Help with in-car heater

[huy397]

Hello... I am thinking of buying a in-car heater for my Vibe since it gets very cold in the morning and I park outside all the time. My questions are... 1. I don't suppose I can use the heating fans I use at home because the plug-in doesn't have enough power for it ? I should be looking for something with 12V plug? 2. Where can I find them? and how much do they normally cost? Thank you

[ColonelPanic]

You can find small-ish ones for a small area that just plug into the lighter socket...For instance: http://www.jcwhitney.com/autop...eaterI don't know how well something that small would work, but if you just need warmth to blow on or around you, maybe that would help and maybe will get warmth to you a bit before the Vibe's heater can.. I have found those from time to time at places like Wal*Mart for pretty cheap, so it shouldn't be too hard to find one.. But something like that will never be as good as one of those small 110V space heaters though...

[zionzr2]

you will also have to re-wire (if you have not done so already) the sockets as they are only active if the car is on.And you can kiss your battery good bye too!

[mikey00]

You need a remote starter, so you can start the car and warm it up before leaving the house.

[eSSjAy]

Or a more expensive solution is an engine block heater like us Canucks up here do. Just plug 'er in before you go to bed and she's pretty warm by the time I get to the end of my street.

[Altus]

Not that I've used the block heater yet..... but if you put it on a timer, and have it switch on 2 hours before you need the car, its still nice and warm, and saves you some 6 hours or more of electricity.

[Shadow-Vibe]

Call me stupid, but if you have the block heater will this make your heater inside the car work faster?

[binary]

Quote, originally posted by Shadow-Vibe »Call me stupid, but if you have the block heater will this make your heater inside the car work faster? No, I won't call you stupid.The block heater keeps the coolant inside the block warmer, providing freeze protection and sometimes (depending on the ambient temp) can increase the overall coolant temp.This is the same coolant that circulates through your heater core that warms your interior.On wicked cold days, you won't get much return on your energy costs. Because the engine is really good at sheding heat... the block heater's primary job is to keep the engine coolant from freezing.

[millster]

Quote, originally posted by Altus »Not that I've used the block heater yet..... but if you put it on a timer, and have it switch on 2 hours before you need the car, its still nice and warm, and saves you some 6 hours or more of electricity.My only concern with doing that would be current draw. Remember that a resistive heater pulls quite a bit of current. Please, if you're going to use a timer make sure it's rated to support that kind of load! Don't burn your house down just to save a few dollars!