Portable car heaters to defrost screen ?

[trebor]

I am thinking of buying one of these for swmbos TF, and wondered if anyone has used one and are they any good, cheap enough at around £12 off E Bay

Both of our cars sit on the drive and whilst i have the sheer luxury of a remote FBH to defrost mine, the TF has nothing other than waiting for the heater to warm up.

I always leave first in a morning and today sprayed de icer on the TF windows but noticed that it was also inside the screen so my thinking is to buy one of these that plug into the cigarette lighter which should provide instant heat and defrost the inside which swmbo can plug in as soon as she starts the car which should cut down on the waiting time whilst the engine warms up

I believe most of them are 150 watt and some a bit stronger but does anyone know if 150 watt is the maximum recommended to run from a 12v lighter socket ?

The type of product i am loking at is below:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/car-heater-12v...item45f695bb86

or maybe this

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/12v-Car-Defros...item1c164602c7

[windrush]

Rob I put a hot water bottle in Lilians KA first thing in the morning and it works try it

[RKDE]

I had a heater like that in a 72 beetle, can't say it ever managed to defrost a screen, very little heat and it took a while to warm the car

[rossocorsa]

Originally Posted by trebor

I am thinking of buying one of these for swmbos TF, and wondered if anyone has used one and are they any good, cheap enough at around £12 off E Bay

Both of our cars sit on the drive and whilst i have the sheer luxury of a remote FBH to defrost mine, the TF has nothing other than waiting for the heater to warm up.

I always leave first in a morning and today sprayed de icer on the TF windows but noticed that it was also inside the screen so my thinking is to buy one of these that plug into the cigarette lighter which should provide instant heat and defrost the inside which swmbo can plug in as soon as she starts the car which should cut down on the waiting time whilst the engine warms up

I believe most of them are 150 watt and some a bit stronger but does anyone know if 150 watt is the maximum recommended to run from a 12v lighter socket ?

The type of product i am loking at is below:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/car-heater-12v...item45f695bb86

or maybe this

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/12v-Car-Defros...item1c164602c7

in bad weather I send my wife in the ZT much safer and warmer for her

[HarryM1BYT]

Originally Posted by trebor

I believe most of them are 150 watt and some a bit stronger but does anyone know if 150 watt is the maximum recommended to run from a 12v lighter socket ?

The type of product i am loking at is below:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/car-heater-12v...item45f695bb86

or maybe this

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/12v-Car-Defros...item1c164602c7

A complete waste of money - I tried one 20 years ago. They are poorly made and you would need something with 10x the wattage to make any real difference to the interior of a car in a reasonable amount of time. Not my car, but the company car I just pour luke warm water over the screen to de-ice it and hold the condensation at bay until it warms itself up.

[Matt1960]

I did look into these, before fitting a fbh. But most anecdotal advice was that they were not very efficient, and also that they do drain the battery at a time when it will struggle most to turn over the engine. So for a while I ran a mains lead from my garage into the car and had a 2kw fan heater on the front seat. Within 20 mins the inside was warm and the screens completely ice free.
Matt

[philjudo]

Originally Posted by trebor

I am thinking of buying one of these for swmbos TF, and wondered if anyone has used one and are they any good, cheap enough at around £12 off E Bay

Both of our cars sit on the drive and whilst i have the sheer luxury of a remote FBH to defrost mine, the TF has nothing other than waiting for the heater to warm up.

I always leave first in a morning and today sprayed de icer on the TF windows but noticed that it was also inside the screen so my thinking is to buy one of these that plug into the cigarette lighter which should provide instant heat and defrost the inside which swmbo can plug in as soon as she starts the car which should cut down on the waiting time whilst the engine warms up

I believe most of them are 150 watt and some a bit stronger but does anyone know if 150 watt is the maximum recommended to run from a 12v lighter socket ?

The type of product i am loking at is below:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/car-heater-12v...item45f695bb86

or maybe this

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/12v-Car-Defros...item1c164602c7

I've got one, Although its not very efficient if you use it in your hand rather than fixing it to the dash to direct the flow of luke warm air to the inside of the screen it does eventually clear it.

Would I buy another? No.

The one thing that knocks spots off Rover 75 screen clearing is a Fords heated screen although others on this site have mentioned seeing the heater lines in the glass, I've got to say that I dont notice them.

Wish Rover had patented that idea.

[Zircon]

Hi, I bought a similar sort of heater a few years ago - and sent it back as it took ages to have any effect at all. I just lost patience

A cheaper idea

As some sort of prevention (against interior screen mist, rather than actual ice, though it mght well help with that too), you could try 'treating' the interior glass with a sparing amount of shaving cream (!) - you wipe it on and then polish it off. That can stop the interior misting up for a few weeks. (Of course if it does not work, at least the car should smell nice!).

Good luck!

[Falcon Flyer]

I too have one of these and they are next to useless.....very noisy and hardly any heat comes out of it. You'd need it on for probably 30 minutes in order to feel/see and real difference, and by then your battery will be flat!

[trebor]

thanks guys, seen enough already to save me wasting my money.

running the mains from the garage to a heater is a decent idea but knowing swmbo as i do she woudnt want to run the lead back into the garage, lock it up etc she just comes out for work locks the house door and goes.

You would think that there would be a product on the market that would be battery powered, not use much power, and generate minimal heat just to stop the screen freezing even if left in overnight, dragons den here i come !

Any more ideas welcome but i must admit the hot water bottle idea is worth a try and cheap ! ( and thats probably what Duncan Ballentine will tell me just after " I'm out " )