window defrosting methods?

[GasSavers_Ryland]

frost on the inside of your car is caused partly by it being humid inside the car, I try to get rid of this humidity as soon as possible by opening a window a crack as soon as the frost starts to melt off, but as you said your defroster doesn't work so well, so you might try a small 12V electric heater/defroster (auto part store) or a 12v hair dryer (avalible for RV's and off grid homes), or if you go to work at a set time every day, a timer and a small plug in heater or electric blanket might work best.

[SL8Brick]

Originally Posted by skewbe

You can try something like rain-x anti-fog for the fog and a window scraper for the frost. My car is usually defrosting well enough on its own in freezing weather after a couple blocks though and I usually get away with just a couple squirts of winshield fluid.

Edit: I have not actually tried rain-x anti-fog yet, can't say first hand if it works. There are other options besides rain-x also.

The rain-x antifog stuff does work, but its a PITA to apply without smearing. I've noticed that regular rain-x on the outside will actually help to keep thick frost from forming. Thier deicer wwfluid works ok, but I have seen it freeze up on the glass on really cold days.
VW/Audi used to make an "intensive" ww fluid that was incredibly good at removing frost films. I never had to manually scrape my windshield off when I used this stuff. They used isopropyl(ie:rubbing) alchohol instead of the standard methyl alchohol which is used in most other ww fluids. The only drawback was that the smell was rather potent everytime you sprayed it on the windshield(..kinda like a doctor's office).

[lunarhighway]

thanks for the advice.... temparature here is usually around freezing too here during the winter... but even when the temperature is above freezing cold winds will still enable icing up and such... i'll try to leave the window open a bit to see what that does. would that also mean that i have less chance of the window fogging up if i'd drive up with the window open? since the first few km's i drive slow i'd rather be freezing on my way home than in the parking lot.

hot water seems a good idea, but a little inpractical after work...
thanks for the tips

[2TonJellyBean]

Small things but...

Open your windows for a few minutes to let out the moist warm air before shutting off and locking up. Watch you don't bring in moisture in the way of snow/slush on your boots that end upon the mats, wet umbrellas etc.

[ffvben]

If you have a eng block heater that heats the coolant, leave your car on defrost and shut it down, plug in heater, the coolant in the heater core will be slightly warmer causing the warm air to rise and run right up your defrost vents to your windsheild. I haven't tried this on my own veh but i heard it works. don't forget to jack up your washer fluid with strong deicer fluid.

[2TonJellyBean]

Originally Posted by ffvben

If you have a eng block heater that heats the coolant, leave your car on defrost and shut it down, plug in heater, the coolant in the heater core will be slightly warmer causing the warm air to rise and run right up your defrost vents to your windsheild. I haven't tried this on my own veh but i heard it works. don't forget to jack up your washer fluid with strong deicer fluid.

Yanno... I think I have noticed that but never realized what I was noticing. I'll try that tonight!

[GasSavers_Brock]

I would also suggest the 12v hairdryer or 12v window defroster. Most are 100w or draw about 8 amps at 12v. I have a 350w "heater" that pulls just under 30 amps. I had to run a #8 wire from the battery to the cabin, but it throws quite a bit more heat then the 100w one.

[JanGeo]

If you can get a 110 volt hair drier it may work on 12 volt and put out a smaller amount of heat and still run the electric motor slowly. Most hair driers run a 12 or 6 volt DC motor with a full wave bridge rectifier in series with the heating elements to limit the current. It should run on the 12 volts from the car and put out a small amount of heat. Fog-X also works well and lasts a few months on the inside of the windshield and some Rain-X on the outside also works well but can fog up under certain conditions. A bottle of warm water from the rest room at work poured over the windshield will also do a great job and warm up the glass for a while just pour it on the windshield slowly. You can also use a hot water bottle on the dashboard.

[lunarhighway]

the humidity thing seems to be the main cause... i suppose even my breath my condense on the window when it's really cold...

i think i'll start looking for something that runs an 12V and can produce some heat, and maybe even incorporate it in the existing ventilation system.

i also examinde the ventilation system as lately the central cold air vent had been constantly wisteling and apparently some foam sealing had become brittle with age and was blown out, so i put some tape in place and the wistle is gone, but also the top vents are much more powerfull now, so i think that might help as well.

when it get's really cold i put some carbboard over the windshield... it keeps the snow or rain from freezing on, but it's quite a hassle, and they don't last long.

[caryfd227]

Dehumidifier