Defrost my car without leaving engine on

RL

Just wondered if anyone knows of a gadget that will enable me to warm up my car from the inside to de-ice the windows and warm the car up without leaving it running.
It's a diesel car parked in a very high exposed area and it takes about 20 mins to warm up (by which time I have usually got to where I'm going).
Not had much luck with windscreen covers, de-icer and usually resort to a warm kettle of water whilst the children sit freezing in the car and I keep running in and out of the house not knowing if the cat has snook back in which will trigger the alarm once I'm gone !

A nice stand alone heater that I could switch on remotely half an hour before we leave would be perfect but am doubting that such a thing exists.

Any ideas would be much appreciated

aliasojo

:rotfl: I'll be watching this one with interest.

Edinburghlass_2

I have used the de-icer that you put on before it freezes which here has to be around 5.00 pm and found it worked quite well

BUT the guy where I bought it from said some people found it worked and others said it didn't.

Called Magic Ice-Stop

grumpyoldgit_2

Don't know if they are still around but Britax used to do a car pre-heater that did pretty much what you seek based on a timer switch. If I'm not mistaken some of the scandinavian cars had them fitted for a while - ?Volvo, ?Saab

Guess there must be someone out there who will know

good Luck
GoG

ffym

Mmm, something for nothing, we can wish!
Warm water and de-icer are only effective short term. They do not warm the car up and your windscreen will refreeze 100 yards down the road. Your options are sadly limited (heat = power = cost), any form of independant heat apart from electrical will cause fumes, or worse fire. The only thing with enough power to do what you want is a mains powered heater such as a fan heater powered via an extension lead. I believe running the engine would be cheaper and more effective.
Long term suggestions:
1 - Garage
2 - Vehicle choice e.g. a Ford with electrically heated front screen. (these clear the windscreen i less than a minute, I'm amazed other manufacturers don't fit them).
If anyone else has a better solution I too will be gratefull to hear it.

Pink.

Edinburghlass wrote:

I have used the de-icer that you put on before it freezes which here has to be around 5.00 pm and found it worked quite well

BUT the guy where I bought it from said some people found it worked and others said it didn't.

Called Magic Ice-Stop

That sounds just what I could do with Edinburghlass.
Found some here, but with vat @97p and p&p @ £6.99 :eek:, it comes to a total of £13.51 a bottle! Does anyone know where I could find it cheaper?

Pink

On the other hand, I could just continue to send Mr Pink out in his dressing gown to sort out my car in the mornings.

juno

My sister always puts newspaper on her windscreen and that keeps the ice away

Bossyboots

juno wrote:

My sister always puts newspaper on her windscreen and that keeps the ice away

I find this a good remedy also. It also stops the inside of my rear window freezing which standard covers don't always do on the coldest nights.

jenpoptab

Pink-winged wrote:

That sounds just what I could do with Edinburghlass.
Found some here, but with vat @97p and p&p @ £6.99 :eek:, it comes to a total of £13.51 a bottle! Does anyone know where I could find it cheaper?

Pink

On the other hand, I could just continue to send Mr Pink out in his dressing gown to sort out my car in the mornings.

A friens of mine has just bought some on a shopping channel with other bits for around £20, not sure which shopping channel though, sorry.

jockettuk

i find that if you cover both the inside windscreen and outside each night it helps a whole lot better.. ... be careful with the hot kettle or you could crack your windscreen or something else in the engine that the water comes in contact with.. i did this on my back window once and i melted the mechanism on the door had to climb in and out the boot by the back seat untill i got it sorted.. ..

Sheel

Pink-winged wrote:

Found some here, but with vat @97p and p&p @ £6.99 :eek:, it comes to a total of £13.51 a bottle! Does anyone know where I could find it cheaper?

Bit cheaper HERE £3.40 + £4.12 delivery