Plug in car heaters - any good??
17 December 2007, 02:13 PM
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Plug in car heaters - any good??
The wife is freezing her baps off going to work recently, and thought I'd get into her good books and buy her one of those cigarette lighter plug in heaters. There are a few on ebay for £10 to £20 - are they any good?
Are there any better styled versions?
Are there any better styled versions?
17 December 2007, 02:21 PM
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I would not want an electrical heater in the car. Only takes the once to forget to turn it off, and its a damaged car or a flat battery at the least.
That is if the cig lighter stays live with ignition off.
Tell her to wear more layers.
Or still intellistart on there
Warm car every time lol (bit more expensive than a heater though)
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17 December 2007, 02:24 PM
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I guess its a diesel then.
Your best bet is to put a small portable mains heater in the car on an extension lead every night - then you can turn it on 30 mins before you drive off and car will be warm and defrosted. However it wont warm the engine etc so you will still have cold air blowing but should not be that bad.
Your best bet is to put a small portable mains heater in the car on an extension lead every night - then you can turn it on 30 mins before you drive off and car will be warm and defrosted. However it wont warm the engine etc so you will still have cold air blowing but should not be that bad.
17 December 2007, 02:27 PM
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Worse thing is shes talking about heated seats 
(I used to have a Mk4 Golf with them...).
Suppose that would be a damn good excuse to get a new car
Wonder if you can spec a new Evo with heated seats
(I used to have a Mk4 Golf with them...).Suppose that would be a damn good excuse to get a new car
Wonder if you can spec a new Evo with heated seats
17 December 2007, 02:31 PM
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Warm in the winter, cooooooooooool in the summer
17 December 2007, 02:31 PM
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The golf TDi is the same, takes for ever to warm up even if you leave it running for 20 mins before you set off. Stays warm when parked up for a hour or 2 which is handy I suppose.
17 December 2007, 02:32 PM
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Yeah now I know its a diesel, I have to agree my TDi took about 15 mins of the journey to get to temp
17 December 2007, 05:22 PM
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It depends how much faffing about you are prepared to do. Those 12 v jobs look like a flat battery waiting to happen.
To do it properly you need to warm the coolant with a mains powered inline heater. You don't need the engine running, convection does it for you.
Here:
Engine Preheating Excellence: Kim Hotstart Manufacturing Company
http://www.kimhotstart.com/kimhotsta.../tps_pages.pdf
To do it properly you need to warm the coolant with a mains powered inline heater. You don't need the engine running, convection does it for you.
Here:
Engine Preheating Excellence: Kim Hotstart Manufacturing Company
http://www.kimhotstart.com/kimhotsta.../tps_pages.pdf
17 December 2007, 07:03 PM
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My wife has a Sharan, same small diesel burning stove in the front, in fact less powerful (115 bhp) to warm what is basically a van with windows, my Saab has a comparatively small interior and a lovely big petrol powered lump with a turbo doing 22 mpg just to warm me up.
Let the Diesel cheapskates freeze I say !
Let the Diesel cheapskates freeze I say !
17 December 2007, 08:12 PM
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My Diesel 2.5DiD cost me not far short of 30k. It cost me £115 a year for tax. 
Its not quite as quick as my last subaru, but I get there in the same amount of time normally and it warms up much quicker...
So,, let the Petrol cheepskates freeze I say !
Its not quite as quick as my last subaru, but I get there in the same amount of time normally and it warms up much quicker...
So,, let the Petrol cheepskates freeze I say !
17 December 2007, 08:50 PM
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BMW e39 530d has a webasto heater as standard. Buts its only there to heat the engine....you need to bypass some of the electronics so that it'll fire up and heat up the cabin.
Also noted some Renault Traffics have coolant heaters...basically a bunch of glow plugs shoved by the thermostat housing
Also noted some Renault Traffics have coolant heaters...basically a bunch of glow plugs shoved by the thermostat housing
17 December 2007, 09:01 PM
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17 December 2007, 11:24 PM
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here's an example of an after market kit for heated seats
Heated Car Seats Help Keeps You Warm In The Cold Wether
I recently spoke to a Saab dealer that told me they can get it fitted for £300
This does not look too difficult to fit
http://www.sportsimportsltd.com/pedecafiunhe.html
Heated Car Seats Help Keeps You Warm In The Cold Wether
I recently spoke to a Saab dealer that told me they can get it fitted for £300
This does not look too difficult to fit
http://www.sportsimportsltd.com/pedecafiunhe.html
Last edited by Ray_li; 17 December 2007 at 11:28 PM.
17 December 2007, 11:29 PM
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18 December 2007, 10:03 AM
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Just noticed Makro have a rechargable screen defroster. It uses its own batteries so won't flatten the vehicle battery (charged off the cigar lighter) and has a timer so you set it to turn on automatically.
Don't know if it'll be any good at heating the car, but it'll be handy for defrosting the screen.
Don't know if it'll be any good at heating the car, but it'll be handy for defrosting the screen.
18 December 2007, 12:16 PM
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Find a Volvo in the breakers, take a sharp knife to the front seats and grab the seat heating pads, fit these (dont forget ur relay) and save a few quid on that kit lol
18 December 2007, 04:33 PM
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Aye, thats an idea: I have an old volvo 340 sat round the back festering away being used as a scrap metal skip. Might be a plan for my Land Rover
18 December 2007, 04:39 PM
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Just noticed Makro have a rechargable screen defroster. It uses its own batteries so won't flatten the vehicle battery (charged off the cigar lighter) and has a timer so you set it to turn on automatically.
Don't know if it'll be any good at heating the car, but it'll be handy for defrosting the screen.
Don't know if it'll be any good at heating the car, but it'll be handy for defrosting the screen.
PS. It's petrol and warms up really quickly in the cabin plus as soon as you switch on the ignition the screens switch themselves on if the outside temp drops below a certain level
18 December 2007, 05:02 PM
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Diesel has far greater thermal efficeincy so not as much energy is wasted as heat. At tickover hardly any heat is produced at all. Only under heavy turbo load will they produce meaningfull heat but not something you really want to do on a cold engine.
My Wife's Fabia is the same and when I borrow it on these cold mornings it takes around 5 miles to start getting any warmth from the heater and even when I arrive at work 12 miles away it's only upto around 1/4 on the temp guage. I've ran a TDCi Mondeo that was only slightly better.
My Jeep is diesel but has a diesel heater and heated seats, by the time I've drove it out the garage and gone back and locked up the seats are warm and the heater's blowing warm air. Whithin a few miles I'm turning the heater down. Don't know if aftermarket kits are available and I'm not telling her if they are.
Cheers
Lee
My Wife's Fabia is the same and when I borrow it on these cold mornings it takes around 5 miles to start getting any warmth from the heater and even when I arrive at work 12 miles away it's only upto around 1/4 on the temp guage. I've ran a TDCi Mondeo that was only slightly better.
My Jeep is diesel but has a diesel heater and heated seats, by the time I've drove it out the garage and gone back and locked up the seats are warm and the heater's blowing warm air. Whithin a few miles I'm turning the heater down. Don't know if aftermarket kits are available and I'm not telling her if they are.
Cheers
Lee
18 December 2007, 05:24 PM
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heres what I do in the works car.
get an extension reel , a portable electric heater , stick it on in the car for about 20 mins.
it defrosts the windows and the car is nice and warm inside ready for when you set off .
get an extension reel , a portable electric heater , stick it on in the car for about 20 mins.
it defrosts the windows and the car is nice and warm inside ready for when you set off
.
18 December 2007, 05:24 PM
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Can't beat a heated garage
