I'm sick of frosted windows and 2 inches of ice on the car each morning, and I don't have an auto starter so I have to go outside ahead of time if I want to start the car, which normally does not happen as I don't really want to be going outside in -30 winds straight out of bed, I'm already cold enough and just want to get into the scalding hot shower. Also starting the car ahead is just a big waste of gas and creates lot of pollution, so this is also a "green" project if you will.
So I've been toying with the idea of finding a way to run electric heat to the car and have it on a timer so it starts automaticly a few hours before I leave.
I'd have to do a heat loss calculation but I'm guessing I'll probably want at least a 20 amp 240v receptacle and something like this: http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brow...RD~0522604P/Mastercraft%2BGarage%2BHeater.jsp
Another option would be a 120v / 1500w oil filled heater which would be safer, but don't know if that would quite cut it.
They do sell heaters made for cars, so how are those normally installed? Guessing since they are such low wattage they can be safely set on the dash... but they don't really put out enough heat to melt ice.
Also any suggestions on how to run the power from outside to inside the car in a way that is easy to plug/unplug from outside? Is there a standard way to do this or does it really depend on the car model/how it's built? Car is a 98 Buick Lesabre. Idealy it would be nice to have the block heater on the same power cord but it will probably be easier to make this a separate cord especially if I get into the 240v range. I know my stuff when it comes to the actual electrical work, I just don't know my way around the internals of a car. Really I'm hoping I can get away with something in the 1800w range so I can use a basic, cheap 120v timer but somehow I doubt it.
I'm sure I'm not the first person to do this, but I can't seem to find anything online about someone who has done this safely.
So I've been toying with the idea of finding a way to run electric heat to the car and have it on a timer so it starts automaticly a few hours before I leave.
I'd have to do a heat loss calculation but I'm guessing I'll probably want at least a 20 amp 240v receptacle and something like this: http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brow...RD~0522604P/Mastercraft%2BGarage%2BHeater.jsp
Another option would be a 120v / 1500w oil filled heater which would be safer, but don't know if that would quite cut it.
They do sell heaters made for cars, so how are those normally installed? Guessing since they are such low wattage they can be safely set on the dash... but they don't really put out enough heat to melt ice.
Also any suggestions on how to run the power from outside to inside the car in a way that is easy to plug/unplug from outside? Is there a standard way to do this or does it really depend on the car model/how it's built? Car is a 98 Buick Lesabre. Idealy it would be nice to have the block heater on the same power cord but it will probably be easier to make this a separate cord especially if I get into the 240v range. I know my stuff when it comes to the actual electrical work, I just don't know my way around the internals of a car. Really I'm hoping I can get away with something in the 1800w range so I can use a basic, cheap 120v timer but somehow I doubt it.
I'm sure I'm not the first person to do this, but I can't seem to find anything online about someone who has done this safely.