Another method used to heat aircraft windows is fine wire (30-50 micron
diameter). Some of the smaller planes use 24VDC heaters and simple
on-off controllers.
http://www.bekaert.com/corporate/pro...l%20fibres.htm is a
manufacturer of such wire in various alloys. Generally, the wires are
embedded into a urethane inner layer and connected to bus bars on
either side. They also put at least one temperature sensor in the
window. The currents can be quite large in order to get 2-3
watts/square inch. De-icing reqires 4-5w/sqin.

Andy Estes
www.estestech.com


Eisboch wrote:
Charles T. Low wrote:
A very practical problem is windshield fogging. This happened on my
boat one
cool evening this Fall, and after I realized it wasn't getting
foggy
outside, I had my daughter up on the foredeck wiping the windows
constantly
while I sponged them off inside - just so we could see. The amount
of sudden
condensation was formidable. (Trojan 26.)

Is general pilothouse heating adequate for this? I suspect not.
Anyone heat
their windshields, the way the "defrost" setting works in an
automobile?

====

Charles T. Low
www.boatdocking.com

====


Howdy, Charles,

I've never seen a window defogger setup on a boat. Automotive
defogger/defroster systems use heat plus run the A/C unit to remove
the
moisture that is condensing. I recall having cars without air
conditioning and the heat only defogger was not as effective.

An exotic solution would be having your windows coated with
transparent
but conductive coating such as Indium Tin Oxide and then pass current

through the coating to heat the windshield. Military and commercial
airplanes use this technique on many of the cockpit display panels
and
windshields. Also, I wonder if there is an after market automotive
thin
wire defroster that could be applied to the windows, similar to the
electric heater wires in the rear windows of most cars.

Eisboch