Battery blankets - and the insulation is made of?

[Donald]

Here is a novel idea. Make the insulation in battery blankets out of something mice won't use for nests. The battery blankets in my pickup looks to have the insulation make of polyester. With some sections not even and frayed. Assume mice took some to make a nest. (They did leave a lot). And the fabric holding it together looks to have a lifespan of about 5 years.

 

[xgmad]

kevlar, ballistic nylon, and steel wire.

 

[Wrenchturner44]

Donald, You might try using a product like this.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Mighty-Mint-Vehicle-Rodent-Repellent-Peppermint-Spray-16-oz/5002068299?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-lwn-_-ggl-_-PLA_LWN_241_Chemicals-_-5002068299-_-online-_-0-_-0&ds_rl=1286981&gclid=Cj0KCQiAlMCOBhCZARIsANLid6YCSfq7yZAQGbISmTccrkvIkHn1TKGgj9qgmLW4708ZmML5E-07dZQaAm9mEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[HankHill]

Question, what does a battery blanket do it cold weather? Isn't the battery already cold overnight? What is the real purpose of it?

 

[xgmad]

Question, what does a battery blanket do it cold weather? Isn't the battery already cold overnight? What is the real purpose of it?

it looks cool and makes the engine bay look more expensive.

 

[HankHill]

it looks cool and makes the engine bay look more expensive.

Yeah, from a heat transfer standpoint, it would only keep the battery warmer for just a short time. Now a heated battery blanket would make sense in the winter for sure!

 

[kschachn]

An unheated battery blanket would only keep the battery warm if the battery was already warm. Aren’t such blankets there to keep the battery cool from engine heat? They are generally metalized to cut down on radiation heating.

 

[meep]

I bought an aftermarket kit from amazon for the rebadged northstar I just installed. It was felt on the interior and an aluminum-like skin on the outside.

 

[carviewsonic]

Had a battery blanket on my Caprice many years ago. The side terminals on the battery wore through the plastic covering the metal heating element of the blanket. The car died on the highway at night in -30 deg C temps when the heating element shorted the battery. Towed to the nearest garage for a new battery and alternator. No battery blankets for me since then. Hopefully they're made better than that now.

The good news in this story is that the garage owner opened his shop up at 9:00 pm, tracked down a new alternator and battery, and had me on my way by 11:00 pm. I was very grateful for that level of service.

 

[Mainia]

An unheated battery blanket would only keep the battery warm if the battery was already warm. Aren’t such blankets there to keep the battery cool from engine heat? They are generally metalized to cut down on radiation heating.

Blankets work wonders for keeping battery's cool in a turbo engine bay, I agree. I don't think a battery blanket will do much good unless it has a heating element in it in the winter. Here is my blanket to keep turbo heat out of my battery in the summer. By the way that 12 lb battery is still in my car as of this writing, in Minnesota winters. Started in -7 below so far. I don't think it will do -20. Or at least I will switch it out at -10.

 

[930.engineering]

I don't think mice like this:

 

[billt460]

When it gets hot in the garage, here is my, "battery blanket".

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Utilitech-20-in-3-Speed-Indoor-Air-Mover-Fan/4755301

 

[Donald]

I thought the idea of a battery blanket was to protect the battery from engine heat.

In the winter over 12 hours at night I would assume the battery gets close to the outside temp. Battery blanket or not. If car is outside.

 

[Pelican]

Question, what does a battery blanket do it cold weather? Isn't the battery already cold overnight? What is the real purpose of it?

It tucks the battery in for the night, ready to fight the cold tomorrow!
It plugs into a plug same as a block heater, keeps the battery at a temp where it can give the most power.

 

[HankHill]

I thought the idea of a battery blanket was to protect the battery from engine heat.

In the winter over 12 hours at night I would assume the battery gets close to the outside temp. Battery blanket or not. If car is outside.

If your engine bay is hot, your battery is hot. A thin metalized blanket will do jack chit against heat, it would just prevent the "line of sight" radiative heat coming from the motor. MAYBE, maybe it might keep it a few degrees cooler..

I just thought that there may be an additional purpose. Maybe its there to warm or cool the battery slowly? Do batteries have issues with rapid heat and cooling fluctuations? I'm sure I'm not right..

The poster above with the fiberglass insulation would have the most amount of heat soak prevention, especially if placed on the bottom mounting area, and top of the battery. Insulating the entire battery compartment and battery would be the best.

 

[y_p_w]

If your engine bay is hot, your battery is hot. A thin metalized blanket will do jack chit against heat, it would just prevent the "line of sight" radiative heat coming from the motor. MAYBE, maybe it might keep it a few degrees cooler..

I just thought that there may be an additional purpose. Maybe its there to warm or cool the battery slowly? Do batteries have issues with rapid heat and cooling fluctuations? I'm sure I'm not right..

The poster above with the fiberglass insulation would have the most amount of heat soak prevention, especially if placed on the bottom mounting area, and top of the battery. Insulating the entire battery compartment and battery would be the best.

The only thing that might really help is keeping a battery outside of the engine compartment. Once I helped out someone with BMW with my portable jump starter. He went straight to the trunk to attach it where the battery was mounted, but I heard that many cars like that have attachment points for jump starting since they have to route the power anyways.

Of course we have electric and/or or hybrids where the traction batteries are cooled and heated to keep them in a zone where they'll work better and to keep them from overheating.

 

[Donald]

If your engine bay is hot, your battery is hot. A thin metalized blanket will do jack chit against heat, it would just prevent the "line of sight" radiative heat coming from the motor. MAYBE, maybe it might keep it a few degrees cooler..

I just thought that there may be an additional purpose. Maybe its there to warm or cool the battery slowly? Do batteries have issues with rapid heat and cooling fluctuations? I'm sure I'm not right..

The poster above with the fiberglass insulation would have the most amount of heat soak prevention, especially if placed on the bottom mounting area, and top of the battery. Insulating the entire battery compartment and battery would be the best.

The battery blankets were Ford original. They must have put them there for a reason. Truck was built to be sold in Canada.

Maybe they could mix pepper in with the insulation?

 

[kschachn]

If your engine bay is hot, your battery is hot. A thin metalized blanket will do jack chit against heat, it would just prevent the "line of sight" radiative heat coming from the motor. MAYBE, maybe it might keep it a few degrees cooler..

I just thought that there may be an additional purpose. Maybe its there to warm or cool the battery slowly? Do batteries have issues with rapid heat and cooling fluctuations? I'm sure I'm not right..

The poster above with the fiberglass insulation would have the most amount of heat soak prevention, especially if placed on the bottom mounting area, and top of the battery. Insulating the entire battery compartment and battery would be the best.

A metalized blanket will help to cut down on radiative heat and that’s the majority of heat transfer. Line of sight is everywhere under the hood.

 

[kschachn]

The only thing that might really help is keeping a battery outside of the engine compartment. Once I helped out someone with BMW with my portable jump starter. He went straight to the trunk to attach it where the battery was mounted, but I heard that many cars like that have attachment points for jump starting since they have to route the power anyways.

My BMW battery was under the rear seat although that was for weight distribution. And there was a jump start terminal under the hood.

 

[Snagglefoot]

I suppose a blanket can reduce the rate at which a battery heats up. When you consider many vehicles are used for short trips the net effect is a lower average temp over thousands of short trips.