brad 11 Jan 06

Hah hah!

I think, though, that you’d need an extra battery to make something like that work. Electric resistance heating uses a lot of power, and you might not have enough juice on a cold morning to both start your car and run an electric resistance heater. But there’s got to be some way to do it!

Greg 11 Jan 06

Jason, you should try to add more vegetable oil, that will make it heat up faster.

Noah Winecoff 11 Jan 06

My ‘02 BMW 325i heats up in about 3 minutes and it didn’t cost 51 grand =B.

Anon 11 Jan 06

The Prius has instant-on electric heating, powered by the main battery.

Jake 11 Jan 06

Sorta like Brad said, I don’t think it’s as easy as it sounds. The popcorn machine has access to power immediately (from your outlet), while the car needs to start the engine and charge the battery so all the things in your car work.



From what I understand, things that make things much hotter/colder (refrigerators, hairdryers, microwaves) take a LOT of power.



Because of that, I’m guessing that unless the battery was way bigger, the quick-heater would probably sap all the power out of your battery (seeing as how you’d only use it in the winter, and the battery is already diminished from sitting out in the cold all night. I could easily be wrong though, I don’t know that much about power/heating. If it worked, I’d love it.

Charles Martin 11 Jan 06

Physics is such a pain in the ass.

Get a car with electric seat warmers, like my ‘95 Mercedes.

rabbit 11 Jan 06

Jason, do you really eat popcorn for breakfast? :)

Patrick Haney 11 Jan 06

You need one of those plugged-in cars that preheat the engine for you in the morning. No, seriously.

I can’t remember who made it or what model it was (it could’ve been a line of trucks), but I remember seeing a feature that would allow you to “plug” your vehicle into an open wall socket, say in your garage, which would keep the engine warm overnight. Then, when you’re ready to leave for work, you’d unplug it and start it up with heat right away.

Though I’d rather not have to plug and unplug my car everyday.

Gnome 11 Jan 06

I second the heated seats. Living in the cold-as-all-get-out midwest during the winter, my heated seats are nice and toasty within 4 minutes, and within 10 they are kicking out the heat. It’s so nice I doubt I’ll be able to buy a car without them again.

Geof Harries 11 Jan 06

The important part to remember here is the 3000x price difference between the 2 units.

Forget about the excuses of why this may not be scientifically possible - for all of the money auto manufacturers have pulled in over the last century, we should each be driving hover cars that never break down or need filling up. The instant heating feature should be base - living in the Yukon we could sure use it too. Those -50 mornings really suck.

Auto manufacturers continue to churn out vehicles that are purposely under-built and under-featured. Real-world consumer needs don’t seem to matter much to anyone with a robot assembly line.

Rob Poitras 11 Jan 06

There is also the problem with adding more “stuff” to the car to have the instant heating function.

Jason, do you really eat popcorn for breakfast? :)

When I make popcorn at night I make extra for the next morning or whenever. Stale popcorn in the morning with fresh oj is awesome.

Anonymous Coward 11 Jan 06

Hey man, I’m here in Chicago too. Don’t jinx the winter weather for the rest of us! Sadly, I’m actually happy when its only 40 degrees outside!!

Ara Pehlivanian 11 Jan 06

Probably because your popcorn popper isn’t sitting in weather that’s below zero and so it only needs to raise the heat of the ambient air that it’s sucking a few degrees higher. Whereas your car is sucking freezing air with no heat in it at all, so it needs to work harder to raise its heat (hence the tepid air you get at first).

It’s not less to do with the price of the product and more to do with physics I’m afraid.

Ian Bicking 11 Jan 06

I can sit on my bike for hours waiting for it to warm up, and I get nothing. But as soon as I start on my trip it warms right up. Seat warmers? You can get closer to the skin than that.

I’ve heard that Priuses actually store coolant in an insulated area of the car, so that not just the inside of the car but the engine also heats up very quickly. (It might use electricity in addition.) This reduces emissions because a warm engine has much better emissions. It might also be used to keep the batteries warm…?

I am guessing that on a cold morning, in most cars the batteries simply aren’t up to it. Batteries lose most of their power when they are cold (two thirds?), and heating uses a lot of power. I bet the wattage on that popcorn popper is surprisingly high; 500W perhaps? Prius can probably also spare some electrical energy, since it has so much extra battery. An actual electric car couldn’t, because it actually needs that power, which is why they never sold electrical cars in Chicago.

David 11 Jan 06

In reference to Patrick Haney’s comment, many car manufacturers offer an engine block heater as an option that can be added even after your initial purchase. These plug into ordinary wall outlets and have a coil that heats your engine oil. If your engine is already warm when you start your car, then the heat will be there much quicker when you start driving.

Dave Simon 11 Jan 06

First suggestion: Get yourself an engine block heater. (So you can plug your car in at night and keep the engine from getting so cold that it’s tough to start.)

Second suggestion: You live in Chicago. Buy some gloves and toughen up a bit. :) Try getting up to go to the gym before the sun comes up in 30 below zero temps in Montana in winter. In my 1991 Ford Ranger (wife gets the nice Passat with the garage spot.) Then you’ll know what cold is!

Don Wilson 11 Jan 06

Here’s an idea for you:

Take the popcorn popper outside, leave it out overnight, walk out in the morning and see how long it takes to pop the popcorn compared to the indoor way.

brad 11 Jan 06

The problem with an engine block heater if you live in an apartment building in the city is that you need a 300-foot extension cord to run from your window down to the car, and chances are good that some hooligan will unplug it during the night anyway. Even if your building has a parking garage, chances are slim that they provide electric outlets for free electricity.

When I lived in Vermont and kept my car in the barn, the block heater was great. But in the city, I don’t think it’s a very practical solution.

Jeff L 11 Jan 06

I love Don’s idea, and while I don’t think it would have quite the effect he is hoping it might, I’d still be interested in the outcome. Let us know if you try it, Jason.

Mike 11 Jan 06

I find it very satisfying that you spent $51,000 on a car that is basically a meat locker (my $15k xA does the same thing for a lot less dough).

Kevin 11 Jan 06

Just get an automatic car starter installed. about $250 installed. Hit the button, go out in 10 minutes and be warm.

Daniel 11 Jan 06

I solved this issue a long time ago… It was rather simple actually. I moved to Southern California.

brad 11 Jan 06

You will save tons of wear and tear on the car, and your gas milage, once the engine is warm, will be much better.

Yes, but you’ll get exactly 0 mpg for the 10 minutes your car is sitting there warming up, the effect of which is likely to outweigh any subsequent improvement in gas mileage!

Aapo Laitinen 11 Jan 06

In addition to an engine block heater, cars sold in countries with colder climates typically have an electric socket in the passenger side legroom. You can plug an electric heater there and it too will get power when the car is plugged in.

The first attempts at car interior heating involved passing engine exhaust to the cabin. I’m glad that idea didn’t stay :)

Mark 11 Jan 06

Agree these comments may jinx the warm January we are enjoying in Chicago. Be careful, JF. ;)

Global Warming = the best thing that ever happened to Chicago.

adam 11 Jan 06

takes about 20 seconds to get warm pedaling on my bike. enjoy the traffic.

phil 11 Jan 06

I’m pretty sure you guys are all wrong. Once the car is started doesn’t all the electricity come from the alternator, not the battery? So it seems to me if you had a DC to AC converter (which they sell for cars), you could hook the popcorn popper up inside your car and you’d be nice and toasty.

The problem is that for every car I know of the heat comes from the engine being hot… the auto manufacturers should just hook up an electric heater that runs until the engine gets hot.

blah.

vishi 11 Jan 06

Buy a $60 remote car starter and start the car while you eat the popcorn.

Don’t blame the car designer. Thank the remote starter creator.

brad 11 Jan 06

Once the car is started doesn�t all the electricity come from the alternator, not the battery?

Try disconnecting your battery after starting your car and I think you’ll see it’s not quite that simple.

But at any rate, I don’t think most alternators could handle the heavy load required for resistance heating either. Some cars can barely handle the load of having your bright lights, radio, and fan turned all the way to maxium at the same time as you raise or lower your electric windows.

Dan Boland 11 Jan 06

Agree these comments may jinx the warm January we are enjoying in Chicago. Be careful, JF. ;)

Well, the jinx won’t take effect tomorrow (1/12)…

phil 11 Jan 06

“Try disconnecting your battery after starting your car and I think you�ll see it�s not quite that simple.”

Ever had your car jumped? Car still runs even though your battery is dead.

beth 11 Jan 06

You know, those remote starters work like crap too. I had one in my car, and it made some crazy problem where sometimes I couldn’t turn my car off.

Richard 11 Jan 06

There are plenty of aftermarket options to heat your car, I even remember some german variant of the “Pimp my Ride” TV Show where they installed three different heating solutions into one car, crazy people.

Adam Kalsey 11 Jan 06

Try disconnecting your battery after starting your car and I think you�ll see it�s not quite that simple.

Very few electric things continue to work when you break the circuit. Try connecting the two ends of the battery terminal cables with jumper cables and then disconnect your battery.

Of course, you might want to make sure you’re well insulated before messing with the electric system on a running automobile.

Drew McLellan 11 Jan 06

I don’t think this is about popcorn at all. What’s the betting this idea came to Jason as he was blow-drying his hair this morning?

Audi drivers, eh?

Sorry Jason ;-)

Simon Warrick 11 Jan 06

I was thinking similar thoughts about instant electric heat not long ago when we had a freeze up for nearly a week here in the UK. Problem is my daily driver is now 44 years old.

Just turning the blower fan on when I’ve already got the lights on, the radio (with real valves - takes about 1 min to switch on), and the wipers to scrape the frost away causes the battery to go flat after a 25 mile run to work…

The joys of old fashioned motoring. Makes me appreciate the little things in life!

Dave Walsh 11 Jan 06

Surprising how no one’s been inquiring what Jason’s driving? He was cool enough to disclose the class of vehicle he’s enjoying, but I’d be interesting to know what he chose for his daily driver.

Jason, why do I have it in my head that you drive an S4? Maybe you posted that sometime in the past?

Matt Gorecki 11 Jan 06

Man, you guys are funny.

I take it most of you have never lived anywhere with a real winter, except for Dave (Montana can be a bitch in the winter, I live in Helena).

Phil, the battery isn’t there for shits and giggles. Where do you think the initial power comes from to turn the engine over when the car starts? Oh, that’s the battery. An alternator only works if the engine is running. It is basically a small generator that gets turned by the engine while the engine is running. And all it does is charge the battery. All the electricity your car uses while running comes directly from the battery and the alternator charges the battery while the engine is running. Thats why you can turn your lights and radio on while the car is off.

Andrew 11 Jan 06

Hint: Let your car idle for 30-60 seconds with the air turned off completely, then start driving away, THEN turn on the heater. Heats up much faster that way

SH 11 Jan 06

Jason drives an S4 in a beautiful shade of “Look-at-me-Don’t-look-at-me” Gray. It’s lovely.

:)ensen 11 Jan 06

I notice a number of things that haven’t been touched on:

First, there is a huge difference between the energy required to heat up the large volume of air inside the car and the the volume of air required to pop corn. Let’s say it’s a 3000:1 difference. Even putting heating coils in the climate system can only pump hot so much hot air. More air and the resulting output will only be lukewarm.

Second, the power available from the car’s charging system is significantly lower than that from a 120V socket. I estimate this at 400W vs 1800W. A bigger charging system will only work at the expense of fuel economy.

Third, the reason it takes so long for a car to warm up is because of the of the mass of the engine block, which in turn transfers the energy to the coolant and then the little radiator in the heater. Having a block heater does not improve the amount of energy used as most people plug them in overnight, wasting most of it. Notice that little cars tend to warm up after about 3 minutes of driving vs. older V8s that would take forever.

These lead to some interesting improvements:

1) A block heater with an timer that won’t connect it until an hour before start-up. Or for really cold climates, a temperature controller that keeps the engine from dipping below some preset temperature.

2) Instead of pumping coolant through the radiator when the engine is cold, the engine could divert all coolant to the heat exchanger.

3) A heat exchanger for the exhaust manifold.

4) Turning off your 400W stereo system and diverting the electricity to heat.

Chris 11 Jan 06

Wow! Down here in Phoenix I was running my A/C today as I drove to work. It was a balmy 70 degrees here today and I ate lunch outdoors!! ;-)

No, seriously. I’d say the same thing but in reverse: Why can’t I have instant cold air in the summer?

Sam Ryan 11 Jan 06

I second riding your bike to work.

[disclaimer: I live in San Diego, where winter is someone else’s problem]

What kind of popcorn is best for breakfast?

phil 11 Jan 06

Matt said “Phil, the battery isn�t there for shits and giggles. “

Yeah, like you say it’s to start the car. This whole thread is about what happens after you start the car. You can get 1000W out of an alternator, that’s enough to drive an electric heater for the instant heat when you start the car, plus everything else you need (radio, spark plugs, etc). Obviously as the engine heats up you switch over to engine block heat….

Chris D 11 Jan 06

“Ever had your car jumped? Car still runs even though your battery is dead.”

Go buy a brand new battery, ask the dealer not to pour the acid in, install it in their parking lot, call a towing to get a boost and watch the folks laugh at you silly.

duh

Amr Malik 11 Jan 06

Time for an opensource car. LoL

my soon to be ex-car only turns the fan on when the air has reached a certain temp. Maybe you’re just driving a GM ?

RJB 11 Jan 06

Come now… I live for Chicago winters.

No. Not the warm weather wer’e having now … IT’S JANURARY! and 41F … something aint right.

brian 11 Jan 06

“Go buy a brand new battery, ask the dealer not to pour the acid in, install it in their parking lot, call a towing to get a boost and watch the folks laugh at you silly.

duh”

what does this mean? He’s right… if you jump a car with a bad battery it will still start… and stay running.

Lance C 11 Jan 06

Stick your car in low gear (if it’s a manual) and it should heat up fast. Or you could just stick in nuetral and rev for awhile. Waste of gas, but it works. There’s also something called “time management”.. start your car BEFORE you leave.;) Another option might be to move somewhere warmer than Chicago!

I own a 94 Celica in MI frigid weather conditions. I’m blessed that it’s hot in my car after 1 minute of travel.:)

Joe B. 12 Jan 06

Previous to my current Toyota Tacoma I had a Mitsubish 3000GT VR4 (Twin Turbo)… those turbos got hot FAST. I was always amazed at how fast the car heated up. It also stayed hot for a long time. So when you go to a movie at the theater, then get back in your car the engine is still almost as warm as it was when you parked.

So… strap on a turbo or two, that’ll heat things up fast. :)

ramin 12 Jan 06

While the battery isn’t really necessary as an electric source when the engine is running, using most of the energy provided by the alternator for long periods of time will cause the alternator to overheat and burn itself out much faster than normal use would.

If you really need to have your car interior warm up faster, the solution suggested above by Aapo is the way to go. But please, Chicago isn’t that cold. Just forget fashion and dress sensibly.

Newer diesels in Nordic countries often come with the webasto pre-installed because the heat created by a modern diesel engine isn’t enough to heat the interior of a car at temperatures below -20 C. Trust me, I know this since my car’s system is broken down at the moment.

Stefan 12 Jan 06

I’m amazed that no one mentioned “auxiliary heaters” yet.

These things - though still 100 times more expensive than your beloved popcorn popper - burn small amounts of the engine’s gas to either heat the car interior directly or the engines liquid cooling system.

That creates about 2-6 Kilowatt of heat. All controlled with a remote or a timer or both.

Since ramin mentioned it, Webasto is a well-known manufacturer of these things over here (Germany):
http://www.webasto.com/products/en/3119_3376.html

Ben 12 Jan 06

Most current generation alternators put out at least around 100 amps, and some digging around online seems to point to Jason having 150 amps available in his S4. So, at roughly 14 volts, Jason’s got over 2000 watts available, peak.

Now the vehicle takes electrical power to operate, and to charge the battery, of course. And an alternator literally works harder as the demand for power goes up (it changes its own magnetic fields depending on how low the voltage drops). And the increased load also lowers your mpg efficiency a bit. So you don’t want to draw TOO much, for TOO long.

But running say 500 or 1000 watts through an electic heater for 5 or 10 minutes would be a big user experience boon without THAT much wear on the car. And that’s a pretty beefy alternator already, so it’d be fine. And the minor increase in fuel consumption during that time would also help heat the engine faster, thus shortening the amount of time supplemental heating would be desired. (That’s why revving the engine doesn’t help as much as you’d think… there’s no load, so very little fuel is burned, so not much heat.)

Audi is all about the user experience, right? They really ought to implement this, even if it requires an even beefier alternator.

(I should add, I think if you go up a few more car classes from Jason’s S4, this feature already exists. I’d bet the A8 does this, and I’m pretty sure the top end Mercedes (et al) does also.)

(Oh and about the webasto type heaters, that’s a fairly good way to do it also, but the point is that the OEM should be building this sort of functionality into the car, no matter which technology they use.)

Stefan 12 Jan 06

Ben, over here you can add an auxiliary heater to most mid-range cars and up when ordering.

For some of the sports models (like the AUDI S4, BMW M3) it’s not available. I guess this is because of space restraints. It seems sometimes less isn’t more (SCNR ;-)

Tim Almond 12 Jan 06

Why are cars so expensive?

Why does electronics continue to deliver more and more, while reducing price. Airfares here in the UK keep dropping.

I know there has been some improvement in cars, but for me, it’s reached a plateau. Once you’ve got ABS, cruise control, airbags and heated seats, you are getting features that are on a parallel with Clippy. I don’t need automatic wipers. I know when it’s raining.

The price for all these things keeps adding to the price, where in consumer electronics terms, you typically get more, and the price either stays static or goes down. They are made in factories, just like digital cameras or fridges.

It seems to me that the car industry needs someone to come in and shake it up.

Kevin 12 Jan 06

Just get an automatic car starter installed. about $250 installed. Hit the button, go out in 10 minutes and be warm.

Bruno Figueiredo 12 Jan 06

My car manual (I have a VW Polo) says that the car can’t turn on the heat instantely because it would instantely fog up the windows due to the temperature differences and that would be a safety hazzard. It makes sense.

And if it takes 10 minutes to heat up, you are living in freezing weather… My car only takes 3 minutes. BTW, I live in Portugal, where in the winter temperatures are around 50-60 degrees.

Alan 12 Jan 06

How about adding 5(?) minutes to each trip out to the car, so 5 minutes before it’s time to go, run up stairs, down stairs, up stairs, down strairs (you’re seeing a pattern here eh?). Then, after 5 minutes you’ll be SO freakin’ hot you’ll be GLAD of that luuurevly cool car journey. Ok. Maybe not.

Spike 12 Jan 06

http://www.business-opportunities.biz/projects/how-much-is-your-blog-worth/?url=www.37signals.com%2Fsvn

Woah. Sell.

Asthmatic child pf 12 Jan 06

I’m surprised by the lack of guilt about

Darrel 12 Jan 06

I want a solar panelled sunroof. In the summer, it’d power a fan while the car is parked. In the winter, it’d power a heater while the car is parked.

JF 12 Jan 06

I want a solar panelled sunroof. In the summer, it�d power a fan while the car is parked. In the winter, it�d power a heater while the car is parked.

This is an option on the Audi A8 (and I believe the old RS6 as well).

Sarah Dawson 12 Jan 06

Why does the popcorn popper make hot air faster?

That’s what it’s designed to do.

Cars are designed to get you from point A to point B in reasonable safety and comfort. You’re comparing apples and oranges.

And I get around the whole issue in the morning by having an attached garage - it’s the ‘coming home from work’ warmup that bone-numbing cold gets me. Sometimes, I’m lucky enough to work up a sweat shovelling 6” of snow off my car while the car warms up, though.

Joshua Bloom 12 Jan 06

Hey everybody.

If you want your car to heat up faster on those cold days, you need to restrict the airflow that goes over your radiator.

Easiest way to do that?
Get a piece of cardboard and stick it between your grille and your radiator.

Don’t forget to remove it when the outside temp warms up.

kaysov 12 Jan 06

With ALL those cars out on the road, arent we contributing enough to the global warming phenomenon? Dont such energy-sapping devices end up making Chicago and winters even warmer? Oh, yeah thats a way to get everybody warm!

Don Schenck 12 Jan 06

An engine block heater — you plug it in to a wall outlet — is the best low-cost option for a car. It’s an absolute MUST in my book.

Not only do you get instant heat, but it saves a TON of wear and tear on the engine. No thick, sludgy oil in the morning.

Rob Cameron 13 Jan 06

Get a remote starter for your car!

Before you get out of your car, make sure your heater is turned on full blast. When you’re getting ready to leave home/work, remote start your car 10 minutes before you’re actually going to leave. Then when you step in the car it’ll be all warm and toasty for ya.

Max Howell 13 Jan 06

The obvious solution is 36V batteries, thus trippling the power. I even read about how some car manufacturer was considering 36V batteries for the exact purpose discussed in the blog.

It never happened though because the car-industry is totally stagnant. Go-go popcorn-maker-industry!

Can 14 Jan 06

It’s fun to hear the comments. You all guys should be engineers. Come’n this couldn’t be rocket science. Yes, I understand it can’t be that easy. But, we’re talking about customers who’re cold.

Maybe we need to explain them these technical issues? Who cares, if my blow dryer could do it, a car should also do it.

Scott McCarty 16 Jan 06

A remote starter is a great idea however it would be illegal to use one where I live. Louisville, KY passed a law last year that you can be fined for warming up your car if you’re not in it. It was a law designed to reduce car thefts in the area. I’m not sure of the fine amounts but it was enough to make you reconsider wanting to be warm on your way to work in the morning. I live in a condo and don’t have a garage so hooking up an AC heater wouldn’t be a good alternative for me either.

Of course, this isn’t Chicago but it got down to 14 a few weeks ago. My car didn’t start but my motorcycle did so I rode that into work.

Bruno Figueiredo 17 Jan 06

One more thing you can do to speed up the heating is to push the air recirculation button on your car. This way you can speed up the process three times faster.

dumb one 17 Jan 06

I can’t believe your readers are that dumb! Once you start the engine, you have all its horsepower at your disposal. It doesn’t matter neither for engine, nor for battery whether you spend this power accelerating 0-100mph in 6 seconds or heating the cabin in seconds. Simply connect a dedicated ~2KW electric generator to engine and hit up the car in seconds.

Duh!

There’s also enough power to quickly melt all the snow/ice on windshield from _outside_, instead of waiting for 10-15 minutes to melt if from inside.

mark 26 Jan 06

Please people, before you start passing out info, make sure you know your facts. #1 Most cars/trucks will run with battery disconnected, or removed for that matter! The battery is for starting. Once started the alternater supplies ALL the power for ALL the accessories! #2 Most electric appliances like a pop corn popper run at 1000-2000 watts. #3 Block heaters do not keep the temprature at 180 degrees fareinheight, the average temprature of a warmed up engine! #4 I’ve had old cadilacs that had electric heat to compensate for cold mornings. For those of you that don’t think the common alternator can handle converting electricity to heat: I hate to inform you but heated seats are not MAGIC, they’re ELECTRIC!! Please do not think i’m trying to be inflammitory or inappropriate but some of the comments posted were discustingly incorrect. Almost as bad as my spelling and grammer! I can assure you that what i have said can be taken as fact. I am a certified automotive mechanic from the eastern United States.

mark 26 Jan 06

Please people, before you start passing out info, make sure you know your facts. #1 Most cars/trucks will run with battery disconnected, or removed for that matter! The battery is for starting. Once started the alternater supplies ALL the power for ALL the accessories! #2 Most electric appliances like a pop corn popper run at 1000-2000 watts. #3 Block heaters do not keep the temprature at 180 degrees fareinheight, the average temprature of a warmed up engine! #4 I’ve had old cadilacs that had electric heat to compensate for cold mornings. For those of you that don’t think the common alternator can handle converting electricity to heat: I hate to inform you but heated seats are not MAGIC, they’re ELECTRIC!! Please do not think i’m trying to be inflammitory or inappropriate but some of the comments posted were discustingly incorrect. Almost as bad as my spelling and grammer! I can assure you that what i have said can be taken as fact. I am a certified automotive mechanic from the eastern United States.

BigCell 27 Jan 06

Hi,
2006 Wolksvagen Transporter Thermal Van has a pre heating system.

You set the timer to the 30 mins before you will use the vehicle in the morning and the electric heater. And when you get in, whoaaa it is warm :)

Peter 18 May 06

Buy a ford, warms up quickly and most of them have a heated windscreen! My 1986 Granada had a heated windscreen and defrosts in 2 miniutes!

Peter, UK

Peter 18 May 06

Buy a ford, warms up quickly and most of them have a heated windscreen! My 1986 Granada had a heated windscreen and defrosts in 2 miniutes!

Peter, UK

Peter 18 May 06

Buy a ford, warms up quickly and most of them have a heated windscreen! My 1986 Granada had a heated windscreen and defrosts in 2 miniutes!

Peter, UK

Ed 20 Aug 06

I had a 1974 Pontiac LeMans. It had a heater hose which ran directly off the block, ahead of the thermostat. This blew hot air almost instantly, a plus in central Wis.

If I didn’t live in the far south today, I’d change hose routing
to get block coolant in the heater core instead of radiator coolant.