I don't have my empeg yet, but when I do, I plan to include a heater in the installation. (I also live in Alaska, and am just a little bit ticked at liufeng because I wanted to be the first person in Alaska to have an empeg! ;-(

My installation plans are to have an aluminum heat sink mounted about an inch below the empeg. (If you live in the UK, you'll have to make your heat sink out of aluminium, instead... ;-) On the bottom of the heat sink I will attach an oil pan heater (ca. 25-50 watts) or possibly a battery warmer. On the bottom of the empeg sled will be a thermostat reading the air temperature and controlling the heater. I figure if I set the thermostat to about 100--125 degrees (F) I'll be in the ballpark. Then, any time the car is plugged in, the empeg will be getting heat as well as the engine and transmission.

For people who live in warm climates and are not familiar with the concept of plugging your car in... in cold climates, a car will be equipped with some or all of the following: An engine heater (500-1000 watts) that warms the engine coolant; oil pan heaters that are silicon heat pads glued to the oil pan of the engine and transmission, anywhere from 25 to 200 watts, they get very hot (more than 200 degrees F); some sort of battery warmer (which I don't approve of -- if your engine won't start with a cold battery, then you shouldn't be forcing it, something else is wrong); and an interior heater (600-1000 watts) to take the chill out of of the interior and reduce the tendency to start the engine and let it warm up for 15 minutes before driving away which (counter-intuitive as it may seem) is bad for the car. Where I live, with the equipment I have (everything mentioned above except the battery warmer, replaced by a small 1/2 amp trickle charger instead) I figure it costs me about 15 cents an hour to plug in. I have my car plug-in on a timer, so that 2--5 hours before I start out in the morning (depending on temperature, which can be as cold as -65 degrees) it starts warming up. Comes to about $13 a month.

I'm hoping that my empeg heater idea will allow me to use my empeg under any and all cold weather conditions. Time will tell, I guess...

tanstaafl.

"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"