spider

iTrader: (1)

What you need is a pre-heter that can warm the coolant to operating temperature - like the one Yoza mentioned.

Kenlowe do one - called hotstart. Quite a few Land Rover folk use them Here you go - hotstart British too - made near Maidenhead.

CHeers,
Steve

yoza

Thats very similar to what was on the 309, well spotted Spider.

my06 ppp silver

iTrader: (2)

omg i had almost forgot about them, had one on the 54 plate mondeo tdci i used to have...... Godsend engine on, windscreen heaters on, quick clear windscreen button on,..... away you go

spider

iTrader: (1)

Ta,

Just looked on a couple of sites - they're not cheap though - around £240!!

Fair bit of cash for a mini kettle element & pump but I guess you do get everything needed to fit it to the car & connect it up to the mains etc.

Mikee

I bought a cheap 12v ceramic heater on ebay (straight from hong kong) last year when my 16yr old Citroen zx heater wasn't blowing hot or even warm anymore. It took at least 10 mins to demist the inside of my screen and was really pretty pointless. I'm gonna try and fix the problem with the cars heater this arvo-its the only way.

Pimmo, from a scientific point of view anything that heats uses lots of energy, lighting is next worse as it is hard to produce light without producing heat, hence LED's are more efficient than halogens as they give off nowhere near as much heat. Batteries just don't have the power (energy) to run a heater- however low powered. Hope that helps! Heat=lots of energy.

What about hand warmers- the ones you insert into gloves, low heat over a longish period...just an idea.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MYCOAL-HANDWAR...d=p3286.c0.m14

Snazy

Well worded. Simple answer is, you aint gonna find a battery heater to do the job. Get a cloth and wipe the damn windows, and stop making it sound like such hardship.
If you lived somewhere that winter remains below -10 I would get the point a bit more

Markus

Pffft, -5, is that all! Try a proper mans cold



Having said this, -5 in the UK is probably equivalent to -17 C over here, as we've got a dry cold rather than the UK's horrible damp cold, so I'll give you that it's nasty.

I've been out clearing off the car in -20 plus windchill, so you're looking at -25 to -30, now that isn't overly pleasant at 6:30 am.

Snazy

You should get a small battery operated heater in the car over night, then there will be no need to scrape/wipe the windows in the morning or anything

Markus

You know, what an astounding idea But I don't mind getting up a little earlier to clear it off, get to say hello to the neighbors who are doing the same thing. If I was lazy I could just put the car in the garage (would need to clear space too), but I'd still have the shovel the drive clear.

Snazy

Sod getting up earlier, whats the point. Just reverse out blind

Maybe a pathway heater is required too?

GC8

Cab night heaters burn fuel from the diesel tank, whichs gas oil, just like oil-fired central heating boilers.

The only option that I can think of would be a greenhouse frost heater: they use about as much electricity as a light bulb and theyre designed to prevent frost in greenhouses (see: its not just a clever name?). Youd have to run a power cable out to your car and youd also need to put though/care into your location.

The heater that Yoza mentioned (made by Kenlowe amongst others now) would usually be used for thirty minutes before you you set off (unless you live in the Arctic Circle, where youd keep it on all night); heating the water to about 80°. This wont warm your cabin up or keep your windows clear, but your heater will be up to temperature immediately and itll be very good for your engine, though not what you want.

Simon

Markus

You may jest, but I'm pretty sure someone down the street does indeed have a heated driveway, I know you can buy them, and it's not a bad idea, until you realize if you melt the stuff and the heater turns off then it all turns into ice, not good. I'd rather have snow than ice.

Snazy

lol yeah heated driveways are just like underfloor heating really, not too awkward to do, but as you say, the side effect is ice.... I too would prefer snow!

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Go to cash and carry and buy a few sacks of salt: Job's a good'un

Snazy

What and throw it all over the inside of his windows?

I assume thats not for the OP

stevenkelby

Maybe a block or sump heater would help get the car u to temp quicker, then just use the cars heater to clear the windows?Can't find a UK site though this is the idea:

Online Store - dieselproducts.com

Add a block heater and radiator heater as linked above and you should be up to temp in no time.

cookstar

iTrader: (6)

A couple of old damp tea towels, chuck them in the microwave for a minute before you leave, defrosts a windscreen quite nicely.

DARB

as said previous forget batteries

you need to get yourself a few of these ( they arent cheap to buy but pennies to run )



my only concern is that they are not too stable to be left stood alone you cant really glue them is place as they need to be refilled daily
so the option I go for is to wedge them between two larger more stable items



































WARNING please do not fill the jerry cans that would be very silly ( just half fill them, that way they are much more stable
















This solution is only good for temperatures down to about -2 if it gets any colder and youre starting to get this happen


Then maybe another option is called for these are avaliable with reversable turrets so can be directed inwards


not only will these options give the required results they are also good for security ( although I'm not sure if recognised by the larger insurance companies ) what car thief would want to tackle this














































































or you could just set your alarm for ten minutes earlier

stevenkelby

OP, I suggest setting your alarm 10 minutes later, and using your creativity and imagination to engineer a solution to the problem that makes life easier and happier. All progress depends upon people not just accepting things the way they are, but on trying to improve life with intelligent ideas instead.

Batteries maybe would do the job, you only need a short amount of time to warm things up, you don't need to keep the car hot all night.

Saying that, I don't know how to do it.

Snazy

The answer to that was given earlier in the thread.......

What was the solution in the end anyway. If Oct was causing problems, recently must have been a nightmare.

mart360

2nd that

I have one fitted at standard to my soot burner...

when the car is running, it heats the coolant quicker..

there is an optional upgrade kit, which adds a small aux pump to the coolant system.

This allows the heater to be started upto an hour before you want to use

the car....so the cabin, and coolant are at 75c when you come to start

the car.

It means your no running a cold engine, which is good for the engine..

Consumption wise the diesel ones use about 0.62L per hour in normal use...

in real time its about ten minutes of use per time.


Mart