosene depending on which was cheapest (when run on kerosene its output
was 4.5KW tho)

The early models used a standard glow plug to ignite the atomised diesel, so
pulled 20 amps at 12 volts when starting, which could take upto 3 minutes if
it's coked up and in need of a service, so they got a bad reputation for
flattening batteries if you tried to used them on a thermostat turning off
and on all night.

The new models use glow pins, which pull 10 amps max, and my unit ran them
for an average of 25 seconds per start up cycle (seen on the ammeter in the
controls panel of the motorhome)

Buuuuut, these things cost about a grand for all the parts to plumb one in
and get working, the bare heater unit can be had for around £350, but then
you need things like the exhaust pipes and silencers (for both exhaust and
intake) (otherwise they whistle like a jet engine, nice sound at first,
gets very annoying when it's making the noise for an hour at 5am) coolant
change over valves, fuel connections, timer or remote control and so on.

Webasto do their 'Thermotop' versions that are cheaper, i believe one of the
cheapest models doesn't use a fuel pump, it has a 1 litre fuel reservoir
that is connected to the engine's injecor leak off pipe, so it fills up as
the engine is running, then when the timer in the morning starts it up, it
just runs until it runs out of fuel, useless for a motorhome's central
heating system as some people found out after thinking they'd got a bargain
over us eberspacher users,
but ideal for it's intended use to pre-heat the engines coolant so the
interior is toasty when you get in (providing you remembered to set the
cabin heater temp to warm when you got out the night before... as they will
run the heater matrix fan whilst heating the coolant if you wire it in.


Then there are the electric coolant heaters like the kenlow hot start, you
need access to mains electricity, not usually a problem if you park on a
drive, but i recall some years back a load of chinese fake versions flooded
the market which caused no end of problems due to crap quality,


Or just put a fan heater in the passengers footwell, set on low heat on it's
thermostat, and maybe a timer in the garage it's plugged into to turn it on
an hour before you want to use the car,
You just need a safe way of getting the mains into the car, prolly just
squeeze it through the boot or door seal, but you could fit a proper
waterproof inlet socket in the bumper like the kenlow hot starts use....
could also connect up one of those small automatic battery chargers too if
you have problems starting the engine in the cold..... something i wish my
neighbor would do to his transit van, battery is always flat at 5am when he
wants to go to work, so he has to start the petrol car up, drive it to the
van, jump start it and so on, would be so easy to either fit a battery
isolator to stop what ever is draining the battery, or fit a charger and run
the main cable from the garage down the fence to the van.

That's a good summary, thank you.

It seems to me the best (and greenest) solution would be to preserve the heat from the engine's previous run - insulate the engine block - of course this would require larger engine bays or smaller engines. I know Saab a few years ago used some type of gel somewhere in the heating system that was supposed to retain heat for up to 24 hours.

Simon.

On Monday, November 24, 2014 6:10:00 PM UTC, GB wrote:
On 24/11/2014 17:27, sm_jamieson wrote:
This year we have a little one to take to the child minders so hectic mornings, and I have a diesel car which is slower to heat up than a petrol car. So I was thinking of some type of auxhilliary heater that can get things going. Any recommendations? - most of the 12V lighter socket ones seem to have poor reviews.
Simon.

*Most* of the 12v lighter ones have poor reviews? Why only most? A
lighter socket can provide say 60w. It's like ****ing in the ocean.


Space in the market for such a heater but wired in properly rather than using the lighter socket then - not as good as an integrated solution but a lot cheaper as a retrofit.

Simon.

If you're unlucky, you do what a friend did. Crappy little French diesel pod-car, but I can't remember what sort.

Fit a Kenlowe heater, salvaged from a Disco some years back. Neatly fit exterior socket to house, and to plastic airdam of car.

Warm up engine, with timeswitch. Coolant is nicely toasty.

Start car. Badly. Chug slowly out of drive. Hit the adjacent motorway slip and floor it to an immediate 70mph (one of the reasons for wanting better starting).

After a week of this, throw it at the dealer (clueless). Throw it at the local garage. Mechanic, doing some thinking, unlike the dealer, soon finds the problem. The ultra-clever ECU is seeing warm coolant too soon, and assuming the engine is already warmed throughout. So it backs off with the heater plugs and whatever else the injection system ought to have been doing. Result - lousy cold starting, worse than ever.

Fix #0 was to abandon pre-heating.
Fix #1 was to add a switch and resistor to the temperature sensor.
Fix #2 (which I think is still breadboard and gaffer under the dash) is going to be an Arduino controlling a spoofed temperature sensor, which if it detects cold weather and the block heater having been used will then keep the "cold spoof" resistor in play for a few minutes to allow proper warming up.

Remember the terrible Volkswagen 411? This had a auxilliary Eberspacher
heater fitted. A timer was an optional extra I believe. It used petrol as
its fuel.

The main heater on the aircooled VW was from a finned heat exhanger on the
exhaust manifold - perhaps not such a bad idea as the exhaust gets warm
before the water system on a modern car.

"DerbyBorn" wrote in message
2.222...


If you think you're badly off, you need to try an electric car heater!
:-)




I've often wondered about them. I guess they are hopeless then? Big drain
on battery as well?

Yep.
Resistance heater works off the traction battery in my car.
Knocks about 25% off the range.
Car can be preheated/cooled when it's on charge.

"sm_jamieson" wrote in message
...
On Tuesday, November 25, 2014 8:09:48 AM UTC, harry wrote:
"sm_jamieson" wrote in message
...
This year we have a little one to take to the child minders so hectic
mornings, and I have a diesel car which is slower to heat up than a
petrol
car. So I was thinking of some type of auxhilliary heater that can get
things going. Any recommendations? - most of the 12V lighter socket ones
seem to have poor reviews.
Simon.

If you think you're badly off, you need to try an electric car heater!
:-)

Serious question - are the heating facilities in an electric car
sufficient to make the car practical at, say, -10C ? The battery range
must be drastically reduced I would have thought.

Simon.

I've never used it at such alow temperature.
Guessing, I should sy you'dneed warm clothing.
Knocks 25% off the range, maybe more.
Battery works less well in cold weather too. Also = reduced range/charge.
Can't quantify this last.

DerbyBorn wrote:

The main heater on the aircooled VW was from a finned heat exhanger on the
exhaust manifold - perhaps not such a bad idea as the exhaust gets warm
before the water system on a modern car.

On my Beetle, the heater control was basically a lever which
opened flaps allowing hot air in from the engine area. These
stuck after a period of disuse, always in the open position.

I recall one motorway run where ex's (expensive) shoes distorted
in the heat.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK


Plant amazing Acers.

On Tue, 25 Nov 2014 03:18:41 -0800 (PST), sm_jamieson wrote:

The main purpose was to help with scraping the ice off in the mornings.

Heated windscreen, blooming marvelous. Start up, switch on HWS, go
around the other windows with squirt and scraper, get in, switch on
wipers, clear screen. Even loosens a couple of inches of snow so the
wipers can shove it off, though generally with that much snow a long
handled window cleaner/squeege is used first.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Mon, 24 Nov 2014 09:27:48 -0800, sm_jamieson wrote:

This year we have a little one to take to the child minders so hectic
mornings, and I have a diesel car which is slower to heat up than a
petrol car. So I was thinking of some type of auxhilliary heater that
can get things going. Any recommendations? - most of the 12V lighter
socket ones seem to have poor reviews.

Since ciggy sockets tend to be fused at 10A, so 120w absolute maximum,
I'm not greatly surprised.

If you want the heater to something quickly, look at Scandi-style plug-in
coolant warmers.

If you really want an auxiliary heater, look at Webasto/Eberspacher-style
diesel-burning ones. Many modern diesels have them as standard, precisely
because the thermal efficiency is good enough that the coolant can take a
while to brew up.

On Tue, 25 Nov 2014 06:47:41 -0800, sm_jamieson wrote:

Space in the market for such a heater but wired in properly rather than
using the lighter socket then - not as good as an integrated solution
but a lot cheaper as a retrofit.

For what sort of heat output? 1kw would be damn near 85A.

On Tuesday, November 25, 2014 5:31:22 PM UTC, Adrian wrote:
On Tue, 25 Nov 2014 06:47:41 -0800, sm_jamieson wrote:

Space in the market for such a heater but wired in properly rather than
using the lighter socket then - not as good as an integrated solution
but a lot cheaper as a retrofit.

For what sort of heat output? 1kw would be damn near 85A.

I think the factory fitted option was something like 500W and it included an uprated alternator, so I suppose something like that.
Simon.

On Tuesday, November 25, 2014 5:28:05 PM UTC, Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Tue, 25 Nov 2014 03:18:41 -0800 (PST), sm_jamieson wrote:

The main purpose was to help with scraping the ice off in the mornings.

Heated windscreen, blooming marvelous. Start up, switch on HWS, go
around the other windows with squirt and scraper, get in, switch on
wipers, clear screen. Even loosens a couple of inches of snow so the
wipers can shove it off, though generally with that much snow a long
handled window cleaner/squeege is used first.

--
Cheers
Dave.

Ford ?
Wife has a fiesta - the little wires in the screen really show in some lighting conditions.
Simon.

On Mon, 24 Nov 2014 09:27:48 -0800 (PST), sm_jamieson
wrote:

This year we have a little one to take to the child minders so hectic mornings, and I have a diesel car which is slower to heat up than a petrol car.


This guy knows his stuff. I think he's a pro electrical; engineer.
Tons of interesting stuff on his channel.

http://youtu.be/j3vl_4fXUIc?list=UUV...BnrLfeIe1tdgSQ
How to Install an Auxiliary 12V Car Heater in Under 10 Minutes

On Tue, 25 Nov 2014 10:34:45 -0800 (PST), sm_jamieson wrote:

Ford ?

Landrover Disco II

IIRC heated screens are only found on Fords and Landrovers, something
to do with licencing/patents?

Wife has a fiesta - the little wires in the screen really show in some
lighting conditions.

The only time I really notice them is in near whiteout conditions
when your eyes can only find one thing to focus on... Might get a bit
of glint occasionally.

But that minor thing is well worth it to just being able to start up,
push a button, wait 30 seconds and clear the screen with the wipers.
Esp. on a DII were reaching to the middle of the screen with a
scraper is a bit of stretch.

--
Cheers
Dave.

In message ,
sm_jamieson writes
On Tuesday, November 25, 2014 5:28:05 PM UTC, Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Tue, 25 Nov 2014 03:18:41 -0800 (PST), sm_jamieson wrote:

The main purpose was to help with scraping the ice off in the mornings.

Heated windscreen, blooming marvelous. Start up, switch on HWS, go
around the other windows with squirt and scraper, get in, switch on
wipers, clear screen. Even loosens a couple of inches of snow so the
wipers can shove it off, though generally with that much snow a long
handled window cleaner/squeege is used first.

--
Cheers
Dave.

Ford ?
Wife has a fiesta - the little wires in the screen really show in some
lighting conditions.

Nowhere near as much as the *head up* display when some garage erk has
been over the dash with a silicon spray and the Sun happens to shine.

--
Tim Lamb

In message o.uk, Dave
Liquorice writes
On Tue, 25 Nov 2014 10:34:45 -0800 (PST), sm_jamieson wrote:

Ford ?

Landrover Disco II

IIRC heated screens are only found on Fords and Landrovers, something
to do with licencing/patents?

Wife has a fiesta - the little wires in the screen really show in some
lighting conditions.

The only time I really notice them is in near whiteout conditions
when your eyes can only find one thing to focus on... Might get a bit
of glint occasionally.

But that minor thing is well worth it to just being able to start up,
push a button, wait 30 seconds and clear the screen with the wipers.
Esp. on a DII were reaching to the middle of the screen with a
scraper is a bit of stretch.

+1 and some more.

Have one on the Galaxy, had one on the Mondeo, as you say does the job
well. And can't say I've ever found the fine wires an issue either.
--
Chris French