Portable Car Heater & Defroster - 12V Plug-In Cup Holder Heater and Fan with Suction Mount
Portable Car Heater & Defroster - 12V Plug-In Cup Holder Heater and Fan with Suction Mount
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12V portable car heater
Warm hands and a clear patch of glass while the engine warms up
Your car's own heater blows cold until the engine comes up to temperature. This one plugs into the 12V socket and starts blowing warm air shortly after you switch it on.
It is a small, personal heater. Stand it in a cup holder and hold your hands over it, or hang it from the included suction-cup mount and aim it at a fogged patch of windshield. When the engine is warm, switch it off and let the car take over.
In the cup holder
Stands where your coffee goes
The heater is about as wide as a soda can, so it stands upright in most console cup holders. Warm air comes straight up out of the top grille, which is where your hands want to be on a frosty morning.
In an extra-wide cup holder it can lean. Use the suction-cup mount instead.
On the glass
Or mount it and aim it
Press the suction cup onto the inside of the windshield or a flat part of the dash, clip the heater into the ring clamp and tilt it where you want the air. Held a hand's width from fogged glass, it clears a patch in front of the grille.
Keep the mount low on the glass so it stays out of your line of sight.
Straight answers
What it will and won't do
Plug-in 12V heaters are popular and often oversold. Here is what to expect, so you buy it for the right job.
Spot heat
Warm air on your hands, face or one area of glass, aimed from close range.
A small fog patch
Clears inside fog in front of the grille when mounted close to the glass. It works slowly on a big windshield.
Whole-cabin heat or ice
At about 150 W it will not warm the whole cabin or melt ice on the outside of the glass. Scrape ice and use your car's defroster for that.
Three settings
Heat, off, or fan
- Heat. The heating element warms the air as the fan pushes it out of the top grille.
- Off. The middle position of the switch on the base.
- Fan. Blows unheated cabin air, like a small desk fan, for a breeze on hot days. It moves air; it does not chill it.
Before you plug it in
Check your car first
A heater draws far more power than a phone charger. These four checks prevent the most common problems.
12V only
Fits a standard 12V cigarette-lighter socket. Not for 24V systems found in many semi-trucks and buses.
15 A socket
It draws about 12.5 amps. Use a socket fused at 15 A or more; a 10 A socket fuse will blow.
Engine on
Run it while the engine is running. With the engine off it drains the battery quickly.
Plug in direct
Plug straight into the socket, not through a splitter or extension, and unplug it when you leave the car.
Specifications
The details
What arrives
In the box
Safe use
Looking after it
- The grille gets hot. Keep fingers, fabric, paper and pets away from it, and never cover it.
- Do not leave it running unattended or while you sleep in the vehicle.
- Keep it dry. Do not use it where it can get wet.
- Stop using it if the cord or plug is damaged, or if the plug gets hot in the socket.
