I want snow. Send some down here.

-Southerner unjaded by snow

 

Does running the heater actually require more gasoline - other than that used to produce electricity for the fan? I thought that the radiator was dumping unwanted engine heat outside and that heating the cabin just moved the waste heat to another place. The engine needs to have a temperature drop to function so the more we take for heating ourselves, the more efficiently the engine should run. I do understand that the engine does not run efficiently until it reaches "operating" temperature (which is why it does not turn off when you stop until it is warmed up). However, I did not think that heat was being actively generated for the cabin. Am I confused?

 

with the way the weather has been around the world lately, you might be careful what you ask for

 

You're mostly correct, but the radiator itself does not heat the air that blows in the cabin. The heater uses a 'mini radiator' called the heater core to heat air blown over it. So using heat increases the cooling area of the engine- the opposite of the desired effect in colder temps. The engine has to burn slightly more fuel to keep warm- by not autostopping, etc- and also the electric fan load has to be replenished of course.

Some here have devised 'radiator blocks' that reduce the cooling area to help the engine warm up faster and stay warm longer, but I don't know what % of area they block off.

 

Back in the day, before global warming, we used to put a piece of cardboard in front of the radiator to help the engine retain some of its heat when the temps dropped below zero. It works but unfortunately, if you forgot about it, you could overheat your engine when the weather turned warmer. Don't think I would mess with the HCH cooling system for fear of damaging some critical emissions parts or such.....Im not even sure you could find enough space to slip a piece of cardboard between the grill and the front of the radiator....

 

The block should be more useful now WITH GW concern- warmer engine faster = lower emissions.

I've got gobs of room in the HAH, but I need to find out what a safe % blocked is for low air temp (around freezing, give or take 10deg).