Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
The Poor Man's Block Heater
Brrr!
When I heard that the expected temperature this morning was to be around -30 °C, I knew that my car was going to be none too happy. I drive a '03 Toyota Echo. It's actually a great little car, but Canadian winters are not its best friend. I decided to pull out the poor man's block heater.
This is actually a simple trick. Get a utility light, the kind for garages, with the cage around it. Turn it on (the bulb can't be florescent), and put it under the hood. Then get an old blanket and put it over the closed hood. The heat coming from the bulb, insulated by the blanket, is enough to keep the engine block and battery warm enough so it will start lickety-split in the morning.
I've got to apologize for not posting more ship pictures. I actually have done very little since the last update. One of the issues is that I think I may need glasses for my middle-aged eyes. I've been having some issues threading the blocks. I've got an appointment for an eye exam on Feb 4. We'll see after that.
Mike
When I heard that the expected temperature this morning was to be around -30 °C, I knew that my car was going to be none too happy. I drive a '03 Toyota Echo. It's actually a great little car, but Canadian winters are not its best friend. I decided to pull out the poor man's block heater.
This is actually a simple trick. Get a utility light, the kind for garages, with the cage around it. Turn it on (the bulb can't be florescent), and put it under the hood. Then get an old blanket and put it over the closed hood. The heat coming from the bulb, insulated by the blanket, is enough to keep the engine block and battery warm enough so it will start lickety-split in the morning.
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I've got to apologize for not posting more ship pictures. I actually have done very little since the last update. One of the issues is that I think I may need glasses for my middle-aged eyes. I've been having some issues threading the blocks. I've got an appointment for an eye exam on Feb 4. We'll see after that.
Mike
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