a few more thoughts on the
a few more thoughts on the strictly financial cost-benefit analysis of block heaters, if that's your main motivation -
one key factor is whether using one changes your behaviour: if it leads you to idle the car *less* to warm it up after a cold start (which, granted, you probably don't do if you're concerned about fuel economy), the cost-benefit outcome will be significantly better than in a comparson that strictly measures the fuel consumption of a pre-heated vs. a cold engine over the first N km of driving. another consideration is trip length: the financial benefit of using a block heater is inversely proportional to trip length. it has a greater impact on total short trip fuel consumption than long trip fuel consumption. (this applies to any technique or technology which only improves warm-up fuel economy.) |
Ordered One
So, I ordered the factory-spec engine block heater from my Acura dealer -- apparently it bolts into the block on the front by the exhaust manifold. The 'teg takes forever to warm-up, so I'm guessing that open-loop is going on for a while. We'll see what happens.
Now back to the solar panels. I park at the airport for extended periods of time (2-4 days max). That's where I need the heated coolant, since I'm on the highway almost immediately from the car park. *If an array is placed in the sunroof area, how much voltage and wattage can be produced from something that size? *Understandably, a battery would probably be needed to store energy. *Second idea -- would the car's battery (or another battery hooked to the block heater) have enough juice to heat up the block in the matter of 15-minutes? Some remote car starters have cell-phone trigger capability. This could be applied to quickly warm up coolant -- not to start the car, but to activate the heater circuit. I know I'm working with a DC system on an AC device -- so electrical engineers out there...? RH77 |
Re: Ordered One
you'll like the block heater.
i can answer some of your questions... Quote:
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Google Ad
The Google Ad at the top directed me to this:
Google Ad Link It looks like a device that runs on a small amount of gasoline, that pre-heats and circulates the coolant, where an electrical source is not available. It comes with a timer and/or remote fob. Any thoughts/experiences? RH77 |
HOLY CRAP!
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RH77 |
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Sounds a little bloated, but I think they're talking mainly about short trips, even if it was all cold engine driving versus all warm engine with the 10% gain, 10% is a lot of difference. Quote:
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better block heater
Hey guys think hybrid - run the heater off a 12 volt battery in the vehicle on a timer or remote control relay from the house to preheat. Now you are asking how is a 12 volt battery going to help me when I have to charge it . . . charge it with a switch connecting it into the vehicle charging circuit when you are going down hill or braking - wire it into the brake circuit with a relay then you dump extra energy into the warmer battery from the alternator when you are slowing down or idling thus reclaiming the energy. Plus you have the block heater with you should you park somewhere with no plug during the day and need to keep it warm.
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I've been using my block heater fairly regularly this summer. I haven't recorded any temp deltas, but do recall seeing 105F on the SG at startup in 80F ambient. I don't recall how long it was plugged in that time.
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