Why can't this be a standard car feature?

[Red Squirrel]

Given cars are normally plugged in anyway at night for the block heater, why is it they can't add a heater that heats the inside of the car using the same vents that the regular heat comes from? When you park you'd set the timer (or they could have higher end programmable ones that keep track of time) so that the heater starts a few hours before you need the car again. So without having to start the car early burning gas, you could come in to a fully heated car. If I had the time and knowledge I'd rig this up in my own car. Basically it would just be an electric heater that branches into the regular heat/ac system and blows hot air from an electric heater.

Is there just not enough power in an electric heater for this to work? Since I'm surprised car companies have never thought or implimented this. I heard you can buy a space heater but it's not really the same and they are also unsafe from what I've heard. The key is that it would be built in and on a timer so it's not running all night wasting energy.

Or should I patent this now because nobody ever thought of it?

 

[Sluggo]

I'm not certain, but I think a pretty small sample of the population actually uses a block heater.

Maybe i just live to far south for many people to use them.

 

[Blackjack200]

Originally posted by: Sluggo
I'm not certain, but I think a pretty small sample of the population actually uses a block heater.

Maybe i just live to far south for many people to use them.

I live in NJ and hadn't even heard of them until 3 or 4 years ago. I don't think my family up in Maine uses them either. I would imagine that they're limited to seriously cold areas.

As for the OP's question, sounds like it could be a fire risk to me...

 

[LTC8K6]

Some military trucks had seperate heaters that could be run independent of the engine. They used fuel, though.

There's probably not enough need for such to justify it.

If you have a block heater, you are going to have heat from the engine faster since it warms the coolant.

A block heater already takes care of this, really.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Well if it was designed well fire risk is non issue. (you don't hear of houses burning down due to permanent space heater installs. other then isolated incidents, like anything else of course)

Though never considered that the block heater would make the heat start faster, never really noticed. Then there's the whole, remembering to actually plug the car in, deal. I only plugged it in a few times this year myself. Started the car at -27 this morning and never plugged it in. That really can't be good on the engine.

 

[jagec]

Well OK, you're assuming that we have a block heater anyway (very few people do unless you live way up north).

So why don't you just do this:

1)When you park your car, leave the fan on high, heat turned all the way up.
2)Your block heater will kick in at some point during the night to warm up the block.
3)In the morning, just use remote start a couple minutes before you need to drive to work.
4)Get into a nice warm car
5)...*
6)Profit.




*spend 8-10 hours at your dull, monotonous, thankless job.

 

[LTC8K6]

Put the block heater on a timer so it turns on a couple hours before you need to leave. You should have nearly instant heat when you start the car.

 

[makken]

hmm, not exactly the same per se, but our old BMW 5 series had a feature in the computer that could turn on the fan at a certain time for 20 minutes. I used to use it in the summertime (set the timer for 4:50pm, come out ten minutes later to a not-so-stuffy car) It couldn't use the air conditioner for obvious reasons.

It also had a residual heat function which was avaliable for 20 minutes after you turn off the car. That basically routed air through the engine into the cabin so that the car could stay warm and toasty for 20 minutes after you turn it off.

I don't know if those two could be combined with a block heater to achieve the desired effect, would be interesting though.

 

[dandruff]

yup BMWs with vent.aux. has this feature that you can program / time .. the residual heat is the best feature where in winter others have to idle the engine for stops ... you can just turn this feature on and turn off the engine ... still amazes people when i go do inspections on job sites ...

 

[compman25]

Just go to a truckstop and buy a cab/sleeper heater that plugs into the cigarette lighter plug.

 

[Red Squirrel]

So block heaters are not standard? Figured they were. I thought of getting just a space heater though, but having that near seats I can see being a hazard.

Also, the block heater only does good for the engine to start better. When it's -30 it will still take a good 20 minutes for the in car heater to generate heat. By that time I'm pulling into the office parking lot.

Suppose it's time for me to rig something and make profit off it.

 

[Kadarin]

I live in California, and I don't even know what a block heater is...

 

[SoulAssassin]

It would never be a standard feature because the % of people that would use it would be tiny. In another 20 years with global warming you will understand.

 

[fstime]

Mercedes has a REST feature, after shutting the car off, it will continue to run the A/C or Heat until the battery voltage drops to a preset limit.

Comes in handy in the winter when you step out of the car to go into a store or something or in the summer when the sun is beating down.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: SoulAssassin
It would never be a standard feature because the % of people that would use it would be tiny. In another 20 years with global warming you will understand.

<IGBT>
that's what the eco-KOOKS want you to believe...it's snowing outside right now, so i just leave my F350 idling outside all the time, nothing pisses the eco-KOOKS off more than being proved wrong!
</IGBT>

 

[LTC8K6]

If the block heater will not work very well to warm the block and coolant, then a small cabin heater probably will not work very well either...

You are using a lot of energy either way. Might as well just warm up the engine with a remote starter.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Originally posted by: SoulAssassin
It would never be a standard feature because the % of people that would use it would be tiny. In another 20 years with global warming you will understand.

Oh global warming is in effect, but it's not really what everyone thinks, does not mean it's constantly super hot. Our winters are shorter but they're still here in full force once they hit. Nothing like getting in the car and the shifter is frozen stuck LOL. Has not happened to me yet, but heard of it happening.

Also the range on my remote starter is very short. Goes from my shoulder to the end of my hand, and does not work through windows. I should get that fixed.

 

[Throckmorton]

Get one of those cigarette lighter heaters and rig a house light timer to it... I assume those mechanical ones would work for the DC current. But the amps might be too much, forcing you to use a relay.

 

[LTC8K6]

The cigarette lighter cannot provide enough power at all.

Even at 20 amps it would only be a 240watt heater...and it would kill your battery quite quickly...

 

[natto fire]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
The cigarette lighter cannot provide enough power at all.

Even at 20 amps it would only be a 240watt heater...and it would kill your battery quite quickly...

Yep. I made the mistake of buying one of those heaters once. They are an absolute joke. Most cig lighters are on 15amp shared circuits, and simply cannot provide enough current for thermal energy. I was using this in 15-30 degree F weather. I couldn't even imagine how noneffective it would be at -27 (C or F?) as the OP said.