Which is better to choose: autostart or preheater

In winter, car owners are forced to warm up the engine for its normal operation. In order not to waste a lot of time on this process, special autorun devices and heaters have been created. They allow you to remotely control the operation of the internal combustion engine, due to which the time for starting the car in winter is reduced to a minimum. But before buying equipment, you need to figure out what is better to use: autostart or pre-heater.

Features of autorun operation

Engine autostart devices are designed to remotely turn on the engine and warm up the vehicle. In other words, the design allows you not to go down to the car to turn on the internal combustion engine, but to do this using a special control panel.

The system is very popular due to its simplicity and low cost. If desired, you can use autostart with integrated alarm, which can significantly increase the safety of the vehicle.

The system design is quite simple and consists of a control unit and a remote control in the form of a key fob or an application for a mobile phone. It is enough to press the "Start" button, after which power will be supplied to the starter, fuel and engine ignition system. After turning on the engine, the driver will receive a notification, which comes based on the on-board voltage monitoring and the oil pressure signal.

The starter is automatically disconnected after starting the internal combustion engine. In case of an unsuccessful attempt, the system will make several interval repetitions, each time increasing the scrolling time of the trigger.

Advantages and disadvantages

For the greater convenience of consumers, manufacturers are developing smart solutions for automatically starting the internal combustion engine, allowing you to set up a daily and weekly schedule for turning on the engine. The settings are adjustable by hours and even minutes. This adds a "critical temperature" to the functionality. A sensor is built into the design to determine weather conditions and, if the indicator drops to an acceptable level, the motor starts automatically. This allows you to maintain the working condition of the internal combustion engine even at low temperatures, which is extremely useful in regions with indicators from -20 to -30 degrees.

Despite the large number of advantages, autorun devices also have obvious disadvantages. The main disadvantages are the following:

1. The car's resistance to theft decreases. To start remotely, you need to get access to the standard electronics and bypass the immobilizer. In most service stations, devices are installed in such a way that a chip from a standard key is used in the "crawler", which means that the level of security is reduced.
2. Each remote start will drain the battery and contribute to starter wear. When the engine is idling, the battery is practically not charged, which often leads to a complete discharge of the battery.
3. Improper installation leads to difficulties in the operation of alarms and other electronic control systems.

Types, pros and cons, as well as the principle of operation of preheaters

The pre-heater allows you to warm up the engine and the vehicle interior in cold weather. The device can be installed both as standard during the production of a vehicle, and as additional equipment. Depending on the design features, heaters are of the following types:

• autonomous (for example, liquid);
• electrical (dependent).

Autonomous heaters are designed to warm up the vehicle interior and engine before full start. They use fuel to generate heat and release heat energy. The equipment is economical in fuel consumption. The principle of operation of the device can be described by the following algorithm:

1. The driver presses the warm-up start button.
2. The actuator receives a signal and issues a control command to supply electrical power.
3. As a result, the fuel pump is driven and fuel and air are supplied to the combustion chamber by means of a fan.
4. With the help of candles, the fuel in the combustion chamber is ignited.
5. The coolant transfers heat to the engine through a heat exchanger.
6. When the coolant temperature reaches 30 degrees, the stove fan turns on and the interior is heated.
7. Upon reaching 70 degrees, the intensity of fuel pumping decreases to save fuel.

Autonomous equipment is installed in the engine compartment in the immediate vicinity of the engine to increase the efficiency of the heating system.

Liquid heaters are gaining popularity, despite the complexity of their installation and the cost of equipment. They have a host of benefits, including:

• warming up the engine and interior to a certain temperature and maintaining the desired climatic regime;
• flexible setting of the required temperature parameters;
• the ability to set a schedule and timer to turn on heating;
• automatic shutdown of heating when the set parameters are reached.

Electric heaters are presented in the form of spirals, which are installed in the engine block. When the equipment is activated, an electric current is supplied to the thermal element and the antifreeze is directly heated. A similar system is often used due to its ease of installation and cost effectiveness.

But electric heaters are significantly inferior in efficiency to liquid equipment. Such problems are associated with the fact that it takes a long time to warm up the element, as well as the direct transfer of heat to the engine. Remote control is also not provided, since it is required to connect the heater to the standard power supply network.

Which solution to choose?

Cold start of an automobile engine degrades the operational parameters of its individual elements. As a result of a lack of oil, which is more viscous at low temperatures, the timing belt, CPG and KShM wear out. Even a little heating of the engine will allow you to operate the machine more safely. Let's consider which is better to use - autostart or pre-heater.

The choice of autostart allows you to remotely control the start of the engine and warm up the vehicle interior. At the same time, the driver should be aware of a number of disadvantages, such as a decrease in the effectiveness of the anti-theft alarm, engine wear during cold start-up, possible problems with the operation of electronics due to improper installation, as well as increased fuel consumption for warming up and starting.

A standard heater has a number of advantages when compared with an autostart. It allows you to preliminarily raise the temperature of the engine, which increases its service life, while not affecting the level of security and resistance to burglaries, remotely control the switching on and monitor the operation of the equipment. Low fuel consumption should be noted. And of the minuses, only the high cost and relative complexity of the installation stand out.

The most popular are heaters from brands such as Teplostar, Webasto and Eberspacher. They have won the trust of customers due to the reliability of the devices.

The choice of the appropriate option for starting the engine in the winter depends solely on the personal preference of the driver. Both options have the right to exist, since they provide motorists with the possibility of remote heating of the engine and interior.