Best quality 12v dash heater

[901Memphis]

Looking for some advice on a 12v cigarette lighter dash heater for my Taurus. I need a little boost to defrost my windshield in the winter and I'm not feeling up to changing the plugged heater core this year. It's a backup vehicle so I'm just concerned about finding a heater that isn't made of junk. I know quality varies greatly and I've heard they don't put out much heat but I'd like to try one myself.

There's so many brands hard to tell if they are all junk or not. I would probably be ordering online and I would like to get a good value for my money but would be willing to pay for one that won't suck.

 

[Rand]

you can only get about 200-250watts out of a cigarette lighter.

So they are all pretty much junk.

 

[The_Jeff]

I had one in a cadillac cimarron that had a slightly leaky heater core. It was enough that I couldn't defog... as I got green fog.

So I got this heater thing.

As said, the 200 watts wasn't enough. All it did was make a smell of burning plastic in the car.

 

[SLCraig]

I can honestly say I think cleaning out the heater core is not only more economical, but will yield better results.

Just saying..

 

[NHGUY]

Get a Zerostart 110V in car heater.Plug it in before you drive off,get it toasty warm.

 

[Chris142]

You can access your heater hoses easily on that car. No reason not to flush it out.

 

[bmwjohn]

if I had to do the 12v heater thing and had a little time I would be tempted to use 10-12 gauge wire (both sides) and a marine 12v utility plug with an inline fuse and hook them directly to battery. This would result in a higher line of current, so the heater might work better than via cigarette lighter. Remember that your battery might be drained quickly.

 

[Rand]

part is under 40$ and youtube videos show its easy to do.

just fix it.

 

[901Memphis]

Can't use 110v, i live in an apartment and parking is far from building.

Also can't work on car, apartment won't allow any maintenance.

I flushed the core already by hooking up water hose fitting to all the hoses and it still doesn't blow good. I got plenty of junk out of the system but the heatcore is plugged solid.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Did you try Preston T-Flush ? I installed it to the heater hose, when I flush the coolant I turn the heat to max then turn on the water to max too. Some years ago the heater in my LS400 didn't have much heat, after a good flush with garden hose the heater worked very good again.

 

[901Memphis]

What I tried was similar to the t flush. I just bought garden hose fittings and put them on the water pump hoses and anything I could flush and hooked it straight up to the garden hose. It got plenty of rust and gunk out but the heater core is still pretty plugged. The heat improved slightly but now it's got to be up to full temperature and above 2k rpm to get anything. If I cruise above that rpm the heat actually works decent on all but the highest fan speed.

I no longer have access to a garden hose though.

I'm well aware of the documented short cut as I'm a member of Taurus car club forums but I don't think I'll be able to do it with my limitations.

Obviously paying a shop for the full job is out of the question, they rip you off for a full dash removal and like 6-8 labor hours.

 

[meep]

you would need 5 of those electric heaters to start giving you something, and that many of them would put a pretty big load on the alternator. I just don't think electric heat will be the way to go.

if you are desperate, I've seen guys bolt small propane camp/tent heaters to the floor, though to me that's a death wish should you get in an accident.

My town has a shop where you can rent a bay for the day and work on the car. Maybe you could find something like that?

 

[zzyzzx]

Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Also can't work on car, apartment won't allow any maintenance.


You can, just when the management office is closed. At least that's what I used to do.


Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
I flushed the core already by hooking up water hose fitting to all the hoses and it still doesn't blow good. I got plenty of junk out of the system but the heatcore is plugged solid.


Exactly how did you flush it? Supposedly the best way is to reverse directions on the water pressure a few times.

 

[IndyIan]

So you get condensation on the inside of the window? I used to with the Neon has it had a leak into the trunk.
I found the leak and most of my condensation was gone. You can also crack the windows when you know its not going to rain. On a sunny day in winter you can dry out your car quite well with a little airflow.

 

[meep]

there is a wipe-on chem called Fog-X, made by the rain-x folks, that works pretty well. there's a point where it will become totally overwhelmed, but before that point it does help.

 

[meep]

idea: purchase a pre-cut sheet of plywood or metal from home depot or lowes. buy a propane-fueled tent heater. mount the heater to the plate so it is stable and leave it in the back seat or somesuch. run it while you are scraping the windows and warming up. turn it off when you start driving.

 

[901Memphis]

I don't get any condensation due to a leak or anything just pathetic heat. Also my compressor doesn't work so the air doesn't dry out very well.

 

[The_Jeff]

Originally Posted By: 901Memphis

Also can't work on car, apartment won't allow any maintenance.


Your work parking lot on a saturday? Side street in the industrial part of town down near the railroad tracks?

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
I don't get any condensation due to a leak or anything just pathetic heat. Also my compressor doesn't work so the air doesn't dry out very well.

Try one of those heated seat covers then, 150W is nothing for a car interior but will warm you up quite easily. Try some gloves too, and a winter coat.

 

[901Memphis]

I might try the seat heater.