First Morning with a Blocked Grill

Man Boxter, sure looks COLD up there!!! Glad to see the power cord (looks like) running to the opposite side of your car, so can I assume you have a EBH? Sure would think so.

Anyhow, thank you all very much for the pictures.... it is a real benefit as I am trying to determine how to block off my front grill. Evan and Tony, your pictures are truly worth a thousand words. I assume Evan has had no problems with the insulation covering the ICE (i.e. spark or fire hazard?) Do you have anything holding it down at all?? Duck tape?

Oh, and Evan, btw, I'm very sorry to see the vandalism on the front of your Prius. Did the police ever catch the person who put that "Razorbacks" license plate on there? :lol: :lol:

HAPPY HOLIDAYS ALL!!!!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Dec 23 2006, 01:36 PM) [snapback]366054[/snapback]</div>

Hehehehe I bet if I got 5-6 drinks in you, you'd be a real card!

Just in for the day, forgot to bring along the digital camera to post the pictures. I'll get to it Jan 7-8

BTW I noticed you had two cords out your grille. One is for the EBH, the other is for ...??

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jayman @ Dec 27 2006, 01:19 PM) [snapback]367232[/snapback]</div>

:lol: recharging the ejection seat?

 

Do you think that I blocked too much (see pic) ?

How will I know if the electric fans kick on ?

 

you can hear them come on sound like a Dash8 on takeoff.

 

i blocked ALL of the top and bottom grills and my Max water temp has been 211ºF. so i feel there is very little to be concerned about.

the only thing i wish i could monitor would be the converter temps, but i still dont see that there is much to be worried about. several people here are blocking their front grills and many have CANVIEW and i have not heard of anyone reporting readings that anyone should be concerned with.

 

Based on your recommendations I blocked my upper grill. I'm using Evan's rubber insulation cut to fit the individual opennings and the compression fit. I pushed too hard on the first one so it's rolling around the front end of the car. Although it isn't freezing, I think I see some improvement as my first bar is over 25mpg.

Thank you all.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Jan 2 2007, 06:26 PM) [snapback]369834[/snapback]</div>

It's already way up. I'm averaging 45 which is really good for me. I am still just not doing as well as I had hoped from the beginning. I beleive it's the hills that I live on and the hilly area, combined with short drives. If you recall I was down to 34 before I blocked the grill - I think it wasn't just the cold air but rather the insane rain going in there and washing down the radiator while driving, making it extra cool.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Ecojosh @ Jan 2 2007, 08:38 PM) [snapback]369857[/snapback]</div>

Sorry to go over old turf but I wanted to consolidate input for my particular situation.

• Location, Rockies, west of Denver.
• Garage is insulated -- never noted frozen cases of Costco water or anything else.
• Wildly varying temps throughout winter, daytime highs between 20F and 50F; lows 0 to 30s.
• Heading into town I basically drive downhill for 25 miles and 2500 ft. Coming home, the opposite.
• First 5 miles out of the house, 30-40 mph, one stop sign.
• Next 10 miles, 40-50 mph.
• Next 10 miles, 55-70 mph.
• Car is 900 miles and one month old and averaging 46 mpg with Ethanol-ized gas per Denver winter specs.

I'm wondering if either/or the grill stuffing and block heaters will be of use. Heading into Denver I'm easily at full green bars after the first 5 miles of downhill. The ICE runs because I'm above 35 mph. Running around Denver, where it's usually 15 degrees warmer, it's a combination of long boulevard drives and stop-n-go. Coming home it's a full ICE grind though with a running start I can keep up with most everybody on the freeway.

Thanks for your considered input - Phil

 

Is your garage insulated or heated?

I am fortunate in that we heated ours (all Geothermal for the whole house) and thus it never gets below 55 in the garage

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(philmo @ Jan 3 2007, 07:26 PM) [snapback]370417[/snapback]</div>

Increasing your tire pressure to 42/40 may add 1 or 2 mpg. I'm sure blocking your grill will help. If you are using the heater all the time try setting it lower or turning it off. The more heat the engine loses the more it will run.

 

a block heater will definitely help with your situation. A much higher initial temp for the ICE and a much quicker warm up. As said if you can stand it the heater set to 55 or so and a jacket will keep the ICE from losing all the heat the little thing can produce. I avoid the Auto setting and just adjust it for floor output or bi-level. Fan set for first or second block on the MFD. Grill blocking in your case with the uphill run on the way home and with out a means of keeping an eye on the ICE temps hmmmmmm not something I'd do. If your creative and want to make your grill blocker so in the afternoon you can pull a section out of the lower grill then I'd say go ahead and block it up in the morning and give it a bit of air for the return. These two things will help you mileage no doubt about it.

 

If I manage to get my PHEV conversion from Hymotion, I guess I'd have to somehow switch to electric heat to make the car the most efficient.

Hmm.. But I'd still need moisture removal as that's a big issue up here.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Ecojosh @ Jan 3 2007, 08:27 PM) [snapback]370560[/snapback]</div>

what do you mean moisture removal?? just because we've gotten 5" of rain in 2 1/2 days means you just have to seal it properly

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Frank Hudon @ Jan 3 2007, 09:01 PM) [snapback]370571[/snapback]</div>

hardy har har har...

For those who don't live in the PNW, we have to run our AC compressors much of the winter in our cars to remove moisture in the air. Otherwise our windows fog up quite horribly. Doesn't matter if you have the climate control set to external air - if you have 4 adults in the car who breath - you have to run the AC compressor for many days in the winter just to remove moisture.

 

see there's your problem...breathing passengers...... just tell them to hold their breath

 

i use a desiccant system that helps to remove some of the moisture. i believe it does reduce the amount of defrost i have to use. i can get away with the split air flow most of the time.

before, i had issues with the rear window actually dripping because i used the rear window defroster so infrequently. i used to take a towel about every other day and wipe the window down to prevent mildew. now i dump the desiccant tank every other day instead