Heating the cabin in winter (no heater matrix)
Discussion
My heater matrix is now bypassed thanks to a leak. The car is old and you can't get the matrix for them anymore, and even if I could the labour would exceed the value of the car. I only need the car for another 9-12 months and everything else is mechanically sound.
Anyways I already bought one of those Streetwize heated car seat covers from Argos for £25, which btw I would fully recommend if your car doesn't have heated seats, it works great.
However I will need a means to defrost the windscreen on those icy winter mornings and some warm air blown at me would be nice too. Can anyone recommend anything? Do stick on windscreen demisters/deicers exist? I've seen the 12v heaters but they have terrible reviews.
With the heater core bypassed would I get any heat just coming from the engine or not? The air con will still work as it's obviously unrelated to the heating system which is nice for summer but no good for winter time.
Thanks
Anyways I already bought one of those Streetwize heated car seat covers from Argos for £25, which btw I would fully recommend if your car doesn't have heated seats, it works great.
However I will need a means to defrost the windscreen on those icy winter mornings and some warm air blown at me would be nice too. Can anyone recommend anything? Do stick on windscreen demisters/deicers exist? I've seen the 12v heaters but they have terrible reviews.
With the heater core bypassed would I get any heat just coming from the engine or not? The air con will still work as it's obviously unrelated to the heating system which is nice for summer but no good for winter time.
Thanks
The 12v heaters are a waste of time.
Maybe fit a stand-alone heater from another car like an original mini:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175355419069?hash=item2...
or the ones kit cars use such as this:
https://www.rallydesign.co.uk/product_info.php?pro...
Not cheap though!
Maybe fit a stand-alone heater from another car like an original mini:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175355419069?hash=item2...
or the ones kit cars use such as this:
https://www.rallydesign.co.uk/product_info.php?pro...
Not cheap though!
What car is it, out of curiosity?
Some have an auxiliary heating element on the heater core that works to provide a small amount of heat when you whack everything up to full on the climate control.
I know b5 Passats can have a dedicated auxiliary heating element, I’d imagine it would at the least need a relay to run it from the fuse box given the amount of power they’d need to pull.
Depending on car is there any possibility of Jerry rigging a small radiator/heat exchanger in the cabin intake tract?
A transmission cooler or similar might do.
Parking the car with the windscreen facing the sun where possible might help.
As far as defrosting the windscreen, an old milk container full of cold water left by the front door will defrost the screen without risk of cracking it.
How many 12v sockets does the car have, and do you know if they run off the same fuse?
Some have an auxiliary heating element on the heater core that works to provide a small amount of heat when you whack everything up to full on the climate control.
I know b5 Passats can have a dedicated auxiliary heating element, I’d imagine it would at the least need a relay to run it from the fuse box given the amount of power they’d need to pull.
Depending on car is there any possibility of Jerry rigging a small radiator/heat exchanger in the cabin intake tract?
A transmission cooler or similar might do.
Parking the car with the windscreen facing the sun where possible might help.
As far as defrosting the windscreen, an old milk container full of cold water left by the front door will defrost the screen without risk of cracking it.
How many 12v sockets does the car have, and do you know if they run off the same fuse?
I don't really understand why the 12v heaters are so useless as to be regarded as a complete waste of time, heated screens presumably run off 12v and their elements produce enough heat to be very effective at clearing the screen of frost and mist.
I'm not saying the plug in heaters would be able to heat the whole car, but I would have thought one on the dash pointing at the windscreen would at least be enough to prevent it misting up in cold wet weather, but according to the reviews they're not even capable of that.
I'm not saying the plug in heaters would be able to heat the whole car, but I would have thought one on the dash pointing at the windscreen would at least be enough to prevent it misting up in cold wet weather, but according to the reviews they're not even capable of that.
mike74 said:
I don't really understand why the 12v heaters are so useless as to be regarded as a complete waste of time, heated screens presumably run off 12v and their elements produce enough heat to be very effective at clearing the screen of frost and mist.
I'm not saying the plug in heaters would be able to heat the whole car, but I would have thought one on the dash pointing at the windscreen would at least be enough to prevent it misting up in cold wet weather, but according to the reviews they're not even capable of that.
They’re restricted to the amount of power a 12v cigarette lighter socket can put out consistently.I'm not saying the plug in heaters would be able to heat the whole car, but I would have thought one on the dash pointing at the windscreen would at least be enough to prevent it misting up in cold wet weather, but according to the reviews they're not even capable of that.
Heating elements pull a lot of power which those sockets aren’t rated for.
Heated screens are putting the power exactly where needed, are probably powered through a relay from an alternator possibly putting out 150amps and don’t actually need that much power to do their job.
Get a 12v car bulb + bulb holder, wire it up to some crocodile clips, put it inside an empty closed metal can with a lid, like
then get your hands on a spare 12v battery, charge it up, take it in the car before bed, attach the clips to the terminals, put the can on the dashboard on top of something heat resistant. Should give you a nice clear screen. In the morning take a hot water bottle in the car with you, might be enough to keep you warm.
then get your hands on a spare 12v battery, charge it up, take it in the car before bed, attach the clips to the terminals, put the can on the dashboard on top of something heat resistant. Should give you a nice clear screen. In the morning take a hot water bottle in the car with you, might be enough to keep you warm.
mike74 said:
I don't really understand why the 12v heaters are so useless as to be regarded as a complete waste of time, heated screens presumably run off 12v and their elements produce enough heat to be very effective at clearing the screen of frost and mist.
I'm not saying the plug in heaters would be able to heat the whole car, but I would have thought one on the dash pointing at the windscreen would at least be enough to prevent it misting up in cold wet weather, but according to the reviews they're not even capable of that.
They’re restricted to the amount of power a 12v cigarette lighter socket can put out consistently.I'm not saying the plug in heaters would be able to heat the whole car, but I would have thought one on the dash pointing at the windscreen would at least be enough to prevent it misting up in cold wet weather, but according to the reviews they're not even capable of that.
Heating elements pull a lot of power which those sockets aren’t rated for.
Heated screens are putting the power exactly where needed, are probably powered through a relay from an alternator possibly putting out 150amps and don’t actually need that much power to do their job.
Demelitia said:
They’re restricted to the amount of power a 12v cigarette lighter socket can put out consistently.
Heating elements pull a lot of power which those sockets aren’t rated for.
Heated screens are putting the power exactly where needed, are probably powered through a relay from an alternator possibly putting out 150amps and don’t actually need that much power to do their job.
I see, makes sense.Heating elements pull a lot of power which those sockets aren’t rated for.
Heated screens are putting the power exactly where needed, are probably powered through a relay from an alternator possibly putting out 150amps and don’t actually need that much power to do their job.
mike74 said:
I don't really understand why the 12v heaters are so useless as to be regarded as a complete waste of time, heated screens presumably run off 12v and their elements produce enough heat to be very effective at clearing the screen of frost and mist.
I'm not saying the plug in heaters would be able to heat the whole car, but I would have thought one on the dash pointing at the windscreen would at least be enough to prevent it misting up in cold wet weather, but according to the reviews they're not even capable of that.
windscreen with integral heated elements much like the rear screen, if you have the heat source attached to the glass you directly heat the glass.... heating air and then blowing air over the screen has a lot of waste.... I'm not saying the plug in heaters would be able to heat the whole car, but I would have thought one on the dash pointing at the windscreen would at least be enough to prevent it misting up in cold wet weather, but according to the reviews they're not even capable of that.
if you can run mains to the car have a hair dryer / fan heater to heat the car for an hour or so before you leave.... gets it warm, once on the go you will quickly lose the benefit.
you need around 250 to 500w heat with a fan trouble is that 500w at 12v is a lot of current....
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08LHBTHXN?tag=track-e...
Do you park it where there is access to mains power? A domestic fan heater in the back seat pointing at the windscreen and left running for half an hour will warm up the interior far enough to defrost the inside and outside of the glass. Rain-x in the inside will reduce the amount of fogging on the inside when it has cooled down again. Nothing you plug into a cigarette lighter socket will output enough power to make any difference to anything.
Sometimes the AC can demist the screen (very dry air!)
What car is it? Surely it wouldn't be too tricky to jury rig a cheap heater matrix (I've used a mini one like this before: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Austin-Mini-Rover-Mini-...
Heater hose is cheap and there's plenty of adapters for different sizes.
Have a look at ones from similar cars, I'd be surprised if they are significantly different.
What car is it? Surely it wouldn't be too tricky to jury rig a cheap heater matrix (I've used a mini one like this before: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Austin-Mini-Rover-Mini-...
Heater hose is cheap and there's plenty of adapters for different sizes.
Have a look at ones from similar cars, I'd be surprised if they are significantly different.
Plymo said:
Sometimes the AC can demist the screen (very dry air!)
What car is it? Surely it wouldn't be too tricky to jury rig a cheap heater matrix (I've used a mini one like this before: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Austin-Mini-Rover-Mini-...
Heater hose is cheap and there's plenty of adapters for different sizes.
Have a look at ones from similar cars, I'd be surprised if they are significantly different.
Because the labour would cost more than the cars worthWhat car is it? Surely it wouldn't be too tricky to jury rig a cheap heater matrix (I've used a mini one like this before: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Austin-Mini-Rover-Mini-...
Heater hose is cheap and there's plenty of adapters for different sizes.
Have a look at ones from similar cars, I'd be surprised if they are significantly different.
As above, heated windscreens draw a fair chunk, my old Focus was fused to 40 amps a side (so 80 amps), you can maybe get 10 amps out of the cig lighter.
Although they can feel like an asthmatic mouse, I would go for a 12V blower heater, and alternate that with heated seat covers. Yes, it will only blow a small amount of heat, and yes, it will hit your battery hard, but it will push out some heat which is better than none!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BK6S7988/ref=sr_1_1_...
Although they can feel like an asthmatic mouse, I would go for a 12V blower heater, and alternate that with heated seat covers. Yes, it will only blow a small amount of heat, and yes, it will hit your battery hard, but it will push out some heat which is better than none!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BK6S7988/ref=sr_1_1_...
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