[bennelson]

I read that heater info.

That Prius idea for pumping hot coolant into a themos for later is a great idea.

How is that for true conservation!

I was thinking if I used the block heater, I would put it on a timer.

I already do that with my aquariums so save energy at night, plus fish have to sleep, and with a big lamp in my bedroom to wake me up in the morning.

The timer could just run for a while at night, then I would just unplug the car before taking off in the morning.


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.

A guy replied that he did exactly that and it worked great.

Now an electric car does not have to "warm up" before it is effecient, that's half the fun. Great for short trips an errands. Electric car people in cold climates do tend to use battery warmers to keep voltages/capacity from dropping.