Heat engine block for efficiency?

[dremd]

Originally Posted by bennelson

I read that heater info.

PS - On an electric car forum, I was asking about pre-heating an electric car (because electric cars have no engine to give off enormous amounts of waste heat, they usually have pretty poor heater)

My idea was just to put a regular 120V heater in the car and let it run for a bit plugged into the wall. The the car is nice and warm, and you can unplug the heater power cord and take off.
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I Got an Idea from this!!!
Use a Prius style thermos with a heater in it (and water). Once underway circulate it through the heater core. Would give heat for much longer for similar energy expended.

[bennelson]

Water holds heat better than almost anything else. Using wall power to pre-heat water than then runs the heater makes sense.

Just hook an electric tea kettle up to the car!

[cephraim]

Anybody know if these will work with hybrids?
I'm thinking they'll let me get to using EV mode sooner in the morning.

Any recommendations on what type to use with the Nissan Altima Hybrid?

Thanks!
Eph

[bennelson]

I know that there are a couple of people in the Milwaukee Hybrid Group who are HUGE fans of using an engine block heater in a Prius.

The one guy sort of made a mad dash around the country a while back installing block heaters all the way. (40 block heaters in 20 days, or something like that!)