Homemade autonomous vehicle. How to make an autonomous heater for your car yourself

In most of our country, winter is normal. Very often the temperature drops much below ten degrees. When its values ​​turn out to be quite low, the capabilities of the car’s standard heater are sometimes not enough to warm up the interior, especially if it has large volumes. Yes, and spending the night with the engine running is not the best best vacation. Moreover, if it is prohibited, as is customary in paid parking lots. In such cases, the auxiliary interior heater will the best option to resolve contradictions in the current situation.

What is good about an autonomous car interior heater?

Its main advantage is the possibility of use in any conditions and autonomy. Usually, a standard heater successfully copes with heating the interior of, for example, a truck. And everything looks normal when moving. But during an overnight stay in winter time The picture is no longer so rosy.

If we consider trucks, and usually such autonomous interior heaters are installed on them, then it is necessary to take into account that standard heating devices operate when the engine is running. If you spend the night on the road, this leads to unjustified fuel consumption and a decrease in engine life. In addition, there are other situations when an autonomous heater is simply necessary.

We are talking, for example, about a delivery vehicle that moves within the city with frequent stops and short distances when it simply does not have time to warm up sufficiently. And in minivans and buses, the power of the standard heater is not enough to warm up the interior. Not to mention that it is prohibited to spend the night in parking lots with the engine running.

What types of heaters are they?

In fact, there are two groups to which such devices belong:

• liquid (pre-launch);
• air or, as they are also called, hair dryers.

Air

An auxiliary heater of this type is intended only for heating the vehicle interior. The principle of operation of such devices is very similar to the operation of a hair dryer when the incoming air is heated. The following figure will help you understand how the autonomous heater in question works.

In such a device, fuel is burned (either a standard car tank is used, or an additional one is installed) in a special chamber. The heat released in this case heats the incoming air, after which it is supplied to heat the cabin. As a rule, such a heater is installed inside, and it is necessary to lay a fuel line to the tank and a system for removing combustion products.

One of possible options placement is shown in the figure below.

A temperature controller is used to control the operating mode. Such a cabin heater can operate for a very long time, is easy to use and install, and is relatively low cost.

Liquid

In this case the situation is somewhat different. Such a device is used not only as an autonomous heater, but also serves as a pre-heater for a car engine.

It is located under the hood and connects to the existing cooling circuit, fuel line and electrical network. Heat is released when liquid fuel burns, causing the coolant to heat up and be pumped through the engine by an additional pump. When the fluid temperature reaches the set value, the interior heater fan (standard) turns on and starts supplying hot air.

Thus, in addition to warming up the cabin, the engine is heated, which makes it much easier to start in cold weather and saves resources.

The types of heaters considered do not cover all of their existing diversity. There are other varieties that have been developed various options mounting and location of such devices on the car, but regardless of the energy source and installation options, two basic principles of their operation are discussed here.

Remember how the great Mendeleev was indignant: “Oil is not fuel, you can heat it with banknotes!” But then the scale of extraction and combustion of this valuable chemical raw material could not be compared with today. And even today, when almost all transport is powered by petroleum products, heating boilers and boilers with fuel oil is considered a luxury due to poverty and hopelessness - in developed countries use much cheaper and renewable energy sources. But all these macroeconomic truths are negated by a simple everyday situation: night, frost, a KAMAZ with a truck on the side of the highway... And the driver is faced with a dilemma: whether to use engine cylinders as heating boilers, directing the instantaneous fuel consumption parameter to infinity, or, tightening the of that steppe and the deaf coachman froze...", repeat the fate of the hero of the folk song?

Money down the drain

On Idling A KAMAZ engine consumes about 8 liters of fuel per hour, and the engines of most foreign-made tractors, threshing in place, are not particularly economical. Simple calculations show that even in a temperate climate middle zone In Russia, at least 60,000 rubles go down the drain every season to heat the cabin during overnight stops! From every car. And this does not take into account the costs of premature overhaul of the engine, hundreds of hours of idle rubbing of the cylinder pistons. What can we say about our northern regions, where in the days of state diesel fuel there was a “good” tradition of starting the engine at the end of October in order to turn it off at the beginning of April... Pre-start heaters helped to avoid such barbarity, and “autonomous cars” were produced for army-spec trucks "with the supply of combustion products to the engine sump, which, in the absence of current oils, ensured the melting of the gel-like M8G2 and subsequent start-up even in bitter cold. However, the pre-starter does not solve the problem of heating the cabin - driving heated antifreeze through the cooling system, it dissipates most of the power - at least 14 kW out of 15 developed - in the engine compartment, that is, it mainly heats environment. In addition, the pre-starter will heat the standard KAMAZ “stove” simultaneously with the heavy engine, that is, for a very long time and a maximum of 60 degrees. Which is clearly not enough in severe frost - even sitting behind the wheel will be cold, not to mention sleeping. And the roar of a 15-kilowatt burner is not very conducive to strong and healthy sleep. Autonomous liquid heaters also have an objective technical drawback - high (90–130 W) electricity consumption by the water pump - there are often cases when an old battery is completely “dead” in the morning, and instead of going to the line in a warm cabin, the driver is faced with fiddling around in the cold with wires and Katyusha. It is no coincidence that when pre-starters are optionally installed at the factory, for example, on German cars, an additional battery is usually included with the heater. Another thing is the air “autonomous” vehicle, which works on the principle of a hair dryer, as, by the way, it is called in driver’s slang. Cooling of the heat exchanger by the flow of air taken from the cabin and, naturally, leaving back into the cabin, is not as intense as with liquid, therefore, with equal power, the “hair dryer” turns out to be larger than the pre-starter. But he doesn’t need the power of the latter, because almost all the energy from the burned fuel (with the exception of 3–5%, which is carried away by exhaust gases heated to 300–400°C) is released in the form of heat in the car cabin, then dissipated into the environment by its walls and glasses. Two kilowatts for the “air blower” is enough to give the driver of a long-haul truck or the operator of a truck crane, excavator, etc. a real “Tashkent”. With a power of 4 kW, there is more than enough heat even for a winter overnight stay in Yakutia, but 8-9 kW units heat the interiors of large buses. A much smaller flame volume ensures quiet operation - no roar " blowtorch", like a liquid heater, there is no trace of it. Only low-power consumers consume energy from the battery - even in the 4-kilowatt maximum output mode, the current from a 24-volt battery does not exceed 2 A, and with a power of 1.5 kW - only 0.5 A. That is, during a long winter night the battery does not will spend even a twentieth of its capacity. Fuel consumption in such a moderate mode will be about 0.2 liters per hour, that is, 40 (!) times less than that of a KAMAZ engine at idle. But not only savings play in favor of an autonomous heater - the growing intolerance of society towards air pollution is also important. European culture is gradually penetrating among our truckers - many of them, having traveled around the world and installed all sorts of “airtronics” in their cabs, have already begun to forget how they once coughed at night, inhaling the blue smoke from their own and their neighbors’ diesel engines. Today, if you don’t turn off your engine in a shared parking lot, you run the risk of hearing a baseball bat knock on the door within five minutes. And you and your rattling will settle down for the night in the city, empty bottle will be thrown from the balcony immediately “to kill” - into the roof of the cabin. Without a warning throw onto the asphalt... And don’t be surprised that it was the Germans, with their warm winters of about zero degrees, who became adept at producing autonomous heaters. Yes, in Europe, truckers - all of them - sleep in comfortable three-star motels, but they also have to stand for an hour or two in a warehouse or customs office under the chilly Baltic wind. What else can you do to warm yourself up, if not a hairdryer, when the law prohibits threshing at idle? In Russia, the path of distribution of air heaters is painful, long and thorny - among the people, this type of “stove” is firmly associated with the word “Zaporozhets” and is subjectively perceived as a thing of poor quality in its essence. Experienced drivers still have fresh in their memories the pictures of “humpbacked” and “big-eared” cars suddenly smoking right on the move, and some have forever imprinted the sight of a burning gasoline track running after a car with an unsuspecting driver... The extreme capriciousness of autonomous heaters (them for Melitopol minicars were produced by the Shadrinsk Automotive Unit Plant) forced the owners to look for any alternative, such as winding thick copper wire on the exhaust pipes to directly transfer heat to the cabin - just to get rid of the hated, annoying smell of gasoline and burning unit. But years passed, a wave of “used” foreign cars, including minibuses, rolled in, and Russia finally learned what an autonomous heater “made by hand” is. With skillful hands...

Everything ingenious is simple

So, let’s take a closer look at the device of the “air vent”. The operating principle of the products different manufacturers the same thing - fuel supplied by an external electromagnetic pump embedded in the line closer to the tank (pumping is always easier than sucking in), dosed, under electronic control, enters the combustion chamber, or rather, the evaporator. The latter is a heat-resistant body with a fairly large surface area - usually a package of wire mesh made of refractory “stainless steel”. An electric glow plug with a ceramic rod is installed in front of the evaporator (open coils are a thing of the past). Air is supplied to the combustion chamber by a supercharger driven by the electric motor shaft; there, at the cold input end of the heater, there is an electronic control unit - its microcircuits are not in danger of overheating. The fins on the outer surface of the heat exchanger, where hot gases from the combustion chamber enter, are blown with air from the cabin - it is driven by a fan mounted on the electric motor shaft behind the supercharger impeller. A wiring harness is laid from the unit to the control panel installed on the instrument panel, and since the communication channel on modern units is usually digital, only three wires are enough: “plus”, “minus” and signal. Using the rotary control or buttons on the remote control, you can set several heater operating modes - depending on the selected one, the processor will set the required fan rotation speed and fuel supply volume. Sensors monitor temperature maintenance: one can be built into the control panel or at the entrance air flow in the heater, the other is remote, and it is placed, for example, at sleeping place, extending a separate bundle of wires there. The heat exchanger overheat sensor (thermal switch) is a safety element; it sends a signal to the control unit, demanding that the fuel supply be stopped.

When the heater is turned on, the processor diagnoses all systems and launches the program. The voltage at the glow plug gradually increases, then fuel and air are supplied to the combustion chamber, and the combustion process begins, controlled by the control unit based on signals from the flame sensor built into the heat exchanger. When combustion stabilizes, the candle is turned off, and the flame is subsequently maintained by a continuous supply of fuel. If for some reason ignition does not occur - for example, due to thickening of summer diesel fuel in cold weather, the entire cycle is automatically repeated. After two unsuccessful attempts, the heater automatically turns off, the indicator on the control panel lights up, and at the command of the processor, the supercharger purges the combustion chamber for several minutes. After which you can try to ignite again. However, if the fuel corresponds to the season, then such emergency situations in a modern, passing regular cleaning from carbon deposits in the heater are extremely rare, and after ignition the control unit maintains combustion at maximum mode, comparing the temperature value set by the driver on the control panel with the air temperature in the cabin. If the latter is lower than the set value, the heater continues to operate at full throttle, and when it reaches the desired value, the fuel supply is reduced. It happens that the cabin becomes even hotter than required - then the processor gives the fuel pump a break and orders the supercharger to vent the combustion chamber fresh air. When the temperature drops, for example, 2 degrees below that set by the regulator, a digital command is received: “Mahmoud! Light it up!”, and the procedure for heating the spark plug with subsequent fuel supply is initiated according to the above-described scenario. As we see, the declared autonomy of air heaters from all companies, without exception, is very conditional, since any such unit is rigidly tied to the car battery, and the death of the battery is far from settlements is fraught with death and the driver. However, designers are in no hurry to create completely independent “hair dryers”, although, at first glance, there are no technical obstacles to this. Really, what are some 40 watts consumed from the battery if an excess of 2 kilowatts are released during fuel combustion? Why can’t the shaft be rotated by a flow of flammable gases? Why does a “hair dryer” even need an electric motor? And the thermocouple will fully support both the fuel pump and the electronics. Ignition - with a squib. And no battery is needed. Alas, not everything is so simple. The vague resemblance of the “air vent” to a gas turbine engine means nothing, and by forcing the flame not only to heat, but also to rotate, we will create an almost unsolvable noise problem. That is, you will have to sleep under the howl of jets. Not to mention the inevitable difficulties with collecting heat from exhaust gases, because no one needs a “stove” that eats fuel like an airplane. And in terms of technology, a turbine and a hair dryer, to put it mildly, differ - a cabin heater for about twenty thousand (euro) is unlikely to find demand. So, in the foreseeable future, we can’t expect fully autonomous “aircraft”.

Air heater: choose me

And now about the features of heaters of specific brands. The German “autonomous cars” Webasto and Eberspaeher are considered standard - many of them technical solutions, implemented by the engineers of these companies, regularly appear on competitors' products - with or without licenses. main feature thoroughbred Germans - a solid-cast aluminum heat exchanger; this design provides the best efficiency of the unit, but requires a fairly high production standard. The prices of heaters from both companies are approximately the same - about 29,000 rubles for a 2-kilowatt “air vent” and about 37,000 rubles for a 3.5-4-kilowatt one. One of the unprincipled differences between different design schools is in the shape of the evaporator: Webasto places it around the perimeter of the combustion chamber, and Eberspeher - at the end. Webasto has a brushless electric motor, a low-noise fan and a combustion chamber with a heat-resistant cermet gasket. A wide range of permissible positions allows the heater to be installed at an angle of up to 90 degrees from the horizontal. Webasto's strong point is convenient diagnostics: using switch or timer signals, exhaust gas analysis or using a computer. The self-diagnosis system displays malfunctions by issuing one of 15 codes. The temperature regulator is also a heating switch. Remote sensor temperature control on a cable up to 5 m long - optional. The Comfort kit includes a timer that turns on the heater at set time. Air Top - this is what Webasto designates for most models in its line of “air vents”. Modern models Eberspaecher air heaters are called Airtronic - four are enough to cover the power range from 2 to 8 kW. Among the advantages are high efficiency and silent fan with stepless rotation speed control. The option list includes a radio remote control system with a range of up to 1000 m.

The Czech company Brano is represented by two models: the 2-kilowatt Breeze III and the twice as powerful Wind III. The design of the heat exchanger is like the Germans, that is aluminum casting, and the prices are more attractive. The temperature adjustment is smooth - from 15 to 30 ° C, among the options there is a timer.

“Air vents” from Mikuni, the same company that is famous for its carburetors, are exotic in our market. The design is sound, since it is based on a license from Eberspaecher, but the network is not as wide as the Germans service centers for now it is holding back the spread of heaters famous for their Japanese quality.

Oldest of domestic producers autonomous heaters - SHAAZ. Ancient and very low-tech, as befits the defense industry, the design of Shadrin heat exchangers (they are welded by hand from stainless steel) has one significant advantage over German casting - production flexibility. Master the heater special purpose and a special configuration for the plant is as simple as shelling pears - if there was a customer with money. The buyer of a large-scale heater can only rely on the qualifications of the welders - if the heat exchanger is made conscientiously, there will be no fistulas or other holes fraught with penetration carbon monoxide into the cabin, it won't. In the SHAAZ production line there remain 5 models of “air ventilators” of traditional design - with a power from 2 to 11 kW, and, in addition, two new units with electronically controlled: 2 and 8 kW. But they are much more expensive, for example, 02 costs 16,000 rubles versus 10,000 rubles for the equal-power O15.

At the Rzhev Eltra-Thermo plant, on the contrary, they used the most advanced solution, making the heat exchanger one-piece, like the Germans. Moreover, the aluminum fins in it are hollow, that is, the surface heated from the inside by flammable gases is much larger than that of heat exchangers of foreign analogues, which gives good prospects for increasing efficiency. So far, the Rzhevites have only one “air” model - “Pramotronik-4D-24”. The kit for 13,000 rubles includes a 12-liter tank for autonomous power supply of the “stove”, diesel fuel diluted with gasoline - in severe frost.

The Samara plant "Advers", which supplies its "Planar" heaters for the assembly of KAMAZ vehicles, truck cranes and other special equipment, offers "air vents" not only in 24-volt, but also in 12-volt versions, because, for example, American trucks have "passenger" » on-board voltage.

The design feature is an aluminum heat exchanger assembled from two halves. The price of a set with a 7.5-liter tank is 12,500 rubles. Heaters for gas fuel- makes them German company Truma. The demand for these is very limited, but for an old gasoline tractor converted to propane-butane, you can’t think of anything better than the 2.4-kilowatt Trumatic E 2400 unit.

Interior heating from a running engine is provided in all passenger cars and most commercial vehicles. Such heating is effective during a trip, since it allows you to utilize excess heat generated during fuel combustion. When the car is stationary, the use of such heating is unjustified, because it reduces the life of the engine and leads to high consumption fuel, therefore, autonomous interior heaters are used as an alternative. In this article we will talk about the design of autonomous heaters, the features of their use and safety measures that will protect you from negative consequences use of these devices.

Types of autonomous heaters

All autonomous heaters can be divided into the following types:

• air;
• water;
• electrical;
• gasoline;
• diesel;
• gas.

The main division of heaters is made according to the method of influence - water, connected to the engine cooling system, and air, heating the air in the cabin. The advantage of water-based auxiliary heaters is that they not only heat the air in the cabin, but also maintain engine temperature, facilitating cold starts and making long warm-up periods unnecessary. The downside of these heaters is the higher consumption of fuel and electricity, because it is necessary to warm not only the air, but also the uninsulated engine, which quickly releases heat into the atmosphere, so installing them requires an additional battery. If an autonomous heater is used to heat a caravan or some kind of building, then an air heater is many times more efficient, because to connect a water heater you will have to install a radiator.

In addition, heaters are distinguished by the method of generating heat into liquid fuel, gas and electric. In liquid fuel and gas heaters, heat is obtained by burning fuel in a special chamber, which is part of a water or air register (radiator). This register takes away the heat generated during the combustion of fuel and heats the coolant, which is air or antifreeze. The pump then drives the coolant into the cooling system or into the interior of the car.

Such heaters require connection not only to the fuel tank, but also to the outside air, as well as to a pipe that allows combustion products to be discharged into the atmosphere.

In electric heaters, heating is carried out using an electric heater connected to the network alternating current 220 or 380 volts. Thanks to this, electric heaters are safer, but less autonomous, because it is not always possible to find a free outlet. You can often find battery-powered autonomous heaters in stores, but we do not recommend buying them.

After all, even to maintain the temperature in the cabin you need at least 10 amperes per hour. Consequently, a battery with a capacity of 75 ampere hours is unlikely to be able to create sufficient voltage to start a cold engine after 4–5 hours. Therefore, electric autonomous heaters will not be described in this article. You will find all the information about them in the article Engine pre-heater.

Models and prices of car interior heaters 12 and 24 volts

The most effective and popular models include the following:

Do-it-yourself installation of an autonomous heater in a car

The installation of electric heaters and preheaters is described in detail in the article (Engine preheater), but installing a gas heater yourself is a serious danger. Therefore, we will not describe the connection of these devices, but we will talk about the connection of air and water heaters running on gasoline and diesel fuel.

Safety regulations

When planning to install a heater, carefully read the article (safety precautions for car repair and maintenance). Remember, all wires, tubes and hoses must be positioned so that they do not interfere with anyone and must be securely attached to the body. This will protect you from breaks, short circuits, fuel leaks or carbon monoxide entering the cabin. Where wires and hoses pass through the body walls, be sure to install protective rubber cuffs that will prevent wires and hoses from being damaged by sharp metal edges. At least once a quarter, check the fuel and water hoses for leaks and, if necessary, tighten the clamps.

It has long been known that comfortable temperature for the driver the range is from +21...23 degrees Celsius. Low temperatures negatively affect concentration and alertness while driving, causing irritability. And safety is affected by driving with limited visibility due to icy windows.

If you have at least once had to get to your car in a parking lot in severe frosts or simply get into an icy car interior after leaving a warm home, then you know firsthand that this feeling is not a pleasant one. And how I would like to warm up at this moment. You can, of course, run around the car or leave the snow while the interior warms up, but there are also less radical methods. As always, there is a way out and it has long been known among motorists - an autonomous one, which will gladly give you comfort.

Do-it-yourself autonomous interior heater (12 volts)

The market offers a wide range of different autonomous stoves different types and layouts. They all have their pros and cons. But if you live by Ferdinand Porsche’s principle: “If you want something done well, do it yourself,” then the information in this article will be very useful for you. So, let's get straight to the point.

In order to assemble an autonomous interior heater, you do not need to reinvent the wheel. It is enough to familiarize yourself with the methods of air heating that have long been known to us and adapt them to the necessary requirements. Let's start with what we need:

1. Power supply;
2. A heating element that will convert absorbed energy into heat;
3. to create a flow of warm air;
4. Heater control mechanism;
5. Fuse.

As a power source for a 12 V heater, we’ll take battery(battery) and car generator. We advise you to get a battery charge indicator, since the autonomous stove will protrude good consumer energy.

The choice of heater is as obvious as in any heating element - a nichrome spiral. Due to its properties, nichrome (an alloy of nickel and chromium) has a high resistance, but is still a conductor, so it gets very hot when an electric current is applied.

To create air flow, we will use a regular cooler, for example, from a computer power supply. The power supply housing itself can be used as a . And the button placed on it is like a heater control mechanism (for correct and safe work must be connected via a relay).

The connection diagram of the autonomous heater must be interrupted by a fuse of the required rating. The closer it is located to the battery, the less likely it is to damage the vehicle's electrical wiring in an emergency.

WITH general design we figured it out. But this, as practice shows, is not enough. It is also important to select the resistance of the heating elements and their connection diagram in order to prevent overloading the on-board electrical network. Which, as a result, will lead to battery discharge. We will try to select the optimal current consumption. For example, for a Daewoo Lanos car with a Bosh or Hella generator with a charging current of 85 A. For such a power source, a consuming current of 10–15 A will be almost unnoticeable.

Let's start with the assembly itself. We install the entire autonomous heater into the computer power supply housing. Nichrome spiral threads are attached to ceramic tiles using bolts and nuts. When installing tiles into the housing, the main thing is to ensure that the air flow passes through the heating element, taking away its heat.

It is important to select the cross-section of wires for connection, taking into account the calculated current strength. For example, for copper wire 10 A needed 1 sq. mm section. The fuse is also selected according to the calculated current strength.

A twelve-volt autonomous interior heater will bring twice as much pleasure to the owner, since it not only makes his car more comfortable, but also saves the budget. Now you are not afraid of any frost and the fear that the standard heater will fail at the most inopportune moment. If the rear window heating fails, it can be heated with a similar heater. Still, don’t forget to insulate your car. To do this, you need to replace the old door seals, and also treat the car with thermal insulation so that it does not release precious heat into the atmosphere.

If you make such a heater, you can heat the interior of any car in winter without any effort. This will be especially true for those who have a broken car heater or no heated rear window. You can make a small heater yourself and it won’t cost you a lot of work. The author decided to use an old computer power supply as the basis for making such a heat fan.

Materials and tools for manufacturing:
- power supply from the computer or case from it;
- a small fan (it is in the power supply);
- soldering iron with solder;
- wires;
- a piece of tile;
- eight small bolts with nuts for fastening heating element;
- nichrome wire.

Heater manufacturing process:

Step one. Preparing the body
First of all you need to take old block power supply and disassemble it. Absolutely everything needs to be taken out of it. You need to remove the main electronic board; it is secured with several screws. You also need to remove the switch and connectors, as they may make noise when heated. bad smell.

Step two. Preparing the heating element
Nichrome wire will be used as a heating element. Springs of a certain diameter and length are made from it. To do this, the wire is wound on any cone. Here it is important to correctly calculate the load, since otherwise the car’s electrical network will be overloaded, and this is fraught with undercharging of the battery and other consequences.

For example, a Daewoo Sens car has a 70Amp generator. In this case, you can make a heater that consumes about 10-15A, this will not affect the operation of the car's electrical network.

When the springs of the required length are created, they then need to be secured. For these purposes, the author used pieces of ordinary tiles. You need to drill holes in it, and then bolts are inserted here, and the wire is secured with them. After the structure is assembled, it is installed in the power supply housing.

Step three. Assembling the structure
At the final stage, the structure is assembled. Now you need to install the fan. The author has it installed in the regular place of the power supply. That is, the fan is installed in another part of the unit body. As a result, when the structure is assembled, the fan will drive air through the hot nichrome wire and when it comes out it will be warm.

Well, in conclusion, all that remains is to connect the system to a power source. It goes without saying that the wiring must be reliable, since the heater consumes a lot of energy, and for safety, the system must have a fuse. The installation of the heater also needs to be approached carefully; it must be well fixed in the cabin and should not jump on it while driving.