Thinking the AlphaTherm Windshield Washer Heater might not be a bad idea in light of my not being able to power a block heater and a remote start not being in the budget. My only concern is it's supposed to be hard-wired to the battery (which is in the trunk) -- any ideas on where to access a 60A/12V line under the hood?
Keep in mind that the 12v battery is very small. The heater may deplete the battery overnight and leave you in a bigger mess than frozen windshield washer fluid. Typically today's washer solutions don't freeze unless you have extreme temperatures.
Fire, It doesn't run if the battery voltage is below 13.0V. It then shuts off automatically. I'm more concerned about light frost removal than I am about the fluid itself freezing. Also, when it's truly cold out, having the fluid warm will help keep it from freezing when it's spread out in a thin layer by the wipers if you try to clean while driving.
The instructions also mention that you can mount to the jump post, but I haven't inspected the Prius post to see if it would work. The gadget is an on-demand heater so it only draws power when fluid flows through it -- just like a home on-demand water heater. The big problem is the high current draw. I don't know how the little Prius battery would handle the 50A current draw, epecially when you probably also have the heater, defroster, lights, etc. also on. I wonder if it would pull the battery voltage below the heater's 13.0V cutoff point, which would render the heater useless. Because of the low-voltage shutoff, I don't think using the heater would blow the 120A DC/DC converter supply fuse but that's something to think about too.
ChrisJ428, Check out the Prestone dot com site. They have an addititve that is clear I add to the Blue Stuff! Makes it not freeze. And there is a spray you can spray on your front Windshield the night before or going into work etc, so that when you come out, it is much easier to remove that frost. I sit 5 minutes in the parking lot warming up and it's melted 3/4 of the way off the windshield. Not a long wait at all, and with the prestone additive since my car has the headlamp washers it's never froze yet in single digit Farenheit temps!
Seems like a solution looking for a problem. Of course, it is as cold as it has been for over a year here and it got down to 45 this morning! Doesn't the close proximity of the reservoir to the ICE help with keeping the fluid at least warm?
Maybe after a couple of hours the fluid in the reservoir might warm up some, but even if so that won't really help the tubing and nozzles -- where the freezing really occurs. The fluid can also just freeze on contact with the glass. Besides that, ice tends to build up on the wipers during a storm, which can render them nearly uselss. Hot fluid would help fight those problems. So there are benefits to heating the fluid for many people. Hey, it might even help with bug-splat removal for you.
