I am looking for something to use for heating the interior of my car during the winter months. This must run off the 12V power supply in the car, and not use more than 10-15A. I plan to use my 12V 120mm case fan with this for circulation, so getting rid of the heat won't be a problem. I just need a source for some cheap heating elements that don't require A/C. Thanks!
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where to find a 12V heating element?
- Thread starter Posidon42
- Start date
- Thread Starter
- #2
after some searching, what do you guys think about sandwiching some high wattage power resistors (non wire wound) between some heatsinks with the fins inline with the fan airflow? At least I know I can MAKE this and it is pretty cheap. A switch, some solder, and a little box and this should work. Your thoughs?
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2004
- Location
- Oregon
You could hook up a prescott with some fans to circulate the heat?
just an idea.
just an idea.
Well, a pair of halogen headlight bulbs would get you a little over 9 amps and work as heaters (they are 55 watt resisters, afterall).
You could make a small box to install them in out of copper or aluminum flashing to release the heat (and stifle that glowing interior).
I don't know if this is enough to change the temp much inside the car however.
The main problem here is that even if you didn't use lightbulbs, the power drain on your battery would be the same as leaving the headlights on all night--no starting in the morning.
You could make a small box to install them in out of copper or aluminum flashing to release the heat (and stifle that glowing interior).
I don't know if this is enough to change the temp much inside the car however.
The main problem here is that even if you didn't use lightbulbs, the power drain on your battery would be the same as leaving the headlights on all night--no starting in the morning.
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2004
buy my t bred! itl get ur car to like 50 C in no time just like my pc GRRRRR.....
ummmmm i have no idea except that those light bulbs could work..make a box out of metal and stick a bunch o heatsinks to the box so the airflow catches the heat and spreads it around ur car!
ummmmm i have no idea except that those light bulbs could work..make a box out of metal and stick a bunch o heatsinks to the box so the airflow catches the heat and spreads it around ur car!
greenman100
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- Joined
- May 18, 2003
Yes, you can do it with resistors
the most you can pull from the cigarette lighter is about 15 amps, or 200 watts.
You can pull 30 amps safely from direct wires to the battery-think 6-gauge cable
the most you can pull from the cigarette lighter is about 15 amps, or 200 watts.
You can pull 30 amps safely from direct wires to the battery-think 6-gauge cable
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2004
good luck with heating utr car...
im still willing to sell you my t bred...
im still willing to sell you my t bred...
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2004
- Location
- Cincinnati
socket7 said:
What he said. I'd just replace your heater core, fan or whatever's broken with the car instead of some jury rigged device. You can even do the work yourself to maintain your DIY-creds.
- Thread Starter
- #13
the heater in my car works just fine. I just wanted a secondary heating source for the back seat of my SUV so my 6 month old won't have to wait 10 minutes before it starts getting warm in the back seat. I probably will just end up buying one of those since they look cheaper and quicker to obtain than what I was planning.
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2003
- Location
- Montréal, PQ, Canada.
Skeen said:
You must not live where it gets to -30c. Waiting for your car to heat up enough in those temps to the point where the interior is nice and warm takes FOREVER. This is a great option for helping to warm the interior so you can get in your car and on the road a lot quicker.
The cold of winter sucks, but using the snow for boarding dosnt
.- Joined
- Oct 7, 2004
- Location
- Cincinnati
Ad Rock said:
Oh hell no. I don't like it when it gets down to -9C or so. And now I'm going to try to forget that people have to live in such bleak wastelands.../muttering to self:There's no place like home, there's no place like home...
- Joined
- May 17, 2004
- Location
- Belgium, long live teh beer!
It surprises me no-one advised you to mod the cig lighter...
Measure the size of the heated part, take some old but decent heatsink, drill out a whole in the bottom of the HS, install a fan behind the sink.
First you heat up the cig lighter, then you put it in the HS, let it warm up, when the box you've built around it (you don't want your car interior to catch fire...) starts getting warm, flick on the fan switch.
The heat would spread around in the heatsink, and once its spread a little bit, you use the fan to get all heat blown out of the HS into your face.
Measure the size of the heated part, take some old but decent heatsink, drill out a whole in the bottom of the HS, install a fan behind the sink.
First you heat up the cig lighter, then you put it in the HS, let it warm up, when the box you've built around it (you don't want your car interior to catch fire...) starts getting warm, flick on the fan switch.
The heat would spread around in the heatsink, and once its spread a little bit, you use the fan to get all heat blown out of the HS into your face.
- Thread Starter
- #17
I think we are on the same line with this, my problem is trying to generate enough heat to make it useful without draining my battery. Last year, I ran a house space heater to the car with an A/C cord and it barely did anything to warm the vehicle. I guess those things just don't work at that temperature. So I am trying to find something internal to the car this year. Ah.. the things we do in the name of science.
go to www.jcwhitney.com . They have small interior 12V heaters designed for use in cars. Do you have an automatic? If so then get a remote start.
I myself am looking for a small 12v heat pad to mount under my CD player and changer so teh CD's suspension warms up so it will read sooner in the sub 0 temps here.
I myself am looking for a small 12v heat pad to mount under my CD player and changer so teh CD's suspension warms up so it will read sooner in the sub 0 temps here.
- Thread Starter
- #19
heh, the only kit on there that actually MIGHT work are the ones that hook into the coolant lines in your car. But since I have no desire to void my warranty by hacking into the cooling system, these just won't do. I have seen the cigarette lighter ones before, but they just don't work that well. There is just not enough power you can pull through the lighter cord to make it useful.
Like someone said before, you can maybe pull about 10A through the lighter. At say 14V, that is just 140W. I bet most of the people reading this thread have computers that put out more heat than that. This is starting to feel like the search for the holy grail and I am not sure if I can make something that is going to be any more effective than throwing another coat or a blanket over the kid until the car gets warm.
Like someone said before, you can maybe pull about 10A through the lighter. At say 14V, that is just 140W. I bet most of the people reading this thread have computers that put out more heat than that. This is starting to feel like the search for the holy grail and I am not sure if I can make something that is going to be any more effective than throwing another coat or a blanket over the kid until the car gets warm.
Posidon42 said:
After building conversion vehicles for 8 yrs, we never had any complaints abotu the 12v ceramic heaters we installed in some vans.
You can wire up an aux outlet and get 15-20amps as long as you have it on its own circuit with proper guage (at least 12ga). Wont cut any coolent lines or void any warranty. Also something that helps get the car warmer faster is an engine heater. You just plug it in at night and in the morning teh motor will be warmer faster (some are just blankets that mount on teh oil pan, some replace a freeze plug, some go in the dipstick (I dont like these) and some just splice in the heater core line). If your concerned about voiding the warranty, contact your dealer and see if theres a dealer option they can install. Just make sure you unplug it before you drive away. :laugh:
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