how to keep prius warm?

[gabakusa]

I got a 2013 prius and I have an inverter 2000watts, I know I can leave the car running all new to produce heat but it will use 1 gallon of gas, I heard.
I am was thinking what about some small electric heater that can work with 12v?
or some electric sleeping bag? to keep warm the rear of the prius ?

 

[maki2]

it all depends on how cold it is and how warm you want the interior to be.  You have not given any real world temperatures so could anyone judge what heating source you will need and how powerful it has to be?

 

[gabakusa]

it all depends on how cold it is and how warm you want the interior to be.  You have not given any real world temperatures so could anyone judge what heating source you will need and how powerful it has to be?

 

[maki2]

That does not sound like a realistic scenario. But I am no Prius expert although I have seen some figures of the cost of replacing the batteries in one. That is very expensive to do. Are you sure you want to put your car at that kind of risk? Do you have no other alternatives?

 

[gabakusa]

what risk will the car is going to have?prius uses two batteries one to start the car and the other to run, the one I am using is the regular battery

 

[maki2]

there is some chit chat from people who own a Prius on the Arizona wind and sun forum.

You might want to talk to them as they have experience using it as a generator to power different items.
https://forum.solar-electric.com/discussion/11546/using-a-prius-as-a-generator

 

[highdesertranger]

why not just get a good sleeping bag and not worry about artificial heat? that is always my recommendation because any artificial heat system can fail and a sleeping bag will keep you warm no matter what. highdesertranger

 

[bullfrog]

If I remember correctly the small battery has a fused charging link from the big battery so that is a concern but I believe there are some that have done what you want to do successfully. The engine will still come on to charge the big battery but not as often. I saw the discussion while researching using the Prius as a power source for an RV. There is a way to use the big battery directly if you need more than 3000 watts.

 

[gabakusa]

I was thinking in a small 12v hair dryer too keep things worm or even an incandescent lightbulb would do the work

 

[maki2]

A small hair dryer and light bulb won't keep a Prius at 75 degrees in 0 degrees weather in a space that has very little insulation and lots of single pane glass. You had better plan on getting a sleeping bag rated for -20. The big advantage of the vehicle is you won't be dealing with the wind right on you. But you will likely be waking up to the inside of the windows covered in ice because of the moisture in your breath condensing on the windows and then freezing right away. 

I can tell that perhaps you have never gone camping in very cold weather or lived in a dwelling space that did not have adequate insulation and/or an inadequate heat source.  I have done both, I used to live in Alaska and that first fall I lived for a few months in a travel trailer. Even the gas in the fluorescent light bulbs froze. It was not a sustainable situation even with a down sleeping bag with two people sharing body warmth. We would never have survived any of the winter months when it would have reached 0 degrees or lower.

 

[SheepDog]

why not just get a good sleeping bag and not worry about artificial heat?  that is always my recommendation because any artificial heat system can fail and a sleeping bag will keep you warm no matter what.  highdesertranger

This is very sound advice likely derived from experience measured in decades not in guess work or keyboard commando adventures!

https://www.wiggys.com Makes real gear for real world cold weather and you’re unlikely to do better!

I tend to cheat when it gets cold and put a Nalgene bottle full of boiling water wrapped in a boot sock in the foot of my bag.

Heating the interior for an hour here or there is likely doable, but other than that insulate yourself and keep that space warm!

SD

 

[highdesertranger]

there is nothing wrong with cheating and using artificial heat.

just don't rely on artificial heat to keep you alive. staying alive is the most important issue here.

highdesertranger

 

[bullfrog]

Most every mechanical thing eventually has problems or breaks, so make sure you have a plan B. Condensation can and will become a problem without proper ventilation. Even most sleeping bags will not perform well wet. Make sure your bag will keep you warm even with the windows open on coldest night. The main reason most Prius owners use small electrical heaters is because when the Prius engine starts up it wakes them up and it is dry heat. I agree the less you can run the motor the better but not because it uses a gallon of gas, that is the least expensive part, but because of the maintenance and wear on the mechanical/electrical parts. I would think a 75 degree difference would require a lot of run time if just using the motor but you must consider that I believe the battery pack uses the heating and cooling system as well so maybe someone that has used a Prius in cold weather can chime in. Using a small 120 volt heater to supplement your cars heater I think would help especially since the inverter that is running it is inside the car will produce heat as well.

 

[Extra Terrific]

You can survive it , people have been doing it for 100's of years.
Rabbit fur blankets. Buy the pelts from a rabbit breeder and make your own as the blankets are very expensive.
If a rabbit can survive the winter in it, so will you. Pelts are 1.50 -3.00 . You want the rolled pelt type blanket. https://ourpastimes.com/how-to-make-a-rabbit-skin-blanket-12158071.html
https://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/rabbit-fur-blanket-zmaz83sozraw

You can insulate anything with cork roll , and elmers glue ,even your Prius https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr...A0.H0.Xcork+roll.TRS0&_nkw=cork+roll&_sacat=0
Its water proof, natural and never molds, cheap and contours to anything. They even make cork flooring.

 

[maki2]

Rabbit skins have to be properly tanned to be of any use as bed coverings. That is a lot of work. Then you have to trim them to size and sew them together ....by hand. One rabbit skin thick of a blanket won't keep you warm in zero degree weather. I have sewed rabbit skin before

Going to a thrift store and buying a couple of sleeping bags to layer up is far more practical as well as keeping you warmer and they will cost a lot less than buying skins and tanning materials.

Thin cork sheeting does not have all that great of R value. Most especially for price versus R value achieved. You are likely confusing it with another cork product with is called "expanded cork insulation" Those are very thick and ridged sheets that go through a special heat process that activates the natural binding resins in the cork. The thin cork sheets sold in stores for making cork boards use chemical resin binders and those sheets do not have good insulative value.

These things require a lot more in depth research into what processes are needed to prepare a material for particular uses rather than just remembering a casual mention of the name of a material and then assuming it is easy to achieve good insulation with all forms of material products.

There is an excellent video on youtube showing a tiny house built out of cork. It also shows and explains how the cork is processed starting with the harvest of the bark all the way though the shaping of the blocks of expanded cork to form the walls of the structure. Warning this video is nearly 30 minutes long but it is fascinating. A great channel to subscribe to if you have an interest in alternative dwelling spaces.

 

[maki2]

The rolls of sheet cork material sold for underlayment on the click together flooring is not there so much for insulation as it is not thick enough to provide any substantial R value. It's purpose is to absorb the sound created by people walking on the floor so that it does not transmit to lower floors that are inhabited. It also makes for a floor surface that has a little give to it allowing the planking above to more easily contract and expand.

 

[Extra Terrific]

The rolls of sheet cork material sold for underlayment on the click together flooring is not there so much for insulation as it is not thick enough to provide any substantial R value. It's purpose is to absorb the sound created by people walking on the floor so that it does not transmit to lower floors that are inhabited. It also makes for a floor surface that has a little give to it allowing the planking above to more easily contract and expand.

Wrong 
www.iCorkFloor.com
[size=medium][size=medium]https://www.icorkfloor.com/cork-underlayment-installation/[/SIZE]

* So if you’re looking for a floor that can do all that, then visit us at iCork Floor. We specialize in cork flooring products and strive to bring the best to you. Our expertise has helped hundreds of clients buy right from the start and aided them from making costly mistakes, we have even helped our customers refurbish an old cork floor. We’ve have helped advise with specialized projects such as boats, campers, RVs, Air Stream trailers, Double-Decker bus conversions, catamarans and Tiny-House installations.


*The 12mm cork underlay + 12mm floating floor will raise the temperature in the basement by 12 – 15 deg. Celsius (21-27F).


[/size]

 

[highdesertranger]

I have deleted couple of posts. show respect when you want to disagree with some one. highdesertranger

 

[mpruet]

Well, here's what I would do.  I don't particularly like this solution, but it's the best I can come up with.

The first thing would be to get a cold weather sleeping bag.  That will keep your body warm, but not your head.  You probably should get a ski cap for that.

So far I haven't seen any 12-volt heaters with a thermostat.  They might be some, but I haven't seen them.  If you can find a small space heater with a thermostat, then that might be ok.  The thermostat would need to be able to go very low - maybe 50 degrees.  This is not the main way to keep yourself warm at night - the sleeping bag does that.  The purpose of the heater is to keep the interior air above freezing.  

The space heater would be AC, not DC since DC heaters generally don't have a thermostat.  That means you would need to get some kind of power generator like a Jackery or Rockpals.  You would one with an pure sine wave inverter because a modified sine wave would cause the fan in the space heater to buzz.  Also it needs to be able to be recharged from a cigarette lighter plug, and can be charged and discharged at the same time. You would then plug the power generator into the car and the space heater into the generator.  Of course you would have the prius in 'ready' mode.

In effect this would be transferring power from the high voltage battery to the 12-volt battery to your power generator.   Your engine will periodically auto start when the high voltage battery drops, but it would not remain on nearly as long as when using the car's heater to remain warm.

There is a risk with this solution so be VERY CAREFUL THAT NOTHING FLAMMABLE can get close to the heating element.

I used a similar setup a while back to run my Dometic CF-18 when I was car camping in my Prius.  I wanted to be able to keep DC power to my fridge when I went on a hike, but didn't want to keep the car in 'ready' state while I was away.   My power generator provided the power when the car was off and automatically would be recharged once I got back.

 

[mpruet]

One other comment.  When I was car camping in my Prius there were several times that I kept the car heater on over night.  I didn't use a gallon of gas, but it was only in the mid-30s.