Hello! Log in or Register   |  Help  |  Donate  |  Buy Shirts See all banner ads | Advertise on TheSamba.com  
TheSamba.com
 
How effective is Ghia heating?
Page: 1, 2  Next
Forum Index -> Ghia Share: Facebook Twitter
Reply to topic
Print View
Quick sort: Show newest posts on top | Show oldest posts on top View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
DorianL
Samba Member


Joined: June 06, 2013
Posts: 717
Location: Belgium
DorianL is offline 

PostPosted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 1:43 am    Post subject: How effective is Ghia heating? Reply with quote

Right - things are getting a bit nippy here.

How effective is stock Ghia cabin heating?

I've read people having toasty feet and others installing gas heaters.

I'd like to think that stock KG should be effective however there is only a mild amount of heat coming out of the channels and dash.

It never really dip too much under freezing here but I still don't think it will be comfortable when winter really sets in.

I'll be hunting for holes to plug this weekend, but as far as I can tell... no gaping ones that I know of.

So is it effective heating? If so, what should I be looking for to clean up its efficiency?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Classifieds Feedback
djway3474
Samba Member


Joined: August 19, 2011
Posts: 2576
Location: The Real NDK So Cal
djway3474 is offline 

PostPosted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 1:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well here in So Cal they are more than enough. BUT - If it gets below 50degF we think the world is ending and we don't go outside. Shocked Confused Cool Laughing
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Gallery Classifieds Feedback
DorianL
Samba Member


Joined: June 06, 2013
Posts: 717
Location: Belgium
DorianL is offline 

PostPosted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 2:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

djway3474 wrote:
Well here in So Cal they are more than enough. BUT - If it gets below 50degF we think the world is ending and we don't go outside. Shocked Confused Cool Laughing


Laughing Laughing Laughing
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Classifieds Feedback
DorianL
Samba Member


Joined: June 06, 2013
Posts: 717
Location: Belgium
DorianL is offline 

PostPosted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 2:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://www.vw-resource.com/heat4.html

Interesting. I'm quite sure there's no thermostat on mine and it can take a long while before the engine is hot.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Classifieds Feedback
rcooled
Samba Member


Joined: September 20, 2008
Posts: 2493
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
rcooled is offline 

PostPosted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 7:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

How effective is the heat in an air-cooled VW? Try to imagine a hamster breathing on your ankle...that'll give you a pretty good idea Very Happy

If you want serious heat, get yourself a gas heater.
_________________
'63 Ragtop (current)
'65 Ghia coupe (totaled)
'67 Ghia convertible (current)
'69.5 Ghia convertible and
'62, '63, '65, '69 Bugs (all long gone)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
Altema
Samba Member


Joined: June 20, 2010
Posts: 2903
Location: Lower Michigan
Altema is offline 

PostPosted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 7:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If everything is working as it should, then the stock system keeps the car nice and comfortable. I pickup my daughter from work around midnight, and she works in a refrigerated plant. Her usual comment when I ask if she's warm enough is "Toasty", and the Ghia heats up better than our 2002 Mercury villager.

The first downside is that it's difficult to control when you try and turn it down, with 90% of the control being in the first 10% of the lever movement. The second downside is that the amount of air coming though the system falls to a trickle when the engine is idling or at low RPM because it's driven by the engine fan. I fixed that by installing a bus blower which I can turn on to boost the flow, but I only bother to use that when it's way below freezing outside. On the positive side, the stock heating system uses no electricity, is silent, has one moving part (aside from the controls), and the heat is a deep and satisfying one.

The guide you referenced is a good one, but to pare it down to the basics you need:

Properly working thermostat and cooling flaps.
Properly working heater boxes and controls.
Heater channels that are not rusted out.

By the way, the thermostat will also let your engine run at a more consistent temperature and help it to last longer Wink

Paul
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
KGCoupe
Samba Member


Joined: July 01, 2005
Posts: 3580
Location: Putting the "ill" and "annoy" in Illinois
KGCoupe is offline 

PostPosted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 7:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Make sure you have the rubber boot installed around the two horns in the trunk, and that there are no rips or tears in it.
Otherwise that little round opening at the bottom center of the nose will act like a hood scoop and fill the trunk with fresh cold air that ultimately finds its way into the passenger's cabin through every small hole and gap in the dashboard.

I'm probably stating the obvious to you, but thought I'd mention it just in case your Ghia came from a warm climate before you bought it and perhaps the horn boot was missing.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
-Zodiac-
Samba Member


Joined: September 22, 2014
Posts: 782
Location: Pensacola/milton, florida
-Zodiac- is offline 

PostPosted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 8:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Lol reminds me of a story my dad told me, he and his buddy's were riding around in a ghia and his friend had his foot directly on the passenger side vent and cought his shoe on fire. While every one else remained cold. Stock heater should be alright if your journey is up hill Wink I luckily live where it doesn't get "cold" exept for last year when everything froze
_________________
1973 karmann ghia - current, not the last VW.
1947 Chevy stylemaster - gone, but not forgotten.
1995 Ford F-150 - gone, hatred for it lives.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
BerneseMtnDog
Samba Member


Joined: July 07, 2014
Posts: 146
Location: Oregon
BerneseMtnDog is offline 

PostPosted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 8:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's only been around 40 degrees F here so far this fall but the heater in mine works really nice. Blows warm air in about 3 miles of driving. Only complaint as said before is that it's hard to adjust from full on and it doesn't blow as much on the windshield as I would like. I wonder how many cars are driving around with rotten rockers and heater channels? I'm sure that must affect how it heats the cabin. When I was looking for a car I saw one that had terribly rusted rockers. So bad that the owner had laid some hose along the inside sills and used those as heater channels. Of course he assured me this was stock and normal.

Steve
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
danielsan
Samba Member


Joined: September 18, 2008
Posts: 802
Location: Carson City, NV
danielsan is offline 

PostPosted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 8:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I bought a rebuilt gas heater from Martin Allen:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=9870

He helped me set it up, gave advice on how to increase safety and a year after buying he helped me get it set up for winter. The sort of person you want to buy from.

I spend lots of time on hills where the stock fan is moving much and the stock system has always sucked for the first 3 miles or so. Now I use both but the gas heater makes the first 10 minutes of the driver much nicer.

If I were to do it again I wouldn't worry about finding the original ghia plumbing -- now that I understand the system I realize that the elaborate plumbing was all about making sure that the heater does not sit on top of the brake lines. If you change to volvo style container on top of the master cylinder and you no longer need to worry about finding any of the impossible to find parts.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
malley56
Samba Member


Joined: January 29, 2006
Posts: 255
Location: Martinsville, VA
malley56 is offline 

PostPosted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 9:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Do you have the original heater boxes with the fins inside. If you have the cheapo aftermarket heater boxes they don't heat near as well..
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
ccihon
Samba Member


Joined: September 12, 2012
Posts: 227
Location: Columbus, OH
ccihon is offline 

PostPosted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 9:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I purchased my car from a warm climate where heat was not a concern. I had to patch a variety of holes in the heater channels, fix the control cabling, reconnect the airflow to the heat exchangers. I have yet to re-add the hacked out thermostat flaps.

I think if everything is in good working order, the cars warm nearly as quickly as water-cooled cars, at speed. Trouble is, the years take a toll on all the parts need to get heat inside.

FWIW, my first car (one that I bought) was a 1975 carbureted VW Rabbit - liquid-cooled of course - heat sucked on that one too. Had to keep a scraper handy for the INSIDE of the windscreen!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
sactojesse
Samba Member


Joined: November 21, 2006
Posts: 2655
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
sactojesse is offline 

PostPosted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 9:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

IMO, the stock heating system works well down to around 25 degrees F (-4 degrees C), assuming you have all of the required parts, e.g., door seals, front trunk seal, horn boot seal, etc., necessary to optimize its operation. It tends to get the back of the driver and passenger seats really toasty, but does a poor job on the windshield and front footwell. When I lived in Washington state, I used to drive my former '69 ghia coupe up to the mountains to go skiing. I recall one particularly cold 9 degree F (-13 C) evening coming back down the mountain. Laughing
_________________
1966 Karmann-Ghia convertible
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
RHough
Samba Member


Joined: May 12, 2013
Posts: 299
Location: Canada
RHough is offline 

PostPosted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 12:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

DorianL wrote:
http://www.vw-resource.com/heat4.html

Interesting. I'm quite sure there's no thermostat on mine and it can take a long while before the engine is hot.


A stock 1600 with a sorted heater is more that you ever need.

T-Stat is a must have. Single biggest improvement to the heating system.

After than it is just making sure all the hoses are in place and fit properly.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
NOVA Airhead
Samba Member


Joined: July 20, 2005
Posts: 5221
Location: Richmond, VA
NOVA Airhead is offline 

PostPosted: Fri Oct 24, 2014 8:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

sactojesse wrote:
IMO, the stock heating system works well down to around 25 degrees F (-4 degrees C), assuming you have all of the required parts, e.g., door seals, front trunk seal, horn boot seal, etc., necessary to optimize its operation. It tends to get the back of the driver and passenger seats really toasty, but does a poor job on the windshield and front footwell. When I lived in Washington state, I used to drive my former '69 ghia coupe up to the mountains to go skiing. I recall one particularly cold 9 degree F (-13 C) evening coming back down the mountain. Laughing


I would agree with Sactojesse. Below 25 degrees it can get chilly, particularly if your speed is under 45 mph. I remember my dad having a brand new 1970 Beetle growing up in New York. The defroster was never really effective at low speeds and barely effective at higher speeds.

The other problem is the distribution of the air. The foot closest to the heat vent can be roasting while your hands may be numb. Driving gloves are a good idea when its cold.

I have a gas heater in my car but have not gotten it working yet.
_________________
Ghia Owner Emeritus
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
CiderGuy
Samba Member


Joined: December 23, 2013
Posts: 1351
Location: Bucks County, Pa
CiderGuy is offline 

PostPosted: Fri Oct 24, 2014 9:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I recall when at school in upstate New York buying a treated cloth at an auto store to deal with the fogged up windows on my 63 bug. It worked well.

Also remember using these "wings" which clipped onto the window wiper arms to cause downward force to make them work better.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
olspeed
Samba Member


Joined: May 01, 2008
Posts: 489
Location: In the shadow of Denali, I still don't give a damn how they do it outside
olspeed is offline 

PostPosted: Fri Oct 24, 2014 2:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Stock heat works great when you can get the engine up to cruzing speed and stay there. I am still driving mine in to town to work here before it snows so the morning temps are below 20 in the 13-16'F range and after 20 miles the windows are clear and the car is warm the rest of the way. On the way home it's in the 45'f range so it's just a few miles and the car is comfy once again.
_________________
66- Ghia
76-Beetle
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
Volfandt
Samba Member


Joined: March 15, 2012
Posts: 500
Location: Knox County, East TN
Volfandt is offline 

PostPosted: Fri Oct 24, 2014 2:45 pm    Post subject: Heat Reply with quote

defrost is about non existent. Keep a good dry towel or rag handy. I've got one of those electric hand held heater/defrosters that plugs into an aux power socket, it really doesn't work as well as the towel/rag...

The rear heat outlet really puts out (compared to the other outlets) so I rigged up a PVC pipe that runs from the outlet under the rear seat, under the front seat and out the front of the seat edge and it puts that heat out to my legs and to a lesser extent my feet.
As said, once it drops below freezing the heat really lacks....

Dave
_________________
1972 Karmann Ghia, the Dragon slayer....
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
danielsan
Samba Member


Joined: September 18, 2008
Posts: 802
Location: Carson City, NV
danielsan is offline 

PostPosted: Fri Oct 24, 2014 4:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Asking if the vw heating system is adequate is bit like asking what oil to use. Everyone has good opinions and they are all different --


imo,

When the car is going and the fan is moving the system is fantastic. The rear vents will melt any plastic that you put hear them and you can burn your foot on the vent. So yeah, 45 on an open road 10 minutes into the drive -- great stuff. But if you are sitting at idle and/or the engine is still warming up -- hamster breath captures it pretty well.

Snow driving requires avoiding any sudden rise in RPMs -- when I get off work into my cold car and make my way through piles of snow I try find that sweet spot right above lugging the engine and right below spinning wheels I sometimes wish I had actually brought a hamster with me.

Old school accessory was an oil heater which allowed you to start with a warm engine but those are serious fire hazards.

bluedot put in electric heat. No details on performance yet. As I already said put in a gas heater -- still waiting for my Darwin award to arrive. Before that I used a ceramic heater an extension cord -- which worked at home but nowhere else.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
Abscate Premium Member
Samba Member


Joined: October 05, 2014
Posts: 22573
Location: NYC/Upstate/ROW
Abscate is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 5:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Electric heat just won't work. A small space heater is rated at 500 watts, which is 40 amps on a 12 VDC system and 80 Amps on a 6 V.

You don't have a source of current this high on a Beetle.
_________________
.ssS!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Forum Index -> Ghia All times are Mountain Standard Time/Pacific Daylight Savings Time
Page: 1, 2  Next
Page 1 of 2

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum

About | Help! | Advertise | Donate | Premium Membership | Privacy/Terms of Use | Contact Us | Site Map
Copyright © 1996-2023, Everett Barnes. All Rights Reserved.
Not affiliated with or sponsored by Volkswagen of America | Forum powered by phpBB
Links to eBay or other vendor sites may be affiliate links where the site receives compensation.