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direct-to-batt cabin heater


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ronemca 
Copper - Posts: 107
Copper spacespace
Joined: November 09, 2012
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posted: November 20, 2014 at 4:22 PM / IP Logged Link to Post Post Reply Quote ronemca
Greetings, gentlemen! I hope this finds you well and in the process of carefully wrapping my birthday present in preparation for mailing. (I hope you didn't go overboard - no - really - you're TOO kind!)
Anyway - here in southern Ontario Canada we get a lotta snow and more than a little bone-chilling cold in the depths of winter. Pursuant to this, I am considering an in-cabin heater. It's not likely that I'll mess about with relays and remote activation; I'll probably just fire it up when I first hop in. What I'm interested in is recommendations.
I do not intend to mount it; I want it to sit on its own on the [vinyl] floor mat on the pass. side. And I am willing to just plug it into a power point on the dash...or wire it directly.
Any experience? I know there are several, but the sub-$40 units are crapola for shoor.
Many thanks!
Ron
oldspark 
Gold - Posts: 4,913
Gold spacespace
Joined: November 03, 2008
Location: Australia
Posted: November 20, 2014 at 4:33 PM / IP Logged Link to Post Post Reply Quote oldspark
I hope you're not talking about an AC heater - I dealt with someone (here or on mp3car) that thought that would be workable AND cheaper than fixing his heater core.
But a 12V unit will also flatten your battery fairly quickly. They are usually over 100W.
ronemca 
Copper - Posts: 107
Copper spacespace
Joined: November 09, 2012
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posted: November 20, 2014 at 8:35 PM / IP Logged Link to Post Post Reply Quote ronemca
No - a 12v unit. But I'd only run it when the engine was running. Something like this.
I was given a cheapo unit from HFT a few years ago and it was completely useless. I mean it was laughable. But it got me thinking. Yeah, yeah - I know - it's not like I'm near the Arctic circle or anything, but for the sake of forty or fifty bucks I think it'd be worth it to get some heat as soon as I jump in the truck instead of having to wait 'til I'm almost at work before the frost is gone from the windows!
But I have zero experience with them. And I know that just because something seems like a good idea doesn't make it a good idea, so I am asking those who likely KNOW.
oldspark 
Gold - Posts: 4,913
Gold spacespace
Joined: November 03, 2008
Location: Australia
Posted: November 20, 2014 at 10:25 PM / IP Logged Link to Post Post Reply Quote oldspark
I don't know about that one other than I presume if one fuse blows, they both blow.
Pre-heater heating here is sometimes done with 12V hairdriers for the sake of demisting windows.
There are also car heating kits whether AC powered sump or coolant heaters, or full blown automated engine start systems. (Popular in Scandinavia for garaged vehicles or when at the movies etc.)
My brother gave me a cheap cig-plug heater which he thought was useless. It was only about 80W but I found it quite good considering its low power. I suspect he was trying to heat his Mitsubishi L300 van whereas I used it to take the chill out of my very small ute cabin after removing its heater.
If it's with the engine running you should have no problems (it's probably equivalent to running high beams and wipers).
Even if your alternator does not handle its 20-25A loading, assuming it's off once the car heater gets going and you drive for a while thereafter. But a (3-digit dash) voltmeter should be able to confirm that.
ronemca 
Copper - Posts: 107
Copper spacespace
Joined: November 09, 2012
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posted: November 21, 2014 at 3:54 PM / IP Logged Link to Post Post Reply Quote ronemca
Good - that's what I figgered as well! I'm not iron-clad committed; it's just something I'm mulling over. When I had the El Cheapo unit from HFT the issue I had with it was that it would slide all over the floor on the pass. side which annoyed & frustrated me. I realize this one is intended to be affixed much like an extension speaker for a CB radio -- and that would certainly keep it in one spot -- but I'm not sure I'm keen enough to go that far. AND I'm not sure where I could affix it if I ever wanna put a second person in the front seat (which I occasionally do)
The drive shaft tunnel is out of the question. Likewise the front edge of the pass seat. Really - now that I am seriously contemplating it - the only place that's available is on the rear wall behind the seats (it's a half-extended cab) But I wonder if it would even make an impact 'way back there (unless I run it for a half hour!)
It's at times like these that I hearken back to the gasoline heaters that VW used to install in Beetles. I thought that was a fantastic idea! Absolutely INSTANT heat at any temperature! I wonder why they never caught on(?) Hmmm.
oldspark 
Gold - Posts: 4,913
Gold spacespace
Joined: November 03, 2008
Location: Australia
Posted: November 21, 2014 at 5:58 PM / IP Logged Link to Post Post Reply Quote oldspark
Don't you have an OEM cabin heater - what's happened to it?
ronemca 
Copper - Posts: 107
Copper spacespace
Joined: November 09, 2012
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posted: November 21, 2014 at 8:49 PM / IP Logged Link to Post Post Reply Quote ronemca
Sure - and once the car warms up it's dandy. But that takes too long. I'd like to be able to have some heat immediately when I first hop in at 5:30 AM.
oldspark 
Gold - Posts: 4,913
Gold spacespace
Joined: November 03, 2008
Location: Australia
Posted: November 21, 2014 at 11:22 PM / IP Logged Link to Post Post Reply Quote oldspark
Fine. I was worried by your comment "...(unless I run it for a half hour!).".
It shouldn't take more than a coupe of minutes for OEM heaters to get working - and that's in my 49 year old ute; modern vehicles are much faster. (Tho my ute has an electric radiator fan, but that makes no difference.)
If it takes longer, check for a faulty (open) thermostat else blocked lines & heater core. (I flush my core etc every few years.)
BTW - I think that "electric heater" guy spooked me. I tried to counter him by explaining that using a 2.4kW heater - ie the max domestic size here based on our 240VAC supply (now officially 230VAC but not so in practice) - with max 10A GPO rating would require a 3kW inverter which would draw 300A. Even if he got a 300A+ alternator, 2.4kW is nothing compared to the typically available 10kW (at least) of WASTE heat produced by an engine. Besides, the added fuel cost would pay for his heater core if not the inverter.
ronemca 
Copper - Posts: 107
Copper spacespace
Joined: November 09, 2012
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posted: November 22, 2014 at 7:56 AM / IP Logged Link to Post Post Reply Quote ronemca
Understood. Well...hopefully someone'll weigh in on the unit I linked (or a better one) so that I can make a decision backed by more than just specs and a photo.
Honestly - I feel these things are intended more for slightly larger spaces [than the cab of a two-seater pick-up truck]. Think RV's, or the living space in one of those drop-in campers that go in the bed of a fullsize pick-up. The aforementioned HFT gizmo got me thinking along the lines of a small-ish device with feet that would sit semi-stationary on the floor in the pass side footwell. But now that I have examined the more efficient units at greater length...I am starting to wonder if it's gonna work the way I envision.
Maybe I should go with a 23K BTU kerosene heater! Yeah! That beast could sit there - wedged between the glove box and the seat like R2D2 - pumpin' out the heat like no tomorrow!
(Just kidding.) direct-to-batt cabin heater -- posted image.
davep. 
Gold - Posts: 639
Gold spacespace
Joined: May 27, 2011
Location: California, United States
Posted: November 22, 2014 at 12:30 PM / IP Logged Link to Post Post Reply Quote davep.
300 Watts is not very much heat.
Doesn't matter what the voltage is, the amount of heat produced is measured in "Watts". You're going to be disappointed with the heat output.
The consideration is that 300 watts in a 12 volt system is 25 amps. That's pretty much the limit for general automotive lighter and power outlet circuits. Current higher than this begins to fry terminals, fuses and wiring. But 25 Amps is marginally "OK", hence why the 300 Watt consumption. But not much heat in sub-freezing ambient temps.
You'd be better satisfied in your quest for "instant heat" by installing aftermarket seat heaters.
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