I thought of this when I was at work on drive thru. I noticed that since it was so cold that every other car window had froze.

This caused the people at the drive thru window to have to open their car door and lean out, some people got completely out of their cars defeating the whole purpose of going through the drive thru.

Anyway my idea is to have tubing inside the side doors that can be a path way for heated oil/whatever that can run up against the motor and gears of the window and as a result thaw them so no more frozen side windows.
-- plaguedcookies, Jan 07 2006

one I made earlier - pretty similar, but not enough for an halfbaked tag. warm_20blooded_20motors
plague, you probably have his nibs, dbmag9 bang to rights. [po, Jan 07 2006]

It should also have a special feature attached, which inserts paragraph breaks into ideas that you have.

Lots of mistakes. I won't insult you by going through them all.

I was under the impression that the reason the windows get stuck is ice on the window and car door, freezing the two together. This would not help in that situation. But if there was a similar system with the heated oil/whatever going onto the actual glass, this would be quite useful.

Neutral because of the mistakes, but if you correct them I will give it a bun.
-- dbmag9, Jan 07 2006


I have seen several cars that have thin wire that runs through the glass of the rear windows that would thaw them out.
-- MikeOxbig, Jan 07 2006


In my Audi, and in a lot of other cars, there happens to be a little vent next to the A-pillar that directs air from the heater toward the side windows, defogging them. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to assume that you could leave this running and eventually defrost the outside of the window.

Of course, I live in northern Florida. The most that happens to my car is a layer of frost that you can scrape off with the sleeve of your windbreaker.
-- Headcleaner, Jan 07 2006


I hope I fixed the mistakes well enough to recieve your all mighty bun dbmag9, Lord of Grammar and Spelling. Although please insult me all you like until my sentence fragments are worthy of your approval.
-- plaguedcookies, Jan 07 2006


I just remembered something.

When I was working at a contract job in an Owens-Corning shingle plant, they had, among other things, strange tanks and lines marked Therminol.

Apparently, it's hot oil, used to keep asphalt tar liquid in this instance. No, no, you definitely do not want to use hot oil in something like this. Bad voodoo. I remember having to watch a plant safety video that told us, in no uncertain terms, that this stuff would FLAY US ALIVE if we ever came into contact with it.

I'm assuming yours won't be so hot, but think of the problems caused by a leak or a crash. Cleanup of this stuff would be hell, and I can vouch for it.

Why not use a very thin resistive film inside the window? It would provide a nearly indestructible light tint, and heat up over its collective area enough to melt the ice.
-- Headcleaner, Jan 07 2006


1. All cars have double-glazed windshields. 2. Rear defrosters are standard in all cars sold in the US these days, except for those that have slide opening rear windows, like trucks.

Tough to put a fluid tube inside a door without worrying about it flexing and eventually breaking from wearout. I would use a separate water loop from the engine cooling loop, just for that reason.

Electric is probably a better idea, although the wire bands would be annoying.
-- RayfordSteele, Jan 07 2006


With the resistive film inside the glass, there would be no need for the wire bands across the glass. The window simply has bonded connectors at the lower right and lower left corners, and any wire bands run along the edge of the window where they would be hidden and provide power to the resistive film.

This also has the benefit of not requiring contactors that could become dirty/oily and create a possible hazard of electrical fire. I know some of you are probably thinking of the heating wires flexing under the stress of opening and closing the window - well, the wiring harness going to your door flexes a lot more, and I've never personally seen those wear out.
-- Headcleaner, Jan 08 2006


Many cars have ducts that direct heated air through the doors. The door acts as a plenum area and allows the heated air to keep the window regulators and lock mechanisms warm. Small vents at the top of the door allows heated air for the sidelight windows themselves.

For example, in the car I drive, there is a small circular vent on the side of the dashboard that mates, when the door is closed, to a matching vent surrounded by a soft rubber seal on the door. Air is passed into the door via this route and heat is vented to the sidelight for defogging, into the interior of the car through perfs in the door panel and bathes the door internals with heated air. It's quite effective.
-- bristolz, Jan 08 2006


My bun is yours, plaguedcookies, O newcomer to the Land of Grammar and Spelling. Thank you for taking my comments into account. But as you so generously invited, I must say this: Thou puking rough-hewn puttock, change 'thru' to 'through'! (I don't know what it means either).
-- dbmag9, Jan 08 2006


have you never been to a Tim Hortons, thats how it is spelt, we canucks are a crazy breed and we will do anything to differ our spelling from yours
-- plaguedcookies, Jan 09 2006


Oh, you're Canadian! OK then, as long as it's not the American 'thru'.
-- dbmag9, Jan 10 2006


I must be one of only a few Canadians with a cockney langridge.
-- skinflaps, Jan 10 2006


OR, you could have a hot air blower installed at the drive-through, for those sub-zero days.

Did you know that all Skodas used to have heated rear windscreens?
It keeps your hands warm when you're pushing it. Ba-boom-cha!

The old ones are the best.
-- Loris, Jan 10 2006


+ [beleagueredbiscuits]
-- DesertFox, Jan 10 2006



random, halfbakery