car auxhilliary heater

This year we have a little one to take to the child minders so hectic morni ngs, 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 go ing. Any recommendations? - most of the 12V lighter socket ones seem to hav e poor reviews. Simon.

Reply to
sm_jamieson
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In message , sm_jamieson writes

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 :-)

Reply to
Chris French

I had a Kenwood mains one which I was very pleased with until the day its thermostat failed & it boiled the coolant, its pump seal failed & all the coolant pissed out onto the driveway and I had to remove it in the blowing snow.

Wouldn't touch one with a shitty stick now.

Reply to
Huge

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

Reply to
GB

Surely the little one has a decent coat?

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.

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.

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

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

Bill

Reply to
Bill Wright

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

Reply to
Chris French

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.

Reply to
Tim Watts

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

Reply to
Andy Burns

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

Reply to
Grimly Curmudgeon

Or better yet, don't.

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

Reply to
Huge

sm_jamieson was thinking very hard :

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'.

Reply to
Harry Bloomfield

Harry Bloomfield wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@NOSPAM.tiscali.co.uk:

Some canal narrow boats have them.

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Reply to
DerbyBorn

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

Reply to
harryagain

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

Reply to
DerbyBorn

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.

Reply to
sm_jamieson

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

Reply to
David

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

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

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

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

Reply to
Andy Burns

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.

Reply to
newshound

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