Saw this on Instapundit.

Not sure why the article had to include a description of what a car port is....was this generated by AI or was the word smith paid by the word

quote:

EV fire in carport was likely caused by the toaster used to warm the battery

This is not an approved method for anything except making toast


ASSOCIATED PRESS
Dec 4th 2023 at 12:33PM
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — A toaster placed under an electric vehicle by its owner to warm up its battery likely caused a fire that destroyed the car and damaged a nearby house in southern Denmark, police said Monday.

Police said that they “strongly discourage” people to use that method to heat power cells.

“The cause of the fire is most likely to be found in the toaster that the owner of the car had placed under the front of his car to keep the battery warm,” police said in a daily report.

The fire happened on Saturday in Stenlille, about 60 kilometers (nearly 40 miles) southwest of Copenhagen. No one was injured.

The car was parked in a carport — a shelter for vehicles that is attached to a house and consists of a flat roof supported on pillars. The make of the car wasn't known, and it also wasn't immediately clear if it was the vehicle owner's house that was damaged or a neighbor's home.

The car's owner faces a fine.

https://www.autoblog.com/2023/...to-warm-the-battery/

Is there any type of car which would do well from having a toaster placed under it? How would a toaster heat a battery?

I’d think an incandescent bulb (lighted) would be a better plan.

quote:

Originally posted by Aglifter:
Is there any type of car which would do well from having a toaster placed under it?...

A Fuego?

quote:

Originally posted by dsiets:

quote:

Originally posted by Aglifter:
Is there any type of car which would do well from having a toaster placed under it?...

A Fuego?

Firebird?

And how do you keep a toaster constantly in operation long enough to heat anything? Maybe a toaster oven?

quote:

Originally posted by YooperSigs:
And how do you keep a toaster constantly in operation long enough to heat anything? Maybe a toaster oven?

I'm guessing from what I have seen in shops over the years duct tape or vice grips or screwdriver was involved.

I don't think warming my car with a toaster is something that would ever cross my mind.

FAKE NEWS! Somebody added the "electric vehicle" part.

The story originates from the daily(ish) local police reports, South Zealand and Lolland-Falster Police Dec 1-3, 2023 Weekend Report:

"STENLILLE: Toaster probably to blame for car fire

On Saturday morning, a car and a carport burned out at an address in Stenlille, and the nearby house also suffered some damage from the heat build-up. Fortunately, no one was injured in the fire. The cause of the fire is most likely to be found in the toaster that the owner of the car had placed under the front of his car to keep the battery warm. This method should be strongly discouraged. The owner of the car was also charged under the Emergency Response Act."

There is no mention of what kind of vehicle it was.

Here it is repeated in the Danish tabloid, Ekstra Bladet:

"Of
Laura Bonvang
There are smart solutions, and then there are not so smart solutions.

And it suggests that a car owner from Stenlille came up with one of the latter when he wanted to keep the battery in his car warm on Saturday morning.

This appears from Sydsjælland's and Lolland-Falster's daily report.

Here, the police moved out together with the fire brigade when both the car and the carport it was in caught fire.

'The cause of the fire is most likely to be found in the toaster that the owner of the car had placed under the front of his car to keep the battery warm,' says the South Zealand and Lolland-Falster Police.

Aimed at
Politikredsen, in the same vein, uses the opportunity to strongly discourage others from using the same method.

The result was that both the car and the carport burned out, while the nearby house suffered damage from the heat build-up.

The car owner was also charged with breaching the Emergency Response Act.

No one was injured in connection with the fire."

And from the Associated Press:

"COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A toaster placed under an electric vehicle by its owner to warm up its battery likely caused a fire that destroyed the car and damaged a nearby house in southern Denmark, police said Monday.

Police said that they “strongly discourage” people to use that method to heat power cells.

“The cause of the fire is most likely to be found in the toaster that the owner of the car had placed under the front of his car to keep the battery warm,” police said in a daily report.

The fire happened on Saturday in Stenlille, about 60 kilometers (nearly 40 miles) southwest of Copenhagen. No one was injured.

The car was parked in a carport — a shelter for vehicles that is attached to a house and consists of a flat roof supported on pillars. The make of the car wasn’t known, and it also wasn’t immediately clear if it was the vehicle owner’s house that was damaged or a neighbor’s home.

The car’s owner faces a fine."

Now we see "electric vehicle" along with the definition of a carport.

I found no mention of this incident in the Danish newspapers, Jyllands-Posten and Berlingske. I did use Google translate, but this isn't a case where something was "lost" in the translation.

Now my toaster is jealous that other toasters get to leave the kitchen

quote:

Is there any type of car which would do well from having a toaster placed under it? How would a toaster heat a battery?

My guess is the toaster was placed on the ground under the car's battery, assuming it was an ICE car. Heat rises, so the heat from the toaster would go up to the battery and help keep it warm. Most any movement of the wind would make this moot. The not-so-brilliant car owner must have modified the toaster to keep it from timing-out, popping up and turning off. Or maybe European toasters have other settings?

There are products specifically made to warm a car's battery - a battery blanket that surrounds the battery or a pad that sits under the battery. Both connect to 120VAC. I had a battery blanket installed in my car when I was stationed in Alaska.

If it was an EV (with a lithium battery), I would think there would be more to the story about the fire.

Article with pictures from what I believe is the local paper for the municipality this occured in and no mention of an EV: Link.

There was a post above this that speculated the car's owner was trying to stretch the battery's life out a bit.

^^^ I suspect you are right. The low in that area has been 32 degrees Fahrenheit for the last week.

Two things got me looking into this.

One, my limited understanding of EV batteries is that they have heaters built in.

Two, the article in the OP is incredibly limited on verifiable factss; rather, a bunch of words with little detail. Who - some guy, what - car fire, where - somewhere in rural Denmark, when - sometime on Saturday, why - Denmark man=Florida man.