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Wouldn't the sudden air movement when you turn the fan on set off the car alarm?
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Years ago I knew a fellow, we'll call him Stan. Stan lived in a small village and was an owner driver of an articulated truck. A normally gentle giant of a man but much feared on the local rugby scene.
He kept his truck behind the house on some land he owned. One morning he got up, started his wife's car to defrost it and walked round to his truck to begin his day. Something drew him to drive it back round to the front where he witnessed what we now know to refer to as a "froster" in the process of stealing his wife's car. He drew the truck across his drive to block the thief's exit and got out to "have a word". I expect that was not one of frosty's better days.......
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Quote:...""My pet hate is people leaving there cars running 1st thing in the morning....
Doesn't do your engine any good either, all that excess petrol being sloshed around the bores....
De-icer or a container full of tepid water,job done...""
I need to warm one of my cars up for 5-10 minutes on frosty mornings or it doesn't run properly. The best way to clear ice from windows is hottish water - people say the heat shock can break the glass - maybe if you use boiling water on glass that's -30 C, but warm on just below freezing is OK. I never used de-icer as it marks the paintwork.
My pet hate is people who drive off on a frosty morning before the windows are cleared - with just a little hole scraped for the driver to peer through.
Edited by Sofa Spud on 14/12/2009 at 10:22
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Quote:...""My pet hate is people leaving there cars running 1st thing in the morning....
>>
Can I add a detail to that..... People who do this EARLY in the morning, leaving their cars running at eg 6.30am when a large number of other people are still in bed and didn't want to wake up for maybe another hour.
The number of times I've been woken up early on a winter morning by some thoughtless idiot defrosting their car for 5/6 minutes and waking up half the street in the process
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I never leave the car engine running to warm up the car after my brother taught me a lesson. Good few years ago I had a corsa and I started the engine and went inside to have a cup of tea. My brother woke up and purposely moved my car from driveway and parked it few houses down so I couldn't easily see the car. Locked it and came back inside and asked me where my car was. That taught me a good lesson.
Since then I fill couple of liters mug when I've shower with hot water and leave it nearby the door. When I'm leaving the house, I start up the engine and use that water to de-frost the windows and windscreen and then drive off.
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This is especially annoying when the neighbour in question has a diesel.
Clatter, clatter, clatter.
Crunch crunch crunch on his gravel drive.
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The number of times I've been woken up early on a winter morning by some thoughtless idiot defrosting their car for 5/6 minutes and waking up half the street in the process
Some of us 'thoughtless idiot's' wish we could stay in bed, but have to get to work, so the rest of the world can have their cars repaired on time!
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My pet hate is people who drive off on a frosty morning before the windows are cleared - with just a little hole scraped for the driver to peer through.
Actually, leaning forward to peer through the little hole gives you a wider field of vision as the 'A' pillars aren't in the way.
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this is known as "frosting" in the criminal world
That's funny, not very long ago a car like that was called a "steamer". I've never heard "frosting" before.
Edited by FotheringtonThomas on 14/12/2009 at 10:49
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As the festive season arrives, it's not a bad idea to take a flask of warm water out with you to any evening bashes you go to.
I've come out of a restaurant a few times to find ice on the screen late at night.
It's not easy to see through a frosted screen when you've had 8 pints with chasers, a couple of bottles of wine and a large dollop of sherry trifle !..........only teasing, ossifer ..hic !"
Ted
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It's not easy to see through a frosted screen when you've had 8 pints with chasers a couple of bottles of wine and a large dollop of sherry trifle
Just do what I do and breath on the glass. It soons defrosts after a skinfull.
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Sofa Spud, above, says "I have never used de-icer and it marks the paintwork." An alarming thought but I have never experienced this. Has anyone else?
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De-icer can leave a smeary screen. Far too much like hard work anyway all that scraping. Just stand by the car with a cup of tea and a cig watching it defrost itself and betting on whose bedroom lights come on if you have a diesel.....
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Listen, If I am up and off to work at 06:30 on a cold and frosty morning, I consider it my duty to wake everyone else up nearby.
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Makes them "healthy, wealthy and wise" anyway. We are doing them a favour.
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Exactly
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Does nobody cover their screens anymore?If it looks frosty and I have to be off early I put a double sheet of thick polythene over the screen,trapped in the doors,offcuts of Visqueen work well.Otherwise I favour the fan heater method.
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Sometimes my garage door lock needs a skoosh of de-icer......
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Sometimes my garage door lock needs a skoosh of de-icer......
How primitive, I just press the button on the remote control or garage wall. :-)
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You still living in the garage bobby? Thought the fire damage had been fixed?
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Sierraman, I was wondering that as well! As the Roomie is quite a big car I tend to cover the front and side windows and use the heater to clear the back...
With regards to those who complain about those of us who have to go to work early (sometimes 3am in my case), just remember that without us you wouldn't have a train to travel into work in come the rush hour - they don't run trains at that time so we transport workers don't have a lot of choice!
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House fixed AE. Just a lot more peaceful in the garage!
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Just do what I do and breath on the glass. It soons defrosts after a skinfull. Might be a problem there, AE , probably quite difficult to actually breathe after that lot !
Ted
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My chauffeuse has strict instructions to ensure the interior of the car is warm before she collects me from the pub, restaurant or nightclub that I have deigned to honour with my presence.
Edited by madf on 14/12/2009 at 16:42
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My chauffeuse has strict instructions........
I take it she does not read this forum. :-)
Edited by Old Navy on 14/12/2009 at 16:48
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I start my wife`s indirect injection Punto diesel at around 6.20 to defrost and put some residual heat into it before she goes out into the cold and dark to start her Home Care work.
There`s a wheezing until it catches and then a hideous braying noise - with simultaneous plumes of white/ pale blue smoke followed by steaming. After a while if atmospheric conditions are right, there is a sort of stratified layer of emission at head height, right down the valley.
After a while as it warms, the sound subdues to that of a tractor and it can be heard right out of sight.
I wish you could still buy one new - the engine has real character.
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Strolled past a local blinged up black Range Rover Sport V8 idling away. Returned from the post office 40 minutes later and it was still ticking over and the whole cul de sac stunk of exhaust fumes. The owner was nearby in the garage , next to his blinged up black Nissan Navarra. I'm sure he is a charming and modest chap.
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When I ran petrol recovery vehicles and a service van, I had a good scheme going.
I needed to have the engine running a bit faster whilst I charged a customers battery.
I fitted a switch in the cab which fed the ignition independently from the key. I could then take the key out and lock the door.....steering lock engaged. In those times there was also a ' speed up ' screw on the carb....I used to extend this and weld a ' T ' piece across the top....easy to adjust without a screwdriver !
I don't think you could do the wiring trick with modern systems...I could be wrong !
Ted
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>>' speed up ' screw on the carb
When was the last recovery vehicle you came across fittted with a carb'?
I suppose it helped the dynamo. ;>)
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That was back in the ' trailer ' days...no slide backs or spec lifts then. Petrol LWB Transit with Harmo extension. Nissan Patrol/ Range/Land Rovers.....crude but effective.
Earned the money...that's what mattered !
Ted
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The police often have the ability to remove the key from ignition and leave car running don't they? But without the key it cannot be driven off.
Probably about to be told no.
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ability to remove the key from ignition and leave car running don't they? But without the key it cannot be driven off.
I use a steering wheel lock when I want to warm the car up without me in it.
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I fitted a switch in the cab which fed the ignition independently from the key.
My landcruiser has a switch which raises the revs slightly at idle (to maybe 1200 rpm) so it warms up quicker on these cold mornings. Wakes even more neighbours!
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"Wakes even more neighbours!"
They can always buy proper double glazing. Or go and live with the Amish.
I warm the car up twice a day at the moment, the school run in the morning and then again in the afternoon. It's minus 7 right now and we've had forecasts dropping to the minus twenties next week. The car is kept in a heated garage but it's still damned cold.
I won't get into a cold car, I only ever wear t-shirts so the seats need to be warm and the cabin has to be toasty. Five minutes running is usually enough, about the time it takes for the kids to eat their weetabix and put coats on while I sup my coffee. And I can't hear the car from inside the house so the neighbours certainly won't be able to.
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"And I can't hear the car from inside the house"
Hypothetically, a slim chance you wont here it cooking away while it burns while unattended. Do you think you would be paid out if it goes breasts up. For the car or the house. No they would wriggle out of that one for sure.
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Yes I see burning cars on a daily basis
And would I want to be in a car that was on fire? Duh.
Edited by Big Bad Dave on 16/12/2009 at 09:40
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You can buy a device for ~£100 used in emergency vehicles and recovery vehicles, icecream vans etc... than leaves the engine running with the keys out, but kills it if a brake light or reversing light comes on or handbrake goes off etc... You can even feed it to the interior light and it stops as soon as you open the door. They are made by Hella and others. Ignition-hold.
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You can even feed it to the interior light and it stops as soon as you open the door.
Might be a silly question, how do you get out of the car after you have set it?
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Morning.
I used to work for a company involved in traffic counting, ie loops across the road and sets in the motorway lanes.
the cars used (nissan patrol, and a fleet of 4x4 octavias) are all fitted with an ignition that we could press a button on the dash and remove the ignition key and leave the engine running, as when you parked on the side of a main road with the roof mounted orange lights flashing and hazards going and headlights on,,,it might well mean a duff battery by the time your works been completed, (also as soon as you pressed the brake the engine cut out)...
and of course leaving your keys in the ignition is not a great idea....
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Paul..
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I always use a old 1.5 water bottle with luke warm water for the morning trip to work.
We had a company director living opposite us, whose wife started his Ferrari on a cold morning to let it warm up....they forgot about it,,,and 30mins later the car had overheated and caused £000s of damaged the owner said to me that even using recon parts and parts at discount he didn't talk to his wife for 1 week!!!!
the garage owner told him that these high performance cars arn't designed to sit at idle for such a long period of time, and the standard engine fans can't cope and everything goes into major melt down.....
after that he bought a big 4x4 and a merc.......
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Ah the joy. Up at 06:30 this morning, -3.5c, heavy frost, the dawn chorus of a VAG 1.9PD clattering away
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Up at 06:30 this morning -3.5c heavy frost the dawn chorus of a VAG 1.9PD clattering away
04.45 in my case. I saw -6.5C on the way back from Gatwick.
Edited by drbe on 16/12/2009 at 10:09
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>>>> -3.5c heavy frost>>>>
>>I saw -6.5C on the way back from Gatwick.
>>
Oh you poor souls, think yourself lucky you don't live somewhere cold.
Edited by Old Navy on 16/12/2009 at 10:26
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So how cold was it where you were?
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Not sure when I got up at 8am, it wasn't freezing this morning , its 4.5c at the moment, but remember this is sunny Scotland.
I was thinking of Alpine areas of Europe, or Canada where if your car gets cold it will not start.
Edited by Old Navy on 16/12/2009 at 10:57
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I have a friend who is living and working in Alaska. The car is fitted with an electric pre heater on a timer. All the houses there have external sockets if there is not one in the garage.
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I have a friend who is living and working in Alaska. The car is fitted with an electric pre heater on a timer. All the houses there have external sockets if there is not one in the garage.
And many car parks. When I first visited Canada I was initially surprised by unattended cars starting themselves to keep warm, the automatic start / stop thermostatically controlled system is essential if you park away from a power supply for your block or sump heater.
Edited by Old Navy on 16/12/2009 at 11:25
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"And would I want to be in a car that was on fire? Duh."
Cars do catch fire. I know I've seen many in 28 years. And the odd one inside the garage adjacent to the property, that then spreads. Leaving it running without keeping an eye on it, you might miss something. A toasty interior, but also a toasty garage. I wouldn't expect you to be in it if it were to go up, but your ignorance might cost you more. An investigation for such behaviour would void your insurance for sure. Is it worth the risk to your family or property. Out of sight, out of mind.
It might be a rare occurance, but no rarer than being in a multiple pile up. As I am sure you are such a great driver, you will never end up in one of those, god forbid. So why bother with seat belts or airbags, brakes or good tread. Aren't they there for the ODD occurance.
DUH.
Edited by spood on 16/12/2009 at 18:33
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How is it going to burn the garage down when it's sitting on the drive? Where did I say I left it running in the garage?
"Cars do catch fire. I know I've seen many in 28 years." Really? Perhaps the police should be keeping an eye on you... How many of them were warming up on the drive on a frosty morning and how many were in Die Hard movies and car-chase programmes. Be truthful now...
My car isn't going to catch fire and burn the house down five metres away. I'm not going to be blown up by terrorists on my next flight and my kids aren't going to be spirited away in the night by paedophiles. These things are never going to happen.
"So why bother with seat belts or airbags, brakes or good tread" You've lost me completely here. People who warm their cars up don't bother with brakes? Brakes are there for the odd occurrence? Yeah, whatever.
"As I am sure you are such a great driver" Yes. That's true.
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Cars don't need to be running to catch fire, my Focus was recently recalled to to fit a modification to take power off the cooling fan when the engine is "off" due to a fire hazard, so in theory (and Ford don't recall for no reason), it could have caught fire in my garage at night.
Edited by Old Navy on 16/12/2009 at 19:37
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"Cars do catch fire. I know I've seen many in 28 years." Really?
My car isn't going to catch fire........
Petrol under high pressure, plus Cat's at high temperature equals a good chance of a fire IF said high pressure fuel system springs a leak....
And that 'IF' is more common than you may imagine....
I once counted the number of burnt patches of the hard shoulder on the M40 whilst travelling to the midlands, I gave up when I reached 20.....
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I love this time of year - it brings into play one of the S60's most incredible features - that lovely, designed for -30 degree Scandinavian winters, heater. Even at minus 4 this morning, it was blowing warm after 3 minutes idling while scraping the windows, and was proper hot within a mile of driving off. Lovely!
It's also the time of year I don't envy SWMBO with the PD Golf. Apart from sounding truly, hideously awful on cold starts in freezing temperatures, it takes an age to warm up. The Volvo's off choke and sitting half way up the temperature gauge after a mile / 5 mins driving. The Golf's still not up to its normal 90 degree running temperature after 3-4 miles or 20 mins.
30 mpg vs 50 mpg, low thermal efficiency vs high thermal efficiency, I know, but it's worth it at this time of year. Wearing just my shirt, tie and trousers, I am uncomfortably warm if I leave the Volvo's heater on full heat for more than about 10 minutes from a cold start.:-)
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. The Golf's still not up to its normal 90 degree running temperature after 3-4 miles or 20 mins.
Really? I'm on my third PD engined car and all of them have been warm after about 4/5 minutes, never 20! Just got myself a heated seat for those 4/5 minutes, cheaper than buying a less fuel efficient car!
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This was part of your earlier post. I suppose most people would guess it was left running in the garage.
<"As I am sure you are such a great driver" Yes. That's true.>
I suppose you've got the XXXL hat to cover such a large head.
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Dave, this was in your earlier post. I suppose it could be assumed you left it in the garage running.
< The car is kept in a heated garage but it's still damned cold>
Edited by Ben10 on 17/12/2009 at 09:30
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"I suppose you've got the XXXL hat to cover such a large head"
Certainly have Ben. Don't wear it in the car though because it's too warm.
-12c today and thick snow. I've left the car ticking over in the garage till I need it this afternoon.
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All the houses there have external sockets
Like I've got. tinyurl.com/ycg4owp
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news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/essex/8427738.stm
Keep em peeled!
Edited by Pugugly on 23/12/2009 at 10:41
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I think we had a thread on this v recently- "frosting", I believe it is known as.
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I wonder how many are diesels that don't even get warm from idling.
Can't help feeling secretly pleased about this sort of idiocy. In the same way as one doesn't have to outrun the bear, only one of one's companions, one has only to be less witless than a few of these car-donors to be safe from car crime all winter.
};---)
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"Essex police are now warning drivers not to leave their vehicles unattended with the keys still inside or the engines running."
Isn't that now an offense? Or is that just Scotland?
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"Essex police are now warning drivers not to leave their vehicles unattended with the keys still inside or the engines running." Isn't that now an offense? Or is that just Scotland?
Wherever it is, it's just dumb
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Only if on public highway;what you do on your own driveway is still,thankfully , upto you!!!
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 23/12/2009 at 13:17
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