I'm living in Switzerland and it get's really cold here in wintertime, i.e. November 'til April. Imagine you're skiing and have to park outside, an auxiliary heating system would come in handy. Does anybodynows a company producing a system for the Mo?
Auxiliary heating system
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Heating anytime, everywhere
When I was asking about an auxiliary heating system, I was more thinking along these lines ....
http://www.webasto.us/am/en/am_auto_heaters.html
Has anybody out of our illustrious circle installed such a system?
When I was asking about an auxiliary heating system, I was more thinking along these lines ....
http://www.webasto.us/am/en/am_auto_heaters.html
Has anybody out of our illustrious circle installed such a system?
That's a neat idea.
I only have a few things bugging me about it. It may be tough to get the thermostat to open to circulate the coolant. When it does open, will the heat going through the heater core, without the fan running, warm the interior?
I was flushing the wife's radiator and adding new antifreeze the other day and got a kick out of something. The engine was warm so I assumed the thermostat would be at least partially opened. I removed the return hose from her radiator and connected a hose to it so the antifreeze wouldn't go everywhere in her engine compartment. Got the water hose over to the radiator fill and asked her to start the engine. I stood there and waited......and waited.....and waited some more---nothing was coming out of the return. The temp gauge showed normal operating temperature. I asked her if her heater was on---yep sure was. Her core was acting as a radiator so the thermostat was refusing to open. She turned the heater temp to cold and VIOLA, the nasty antifreeze began to emerge from her return hose.
So maybe I answered one question: you can heat the engine and the heater core without the thermostat opening.
That could be a solution for you Cannucks ay?
I only have a few things bugging me about it. It may be tough to get the thermostat to open to circulate the coolant. When it does open, will the heat going through the heater core, without the fan running, warm the interior?
I was flushing the wife's radiator and adding new antifreeze the other day and got a kick out of something. The engine was warm so I assumed the thermostat would be at least partially opened. I removed the return hose from her radiator and connected a hose to it so the antifreeze wouldn't go everywhere in her engine compartment. Got the water hose over to the radiator fill and asked her to start the engine. I stood there and waited......and waited.....and waited some more---nothing was coming out of the return. The temp gauge showed normal operating temperature. I asked her if her heater was on---yep sure was. Her core was acting as a radiator so the thermostat was refusing to open. She turned the heater temp to cold and VIOLA, the nasty antifreeze began to emerge from her return hose.
So maybe I answered one question: you can heat the engine and the heater core without the thermostat opening.
That could be a solution for you Cannucks ay?
The fan has to be running to make the system efficient. Some heat could be dissapated just by being redirected to the heater core.senza said:
Old-time procedure to get a car that is running hot to a source of water was to turn the heater and fan on full and roll down windows.
This added to the cooling caqpabilities by introducing a second "radiator"; the heater.
Of course, it won't relace water already lost, but it will improve the cooling efficiency.
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You can also pickup an engine collant heater... the type that I had was a small heater that you plugged into an outlet and installed into the bottom radior hose. This would warm the coolant and thus the engine. Since it was on the bottom hose it would cause circulation was it heated.
It was pretty effective. I had it on for 4 hours and when I came out the engine compartment was warm... enough to melt snow on the hood, the valve cover was warm and it started very easy. I had heat in passenger compartment shortly after engine start.
Great little heater... like $35 at the time. I should get one for the MO.
It was pretty effective. I had it on for 4 hours and when I came out the engine compartment was warm... enough to melt snow on the hood, the valve cover was warm and it started very easy. I had heat in passenger compartment shortly after engine start.
Great little heater... like $35 at the time. I should get one for the MO.
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For those wondering about Blue Heat and how it heats the interior without the HVAC fan blowing, there is a separate radiator and fan installed in the interior as part of the unit.
I don't really like this Blue Heat device. It uses your fuel to create heat (like idling). It's basically a trade-off. It's more efficient than idling, but it uses your battery instead of charging it. The worst part is, do you really want someone tapping into your fuel and coolant lines?
I don't really like this Blue Heat device. It uses your fuel to create heat (like idling). It's basically a trade-off. It's more efficient than idling, but it uses your battery instead of charging it. The worst part is, do you really want someone tapping into your fuel and coolant lines?
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No, NO, NO!, and NO!
Oh, come on!
Hey GripperDon
as an engineer, you could show more enthusiasm towards a fine piece of technology. Even the Mercedez Diesel engines have webasto's device built in as an additional heater, because diesel engines don't produce the same amount of heating power as "normal" engines. By the way, my sister has got one installed in her X5 and the fuel consumption is about 0.75 liters per hour.
No canadians around using such a device?
Hey GripperDon
as an engineer, you could show more enthusiasm towards a fine piece of technology. Even the Mercedez Diesel engines have webasto's device built in as an additional heater, because diesel engines don't produce the same amount of heating power as "normal" engines. By the way, my sister has got one installed in her X5 and the fuel consumption is about 0.75 liters per hour.
No canadians around using such a device?
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I love the technology, But the quote tells the story. Also I would like the factory standing behind it in case of fire. The insurance company would love a way out.zebelkhan said:
Here's the problem I have. I am up here in Vermont working, and when the temps are way below zero, the battery has a hard enough time starting the car as it is. If I was to have this thing running (HVAC fan and all) for twenty minutes or so, I would worry wheather the battery would still have enough juice left to start the car. What use is a warm car that can't start itself!
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If your MO is hard starting at subzero temps, utilize the block heater. An in car heater will take the cold edge off but each of these draws about 1500 watts. Get an outdoor timer and set it 3-4 hours before use.
Also synthetic oil is very beneficial at these temps allowing faster cranking and quicker lubrication.
Also synthetic oil is very beneficial at these temps allowing faster cranking and quicker lubrication.
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