For a 1500 watt heater you'd need too many AHs. For two 200 watt ceramic heaters, I think the draw was about 20AH for one hour. By placing them at floor level I was able to get tolerable heat in the driver's footwell at cold temps. If you want to keep passengers warm as well, though, you might need the propane heater. Just remember that regardless of some advice here, you really should vent it out of the car.
Heater In a Box
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For a 1500 watt heater you'd need too many AHs. For two 200 watt ceramic heaters, I think the draw was about 20AH for one hour. By placing them at floor level I was able to get tolerable heat in the driver's footwell at cold temps. If you want to keep passengers warm as well, though, you might need the propane heater. Just remember that regardless of some advice here, you really should vent it out of the car.
IssacZachary
Well-known member
LeftieBiker said:
Thanks! And of course I'd vent it outside of the car. The unit I mentioned is a furnace that keeps exhaust gases separate from the air being heated through an efficient heat exchanger. That way the exhaust is vented outside through a (hate to say it) tail pipe.
That's what I figured, looking at the photo. If you are going to locate it in the spare tire non-compartment, there is a large rubber plug down there that could be used to route the vent pipe. It is under the car, though, so you really would need a tailpipe for it. Image the confusion at EV shows...
JUST an FYI but propane is a non starter. one of the byproducts of a propane heater?
HUGE amounts of water vapor. you will NEVER defog your windows. ever and retain that heat. it just makes too much water vapor. (I have a little indoor safe propane heater its actually fantastic in fact I keep in the car in the winter for emergencies if I were to get stuck in the leaf I have 10 hours of heat (5 hours each bottle) just keep the windows cracked just in case.
but while driving its useless. too much water vapor.
HUGE amounts of water vapor. you will NEVER defog your windows. ever and retain that heat. it just makes too much water vapor. (I have a little indoor safe propane heater its actually fantastic in fact I keep in the car in the winter for emergencies if I were to get stuck in the leaf I have 10 hours of heat (5 hours each bottle) just keep the windows cracked just in case.
but while driving its useless. too much water vapor.
IssacZachary
Well-known member
A properly built propane "furnace" will vent exhaust outside the vehicle in a "tail pipe."nerys said:
we are not talking about a properly built furnace but a heater on the passenger seat of the car. 
IE it don't work. too much water vapor.
I was thinking one day I might build a heater system that I hitch mount and run coolant lines inside to a heater core in the trunk area and a blower. then all the "vapor" will be outside and the "heat" inside.
but for the 3 or so months that it would truly be cold enough to warrant it. Just not worth it. maybe if I actually had time as it would not be that expensive I don't think. Just time intensive and time is the one thing I lack.
plus I fully hope to have a new car in 3 or 4 years with a 200 mile range that won't need to worry about heater battery consumption. anything but a bolt.
IE it don't work. too much water vapor.I was thinking one day I might build a heater system that I hitch mount and run coolant lines inside to a heater core in the trunk area and a blower. then all the "vapor" will be outside and the "heat" inside.
but for the 3 or so months that it would truly be cold enough to warrant it. Just not worth it. maybe if I actually had time as it would not be that expensive I don't think. Just time intensive and time is the one thing I lack.
plus I fully hope to have a new car in 3 or 4 years with a 200 mile range that won't need to worry about heater battery consumption. anything but a bolt.
IssacZachary
Well-known member
Sorry. I didn't realize this thread was only about open-faced propane heaters on the passenger seat. Maybe I'll should start another thread on adapting camper furnaces to EV's in the trunk or in the "spare tire" area.
For me it's not just the battery range. It gets down to -40*F (-40*C) here. I've seen -53*F. It's so cold that my ICE car can't even keep up with the heat. I'm tempted to put a fuel burning auxiliary heater on all my cars, be they EV's or ICEV's. Plus I need my passenger seats for seating passengers.
Although burning fuel for heat on an EV sounds counterintuitive, using fuel for heat can make better efficiency than using fuel for propulsion. Some furnaces are well over 90% efficient. But with an ICE most of that heat normally goes out the exhaust. Maybe some day I'll buy a hybrid and put a highly efficient heat exchanger on the exhaust instead. Actually using fuel for heat on the vehicle is more efficient than if the fuel is used to generate electricity for the vehicle. (Maybe electrical generating plants could bottle their waste heat in large thermoses, and then people like me could get bottles of such heat to heat my home or car.)
For me it's not just the battery range. It gets down to -40*F (-40*C) here. I've seen -53*F. It's so cold that my ICE car can't even keep up with the heat. I'm tempted to put a fuel burning auxiliary heater on all my cars, be they EV's or ICEV's. Plus I need my passenger seats for seating passengers.
Although burning fuel for heat on an EV sounds counterintuitive, using fuel for heat can make better efficiency than using fuel for propulsion. Some furnaces are well over 90% efficient. But with an ICE most of that heat normally goes out the exhaust. Maybe some day I'll buy a hybrid and put a highly efficient heat exchanger on the exhaust instead. Actually using fuel for heat on the vehicle is more efficient than if the fuel is used to generate electricity for the vehicle. (Maybe electrical generating plants could bottle their waste heat in large thermoses, and then people like me could get bottles of such heat to heat my home or car.)
This topic was created to talk about a battery-electric heating system. Talking about other kinds of standalone heaters is fine, although a separate topic for propane heaters might be more efficient.
