Insta-heat kit

[german69]

What is this mechotronix insta heat kit. Could anyone tell me more about it? It is one of samba's advertisements. IS this to good to be true. Can someone show me what the kit looks like? I am kinda lost!
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GoodVanGarage

[Horus]

http://mechotronix.com/air-cooled-volkswagens.htm

and the PDF with pics:
http://mechotronix.com/Manual-VW-Instaheat-v4.pdf

hope that helps
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[DrDarby]

Looks well thought out. It is similar to the builge pump fans I've been using for years but mounts outside the car over the transmission. I like the fact that it uses a "controller" and variable switch. On paper & in pictures it looks like a winner to me.
This isn't a "heater" just fans to get more heat into the car.
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Midwest Autosavers, Inc. Crystal Lake, IL

[tconner]

The Insta-Heat kit isn’t a heater but it does drastically improve the performance of the stock heating system. My 69’ bug has been a pleasure to drive all winter even in snow storms and cold temperatures (below 10 F). The stock heat exchangers produce a lot of heat but in stop and go driving and especially at idle the engine cooling fan does a poor job of moving that heat inside the car. The blowers in the Insta-Heat kit move a tremendous amount of air into the car even with the engine at idle. The major issue with using a set of bilge blowers (besides possibly melting) is their inability to move much air against backpressure like you will find in the VW heating system. The blowers in the Insta-Heat kit handle backpressure much better than the bilge blowers which also means quite a bit more air-flow up to the defrost vents. For actual performance data and more information check out our website:
www.mechotronix.com

[Gouie]

Tconner, can you comment on the noise? Have you used bilge blowers before? How do these fans compare to the plane landing racket of the bilge blowers?

[tconner]

The noise is considerably less and a lower pitch. At full power the noise sounds like large amounts of air moving through small duct. It is very simmilar to the way a modern car sounds with the blower at full power. Also, the variable speed switch allows you to throttle it back to the point where you really cant hear the blowers over the engine. Initially I had a set of bilge blowers mounted right after the heat exchangers outside the car. The noise was okay since they were not mounted under the seat but still high pitched. They also melted my first time out on the highway.

[roadron]

can these be adapted to a splitty bus???
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73 WESTY SO72-6 with continental bed

[Gouie]

Good news regarding the noise level. I sure hope I'm not hi-jacking here but my next question would be, what are the pieces called that are removed from under the seat to accommodate the bilge fans? If I go this route I would like toe revert that portion of the system back to stock.

That's o.k., I think I found it

http://www.cip1.ca/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=VWC%2D111%2D255%2D415%2DF

[tconner]

Roadron, yes the kit will fit your splitty bus. We just supply a different set of adapter pieces, one to fit the 50mm outlet on the heater box and another for the 50mm inlet on the body side. Kit is the same price.

[tconner]

Gouie,
Can you post a picture of the section of duct you removed in order to put in the bilge fans. I think I may have an easy solution.

[Gouie]

I can take a picture of the area that was removed but the tube itself is long gone. Under the seat, in stock form, there is a tube that runs from the firewall to the channel beneath the door. The portion of tube is perforated with a number of holes and wrapped in some sort of heat resistant material.

I'm thinking any old flexible hose would work, dryer vent perhaps but I'm definitely open to suggestions.

[tconner]

Gouie,
Some sort of flexible dryer hose was exactly what I was thinking. If you can't find something at your local hardware store, www.mcmaster.com has a pretty good selction of duct hose.

[Gouie]

Beautiful, thanks. Definitely a project for next winter as the weather's finally starting to turn for the better. My wife will be more than happy!

[Rowroy]

[Gouie]

Good idea, that would allow you to paint it to look like it belongs.

[twinfactor]

just got my insta-heat kit in the mail today, and this thing is awesome. The blowers are quality built, no cheap plastics, and the electronics have sealed circuit boards, so you don't have to worry about the control units failing.

i can't wait to install the kit...

later,
-Tim

[german69]

Hey twinfactor keep us updated on results and post some pictures. Thanks man
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GoodVanGarage

[omg1]

Looks very interesting - too bad I didn't see this at the beginning of winter!

[twinfactor]

Just about finished with the install... all there is left to do is to put the fans in place of the stock hoses between the heat exchangers and the inlet on the body.

I test ran one of the fans today, and this puppy puts out a TON of air. They are kind of loud, however, I don't think they'll be very noticable over the engine noise.

The variable speed switch supplied with the kit is awesome. It works very well, letting you modulate the speed from off to full blast, and anywhere inbetween. I was surprised to see that the switch even has an LED built in, and turns on when the fans are running.

I'll try and post some pics tomorrow.

-TiM

[Fibersport]

I've been follwing this post since it started, always looking for better heat, please do post the pictures.
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1973 Standard Beetle