Those people who run their car engine for ages before driving off "to warm it up"
- Thread starter bi0boy
- Start date
ExtraRefined
Better than you at everything you love
I just pour a kettlefull of boiling water on the windscreen to deice it, then rev it up to the redline off the lights to get the oil up to temperature 
You could probably make one with a heating element and a dynamo. Don't cycle too fast though, or you'll end up with an unsightly arse-tattoo.
obanite
Kroketten
As a biker who starts his bike at around 7:30am some mornings right outside the windows of our block of flats.
Sorry... but it has to be done! I do try to minimise the time I leave it idling to what other posters have described though
Drivers and people what know about cars, I have a perhaps stupid question for you. Does the engine need to be running in order for the in-car heating system to operate? It's turned a little colder this week and the number of cars I see parked but with the engine running has increased. Given that those idling cars are still emitting exhaust fumes, I'm wondering whether it's necessary that the engines are running in order for the occupant(s) to stay warm.
Forgive my naivety on this.
Forgive my naivety on this.
Athos
Well-Known Member
Yes.
existentialist
Tired and unemotional
In almost every car in existence, the internal heating system is powered by a heat exchanger.
This is, essentially, a mini form of the radiator that does the main engine cooling.
Engines are phenomenally inefficient - they produce a lot of heat that has to be dumped to the local environment. Most of that is dealt with by the radiator (usually with the help of a fan, nowadays mostly thermostatic). When you first start a car, a mechanical thermostat ensures that the coolant being pumped around the engine isn't cooled too much, usually by restricting the flow to stay inside the engine block. Once the thermostat opens, signifying that the engine is at operating temperature, the flow is allowed to circulate through the radiator, and the heater element.
By varying the flow to this, and operating a fan blowing cool air over the heat exchanger, warm air can be supplied to the interior of the vehicle.
So yes, not only does the engine need to be running, but needs to have been running for sufficient time to allow the thermostat to open.
Heating is a very "expensive" form of energy use, and using the car battery to electrically provide any heat at all would have it flat in no time. It says something for the inefficiency of the internal combustion engine that so much "free" heat is available within a short time of the engine being started.
rubbershoes
not the only raver in the village
Heated seats work if you have the key turned one notch. The engine won't be on but the electrics will
mauvais
on reddit or something
Depends on the car, I think. Heater circuits draw pretty high loads (e.g. a rear window element is usually on a 30A fuse = up to 360W, so doesn't activate unless the engine is running) and I'd be surprised if all cars with heated seats let them operate without the engine on.
In places where it's really cold, cars have engine block heaters that run off an external connection.
nogojones
spelling is overrated
Its likely not about warming the driver up but de-misting the windscreen
Poot
My wife thinks I work too hard
The biggest danger on cold mornings is poor visibility. If you clear the windscreen (windows, wing mirrors etc) quickly with an implement, a chemical or warm water (which can shatter the glass if you're not careful) it won't necessarily stay clear for long. Besides, it will fog on the inside. Sitting with the blowers on for 2 minutes is much more efficient.
Poot
My wife thinks I work too hard
Does that work? Does it not leave a residue?
cybershot
Well-Known Member
Yep, give it a google, loads of articles.
Poot
My wife thinks I work too hard
Might try it - but it's probably better in drizzly weather and won't solve the ice problem, which really needs some heat from inside the car.
cybershot
Well-Known Member
Poot
My wife thinks I work too hard
Or a Ford!
cybershot
Well-Known Member
Heated front windscreens, so ice is gone in a matter of seconds.
Think a few new models of other manufacturers have it now but Ford had a patent on it for what seems like forever.
rubbershoes
not the only raver in the village
Or get a Range Rover.
Set it to warm up and demist five minutes before you're due to leave.
Set it to warm up and demist five minutes before you're due to leave.
Yeah I was basically thinking like this. If you drive off before the heater is working properly you can soon find things mist up again and that is very bad news if you are traveling at speed and suddenly become blinded. Happened to me once, screen remisted suddenly and combined with low winter sun I was suddenly blinded....., luckily the result was only a near miss.
weltweit
Well-Known Member
When my car is frozen, up of a morning, the first thing I do is start the engine, then I put the heater and fan on max and pointed to the windscreen, I put the rear window electric heater on and then I get out and start scraping the wing mirrors and side windows. By the time I have done the sides the windscreen is just starting to defrost which makes my final task, scraping it, easier. It takes me perhaps 5 minutes in total.
Where I live seems to be a cold trap, this morning it was -3.5DegC there, but the car park at work, only a few miles away was +0.5DegC.
Where I live seems to be a cold trap, this morning it was -3.5DegC there, but the car park at work, only a few miles away was +0.5DegC.
UnderOpenSky
baseline neural therapy
Or a Ford!
I really miss my Mondeo for this. Even my older BMW doesn't have it. It used to fucking blitz it!
existentialist
Tired and unemotional
This is pretty much my frosty morning startup routine. Gives me something to do rather than buggering up the wipers trying to see if the ice will scrape off yet.
Silas Loom
Well-Known Member
Citizens on my street are also partial to this.
I’m sure I read that this was set to become illegal recently although can’t seem to find anything on it now.
newbie
undisambiguated
aye, I was wondering what happens with flash modern cars that turn themselves off at traffic lights.
Good market for starter motors these days.
Idling cabs get me worked up. East Croydon station is horrendous for this.
I have one of them. Doesn't do it till the engine is warm
