Defrost my car without leaving engine on

4nick8

I go out 10 minutes before I leave and put a small fan heater in the footwell.

10 minutes later warm car, all windows clear.

If you try this make sure nothing can fall on the heater, nobody can trip on the extension lead etc etc.

After defrosting put heater in wife's car.!!!

mutley74

i use deiceer but find i still have to wait 10 mins on really cold day to get windscreen clear - even then i am lucky.

i use warm water from the tap (Not kettle) and find no problem to date. best to make sure u put the wipers on straight away to clear the water & melted ice and stop it refreezing.

Benji

Just a word of warning... leaving the car engine running without you inside is actually illegal. Having said that I know it does make sense and I've done it myself before now.

So far as hot water on the screen is concerned, ATPUG, has the right idea, use hot TAP water, not boiling kettle water. As an added precaution, if your windscreen doesn't drain over your paintwork you could put a bit of salt in it to stop it re-freezing. Maybe a few drops of anti-freeze would do the job - though I'm not sure if that could cause any probs? :-S.

RL

Thank you very much for all of these suggestions - the Eberspacher pre-heater sounds to be exactly what I would like, but need to investigate more to see if my car (renault scenic) is suitable for one and also need to find out the cost - so thanks for that CC25.

Until then I'm going to try the newspaper but if there's any hint of wind up here the sheets will be off ! Pretty still tonight though so we'll see. At least there's no school run tomorrow !

Thanks again - will post back with any info I find out if anyone else is interested in the pre-heater.

RL

basill

I`ve been told a trick by a canadian who should know a thing or two about ice and snow. Apparently if you get the inside of the car nice and cold before you leave it at night, ie drive the last few yards with all the windows open, water will not condense on the glass and there will be no ice to scrape off in the morning.

Let me know how you get on !!!

B

Jay-Jay_4

I have a 5ltr mineral water bottle which I fill with hot tap water, a squirt of windscreen wash and tip it over all the windows. It melts any ice which has formed inside too . Also good for doors which are frozen shut.

Put child in car before chucking water at windows for ultimate in child cheerfulness on the school run


BTW... B&Q sell the pre-icer stuff for under £3

suekjw

Just brought two bottles of Magic Ice Stop in Tesco Extra at Stafford - £2.27 each.

Sue

Edinburghlass_2

Thats a good price for the Magic Stop, same as I paid at the wholesalers!

Pink, check out Tesco before I bother sending this one to you

basill, I will try that trick of opening the windows and let you know how it goes

Savvy_Sue

Pink-winged wrote:

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.

That sounds like the best plan to me!

More seriously, I know this topic was discussed when I was a regular in The Back Room at Honest John. I think most of the suggestions here were covered there, but that's the place for any car related question!

carl310166

I bought one of these last year,

http://www.webasto-hotshot.com/index_en.php

It cost £190 though,it was before my MSE days.

It was fitted in a sunroof centre in Cardiff,but you can fit yourself.

I did consider the remote option,but it is illegal,and i looked at the Kenlowe system,i may fit this after my warranty had expired....the only problem with that one is,it's o.k in the morning going to work but what about coming home,you need to plug it into the mains.

I was sent photos of an install by someone on a VW Golf forum.

I will send them if you pm me.