Best car heater....to clear windscreen
in [Car Maintenance]
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From: Duncan Wood on 6 Jan 2010 20:52 Actually IanT is clearly faulty & has no idea how a heater works. wrote: > > "nickc" <nick.costin1(a)btinternet.com> wrote in message > news:dsOdnRjO17uhO9nWnZ2dnUVZ8sWdnZ2d(a)bt.com... >> My Astra 1.7cdti '04 takes over about 2 miles to get any real >> heat.......and 8 (?) miles to clear the screen. >> My Mrs Skoda Fabia 1.4 tdi '03 about the same. >> >> My old Citroen XZ 1.9d was better than either the newer cars for heat / >> screen clear . >> >> I seem to remember test driving a Daihatsu years ago and being surprised >> how quick the heater came up......pretty sure it was from cold. >> >> Any thoughts? >> >> Cheers >> > > Your heater is clearly faulty then. If it's a petrol engined car you > need > it checking. > If you have air conditioning it clears within a few minutes providing you > follow the > instructions in the handbook about which settings to put everything on. > From > memory you switch the aircon ON, set it to full temperature, put the > selector to > WINDSCREEN and put the fan speed on 4 or FULL. The aircon does NOT > work on the windscreen outlets unless you do this. If it doesn't clear > doing that > then your heater matrix is blocked or the car thermostat is staying open. > The > thermostat has no effect on the heater, but will not circulate water > around > the > full cooling system until the appropriate temperature is reached. In the > cold the > thermostat will keep the water circulating around the engine and this > causes > heat to be generated faster. The heater matrix can be blocked if the > correct > coolant has not been used at the correct intervals, bits of corrosion > form > and > gather in the tubing inside the matrix which is of very small diameter. > Check the colour of your coolant, it should be a red/pink colour, > anything > else > and it is unsuitable! > You can get small ceramic heaters that plug in to the cigarette lighter > socket, > but they are only good for cracking the windscreen as they provide > instant > heat and not gradual - so put the glass under extreme stress. > > For the outside of your car, forget using RAIN-X products, they claim to > provide protection against snow and ice forming. Do they hell, the > products > are next to useless and have completely false claims. The same for ASDA > De-Icer, what a waste of time that is - it freezes. I was given a refund > after > demonstrating how useless it was in the ASDA car park a few days ago. > > > > -- Duncan Wood
From: Duncan Wood on 6 Jan 2010 20:56 On Thu, 07 Jan 2010 00:11:08 -0000, Richard Crewe <richardSOCKS.crewe(a)sniff-thetrousers.demon.co.uk> wrote: > On 06/01/10 16:49, Tony (UncleFista) wrote: > ------8<-- snip snip --8<----- >> >> It's possible to buy small 12v screen demisters, a bit like hairdryers, >> to clear kitcar windscreens (with no heater). >> Available from kit car bits suppliers, dunno whether they're any good >> though :) >> >> Like this; >> http://www.cbsonline.co.uk/electric-demist-heater--demst-309-p.asp >> > > I have a pair of 12V hair-dryers on my kit-car, they are pretty much > useless for demisting in an open top car and are only there to meet SVA > regulations. They may be better in an enclosed space though, but I can't > imagine how they could practically be used to dry any amount of hair. > > My tip for defrosting an icy windscreen is to use _lukewarm_ salty > water. This melts the ice and warms the screen enough to reduce misting. > The salt prevents it freezing on the screen and on the ground where it > eventually drains. There's the risk that if the water's too hot, the > thermal shock will crack the screen. > > -- > Rich > It's a pretty minor risk though or driving through puddles in the summer would shatter your windscreen. > remove socks and trousers to reply -- Duncan Wood
From: Douglas Payne on 7 Jan 2010 04:05 Pete M wrote: > nickc wrote: >> My Astra 1.7cdti '04 takes over about 2 miles to get any real >> heat.......and 8 (?) miles to clear the screen. >> My Mrs Skoda Fabia 1.4 tdi '03 about the same. >> >> My old Citroen XZ 1.9d was better than either the newer cars for heat >> / screen clear . >> >> I seem to remember test driving a Daihatsu years ago and being >> surprised how quick the heater came up......pretty sure it was from cold. >> >> Any thoughts? >> >> Cheers > > Saabs, Volvos, Fords. Some Mercedes. > > My Audi isn't bad, but does take 1/2 mile or so before it's toasty warm > inside. My father's Audi has no heated screen but has some sort of supplementary heating device factory fitted. -- Douglas
From: nickc on 7 Jan 2010 08:33 Sorry Harry...... your what?........Citroen Astra Daihatsu? Thanks to all regarding defrosting. But I am really trying to find out about heating & demisting of posters cars. Cheers Nick > Mine is up to temperature before I get to the local motorway junction > about a mile away. Amazingly - it is producing some heat before I even get > it out of the end of the drive, but it's most useful feature is the front > screen electric heater combined with it's separate ability to just set it > with a single control to clear the screen. The latter turns the a/c on and > the blower. > > -- > Regards, > Harry (M1BYT) (L) > http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk > > > > __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus > signature database 4750 (20100107) __________ > > The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. > > http://www.eset.com > > > __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 4750 (20100107) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com
From: Mrcheerful on 7 Jan 2010 08:54
nickc wrote: > Sorry Harry...... your what?........Citroen Astra Daihatsu? > > Thanks to all regarding defrosting. But I am really trying to find > out about heating & demisting of posters cars. > > Cheers > > Nick the quickest demisting screen vehicle will be a Ford with a heated screen. The newer the vehicle the quicker it will defrost, petrol cars will defrost (by heater) faster than diesels. Toyota Prius in regular use defrosts very fast due to the thermos flask it keeps hot water in. Wife's petrol Lexus starts effective demisting within half a mile. |