Dave Smith wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> On 2017-06-24 6:17 PM, cshenk wrote:
> > Dave Smith wrote in rec.food.cooking:
>
> > > I have never even heard of one of those. I know all to well that
> > > modern cars, the type that have remote access keys, will lock with
> > > the keys in the ignition and engine running.
> >
> > THats why I have spares. So we can lock the one running to warm up
> > in the morning, while we have our tea. We may not have much ice to
> > scrape here compared to nothern critters, but it's still a pain to
> > do.
>
> Wow. How long do you leave your car running? It is considerably
> colder here than where you live? The only time I leave a car running
> to warm up is after ice storms or if the interior of the windows are
> heavily frosted. Normally, I would just go out and start the engine
> and clean snow/frost off the windshield and front windows. If they
> don't need to be cleaned I just start it and let the engine run long
> enough to get the oil moving. Engines warm up faster when they are
> working. Even on the coldest days I have heat withing a couple
> minutes of driving.
>
> FWIW, diesel engines do not really warm up when idling. You could
> start a diesel engine and let it run for 15 minutes or more and it
> would likely still not be hot enough to run your heater. You are
> better off to start if up, let the oil start flowing, and then drive
> slowly for a mile or two.

Regular gas car here and how long it runs depends on how thick the ice
is on the car that we have to melt off before I can see out. A scraper
is nice but here it tends to be 1/4-1/2 inch thick ice some mornings.

I don't bother unless there is ice on the windshields that can't be
brushed off reasonably well. We are just warm enough to be more prone
to freezing sleet that becomes an ice barrier, than actual snow. Snow
you can brush off. Sleet freezing the doors closed is a much bigger
issue here possibly.

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