Originally recorded January 10, 2014. This is a review of the Harbor Freight 12 Volt Auto Heater / Defroster With Light, Item # 60525/61598. After reading the reviews on Harbor Freight's website, and seeing that almost everyone badmouthed this product, I was ready to purchase it to see just how bad it was. I had an item similar to this years ago; it had no light or fan-only mode, and it worked, somewhat. That unit used an old nichrome-wire heating element. This unit uses a ceramic heating element, which is much safer to start with, and produces a fair amount of heat. I have found that most people buy this with the intentions of heating their entire car, but the unit is much too small to do that. This device would work best placed on the dashboard blowing at the windshield (or on the rear shelf in a car). It will take a considerable amount of time (and you will need the engine running) for it to do its job. The reason is the size. The heater/defroster in the car is much larger and moves much more air, so it will do the job faster. All in all it is a product that does work, but is limited in its capabilities simply due to the fact that it runs on 12 volts. There is only so much current the wires can carry--that is why larger home appliances that run on 220 volts are more efficient. They can use higher gauge wire; due to the higher voltage there is less amperage draw. At 12 volts, there is not much voltage to start with, and not much current that can be carried through the wires. I bought this simply to have a ceramic heating element that runs on 12 volts. Buy this unit with reservations.

• published: 31 Jan 2014
• views: 109