[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]What if your a winter lover? The great Northwoods! Does running a 12V blanket in a running auto wear your battery out faster? It is more important to start the vehicle, than to be warm. Any skiiers out there doing this?[/font]
not chasing 70, now where?
- Thread starter notsosure
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Running a vehicle wears out everything faster in my opinion in fact this whole post is only my opinion. Forget using the vehicle's charging system. You are better off making sure you can survive the coldest night with the windows open in a quality sleeping bag rated well below the temps your are going to be in. Electricity is a poor way to heat space unless you can plug into the grid or have a Prius. Vented propane like the NuWay stoves or wood, if you have room work well. Condensation will become a bigger problem than the cold with unvented propane heat sources and the fact you will probably have wet clothing drying in your living space will make it even worse. All this depends on how you handle the cold and how you handle risk, a few have lived through Alaskan winters with plenty of ventilation and unvented propane heat but malfunctions will cost you brain cells is not your life. Remember falling snow and ice can and do cover vents. If your a winter lover get a seasonal job at a ski slope and split an apartment with several other winter lovers!
There are plenty of sub-zero sleeping bags available that work well. I have one in my icehouse just in case something goes wrong with my furnace. And extra wool blankets. I tend to keep the thermostat set between 60-65°F (around 17°C) anyway, so thermal PJs are necessary in the winter. If my heater went out I'd be fine.
It makes a lot of sense to me to have the gear available for a worst case scenario than to rely on running your vehicle and possibly killing yourself with carbon monoxide. I've winter camped many times, it's quite comfy in the right bag.
I can't comment on the electric blanket, as I've never used one. With the right bag you wouldn't need it though. I have used a hot water bottle by my feet, though. Set up correctly ( wrapped in a wool sweater) it's still just a bit warm in the morning, and my feet stay nice and toasty all night.
I couldn't sleep in a running car. I'd be to worried about gassing myself out in my sleep.
Best of luck,
~angie
Sent from my VS501 using Tapatalk
It makes a lot of sense to me to have the gear available for a worst case scenario than to rely on running your vehicle and possibly killing yourself with carbon monoxide. I've winter camped many times, it's quite comfy in the right bag.
I can't comment on the electric blanket, as I've never used one. With the right bag you wouldn't need it though. I have used a hot water bottle by my feet, though. Set up correctly ( wrapped in a wool sweater) it's still just a bit warm in the morning, and my feet stay nice and toasty all night.
I couldn't sleep in a running car. I'd be to worried about gassing myself out in my sleep.
Best of luck,
~angie
Sent from my VS501 using Tapatalk
Never used the car charger for anything but my phone. As for wearing things out faster and what others have written, that I don't know.
My first thought is will the electric blanket draw more than the car charger wiring can handle and burn up your electrical system? Something you may want to research before plugging in.
My first thought is will the electric blanket draw more than the car charger wiring can handle and burn up your electrical system? Something you may want to research before plugging in.
BuckleBrown
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Hotwater bottles for the win!
For a couple hundred years it has been invaluable to keep folks snug. Having 2 of them could be the way to go. As it jsut started snowing and with a windchill of 15 tomorrow, all I can think of is how to get 80-90f.
For a couple hundred years it has been invaluable to keep folks snug. Having 2 of them could be the way to go. As it jsut started snowing and with a windchill of 15 tomorrow, all I can think of is how to get 80-90f.
Hi Notsosure-notsosure said:
Ok, so I'm so confused about your question. What did you mean to ask originally? Maybe I just don't understand why you would need a heated blanket while driving? Or maybe I'm just misunderstanding all of this. Please repost. Thankyou.
~angie
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MrAlvinDude
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Stargazer said:
hmmmm..... wires can indeed be over heated, by excessive loads. Most vehicles (if not all) will however have a fuse for every wire. So the fuse will blow, before the wire overheats.
I think that the overheating issue is more likely to happen in the connector.
Especially if a 12V cigi-style plugs is involved - as this style of plug does not have a vibration proofed lock-in mechanism in its design.
The 12V cigi-style connectors rely on spring loaded friction to prevent it from becoming a weak/bad/overheating connector. And this is simply not a reliable design.
So even though it is in widespread use (for historic reasons) it is often due to a weak connection in a plug, that anything overheats.
notsosure said:
If you car is running, the power typically comes from the alternator, and not from the battery. So using a heating blanket while driving, will basically not have any effect on your battery.
Many cars even come with a heating option built right into the seat.
When the car engine is however only idling, the alternator may not produce enough energy to fully power all things electrical in a vehicle, so you should not rely on an idling engine to be able to power things for hours on end.
If you need something electrical to function, for hours on end, when only idling the engine, them make sure to turn off the high power loads, like; headlights, vent air-blower, electric window defrosters, and the likes.
I have found that a queen size electric blanket uses about 120 watts on the high setting (both sides together). Since you don't keep it on full all night (it cycles anyway), typically you will use 300 to 600 watt-hr per night. Our 3000 watt-hr goal zero yeti can thus run a electric blanket for nearly a week.
When my 1989 Starcraft conversion van had the heater core go South during the Winter, I tried using an auxillary "automobile heater". It wouldn't stay running because the fuse kept blowing..the only way the wire would short out, or burn up, is if you had a fuse too big for the load.
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