Heating your car without losing any range

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Joined
Jan 25, 2024
Messages
18


B7507503

Member​

Leaf Supporting Member
Tuesday at 8:38 AM
I realize not all people have a solar generator but I bought a 1000W one from Jackery several years before I bought my 2019 leaf. Then I bought a 200W heater. (You know, in case of zombie apocalypse ;-)
So now I can throw my jackery in the car turn on my little 200 W heater and have warm air for 4 hours and save the range.
 
I’m hoping that the heated seats and steering wheel in my newish Leaf will drastically reduce the need for the heat pump this winter. We shall see.
I know from long personal experience that 200W of resistance heating isn’t much in a car with no other heat on a cold night. That said, it’s sure to take some load off your heat pump. Let us know your results!
 
Since I’m a dork, I ran some numbers just to provide an admittedly ludicrous reference point... My very large German Shepherd emits roughly 53W on average, assuming 75% of the Calories she eats end up as body heat. So the OP’s 200W electric heater is almost like driving around with a pack of 4 humongous canines. Doesn’t sound so bad when you measure it that way! Cheers!
 
I'm not sure where the OP is located, but in the Massachusetts winter we're almost always fine with only the seat and steering wheel heaters. We also dress for the weather conditions, which is useful for minimizing heat needs in the car and also important if you ever need to be out of the car in winter conditions.
 
I'm not sure where the OP is located, but in the Massachusetts winter we're almost always fine with only the seat and steering wheel heaters. We also dress for the weather conditions, which is useful for minimizing heat needs in the car and also important if you ever need to be out of the car in winter conditions.
+1 on "dress for success". When I drove an unheated car, a good coat, driving gloves, warm socks, a watch cap and a lap blanket were standard equipment in winter.
 
Setting the Cabin Heating timer to come on prior to leaving does not use the battery while the charger is connected, I believe.
 
I use a Vevor diesel heater for cabin heat most of the winter in Minnesota. A few gallons of diesel lasts the whole winter.
 
hilts50 was asking Araknai about venting a diesel heater. I'm curious too. Diesel heaters are pretty common in RVs but as far as I know they're always vented to the exterior of the vehicle.
 
I've installed quite a few diesel heaters in camper vans and house busses. All the cheap nasty chinese ones.
They seal to the floor and have two 20mm ? pipes going to the outside world, one to supply air to the burner and an exhaust.
The inside the air gets sucked in one end flows over the hot burner housing and gets blown out the other end.
Any diesel smell inside is usually because the heater hasn't been sealed to the floor properly or exhaust is getting in through other holes in the floor.
They work well but being chinese 8kW means 5kW, 5kw means 2kw and 2kW means not much :)

Auda
 
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Good morning; re - previous posts with/by me, have had great luck with 2kva UPS (available inexpensively used) and decent batteries. Find yourself an appropriately sized "space heater", with good internal fan for air movement - not radiant - and you're most of the way there.

If it's really cold, add - to your existing factor seat warmer - a 12v car driving blanket, and you are a self-warmed sandwich, with no depletion of the traction battery... 'Just need to keep those supplemental/non-traction batteries charged in some fashion.

Best of luck!
 
I've installed quite a few diesel heaters in camper vans and house busses. All the cheap nasty chinese ones.
They seal to the floor and have two 20mm ? pipes going to the outside world, one to supply air to the burner and an exhaust.
The inside the air gets sucked in one end flows over the hot burner housing and gets blown out the other end.
Any diesel smell inside is usually because the heater hasn't been sealed to the floor properly or exhaust is getting in through other holes in the floor.
They work well but being chinese 8kW means 5kW, 5kw means 2kw and 2kW means not much :)

Auda
I stuck with Eberspacher units and ran them hard, other then needing Maintenace, mostly to the fan motor, they worked great. I still have a few in inventory.
With the early Leaf heater, PTC and coolant loop, you could, I suppose fit a coolant heater to the loop, never really looked into what you be required. Later cars, yeah the air heaters would be easiest.
 
Good morning; re - previous posts with/by me, have had great luck with 2kva UPS (available inexpensively used) and decent batteries. Find yourself an appropriately sized "space heater", with good internal fan for air movement - not radiant - and you're most of the way there.

If it's really cold, add - to your existing factor seat warmer - a 12v car driving blanket, and you are a self-warmed sandwich, with no depletion of the traction battery... 'Just need to keep those supplemental/non-traction batteries charged in some fashion.

Best of luck!
I like the blanket idea
 
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