Another Scam: 12V Electric Car Heaters! 800-1200W?!

[@WillProwse]

Links to know what to avoid. Just awful! Affiliate links: Red Heater: amzn.to/3LnZyZC Black Box Heater 600W (the best one was the cheapest one! Wild): amzn.to/4cE3f9A White box heater 200W: amzn.to/4eXB9HL Black Box heater 200W: amzn.to/4f08GkI

[@Conservator.]

“The best one was the cheapest one” If you ignore safety and look at power output only. I wouldn’t put a device like that in a car worth 1,000 or 10,000 times more than that heater.

[@WillProwse]

@@Conservator. Right 🤣

[@rogerhargreaves2272]

I would not buy one of these. If I did then I wouldn’t leave the room. Chyna 🇨🇳.

[@dyslectische]

Wel you dit look somting to pull a lot of watts to test bms . So a lot of those heaters will do the job On your forum Oke you tell on the video. Lol to fast to replay lol

[@EnufIsTooMuch]

Years back I was an Engineering Tech building and testing high wattage switch mode DC power supplies. As in 3KW was the lowest power product, and 150KW was about the top end at that time. The test load was a 19" instrument cabinet full of large tubular power resistors, big ones. Large fans on the back moved air thru the big resistors. To set the value of the load jumpers would be bolted on as needed to create series or parallel circuits. Not cheap to build but very stable for resistance value and yes it was a heck of a space heater during prolonged testing!

[@matthewf1979]

14 gauge wires carrying 60 to 90 amps of current definitely will make a great car heater. You know, after it sets it on fire.....

[@major__kong]

I just did the calculations, and at 40A that 14AWG wire is only dissipating about 1.5W. That is, the short piece he was pointing at, which was about 4 inches.

[@robertsmith2956]

I hope that isn't what they are using in their electric cars for heat. Maybe that red heater will cool the car. It will feel much cooler as you run away from the burning car.

[@extragoode]

​@@major__kongadd that couple watts to the heating element power, that's why they rounded up to 600

[@bloepje]

@@major__kong the solder joints will probably be the worst. And one of my simple soldering irons is 8W...

[@MrJeVai]

..... I'm still cold

[@justinjja2]

For load testing, get your self some 12v water heater elements and stick them in a bucket of water. Cheap, Will easily hit their rated output, And better for videos because it will be quiet.

[@antibrevity]

They sell 12v submersible heater elements up to at least 600w for twenty-five bucks apiece (slightly less on AE), but Will would likely rather have self-cooling than quiet operation if he can't have both. He likely intends to operate these for long periods and the water heater would eventually boil the water unless it was a very large tank or had constant flow-through, which would waste water in a place where water is imported from far away ;). $400 for 800A of load is not bad, but cooling would quickly become an issue.

[@justinjja2]

​@@antibrevity That's the idea, just let the water boil. It takes an absurd amount of energy to boil off water. Works out to something like 2.5kWh per gallon.

[@justinjja2]

@@antibrevityif you strictly want air cooled, an antminer s9 will do 1300W for under $100. (And print a little money while you’re at it.) That said 13.6V is probably pushing it, atx 12v spec is 12.6V or lower.

[@mwolrich]

side benefit, you can make tea or hot choclate with the heated water, when the testing is finished 😳

[@frank_frank_75]

That’s how car audio guys test out amplifier output wattage

[@HeavenonWheels]

I got one of those cheap units from Amazon. It melted and stopped working within 20 min. Thanks for making this video!

[@l0I0I0I0]

Problem is you don't read chinese. It says it will heat your car during the summer. 😮

[@lawrencedavidson6195]

lol

[@nyquil762]

🤣💯

[@confusedofhinckley5294]

The problem is that many manufacturers still lie about their product spec

[@ldemitch]

Lmaooooo

[@l0I0I0I0]

Sadly their higher quality ones are no longer allowed in US due to new custom regulations called "PATENT INFRENGEMENTS" . 🤪

[@MrSqueegey]

Aliexpress did that to me with inverter,sold as 1000 watt,but was only rated 450 watt and it was broken and had to fix.update still have it and still use it

[@Bag514]

Does it work in the winter?

[@danburch9989]

I'm thinking some Chinese manufacturers confuse BTUs/hr with watts. That 800w heater may be a 800 BTU heater. Convert BTUs to watts, multiply by .293. Doing that, you get 234 watts; not too different that your results. Similar with the red heater 1200 BTUs x .293 = 351 watts. They're know to push the numbers to make it sound like you're getting more than what is actually delivered.

[@TimeSurfer206]

For a 12V Heater to be 1,200 watts, it would need to pull 100 Amps of Current. That would require a minimum of #4 AWG Copper Car Alternators range from 40 to 120 Amps. In a car, this means your battery, alternator, or both, will be dead in around an hour. And your "Cigarette Lighter" receptacle will never handle that.

[@norsk54472]

chinese 14 gauge is different - measured in mils squared

[@danstrayer111]

the 15 amp cig lighter fuse would be gone almost instantly

[@gman9024]

I used one and it melted my wires... My 12v never worked again. The fuses didn't even blow I replaced them and it still didn't function

[@rawcado]

The second and third picture of the 600W black box on the Amazon page literally show it on fire and blowing flames out of the vents!! 🤣😂😆

[@-PORK-CHOP-]

At least they are setting expectation of the product before you buy it and it burns the car down 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@inncogneato6341]

Realistic then.

[@christineguttilla6465]

Truth in advertising 😂

[@stevewhite9813]

It's always a good day when I find a new video from Will

[@emilecrotteau7312]

🇨🇦 THANK YOU FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT,,,AND THE INFORMATION

[@johnwilson839]

It would be interesting to see someone do load testing by moving energy between battery banks. I am new to battery testing but so many load testers are dumping the energy to heat. What about pushing power onto the grid with microinverters? Has anyone done it without all the heating elements?

[@BlackBuzzzard]

Exactly why I got one......a DC load dump, to be watched carefully when used!

[@Swampkrew]

Do they actually think these are good products? Or they just don’t care and count on people not returning them

[@MrPuddinJones]

I think you're right, they rely on people not returning them. And they charge enough that when they are returned, other purchases have kept them profitable. These fans all look like they're built for around $5 USD.

[@seniorslaphead8336]

That's about it. Always bet on stupid.

[@fishhuntadventure]

Jc Whitney had a good one back a few centuries

[@davidb.5544]

Just goes to show you Amazon allows people to sell complete garbage and doesn't care.

[@xxcrazy_critr6661]

Just like with the low build quality Li batteries, China takes advantage of dumb Americans. If it wasn't for folks like Will cutting open the batteries and exposing the truth, we wouldn't have decent quality batteries from China, they would simply not care, just give them your money.

[@omegaofgaia]

I mean, if a heater calls itself an air conditioner, it's not incorrect lol. It does condition the air

[@insylem]

That may be a language translation thing.

[@george_aurelius]

I am looking for a 200w heater; but, I think I'll pass on these death traps.

[@Mprikiman]

Good idea!

[@andrewforeman2345]

Have you ever tried out a standard battery load tester? They pull about 100 amps safely for a few seconds. You can probably connect a few and have a pretty good resistive load. They sell them at HF pretty cheap. Love your videos man. I always learn something new!

[@virt1one]

look around for roadpro 12v ceramic heater comes with decent build quality and good wire. draws rated power. Also comes with comically long power wire, shorten it to improve draw.

[@xxcrazy_critr6661]

I have one of those RoadPro 12V heaters, it's not bad for what it is. I also have a slightly more powerful one that is physically a little bigger made by Travel Time, it's also not bad. I don't run them from a Cig plug, I have a 8awg power wire coming in that branches off to a few accessories and I put the 30A Power Pole connectors on the heaters. My regular heater works, these small heaters I can put on the dashboard to help thaw the windshield faster, as my pickup truck takes a good 10-15 minutes to warm up enough to get the heater going to thaw the windshield.

[@frankbush333]

Hey Will, there are nichrome calculators online, it is a fun project where you can calculate the gauage and length of nichrome wire to get almost exact watt consumption as heat in the wire. It is probably the cheapest and most variable option for doing what you are aiming to achieve. A few thick nichrome wires connected with jumper cables can give you whatever wattage threshold you want easily into thousands of watts. Just a thought, makes for fun video content as well, I did a 5v 1 amp usb fire starter this way, it was a fun video to make. All the best, cheers.

[@major__kong]

I just recommended a carbon pile battery tester. Those will handle hundreds of amps. But I like the nichrome idea, too

[@wihamaki]

I wish there was something like a solar powered heater that could be put on my dash just to help keep the windshield cleared. Nothing like having to scrape both the outside and inside while battling hypothermia.

[@jeffheiner]

Ya i bought one of those car heaters and I had the same experience. They just didn't provide the wattage they claimed.

[@jackmehoffer7819]

Will you don’t need anymore heat in Henderson😅

[@marcfruchtman9473]

Definitely, there is a problem with items not meeting their labeling. I am glad you were able to return them. I recently purchased 30 watts LED from a popular vending site, and measured only 10 watts... very disappointing. The quality of the LED was otherwise very good. But the mislabeling of ratings needs to stop. Be careful buying flashlights and solar panels too, as they often don't come close to their ratings.

[@timbowsher8271]

The black one, not a resistor. From the looks of it, it is a PTC. PTC is a Positive Temperature Coefficient thermistor. You will find they are used in many cars to aid in cold start heater performance. There is one in the center console of late 2010s Pathfinders. Fun part is the output changes depending on the temperature. Toss it in a deep freeze and watch the load change.

[@SmartEnergyLab]

Halogen lights might make a better load bank if you're wanting to simulate inrush then stable draw.

[@jazziered142]

I always get a little confused, yet I'm always fascinated by what you have to say... It's like I'm hoping someday it all clicks. 😊

[@feloniusdrunk]

Me too.

[@juancabeza5809]

Can you please review one of those "Universal car electric a/c units" which consists of a condenser, 12v compressor, Evaporator and dryer all-in-one kit?

[@WillProwse]

Oh interesting

[@WillProwse]

Which one

[@jayw900]

@@WillProwse I doubt most will go for the most expensive. Why not try out the cheapest then one that's in a midrange? If you are really brave, then try out one of the more spendy ones. I'd like air conditioning in my diy square drop but really don't want to spend that money and be the guinea pig.

[@juancabeza5809]

@@WillProwse The compressor is not belt driven but uses a 12v electric motor. I know you'd do a better job investigating how it works and how efficient this system is for a car. So far all the other people in YT have done a terrible job explaining how to set it up and what is the impact of using it in your car. Help us @WillProwse, you're our only hope! 😁

[@MHawkeye]

interesting, i had commented on your post before with a Lnk(idk if youtube is removing comments) ive forgotten exactly what i posted if you search this on the Amz youll find the listing i think juan is reffereing to this setup B0BRPZVBWN

[@dasgibmekker768]

Just today I returned a 600 W power supply that came with the warning not to pull more than 240 W ... 😂

[@Fluxkompressor]

That's what I've learned with (cheap) Chinese stuff De-rate it 30-50% and it will actually last Especially true for power supplying equipment of all kinds

[@wihamaki]

@@Fluxkompressor I have a Waitley 20V 5.0Ah 'Dewalt' Replacement Battery and it doesn't measure up to a Dewalt brand battery.... but what you get for your dollar is a great value. I'm a little leery of it's built in safety features it might have missing so it's not like I charge it on a pile of loose paper or something.

[@thirdgearboogie2210]

Good Work! That's freakin scary. Luckily the build quality gives it away.

[@RichardWylie68]

You might try 12-volt water heater elements in 5 gallon buckets

[@BradCagle]

I wonder what happens if the fans fail on that 600w plastic one, would it overheat and meltdown?

[@MHawkeye]

pretty much, unless the housing is fiberglass reinforced or something similar to handle heat which i doubt.

[@jayw900]

Yes.

[@stevenharris9941]

DO NOT BUY FOR HEAT EVER. as a former Vehicle Development Engineer for Chrysler and we did the HVAC design (heating and AC) and had multiple classes on this by the legend himself, Al Kargilis, I can tell you that putting an electric heater in your car is a fools folly. Will wants them for DC loads, we know that. but, lets say you did find a car heater that was 1000 watts. Well, that'd be about 88 amps of draw and there are 3412 BTU's in 1 KWh, (running the heater for an hour). The heat output of your heater core ( which is heated with hot engine coolant) is about 40,000 BTU's / hour. So, this is a mouse far in heat and not even worth your time. Its not even better than nothing, its worse than nothing. It'll burn your car down.

[@PBVader]

Your situational assessment is 100 percent correct. In the north, we carry emergency candles and blankets.

[@Eric-gi9kg]

Had a failed memory slap me in the face just from the title. Bought one of these car cabin theaters back in the late 80's. Connected it up.. worked great first few times, then the unit itself got crazy hot. Several years later, I heard about a truck catching fire.. the investigation ruled that a heater similar to mine caused it. I immediately removed mine and tossed it. Never since have I used one.

[@brianm9962]

I really wanted one or two of these for really cold mornings when the car took forever to warm up enough to provide heat, and the windscreen was covered in ice. I moved across the country to more tropical weather instead.

[@CaptainProton1]

Old style lightbulbs maybe photography lighting ones might work better and cost less...safer?

[@michaelmccarthy4615]

Where are you supposed to draw 20 to 40 amps from within a car cabin ?

[@VertTuner]

Anyone looking to do something like this would have to drill through the floor board or firewall and run a cable to the battery. Most of this stuff is targeted at RV and Van dwellers where that's understood and running a second battery or bank of batteries inside the cabin is pretty common. Electric heaters just aren't good enough in ICE vehicles though. Most people end up getting a diesel heater and just running fan and injector off the 12v.

[@revolvingwonder3777]

thanks! have looked at them for a solar heating solution for my container. idea being to have solar panels directly connected (with safety protections of course) to heaters. to help keep contents dry. Interested to know what the red metal heater was like inside. in the end i bought ceramic wire wound resistors and built them into a case. for audio power amplifier testing and plan to also use them up as passive heaters with no moving parts.

[@Droningonuk]

You need to check the voltage under load!

[@energieundhobby]

2:40 That's how it has to be.... state-of-the-art technology.... in China. The temperature fuse is the soldering tin, at 180°C the circuit is automatically disconnected. I'm sure that the Chinese don't use such crap themselves, but only sell it abroad =)

[@norm_sueb122]

Thanks for the video!!

[@-PORK-CHOP-]

The red one that has the switch to turn the fan off, English translation on that switch is "Insurance Claim" 🤣🤣😂😂

[@MV_Checkmate]

@WillProwse I went through the same search to make a high amp discharging unit for my LiPos. What I came up with is the best way I found. I purchased a large RC brushless plane motor and mounted it on a board facing up. I reversed the motor so the prop blows downward. Then mounted the speed controller under the prop to keep it cool. Then used a manual dial operated servo tester to control the speed controller. I have an RC in-line amp gauge wired in. I can easily pull 100 amps for an extended period without issues. It’s a little noisy, but does the job. And unlike the heater route it doesn’t create a lot of heat. Let me know if you want to see a picture of it and a wiring diagram. cheers

[@john_in_phoenix]

They heat the car by starting a fire.

[@katostewart1467]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@anthony84vette]

On the red one, if you turn the fan on only the fan comes on for summer,so you can have fan only or heat,you were doing it backwards,you put the element on with no fan,the purpose of that is so you can use this year-round,and you're right that is a fire hazard nothing should happen with that element unless the fan was on.......

[@markh2128]

I am wondering if there is such a thing as solar portable heater for the car. NOT 12volts to kill my battery, but solar for Minnesota where it's bitter cold for 6months a year.

[@djkarcher1896]

If you want to heat your car the right way, get a Webasto or Eberspächer diesel/petrol heater. They use very little battery, and if installed correctly, they hardly pose any danger. Second alternative would be to get an inverter, and hook up a proper fan heater to it.

[@peterkn2]

That black one looked like it was all PVC plastic except for the the heating element. Is that safe?

[@PBVader]

Absolutely not. Most of those ceramic heaters are over 105 dungarees retrograde. You could tone them down a bit by putting two in series or adding a bimetallic thermal switch. They are really nothing more than giant resistors attached to an aluminum heat sync.

[@whatsagrinder]

amps x volts =watts. simple math, amps needed would be 67 amps. (amps x 12v = 800 w). 14g wires handle 15amps.

[@ericskarl5855]

Thanks Will, Looking forward to your test of LiTime batteries. I bought 2 24 volt 100 Ahr. Picked them because they fix perfectly in my Ford Transit. And the 2427MPP solar.

[@pauldymott8991]

I am now also a Litime convert. I have bought 2 x 100a and a 200a. Great instructions books come in a reusable plastic sleeve.

[@major__kong]

That 14 AWG wire is only dissipating about 1.5W. I looked up ampacity for milspec stranded tinned copper wire 14 AWG, and it's 3.06 Ohm/1000ft. The short piece he was pointing at was about 4 inches or 1/3ft. Dissipation is (40A)^2*(3.06/1000)*0.33, which is about 1.5W.

[@davidtreichelpppj5304]

I remember 30 years ago bringing back a small heater to SEARS for repair ...I went to pick it up and the repair was more than the unit ? So I left it

[@Bloor005]

I bought one for £40 that runs on 12v. Utter crap but was able to rig it to an xt60 and direct on a solar panel. Generated some +2C increase, LOL!

[@HippocratesGarden]

We knock "chinese made", but often forget, they only make it, because we buy it.

[@SteffenBoserup]

Maybe You could look at Victrons DC-DC converter - discharge the battery you are testing, and dump it into a larger but empty battery??? - you would also get some great data, you could analyze when you are done??? - just my 25 cents :--) (Thanks for creating the videos, they are always interesting - keep'em coming)

[@SkypowerwithKarl]

Look at “clothes dryer heating element assembly” for load. Ether rig a blower for AC as designed or substitute a DC blower.

[@RND_ADV_X]

A lot of e bikers don't know that you can charge an ebike battery from a solar panel... The trick is to get a boost charger. It changes the 12/24v input to a battery charging voltage like 84v. Just in case you wanted to do a video covering that? I'm building a sun runner trike that will allow me to charge on the go from solar.

[@LarryWebb-gv8dz]

Some of the new electronics on the market are super cool. I got a Giandel invertor with built in solar controller. I got SOK 206 ah bluetooth heated The blue tooth app is amazing. Do you have any other recommendations? I found the Giandel invertor on your website. Thanks a bunch super cool dude

[@electromechanicalstuff2602]

Ha I have an 04 Jetta wagon TDI and the heat is slow to come on here in Michigan when it's 0°F outside. It gets colder but not too often. I started looking at those and I ended up installing a 370 amp mechman Alt ran 2/0 to the trunk most for my RF amps but now I have a 2kw inverter that I plug a 1500 watt PTC space heater. In the end there is no good cheap way to add electric heat to your car

[@dwk1us]

I like to see results from the system that you’ve been running for five years and give your opinion on it Thank you

[@mikehotchkiss8975]

1200 watts would required booster cable sized wire to be safe. 100 amps. Run, don't walk away

[@thom1218]

1. A cigarette lighter in a car is typically fused down to 10-20 amps (so these can be run and won't blow it) 2. how many people haul around a full sized 12v battery in their car... for a heater? Sure the marketing wattage is bonkers, and if these don't come with a cigarette lighter plug that's even weirder, but at least they won't pop your fuse.

[@Jef-1-f]

I had a 1966 Porsche that was often very cold in the winter. Tried adding a 12v heater. Didn't do a thing.

[@mhsn3470]

hi. very good channel, helpful, informative. good job. i live on a boat and i am looking to buy solar panel for my boat. i have an inverter 500 v / battery charger 12v-25A vetus, at the moment it is conected to grid i would like to conect it to solar, what is the most easy and cost efective and eficient way to conect solar panel to this inverter/charger? thanks

[@insylem]

I also am building a loaf tester. But mine is less. Itll only pull 10 amps tops

[@tommyscott6857]

Would love to see your thoughts on the watt cycle 100 ah batteries

[@TimeSurfer206]

Just did a highlight/google search, and their biggest vendor looks to be Temu. That does not fill me with confidence.

[@ericskarl5855]

Another thing Will. I connected my 24 volt batteries to the Mini DC CONTROL BOX. It Has 6 USB, 2 12v or 24v outputs and a 12v or 24v cigarette socket. The power switch controls the outputs except the cigarette lighter socket. It stays on. This gives me a power station for a lot less money. It was $45. I also saw it listed for $90. It is the same thing. What are your thoughts?

[@endeavour3d]

to solve your load testing issue, instead of making some bespoke setup, you could just use a carbon pile tester for car batteries, the professional ones can pull over a thousand amps and have gauges and readouts

[@WillProwse]

Ive got something better

[@John83833]

Do electronics sold on Amazon have any kind of certifications or quality control?

[@Markcain268]

You should check the voltage while the heater is switched on.

[@GManWrites]

Possibly a better option would be to buy a heat gun for your testing?

[@KaceyGreen]

well, it does condition the air, but it makes it hotter vs our understanding suggesting cooling

[@jendak7921]

I had cheap plastic 150W heater that start with 150W but drop to 120W when heat up. It was not good like space heater but good for faster demist front window in winter until burn smell came and stop working. Faston connector to heating element had weak connection and heat up as much it burn cable isolation and unsolder it. Also fan was very loud and use brushed DC motor causing interference to radio. Red heater in video probably supposed to turn on heater with fan on first switch or fan only for cold air with second switch but something went wrong.

[@Tautoru]

I bought a cheap one advertised as 200 W. It said 150 W on the packaging and was useless for demisting a windscreen in winter or heating anything. Later on I tested it and it was only drawing 40 W of power... Seems like they are all a scam.

[@bloepje]

The solder joints will just come lose due to the amps going through it. Then you have a loose wire that will short circuit, and then it will finally be more than 800W. Not for long because that 14gauge wire will probably burn out somewhere.

[@randycampbell35]

Is there not a max watt 12 volts could push.

[@rowanshole]

You are a brave man Wil

[@2Sorts]

You need to measure the battery voltage when the heater is running, and multiply THAT by the current shown on your meter. Your reading (the way you’ve calculated it) is likely to be way off. Anyway, don’t cars have heaters in them already? Those heaters will probably end up knackering your alternator.

[@Ral3l3it1]

Any chance you will be testing out the ecoflow delta pro ultra with sub panel in the future?

[@OWK000]

What happens if you hook a cheap little ac ceramic box heater to 12 volt? Those used to be $20 all over. Maybe $30 or more now.

[@this-is-slammin-549]

I’m sure it’s on your radar, but have you been checking out solid state power stations? Yoshino Solid-State Portable Power Station is one I’m curious about

[@joniboulware1436]

I don't understand. Why do cars need heaters? What cars don't already have them?

[@Capoe3]

Sometimes they break. Fans go out. Squirrel dies in your ac vent. Lots of stuff.

[@MHawkeye]

if your heater core gets plugged or starts to leak, you lose heat. its an expensive job because most require the whole dash to come out which takes a long time so people looking for heat without a big repair bill would opt for these cheap heaters instead. newer hybrid models will have electric heat as well and they might also stop functioning since they dont like to run the engine for heat in order to improve fuel econ

[@ivorscruton5121]

@joniboulware1436 Most vehicles in Thailand do not have heaters. They do, however, have air conditioning as standard.

[@redfields5070]

A car with the engine not running. Sleeping in a van at night.

[@shaynegadsden]

Many newer cars have something like this built in, it allows you to defrost the car without needing to wait so long for the engine

[@marketshare3969]

The problem ordering directly from China is it bypasses any requirement for US third-party listing UL ETL, etc. The WATTS they are listing our Chinese WOK WATTS. 👍👊😎

[@Ekanselter]

A classic example of buyer beware for sure.

[@supercoe]

The first one was pulling a bit less, the meter wasn't zeroed.

[@SustainableGal]

The most you can safely pull from a car 12v 10a outlet is 120W

[@teotwawki_je]

Although less convenient, it might be cheaper and certainly more reliable to modify a hot-water tank with several 1kW heating elements. You can find elements at 12, 24 & 48V but even 240 V works so 120 V should be OK for your purposes. Using multiple hot air guns & car heaters must be a nightmare in summer.

[@lincolnbliss4885]

I bought one of these and after about 5 minutes of use it blew the fuse for my 12v car outlet. I have a 120v AC to 12v cigarette lighter plug adapter so I tried it off a standard outlet and the plug on the heater got so hot that the plastic melted. They are all piles of crap destined for the bin.

[@markmonroe7330]

Excellent presentation. Thank you.

[@lifepolicy]

Thank you I will use my diesel heater. And when I want to use an electric heater I install an inverter and run a normal electric heater.

[@kilgore9253]

I got a 350w one that plugs straight into a socket no cord been using it for a couple years in my pickup.

[@shajisolaman6154]

Do you happen to have a link for that?

[@federicorodriguez5815]

Are the Powe4Life LFP batteries any good?

[@deeparoyal7349]

I ❤ low wattage heaters (100w - 250w AC). I use them all winter long, and they save a ton of $$ 😊

[@posttenebras2812]

Interesting! Have you found one useable with a car lighter or are you talking household appliances?

[@deeparoyal7349]

@@posttenebras2812 I don't have a link, but a diy KZbin video on converting one exist. I suppose you can also use a 500w cig plug inverter?

[@deeparoyal7349]

@@posttenebras2812 To clarify, we get down to 28° some nights, but still we use two 100w personal heaters and an old 180w 5q crockpot filled with sand. Along with our electric blanket, we max out under 500w continuous overnight. Current setup has saved $40-$60/months on electric bill. This, in lieu of 1500w cycle on/off portable heaters and intermittent gas stove usage. So yes. Saved big money on regular home appliances switch out.

[@posttenebras2812]

@@deeparoyal7349 Thanks! Will look to doing that myself here. Electricity bills topping 450€/mth since Ukraine war started. Any way to save is welcome.

[@Inphinityproductions]

I really love and appreciate your videos. you're doing an awesome job

[@chrish42000]

Harbor freight sells them that plug directly into the 12 socket in a car. I wonder if they lie/ sell hazardous stuff. They actually have a big company to sue here lol

[@chrish42000]

12v* and if i recall they advertised far more watts than most 12v car outlets provide

[@WillProwse]

Oh crap that's a good idea. I'll go buy one today

[@norsk54472]

@@WillProwse lmao

[@nbookie]

Just need a load bank, get an old school car battery tester. Or pickup an all mechanical space heater. Lastly, 300 to 600 light bulbs & fixtures.

[@JenkinsUSA]

1:45 - Do they actually heat?

[@audibosoundandlight]

The diode in the first one seems like a very bad idea, if somebody reverses the polarity by accident the fan will not run, the PTC heaters won’t care and just heat up without any airflow 😬

[@djnor1979]

Out of fairness, most of the "12V" devices are designed to be run out of a car system. Yes, system, not battery. Which means, they must be tolerant to the maximum charge your alternator can deliver, which is regulated around 14.5 volt. (Can go up to 15V in some cases) Designing something with a maximum power of 2000W @ 12V would mean 3112W @ 15V which would definitely overload the heating element. (All in theory!) In real life, those chicken gut cables will limit your amperage, they will cause too significant voltage drop before reaching the heating elements so it would be nice to measure the real voltage at the heating elements, not on the power supply or the connection of the unit.

[@retrozmachine1189]

A friend bought 10 or so ciggie lighter extensions of the online shop starting with Al. They were supposedly rated at 20A but on delivery the wiring was 0.5mm (close to AWG 20). Total rubbish.

[@Rapscallion2009]

Just do the maths, really. 12v car electrics (nominally 12v) which means you can draw around 120w when fused for 10A, which most power sockets are. Much more than that and you're looking at having to hard-wire the thing, probably to the battery. But even there the maximum sustained current of a car battery is typically in the 50a area, which is only 600w. Cars aren't that big inside but If you work out the specific energy of the volume of air inside to increase it by - for argument's sake - 20 C requires a surprisingly large amount of energy. Internal combustion engines are very inefficient and about 70% of the energy in the fuel is lost as heat and so they capture a portion of that waste and use it to heat the cabin. Easy to understand. Well, a car engine might product 20hp in a steady cruise. At 750w per HP that's around 15000w. Which is a lot more than the 600w potential output of the battery. See?