Quote:
Originally Posted by achang1
Im curious if a solar block heater would work.
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I've wondered that as well. Were you thinking solar cells running an electric heater or just a hose that you pump the coolant through?
I had an idea run through my head of a combo of both of those. I was thinking running some small black washer fluid hose around the base of the wipers and hook them up to a small pump that was powered by a small solar panel. That way it would only pump the coolant around when the sun was shining.
I've found that I get the worst mileage below about 100degrees engine temp. After that it starts to level off. So even if all it could do it push it up a good 35-50 degrees I think it would make a big difference. You'd probably want to set up some delay so it didn't start pumping hot fluid out to the cold solar collector.
If it does work that would be one of the most energy efficient systems.
Great idea achang1!
Anyone else?