Portable car heater? What’s that all about? You might say…
Well, as the chilly winds of winter roll in and temperatures drop, even a modern car’s fully functional HVAC system won’t heat your car until your engine has been started and warmed up. That may take 10 minutes or longer, depending on the outside temperatures, because your car’s heating system relies on the engine’s heat to warm your car’s interior. An older car will even take much longer, and if your heater’s blower fan isn’t working, it may not heat at all.
Apart from being very uncomfortable, this poses a serious safety risk because your car windows will fog up instantly when you enter your car, hindering visibility. That’s because the warm, moist air you exhale will condense or freeze against the cold glass. You can wipe those windows all you want, but they will keep fogging until they warm.
There’s an affordable, simple solution though: why not install a portable car heater? This type of heater uses your car battery’s electricity instead of your engine’s heat to warm your car interior. You can just plug this small device in your cigarette lighter and it’s good to go. You do not have to wait until your engine emits heat for it to work at full capacity either. It starts heating at full power from the moment you turn it on. Within minutes, your windscreen will clear and the little heater will take the edge off that morning chill.
In this article, we will delve into what portable car heaters are, when and where you can use them, discuss what their limitations are and what to consider when purchasing one, and conclude with valuable insights to help you make an informed decision.
Check out our two favorite portable car heaters:
Things to Consider when Buying a Portable Car Heater
Car heaters are compact, portable devices designed to defog your windscreen and take the edge off that awful morning chill. Although they are not designed nor powerful enough to heat your vehicle’s interior from let’s say 20°F to 60°F in minutes, these little heaters really can be a practical addition to your vehicle’s interior. They enhance visibility and your overall driving experience during the winter months and help your onboard heating system to heat your cabin faster.
Apart from being great defoggers when aimed at the windscreen, they can be aimed in any direction to warm your hands, feet or body.
Now that we’ve talked about why it makes sense to buy a portable car heater, it’s only fair to mention this small device’s limitations too. No matter what some reviews may claim, a 12V cigarette lighter heater cannot heat an entire car cabin in minutes in the dead of winter. That’s just not physically possible. You can’t produce enough heat from a 15 Amps lighter socket to turn your automotive ice cave into a toasty oven in a heartbeat.
To put things in perspective: an average hairdryer is 2000 Watts, while these small portable car heaters churn out about 150 Watts of heat. Now imagine how long it would take to warm your car if you put a hairdryer in it… Well, this little device would need more than 13 times longer to generate the same heat…
That’s why it makes sense as a windscreen defogger / defroster and a trusty little helper to get a little heat going in that freezing car interior, but it’s by no means a standalone car heating system.
How we did our review
For this review we only recommended 12V portable car heaters that can easily be plugged into the cigarette lighter/12V socket of your car. We did not include propane or diesel generated devices as they form a safety hazard (fire/suffocation) in an enclosed environment like a car. Heaters that run on fuel are great for outdoor or camping use, but are not designed to heat the interior of your car.
In this article, we didn’t include alternative ways to warm your drive either, like heated car seat covers. We wrote a separate article covering this subject.
We dove deep in the manufacturer specifications and looked at countless customer reviews and videos to see what their experience was. Every candidate was scanned by Fakespot and if the rating was too low, the product was immediately dismissed.
We only recommend portable car heaters that did an excellent job for us and the vast majority of other car enthusiasts. We did our research and due diligence to make it easy for you to choose the right heater / defogger for your car, depending on what you intend to use it for.
Only 2 out of the many similar portable car heaters out there were selected because they were the only ones that passed our strict criteria concerning safety, design, functionality and reliability.
Check out our favorite portable car heaters:
Best Overall
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Best Overall
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Specs:
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- Power: 150W / 12V
- Functions: Hot or cold air
- Size: 1″D x 1″W x 1″H
The reason why we chose this portable car heater as our “Best Overall” is because its compact design allows it to be installed without obstructing the forward view.
This 12V heater is made of high-quality ABS material and has a premium pure copper cable. The thicker copper long cable will not heat up during use like many others and will not damage your car battery. It has a built-in fuse, overheat protection and automatic power-off protection.
This hugely popular 12v portable car heater almost instantly blows warm air when you plug the long, 4.9ft wire in the cigarette lighter/12V outlet. It gets warm, but it’s not hot enough to burn your skin or surrounding plastics.
When you point it in the direction of the windshield, it immediately starts eliminating windshield fog and frost. That makes a big difference, because it improves visibility and driving safety.
It can be turned 360° and tilted 60° enabling you to point it anywhere: at the windscreen, at your passenger or towards yourself. If you mount it on the center console, it can even be pointed at your feet.
We like the fact that it can also be used in summer to blow cold air. This means it’s useful year-round.
According to the large number of satisfied customers, this little guy lasts a long time and is well worth the few bucks it costs. They say it’s safe and simple to use and is easily installed.
PROS:
- Blows hot or cold air: can be used year-round
- Compact design doesn’t obstruct view
CONS:
- Powerful enough to defog but not to heat the entire car interior
- Draws a lot of power from the car battery
- Needs a 15 Amps cigarette lighter socket
Best Budget
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Best Budget
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Specs:
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- Power: 150W / 12V
- Functions: hot or cold air
- Dimensions: 5.90in x 2.75in
The reason why we chose this portable car heater as our “Best Budget” is because between its competitors in the lowest price range, this heater clearly has the best design, functionality and build quality.
It can be attached to the windscreen with a powerful suction cup, it swivels 360° and the compact cylindrical heater can be unclipped from the holder for convenience. Its 5 ft long cord plugs snugly into the cigarette lighter power outlet. It blows cold or warm air with a simple flip of the rear-mounted switch. There’s a built-in overheating protection for extra safety.
As to be expected in this price category, the exterior material is plastic, but feels solid enough.
Pretty impressive for a portable car heater that costs about the same as a 12-pack of Corona Beer!
PROS:
- Very affordable.
- Plug-and-play.
- Great suction cup makes for easy installation and removal.
- Most bang for your buck.
- Blows hot or cold air: can be used year-round
CONS:
- Powerful enough to defog but not to heat the entire car interior
- Draws a lot of power from the car battery
- Needs a 15 Amps cigarette lighter socket
Final Thoughts
No matter if you’re going to use one of these portable car heaters as a fast complementary defogger / heater for your modern car or to solve a defogging issue with an older car, you won’t be disappointed as long as you don’t expect miracles. They both work fine to defog or defrost your windscreen and even to bump your car’s interior temperature up a few degrees or warm your feet or hands. Don’t expect these compact heaters to make you sweat instantly though.
Which one is best? Well, that depends mainly on your personal taste.
Both heaters are quite similar when it comes to functionality and ease of use. The main difference lies in their design. Our “Best Overall” heater wins when it comes to good looks and general design in our opinion. However, its “Best Budget” competitor costs less and gets the job done too. We like its suction mount a lot also.
No matter which car heater you choose, we wish you a fog-free ride wherever the road may take you!
Happy cruisin’!
FAQ’s
How Long Can a Car Battery Run a Portable Car Heater?
With the engine running, a portable car heater can run indefinitely because it is powered by the alternator. With the engine switched off, we would not recommend running your portable car heater on your car battery’s power for longer than 15 minutes before starting the engine.
Are portable car heaters safe?
12V portable car heaters are very safe to use because they are protected against overheating. Also, the cigarette lighter outlet’s fuse will blow in case of overheating. Fuel powered heaters should however not be used in cars because they are a fire- and suffocation hazard when used in a confined, air-tight space like a car interior.
Are propane heaters suitable for cars?
No, fuel powered heaters should never be used in cars because they are a fire- and suffocation hazard when used in a confined, air-tight space like a car interior.
How to heat the car without a car heater?
Although they are not as powerful as a car’s internal HVAC system, you can heat your car with a 12V portable car heater, use a heated seat cover or cover yourself with a heated blanket.
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