There are battery operated car heaters on Amazon.com.

We sometimes earn a referral fee when you buy via our links.You can learn more.

At Knowtheflow.com, we have recently turned our attention to portable car heaters, and we are concerned about so many of the products out there that either doesn't work at all or are unsafe.

We decided to put together our own buyer's guide for the best portable heaters to use in a car.We will only recommend products that meet two very important criteria: how well these heaters work and how safe they are to use.

There are a number of reasons why you might want to get a portable heater to use inside your car.

We would like to first talk about each of the applications and what you can expect from them, because portable car heaters do some of these tasks quite well and others not so well.

The first thing that we should make clear is that any heater that plugs into your cigarette lighter is not going to do much heating.

It only takes a few minutes of reading customer reviews to realize that plug-in products that claim to heat the cab of your car, defrost your windows and keep you and your loved ones safe are not true.

It is easy to understand from a technical point of view.The type of electrical current needed to heat the interior of a car is so great that you would blow the fuses on the lighter all the time.Don't get that warm and cigarette lighter heaters are not really effective in preventing this.

There are other options.We should make another point clear.If you want to keep a heater in your car for emergencies, you should make sure that it works when you need it.Saving money now and regretting it later is not a good idea.

We have found that there are only a few basic types of heaters that you can depend upon in an emergency and that in any situation will always work well for you.

There are a few cigarette lighter heaters which work well and we will include those below as well, though this one might not be what you expect.

In this buyer's guide, we will pick the very best unit in six categories.

Although you may be tempted to get a big heater for emergency situations, most will simply produce too much heat for a car and are too large as well, even to the point of being unsafe.

The Mr Heater Little Buddy is a small, fuel-efficient, and safe emergency car heating device that puts out plenty of heat.

With the Little Buddy, you can enjoy a more modest 3,800 BTU output, which is still plenty of heat for any car, and it will operate at maximum output for over five and a half hours.

The Little Buddy is not recommended to be used in a moving vehicle, and if you need to use it in an emergency, you must make sure that the windows are open, that it isn't next to any flammable materials and that you have enough space around it.

The Mr Heater Little Buddy is one of the safest propane heaters on the market, with a sensor to monitor oxygen levels and a tip-over switch, either of which will turn the heater off immediately.

If you ever get stranded in extremely cold conditions, the Mr Heater Little Buddy can save your life because it's well designed, made and perfectly safe.

If you are in North America, this Little Buddy heater is not approved for use in Canada or Massachusetts.Mr. Heater makes a special version of the Little Buddy Canada / Massachusetts Approved Propane Heater for those two places.

There aren't any that are really effective or dependable enough, or that last long enough on a charge, to be of actual use in an emergency.

The best way to make sure that you are covered in an emergency is to purchase a quality portable emergency battery system and a great electric heater.It's a good idea to make sure you have power for your cell phone, emergency lights, and whatever else you might need, because you can also have the assurance of warmth in extremely cold situations.

The most important item in any emergency kit is a good rechargeable power station, and the cheapest one we have found is the NinjBatt.

The NinjBatt can power a heater for hours while still charging and running other devices.It also has a built-in emergency light.It can be charged from a cigarette lighter or a solar panel at home.

This emergency kit should include the Andily Portable Ceramic Space Heater, a small, safe and extremely effective portable ceramic heater with two heat settings.

The Andily ceramic space heat puts out plenty of heat for a car's interior, even at the low setting, and has excellent safety features as well, including a tip-over switch, an overheating switch and materials which will not.It won't consume oxygen from your car's interior since it is a ceramic heater.

The Andily portable ceramic heater is designed for home or office use and is not specifically intended for use in a car, so you must be extremely careful and only use it in emergency situations.Don't fall asleep when the heating element is running, and keep it away from anything that could be dangerous.

If used properly, it is the best ceramic heater for cars we have found and, in combination with the excellent NinjBatt Portable Power Station, is our choice for a best portable electric Heater for Cars in 2020.

We might be cheating a little bit.It might be a good idea to refer to a hard-wired and permanently installed heater as a portable one.

If you will allow us, we simply couldn't get behind the idea of using any portable heater as a replacement for a broken factory heater.If your car's built-in heating isn't working, you can get a portable heater from the manufacturer, but it will not heat the car, and driving in winter without adequate heating can be dangerous.

Not so with the American Cooling Systems 20,000 BTU heater, which has plenty of heat output for any sized car's interior, and its low profile and under-seat mounting allow it to do its job discreetly and without getting in the way.

In an SUV, van or any other passenger vehicle, the American Cooling Systems 12-volt auxiliary heater works like a factory-installed heater, taking heat from the engine's radiator via liquid coolant, then heating the air with it.

It is a great option if your car's heater is broken, or it is just not working as well as it used to.If you have researched just how expensive it can be to have a car's heater repaired or replaced, you know that you can easily purchase a better one, and it would be less expensive than the first option.

It might work better with a unit like this one.If the car's interior is too cold, it is a good idea to supplement a working car heater.

This is not a project you can do yourself, it needs to be securely installed in your car and connected to the battery, not the cigarette lighter sockets.

The American Cooling Solutions 20,000 BTU 12V Low Profile Universal Auxiliary Cab Heater is a superior product.Industrial quality materials and construction, simple and reliable design, and an extremely high level of effectiveness, this powerful unit is a perfect choice and is our choice for a best portable direct wired heater for cars in.

If you are looking for something a bit smaller, with an even lower profile and not quite as much heat, you may want to consider their excellent 13,000 BTU Universal Auxiliary Cab, which puts out a lot of heat and is good for even larger personal vehicles.

Even with all of the safety features offered with the other heaters on our list, some people still don't feel comfortable using one in the small interior space of their car.

If you run out of gas or are stuck in the snow, the Fourheart Hand Warmer can help you stay warm for a few hours.

The Fourheart can run for hours on a single charge, but it won't be enough to keep you alive in the most extreme conditions.

The Fourheart can be used as a power bank for a phone in an emergency situation with its large 5,200 mAh battery.

The Fourheart is designed to be warm and safe on the outside, with smooth surfaces, no cold or hot spots, and a comfortable shape.It has safety features that ensure it won't get overheated or over-charge.

The Fourheart has only one button, for power on and off, to switch between three temperature levels, and will stay warm for up to 8 hours.

The Fourheart Rechargeable Hand Warmers is a great accessory to keep in your glove compartment.

The Vosarea Portable 12V Car Heater and the COMFIER 12 Volt Heated Car Seat Cushion are the last four recommendations in our 2020 buyer's guide for best portable heaters for cars.

The dashboard heater/defroster is the most problematic type of heater for portable cigarette lighters.

Why are they so problematic?We have tried many different dashboard heaters, and there is only one conclusion: none of them are any good.

These apparently clever and often cool-looking gadgets promise to sit easily on your dashboard and keep your windshield frost-free, and maybe even heat up the car's interior as well.

They do not do that.What they do is make pathetic little noises, put out almost no heat, or even air, do absolutely nothing to clear the front window, and to add insult to injury, often blow fuses in your car's electrical system.

We had given up on the idea when we came across the Vosarea, which is the only one that actually works, and it is not only the best car heater for your cigarette lighter sockets.

The Vosarea heater puts out hot air, which will help you warm up and get your car ready to drive.It can be used on your hands and feet as well.

The Vosarea has a mount for your dashboard, but also a handle for spot use.If you use it this way, it will help heat and clear the window, and it won't block the view.

It is dangerous and distractive to use the Vosarea windshield heater in this way, and especially so in icy and slick winter conditions.Pull over, fully stop the vehicle, and use this hand-held heater on your windows in any condition you please.

The Vosarea 12V portable car heater is made from high-quality plastic and feels solid in the hand.

There are hundreds of 12-volt heaters that claim to do what this nice little unit actually does, but they don't.Our choice for the best portable dashboard heater for cars in 2020 is the Vosarea portable 12 volt car heater.

This category in our list of best portable car heaters in 2020 is almost exactly the opposite of the last category, which consisted of one single stand-out product that didn't work at all.

You see, there are lots of wonderful seat warmers available for your car, which make driving so much warmer and more comfortable for you, your passengers and even your cats and dogs.Testing them out has been enjoyable but not heart-warming.

The Comfier heated car seat cushion has a plush faux suede covering and high density foam underneath, which makes it live up to its name.It was soft, supportive and luxurious.

It warms up quickly and keeps the heat consistent, and it is very effective in healing the body.

The Comfier seat warmer has a three-stage shut-off timer as well as a UL listed overheat thermostat and is safe.The control panel is easy to use, and will not be too67531, but it is still recommended that you do not adjust your Comfier seat heater while you are driving.

The straps and non-slip backing make it easy to install and keep it in place, and the product is designed to fit any car or truck seat.

The Comfier 12 Volt Heated Car Seat Cushion is an extremely high-quality product that will keep you nicely warm in any conditions, and is our choice for the best portable seat-warmer for cars in 2020.

If you want to use more than one Comfier heated cushion at the same time, you need to get a splitter for your cigarette lighter sockets.The Yantu 3 Splitter Socket is recommended by us.

If you want to go crazy with comfort, we also love the Snailax Memory Foam Heated Seat Cushion with Massage.

I fear that the next product on our list of best portable car heaters in 2020 will be dangerous, because I am too relaxed to drive.

Don't use a Sojoy electric car blanket while you are driving, it will make you so warm and comfortable that you will drift off to sleep.

The size of the blanket is ideal for a car because it is big enough to cover you, but not so big that it gets in the way or distracts the driver.The power cord is long enough to reach the back seat.

The Sojoy electric blanket has 3 temperature settings and 3 timer settings, all controlled with a handy, easy to use hand controller.It's rare for electric blankets to be fully machine-washable.

If you and your partner can't agree on running the air conditioner, or if your car is too cold to drive, this is a great solution.

There are many situations in which the Sojoy heated car blanket can be useful.

The Sojoy 12V Heated Travel Blanket is our choice for the best portable electric blanket for cars in 2020.

If you have two or more passengers, or if your dogs don't like to share, you should get a splitter for your lighter sockets so that you can use more than one electric blanket.The Yantu 3 Splitter Socket is recommended by us.

The final item in the 2020 buyer's guide is not meant to warm you up, at least not directly.

The Hot Logic 12-volt food heater is a product that develops a fierce loyalty among its customers because it is so useful, works so well and is special.

The Hot Logic electric car stove is more than just a food warmer.It will keep leftovers at your desired temperature, but it will also cook foods quickly and easily, with no fuss, and keep them at the perfect temperature until you are ready to eat.

I didn't think it was possible, but you just put food in, plug it into the car's lighter sockets and come back in a few hours if you need to cook.

The Hot Logic Food Warming Tote makes no mess and preserves all of the flavors.It is easy to clean.What is not to love?

The Hot Logic 12V Food Warming Tote is useful for long road trips or for working commuters who want to save money on lunch every day.It is our choice for the best heated lunch box for cars in 2020, and is one of the most effective and useful gadgets we have come across.

If you live in a cold climate or travel in cold weather, and you don't already have an emergency heater in your car, the answer is definitely yes.

If you run out of gas, get stuck in snow or ice, or simply need to pull over, you may have to wait in your car for help, and that can take anywhere from an hour to several hours.

In those situations, an emergency heater can save your life, and in any case, it will make waiting much more comfortable and help keep you and your family calm and positive.

If you just want a little more heat in the interior of your car, a portable heater is a great idea, not one of those sad little blowers that don't really put out any heat, but a remarkably effective and satisfying seat warmer or electric blanket.On those cold winter drives, what a difference they can make!

Whether you are looking for assurance and backup in case of emergency, warmth and comfort, or even nicely cooked hot food, you can select any one of the products on our buyer's guide.

You probably know Dyson for its vacuum cleaners, but they also have state-of-the-art air purifiers, heating, and cooling fans in the market.We all know how reliable Dyson is.

Cool mist humidifiers help keep your room warm.During the night when there is not much traffic, they are designed to maintain humidity levels.