Defogging windows?

Is there a trick to defrost the windows efficiently? I have to use the defrost a fair bit and it's using a lot more electricity than I'd like.

Thanks!

EDIT: I actually meant defogging, not defrosting. The Leaf sleeps in a garage so defrosting isn't an issue.

This might work for you.
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=6751" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Do you mean defog? For defrost, I assume you would be at home or close to an outlet. Plug in and use the defog button. I wish preheating would use defog.

During driving, I keep the temperature at 61 on recirculation with the AC turned OFF. It stabilizes at around 0.7 Kw. When I need to defog the windows, without looking I just reach to the temp module, feel the temp lower button and push the button to the right of it. It takes a 10-15 seconds to defog the windows. Without looking I can turn windshield defog OFF.

HighDesertDriver said:

This might work for you.
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=6751" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Click to expand...

That would be great, but I'm leasing and I don't really want to open up the console. I'd be worried that I'd never be able to get it back together.

camasleaf said:

Do you mean defog? For defrost, I assume you would be at home or close to an outlet. Plug in and use the defog button. I wish preheating would use defog.

During driving, I keep the temperature at 61 on recirculation with the AC turned OFF. It stabilizes at around 0.7 Kw. When I need to defog the windows, without looking I just reach to the temp module, feel the temp lower button and push the button to the right of it. It takes a 10-15 seconds to defog the windows. Without looking I can turn windshield defog OFF.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I meant defogging... I'll give that a shot, thanks.

You could always go old-school. Try opening one or more windows a half-inch or so. That will usually clear my windows after a few minutes.

Use climate control timer in the morning. Should enable AC and dehumidify your car automagically.

Also, clean the inside of your windows. It's amazing how quickly fog can build up on a dirty window compared to a clean one.

kubel said:

Use climate control timer in the morning. Should enable AC and dehumidify your car automagically.

Click to expand...

Since timed or remte CC uses recirculated air, I find it more often than not results in foged windows, not de-fogged. No magic involved.:lol:

The cure for that problem has been to make sure the car interior is quite dry, not an easy task in the damp NW.

In the northwest, the Leaf seems to accumulate quite a bit of moisture in the upholstery, especially for those of us who are very miserly with climate control. you notice this the most on the transition from summer to winter. the lack of waste heat source is the culprit. the simple solution I've found is to charge to 80%, leave plugged in and then use the prewarming function for an extended period, like an hour or so and periodically open up all the windows and let the humid air out (if you charge to 100% it the prewarming won't stay on as long-to pretect the battery from overcharing, since it charges while it prewarms). once you can do this without seeing condensation on the inside windows, usually you are good. using prewarming on any kind of regular basis should help this a lot. keeping the car dry is key to keeping the windows from fogging up while driving. also, a little heat, say setting the CC to even 66 degrees helps a lot, then set mode to foot defot, set fan to the level you like and as needed, turn CC on and off. I find I can go for quite a while after a good prewarm with the mode set to foot defog and the CC turned off.

EVNOW gets the credit for first figuring this out, it's a good read this time of year:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=6987&hilit=foot+defog

ebill3 said:

kubel said:

Use climate control timer in the morning. Should enable AC and dehumidify your car automagically.

Click to expand...

Since timed or remte CC uses recirculated air, I find it more often than not results in foged windows, not de-fogged. No magic involved.:lol: ...

Click to expand...

I notice the same thing. But -- what it means is that latent moisture that was in the fabric, etc, was able to be taken up by the warmer air. Once you get in, make sure to set the AC is running in conjunction with the heat and the AC coils will be able to quickly capture that moisture and purge it from the car. Energy use by the AC in that role is pretty small and well worth it, since reducing the cabin humidity will allow effective defog at much lower cabin temps and avoid the higher "opportunity cost" of having to run the heat at a higher rate.

ebill3 said:

http://www.harborfreight.com/automo...12-volt-rubberized-heater-with-fan-96144.html

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tried that. not enough air flow to clear anything but a tiny circle. it does work well as a personal heater though

DaveinOlyWA said:

ebill3 said:

http://www.harborfreight.com/automo...12-volt-rubberized-heater-with-fan-96144.html

Click to expand...

tried that. not enough air flow to clear anything but a tiny circle. it does work well as a personal heater though

Click to expand...

I gave one of these Harbor Freight heaters to a Nissan Japan visitor. He said it was very useful in a 2011 LEAF as a foot warmer. Not so good for defrosting, that's my experience. Now I have Phil's upgraded CC unit, which is a big help.

linkim said:

DaveinOlyWA said:

ebill3 said:

http://www.harborfreight.com/automo...12-volt-rubberized-heater-with-fan-96144.html

Click to expand...

tried that. not enough air flow to clear anything but a tiny circle. it does work well as a personal heater though

Click to expand...

I gave one of these Harbor Freight heaters to a Nissan Japan visitor. He said it was very useful in a 2011 LEAF as a foot warmer. Not so good for defrosting, that's my experience. Now I have Phil's upgraded CC unit, which is a big help.

Click to expand...

Even though I saw so many bad reviews, I bought one because the price was too good to pass up.
It has pretty meager output in real life, but it is better than nothing. And for only $10, I'm not going to return it. The main concern I have is that it seems to draw enough to heat up the power cord and plug to dangerous levels. I think I can only use it safely for about 5-10 minutes or so before I'm afraid it may damage something.

In 71F ambient temps, I measured a surface temp of 131F at 3 inches after 10 minutes.
Unfortunately the cord heated to 126F, and the plug tip to 141F






Its too bad it doesn't work just a little bit more efficiently. Its the perfect size. It fits right between the seat and my heels.

ELROY said:

The main concern I have is that it seems to draw enough to heat up the power cord and plug to dangerous levels. I think I can only use it safely for about 5-10 minutes or so before I'm afraid it may damage something.

In 71F ambient temps, I measured a surface temp of 131F at 3 inches after 10 minutes.
Unfortunately the cord heated to 126F, and the plug tip to 141F

Click to expand...

I'm sure it's marginal, but to be fair, 71F isn't really the use case. How does it do in a cold-soaked cabin at, say, Freezing or below?

Nubo said:

ELROY said:

The main concern I have is that it seems to draw enough to heat up the power cord and plug to dangerous levels. I think I can only use it safely for about 5-10 minutes or so before I'm afraid it may damage something.

In 71F ambient temps, I measured a surface temp of 131F at 3 inches after 10 minutes.
Unfortunately the cord heated to 126F, and the plug tip to 141F

Click to expand...

I'm sure it's marginal, but to be fair, 71F isn't really the use case. How does it do in a cold-soaked cabin at, say, Freezing or below?

Click to expand...

After reading recommendations for this little device on MNL, I went out and bought one for myself. A friend and I recently used it on a 65 mile trip with temperatures in the teens. It's not great at initially clearing the windshield, but it did a good job of sustaining a clear view. The air coming out of the thing was barely warm, but we were using it to dry the air, not heat the passengers. We managed the trip without touching the heat (heated seats are great!) which, in turn, enabled us to make this trip in the Leaf instead of my friend's Volt.

The wiring definitely got noticeably warmer than the ambient air. I didn't have a thermometer, but it was warm to the touch, probably 70-80F. Definitely not warm enough to bother me - I left it on for the entire trip.

Nubo said:

ELROY said:

The main concern I have is that it seems to draw enough to heat up the power cord and plug to dangerous levels. I think I can only use it safely for about 5-10 minutes or so before I'm afraid it may damage something.

In 71F ambient temps, I measured a surface temp of 131F at 3 inches after 10 minutes.
Unfortunately the cord heated to 126F, and the plug tip to 141F

Click to expand...

I'm sure it's marginal, but to be fair, 71F isn't really the use case. How does it do in a cold-soaked cabin at, say, Freezing or below?

Click to expand...

The only way I feel it on cold mornings is with my shoes off, and the heater blowing at my feet from behind on a couple inches away. And barely warm at that. But at least it kept my feet from freezing.

I've had my LEAF for less than two weeks but after two days of foggy windows I applied FogX (by RainX). Stuff works amazing and keeps the defroster turned off. Highly recommend it.

I've had great luck with this product:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004JZU05C/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

To defog windows one has to use AC. AC - as the name implies - CONDITIONS air, not only cools it. Conditioning means basically removing moisture. This is why in summer there is a puddle of water under the car. It's the moisture the AC has removed as you drove and it is still dripping out after you stopped.

A little heat helps to speed up the process, but without AC on it takes a lot of heat (which is dry) and high fanning to remove the fogging. That is the most inefficient way to do it. AC is the key to get it done fast.