# Portable Heater



## MN Driver (Sep 29, 2009)

gottdi said:


> Was thinking of how to come up with a way to keep heat in the car while driving to work without having to use the cars heater during the drive. The only way I could think of was one, just heat the car before I get in and hope it stays warm during the 1/2 drive or come up with some other solution. Or a combination solution. In order to have heat for the entire drive you need some sort of heat sink to hold and slow release the heat into the cabin during the drive. I thought of a portable oil filled heater that holds enough oil to slowly dissipate the heat while driving. I can plug it in any wall outlet with out running or over heating but to have it good and warm. To have it small enough to carry into work and plug in to the wall socket while I am at work and so it is warm for the trip home on cold winter days. Any ideas on how to put together something like this or if there is something already made I can go buy that will suit the need?
> 
> Pete
> 
> ...


You could use water, if you have an office where there is a coffee machine with a hot water spout you could fill a jug that is just the right size to not to too heavy to carry around. Water can hold a fairly high amount of thermal energy. You might have people looking at you funny when you are filling up a multiple gallon jug everyday at work before you go home.

Be sure you don't let the jug freeze though, if it splits open you've got a mess. I'm also not sure how much heat you'll be able to get from a solution like this.


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## charliehorse55 (Sep 23, 2011)

If you can get the water at 80C entering the car, and a 1 gallon jug:

3.78541178 kg *4185 j per kg/c *60C difference with air = 950,516 Joules

His journey is 1/2 hour, so he will get roughly 500W of heat for the duration of the trip. Of course since heat dissipation scales with temperature difference he will get more at the start and less at the end. This also assumes he can cool the water to 17C before arriving home.


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## jackbauer (Jan 12, 2008)

One low tech solution i've used is just a 2500w oil filled radiator in the back seat on an extension lead. Heats itself and the car when plugged in then dumps out heat from the oil during driving. I thought the leaf could pre heat from the mains though?


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## Guest (Oct 31, 2011)

Yes the Leaf will preheat but the heat does not last well during the drive. I just wanted a bit extra. For short drives it works fine. They really did make a simple thing pretty complex. I do not like the fact that I can not just run a circulating fan without the heat pump active. Damn. It is a complaint being sent to Nissan. I do not expect to gain much heating but to just help keep it comfortable during the drive when it gets colder. I don't have to worry about freezing the water. It rarely ever gets that cold here. I just want a heat sink to help. Water jugs sound like a quick solution. I thought oil would do better. I thought about the portable oil heaters. I could do that as well. Most of the portable heaters are now just those ceramic stye things. Nice for my conversion but not for the Leaf. 

Thanks for the ideas.

Pete


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## dtbaker (Jan 5, 2008)

how about something like a heated seat cover to put the heat right where you want it rather than heat the entire cabin?! This one is high-tech Infrared... pulls 5amps at 12v from cigarette lighter.


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## Ziggythewiz (May 16, 2010)

I would second this. Putting the heat right where it's needed greatly reduces the amount needed, and there's less to escape out the nooks and crannies.

Or you could get a little hair drier and stuff it up one pant leg.


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## dladd (Jun 1, 2011)

I've got an electric vest I wear on my motorcycle, it pulls about 50w and keeps me nice and toasty. Might look silly, but you'd be warm.


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## Jozzer (Mar 29, 2009)

dladd said:


> I've got an electric vest I wear on my motorcycle, it pulls about 50w and keeps me nice and toasty. Might look silly, but you'd be warm.


 Lol, i like that idea. Along those lines, how about fitting an electric blanket on the seats? Heating yourself rather than the car would definitly get the most comfort for the least energy..

25 years back, my mates and I had an old Mini with a dead heater in it, we stole the parafin "antifrost" heater from Dad's greenhouse to keep the nip out of the car. Every 10 miles or so somone would pull out a blowtorch to boost the temperature a bit on really cold nights. I don't reccomend either of these approaches


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## piotrsko (Dec 9, 2007)

You ought to know this; early bussies HAD a gasolene powered add-on heater, and guess what: you CAN buy replicas. NOT eco-friendly however.


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## Salty9 (Jul 13, 2009)

Have you checked into using Glauber's salt (SodiumSulfateDecahydrate). See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_sulfate. The liquid/solid phase change temp is 32C which allows it to store an appreciable amount of heat.


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## Jozzer (Mar 29, 2009)

piotrsko said:


> You ought to know this; early bussies HAD a gasolene powered add-on heater, and guess what: you CAN buy replicas. NOT eco-friendly however.


 You must be a little older than me, I don't remember those days


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## Salty9 (Jul 13, 2009)

piotrsko said:


> You ought to know this; early bussies HAD a gasolene powered add-on heater, and guess what: you CAN buy replicas. NOT eco-friendly however.


Or, even earlier, my wife's grandmother had a large collection of bed and sleigh warmers that varied from knitted cozies for warm rocks to a small coal-fired sleigh heater


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## bruceme (Dec 10, 2008)

A good blanket at a low voltage seat heater go a LOOOOONG way!

-Bruce


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## piotrsko (Dec 9, 2007)

Also 1947-52 Beechcraft Bonanza had a Janitrol fuel powered heater, but they caught fire sometimes. Come to think of it, so did the bus heaters.

not sure of the thermal properties of the average rock, or how hard it is to match them.


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## Guest (Nov 2, 2011)

Im thinking of going with a good large sac of cherry pits. Excellent warmers and hold heat for awhile. Toss in the micro for a few minutes just before leaving and instant heat.

Dudes, this is a Leaf. No friggin gas heaters allowed. 


The car should have a good heat sink with an attached fan that is independent of the heater system. So when you get in you can circulate the heat from the sink and better utilize the system. Even have it set to blow on the window for defrosting if needed. So a large sink would be advisable. 

Now for something that can be retrofitted but not visible. 

Pete


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