Keep your car de-fogged without using the heater

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evnow

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 22, 2010
Messages
11,480
Location
Seattle, WA
Today was just above 40. I was driving alone.

I used the foot + defog mode and the fan speed at zero. This was enough to keep the windshield clear - without getting the car very cold.

I used heat only on my return for a while and ended with 4.5 m/kwh. Not bad.
 
evnow said:
Today was just above 40. I was driving alone.

I used the foot + defog mode and the fan speed at zero. This was enough to keep the windshield clear - without getting the car very cold.

I used heat only on my return for a while and ended with 4.5 m/kwh. Not bad.

Couldn't we just run a separate switch 12v line to the heater fan, and you could still run the fan, but the car would think it's off ?
 
i am thinking about getting a 12 volt fan to run for that. a few times during past week (especially last night!) the windows have been very difficult to defrost.

last night, i just used a towel to wipe a small hole, then started driving with defrost blasting away but it was not really clearing things up quickly. i ended up rolling down both front windows for about 2 minutes. that ALWAYS works. just lucky it was not real cold
 
I just crack my windows. It lets out some of the humidity (which is created by me breathing in the car) and also equalizes the temperature on both sides of the glass, to reduce condensation. As long as I am wearing a coat, it is usually fine.
 
adric22 said:
I just crack my windows. It lets out some of the humidity (which is created by me breathing in the car) and also equalizes the temperature on both sides of the glass, to reduce condensation. As long as I am wearing a coat, it is usually fine.


LOL!! great that works for you, but the Pacific Northwest is a little bit different.

last night, i got into my Leaf and my INSIDE windshield was literally dripping with condensation. i immediately cranked the defrost to high. ran it about 2 minutes with no real results. used the sleeve on my coat (which i was not wearing) to wipe the window.

problem is i have less than 30 minutes to drive across town in "traffic from Hell" to get my son from daycare. with no traffic, its about a 12 minute drive (slightly different route than my morning commute but distance is the about the same and it takes me 11-12 minutes) in afternoon traffic, its about 20+ minutes. i generally get him a few minutes before 6 and our daycare charges HUGE penalties for late pickup.

so had to leave. could not wait. drove about 3 minutes, realized i could barely see where i was going, so had to roll down the windows. that cleared it up in about 2-3 minutes (about now, regretting i was not wearing my coat) and plus allowed me to see clearly on turns (much easier when there is no glass in the way!)
 
garygid said:
Anybody try using a a freshly-baked (dried) container of moisture-absorbing crystals inside the car?

tried that with Prius. did not work. works great for RV's but not so much with Leaf. although i might try that with anti fog, and fan. try that "triple attack" option.
 
evnow said:
Today was just above 40. I was driving alone.

I used the foot + defog mode and the fan speed at zero. This was enough to keep the windshield clear - without getting the car very cold.

I used heat only on my return for a while and ended with 4.5 m/kwh. Not bad.
Yes. For what ever reason, the 'foot + defog" mode, even with a bit of fan, consumes far ess energy han does the pure defrost button.

Bill
 
"Foot + defog." You clean the windshield with your foot? Seriously, what is it?
 
It is cold and rainy today. Auto at 72 was not keeping the windshield clear, but switching to "foot and defog" did seem to work. The windows fogged some, but not near critical spots, like the mirrors. Works for me! Thanks!
 
Wondering... Is there some kind of benign anti-fog chemical that could be used on the window?
 
Why are some of you experiencing so much trouble with the defrost? When I run the defrost (with A/C as is the default mode), in less than 10 seconds the window is crystal clear.
 
I can only imagine the trouble keep the windows clear driving back home in 10 degree weather after a day on the ski slopes. It's a major challenge for a lot of ICE cars, often aided by the old ice scraper on the inside of the windshield.
 
johnr said:
Why are some of you experiencing so much trouble with the defrost? When I run the defrost (with A/C as is the default mode), in less than 10 seconds the window is crystal clear.


And in this climate, within seconds after turning it off everything fogs up again... and if left on, it gets cold in the car!

"Foot and Defog"... i'll have to give that a try!
 
You have to use AC when defogging. AC stands for air condintioning - i.e. it "conditions" air, not only makes it cold. Conditioning really means dehumidifing air. Is everybody clear on that?

I have no problem with defogging either. It does take about a minute with, say 75F added to speed things up in colder weather. Normally I run it at 60F AC full blast for less than a minute. Someone said it works better (or heats better) when in D rather than Eco. Might try that too if in trouble.

Interesting observation that you can dehumidify the car faster with foot-defrost combo than defrost only. Gotta try that to see if it's true. I presume this was done at higher temps too (such as >70F).
 
I tried the crystals and the top surface of the open container turned to white slime. No help in cutting down the fogging and condensation. I'm searching for other ideas other than driving with the windows open. If I leave it on fresh air, it gets cold in a hurry - less than 10 minutes after preheat. If I put it on recirculate it fogs up the windows even faster and I mean all of them. I've tried the dual window/floor mode but you can only run that with the fresh air (providing I'm interpreting your description correctly). This leads to it getting just as cold as with the windows open.

Ready to try the anit-fog spray application but buildup appears to be a possible problem. I can't afford to have the defroster using 4kw. So for now it is both front windows down and me in gloves and a 12v seat heater.
 
Today 53 miles mostly 35 - 45 mph, outside <40°F, foot and defog, one notch of fan, cabin 68°F. Windows clear and me comfortable.

3.9 miles/kWh. Not great, but I can live with it.

Bill
 
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