Heater In a Box

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I think you better go back to old proven technology of VW beetle. I have this heater and use in garage sometimes. Back 20 years ago when I convert golf car to the street and build the cabin I was using this one. This little unit spills hell hot air and bas consumption is almost none. You can install it in the trunk -exhaust pipe down through trunk floor. Unit can buy on ebay or brand new generation : http://www.eberspacher.com/products/heating-products/air-heating/products.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; here is pic of mine:
http://imgur.com/VOKam33,cF8Zdz9" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
tszukow said:
I think you better go back to old proven technology of VW beetle.

Obviously you're not talking about the OEM beetle heating "technology" :p

Ah, fond memories of patching salt-eaten heat exchangers with baling wire and aluminum pizza pans -- to great success! It would actually clear the windows after about 90 minutes of operation.

On the other hand it was nice to have a vehicle that you could generally keep running with a few hand tools and things you could find on the side of the road.
 
Maybe a bit of KISS is needed. Something more like this: http://www.trueactivist.com/how-to-easily-heat-your-home-using-flower-pots-tea-lights/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Do you think that could add a lot of range while still keeping you warm?
 
This is a very good idea. I actually thought about it since the cold season began last year (2013). I bought a cheap 12v heater from Harbor Freight and powered it with my portable 18 ah 12v jumpstart battery. It actually worked quite well as a space heater when used very close to my body during fall. During one test it ran for more than two hours. I assume the load was small for the battery. It can defrost only a small circle on the windshield since it's airflow from the tiny fan is very low. It's heat is insufficient in frigid winter. This was just an experiment.

My real goal (which I haven't tried yet) is to use my 120v Vornado room circulation heater which comes with it's own thermostat, powered by my huge 55 Ah Wagan 2546 Solar e Power Cube 1500. It comes with 2 AC outlets, inbuilt-circuit breakers, 1500w (3600w Peak) inverter...more specs in the Wagan link below.

image_21891.jpg

12v Auto Space Heater:http://www.harborfreight.com/12-volt-auto-heater-defroster-with-light-60525.html

PSX3_thumb.png

12v Jumpstarter Battery with cigerrete lighter socket:http://www.powerstationusa.com/brands/Powerstation/product.php?mod=PSX3

2546_____Solar_e_4e0b5c86bfa9b.jpg

Wagan 2546 Solar e Power Cube 1500:http://www.wagan.com/index.php/prod...-industrial/2546-solar-e-power-cube-1500.html

VH2_cat_2.png

Vornado Cool Touch 750/1500W VH2:http://www.vornado.com/heaters/VH2-Heater

With the limited range that current 24 Kwh LEAFs offer, I think any type of heating that doesn't use energy from the battery pack is helpful. I almost never used my 2012's (non-heat-pump) heater during this very cold winter this year because the range had already dropped a lot due to the cold. The WAGAN Solar e-Power Cube is very heavy at about 100 pounds but its still less than an average adult's weight and the LEAF is designed to carry 4-5 adults. So the battery's weight shouldn't be a problem. The Vornado heats a small room within a few minutes and it circulates air very quickly. So heating a car's cabin shouldn't take long.
 
Even using the Vornado on the lower heat setting, you wouldn't get more than 15 minutes' worth of heat before you damaged the battery. I suggest you look at the 200 watt heaters I used - two of them should work well, while only drawing 400 watts. I's also suggest a battery with at least a 75AH capacity. The solar panels would be much help here. My tests indicated that one heater mounted in the footwell, plus one up on the dash (secured!) would provide enough 'personal heat' for comfort in most temps. Two heaters in the footwell would also work well if only your legs and feet get cold
 
I haven't tried this yet, since we got our car in March and it was getting warmer out. I was going to use one of these "foot warmers" http://www.amazon.com/Cozy-Products-FW-Electric-Warmer/dp/B000079896" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and use it as the drivers side floor mat and an old 105 ah deep cycle battery and an inverter. I noticed my feet were the coldest driving when it was still cold out, love the seats and steering wheel :)

I have one of these at work under my desk, and it works great, not sure how much it will help in the car for the legs, but if my feet are warmer, it can't be worse. I was also thinking of turning it on an hour or so before we leave as it cycles itself on and off as necessary once up to temp.
 
The foot warmer I have is thinner (max 1/3 inch) than the floor mats I have in there now, but I will be sure to make sure it won't bother the travel on any of the pedals.
 
Yes it is like a heating pad in cased in rubber like material, it pulls 90 watts cold. Yes draft's or air moving is going to move the heat around and at only 90w won't throw off much heat, but it should melt snow in the foot well :)

My second thought was a similar 300w 12v (25 amps) heater to avoid the inverter but I am not sure how to mount it down by the foot-well.
 
My own conclusion is that you can't avoid the inverter if you want real heat - you need 110+ volts to get effective output. I suggest you pick up one of the $25 heaters I used and try it.
 
I believe you are correct, and with a 105ah battery in the trunk I would have to run #10 wire to reduce loss, vs #16 to run 200w at 120vac as well.

I am trying to think of something I can leave on during the day though. I had a 250ah battery in the back of our VW TDI and a 12v seat heater I left on all day to keep the seat warm ready to go. My wife runs from one school to another maybe 2 miles a trip at all different intervals not knowing when she has to go to another school (school nurse with 8 building in her area) and the car never warms up, so it's something similar to that. The seat heater / cover pulled 60w or about 5 amps so the battery could run it all day. At least the Leaf will be better for these short unpredictable trips.
 
The seat heaters warm so fast, and provide so little cabin heat, that it would be a huge waste to run them all day. Running a 200 watt AC fan-forced heater might work, but I'd worry about safety. The heaters I used are at least ceramic disk type, with the heater not getting hot enough to initiate combustion - unless it malfunctions, maybe. If you decide to try that, I suggest you also try a Greensaver battery. I've never tested this with my Greensaver-equipped scooter, but the claim is that they don't sulfate when sitting partially discharged, because there is no sulfur in the electrolyte. Supposedly. A lead-acid battery would definitely suffer from sulfation if used as you intend.

My own suggestion would be a big lead-silicon battery (Greensaver type) in a battery box in a rear seat footwell, an 800 watt inverter with #10 gauge wiring, and one or two of the little ceramic heaters I used (can't remember the name - search the thread). You could also add a timer, to start the heat 15-30 minutes before the car is needed.
 
The 300w one I have is 12v ceramic type. It works quite well, but it's boxy.

The big problem is when she is at one school and working and then gets a call, she just has to hop in the car and go, drive for 5 min and then be at the next school for 10 minutes to maybe 2 hours, she never knows. That's why last year I went with the seat heater on all the time, with no intention of warming the cabin with it. She said she really liked it. If she works a 9 hour day at 5 amps that is only 45 ah. The battery I was using was a left over 10 year old SLA 245ah 12v battery from my last solar PV setup. So I didn't care if I killed it, but it held up just fine, but big and heavy.

We typically charge to 80% and she usually gets home about 30%, sometimes 10% sometimes 50%, it all depends on what schools call her and what she needs to do, maybe just running the Leaf's resistant heater for that 5 minutes of driving will work just fine. Hopefully this winter won't be as bad, last winter we had like 10 days it never got above 0F with lows in the -20F range and that's not wind chill numbers... :)
 
If you have a Leaf that can use CarWings, can't she just start the climate control system as soon as she learns she has to drive? If it's an S, then yes, that's annoying. I was picturing all the seat heaters on, BTW. Leaving one on would make me nervous about fires, but consumption should be acceptable.
 
I found a heater that I'm seriously thinking of installing on my Leaf after driving around last night at only -10° (it's been much colder on many other days, but I didn't do much night driving until yesterday and so had the help of clear skies and sun to keep the window's defrosted and inside heated.) I was trying desperately to make it home on 45% charge from not very far away (8 miles I think) from and keep the windows defrosted from the inside and still hit the low battery signal. I didn't have any place to charge out there and the wife hadn't plugged in the car like I had asked her to before picking me up.

Anyhow, here it is:

hs2000_kit.jpg


HS2000 Propex Furnace

It's about 12" long, 6" wide and 4" tall. I think it'll fit fine in the "spare tire" area in the rear. I can put a propane tank in the trunk when I need to use it. I'm just not sure how I'd route the hoses to heat the cabin.
 
Before I went that route, I'd try a larger deep cycle 12 volt battery (replacing the OEM in the motor compartment) and hardwiring an inverter so I could use 120 volt ceramic heaters like the ones I used in the prototype. You could then use a larger maintainer (2 amp or larger) to recharge the battery fully.
 
LeftieBiker said:
Before I went that route, I'd try a larger deep cycle 12 volt battery (replacing the OEM in the motor compartment) and an inverter so I could use 120 volt ceramic heaters like the ones I used in the prototype. You could then use a larger maintainer (2 amp or larger) to recharge the battery fully.

I've been using a 120V 1,500W ceramic heater to aid the main heater with preheating in the mornings. It seems to do an excellent job if I leave it on for an hour. Shorter time should be fine too if using a deep cycle battery. I am afraid of freezing the deep cycle battery if it runs low though. And finding a place for it with up to 5 passengers is going to be tricky. I'll probably need some way to route it through some hoses.

The nice thing about the propane furnace above is that you can get 60 hours off of a 20lb tank. I'd need a how-many-amphour-battery to get just an hour of heat?
 
Back
Top