Remote heater

[damicotile]

I am looking at this heater. It draws 40 amps. I have no heater boxes cuz I am running the A-1 sidewinder with J-tubes.

Has any one tried this heater and is 40 amps too much for my alt to handle?

http://www.sportsimportsltd.com/usa-made-12-volt-ducted-heater.html
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'73 SB
82x94
W-120 w/ CB light weight lifters
Silicon bronze sleeves
Scat 1.25:1
CB H-Beams
Straight cuts
42x37 Steve Tims
44 IDF's
9.2:1
A-1 Sidewinder coated

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[theKbStockpiler]

Connecting the heater element to a blower motor resistor would be nice with a 2 or 3 postion switch.

You posted this thread in the performance forum.
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My beetle is not competing with your beetle. I have the yellow beetle in my town. There is a red one, a green one ......
Use all safety devices including a mask.

[Dan Ruddock]

These are a lot cheaper but you would need more than one. Depends on what amp rating alt you have. Compu-Fire makes a 90 amp.

Dan

http://www.harborfreight.com/12v-auto-heater-defroster-with-light-61598.html

[Q-Dog]

If all you want is a defroster for the windshield it might work. If you think you can heat the car with it ... no. What alternator do you have?
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Brian

'69 Dune Buggy
'69 Beetle Convertible
'70 Beetle

[theKbStockpiler]

The ad does read that it has high and low heat settings so you may be all set.
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My beetle is not competing with your beetle. I have the yellow beetle in my town. There is a red one, a green one ......
Use all safety devices including a mask.

[mark tucker]

I duct the oil cooller outlet into my car for heat.but depending on the outside weather it may give heat in 2 miles or 8 miles.. that could possiably work,but dont forget your engine is powering it so it will draw some power.as for the alt?? well if it works for 6 months you can upgrade to a 90 amp.or it may last a week. or it may last for ever. my 51 amp will barly keep up with the halagen lights.

[damicotile]

[mark tucker]

yup I would think that would be a 51 amp unit. those hf units do litttle to nothing.I think they may do better if they were opperated on 24 volts or possiably 32 like I said my heater works good opperating off the oil cooler(dogystyle shroud) outlet ducted into my car via the oe location.but I just have it blowing outfrom the rear seat area,I dony have it going through the heater channels(witch I think was about the stupidest thing vw did). If I wanted it to go to the front I would use some gutter drain tubing or something other than the heater channels,but the oil cooler air probably dosent get as hot as the exhaust so...it may be ok.Ill add an extention so my heat go's farther forward and exits from under the driver seat.

[I Ride Sand]

why not get a BN4 heater and make your car an oven?

[Northof49]

That wattage of the 480 watt heater would produce a temperature rise of approximately 13 degrees F, depending on your air leakage. Not enough in my opinion.
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1958 Karmann Ghia owner

[andy198712]

[Dan Ruddock]

[mark tucker]

dan,dan,dan.I have one of those type heaters they do squat well almost squat , I wasent meaning to abb 3 batterys to your car.but if you did melt it it would be putting out some heat!!!

[vwracerdave]

search in the Bug forums. These electric heaters have been covered many times. They pretty much are a waste of money. The 480 watt heater might be enough to defrost 1/3 of your windshield and that's about it. Like posted above it might raise the temp 10-12 degrees inside the car.
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2017 Street Comp Champion - Thunder Valley Raceway Park - Noble, OK
2010 Sportsman ET Champion - Mid-America Dragway - Arkansas City, KS
1997 Sportsman ET Champion - Thunder Valley Raceway Park - Noble ,OK

[Axitech]

Those Harbor Freight defrosters are GREAT at getting you through State Inspection. Not good at all for anything else including defrosting a windshield. Your problem is simple: you have been shopping in the wrong store. Go to Tractor Supply or Cabelas and look for 'full body heater'. They come in coveralls, or bibs and jacket. Sometimes they go by the name Carhartt. Seriously, I drive my rail year round and lots of highway miles. A quality cold weather suit beats a heater every time.
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He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. Luke 22:36


The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.-Thomas Jefferson

[Northof49]

[Dan Ruddock]

To make a electric heater really work you need the 90amp alternator. You need about 20-30amps to run everything else, lights wipers ect. Which leaves 65amps for the heater which is 877 watts at 13.5 volts.

The temp differential across the heater is not as important as you think as long as the car is sealed well and it recycles the same already heated air.

It would take some time to heat up the car but as long as you don't live in Minnesota it would work better than you would think.

Five of the HF heaters (Wish they were black) would give you 877 watts and would have the advantage of strategic placement and would only cost $50. You would need to feed it with some big wire, 8ga or even 6ga. If the feed wire is getting hot you are wasting power if the wire is not in the cabin.

This would tax the alternator belt so power runs to 6k would not be a good idea with the heater on.

Dan

[kadub]

You guys are missing out. NOTHING gets hotter, faster than your exhaust. It's not that hard to weld some make-shift heater boxes around your header primaries from 1/3 cylinders. Use the fan shroud OR a bilge blower to blow it into the cab. If you take the time to clean out and seal the ducts up to the defrosters you can have wonderful defrost heat very quickly. I built my own heater boxes out of exhaust tubing and use one fan on each side to recirculate interior air out through the boxes and back into the car. VERY toasty. Minimal added weight. Safer and simpler than a gas burner (but not as HOT). Electrical heaters simply don't work, period.
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Karl

aka Turbobaja

[Anvil]

I have the current version of the Espar gas heater in my beetle. It's smaller than a loaf of bread, completely solid state, requires zero clearance around it, when set on high will burn you out of a beetle if it's not super cold outside, operates off of a thermostat to maintain a constant temp in the car, and uses very little fuel. The best part is starting it up and letting your car heat up without the engine running. I couldn't be happier with it.

Downside is that they cost a lot. A whole lot. But for a daily driver in CO winters, it's more than worth it.

Something to consider, even though it won't defrost your windshield, is electric seat heaters. I have them in my beetle also, high/low switch, and down to just above freezing temps, they'll keep your body fairly warm on their own. Warm gloves, shoes, and a hat takes care of the rest. The trick to keeping the windshield clear is to crack your vent wings to let the humidity out but the heat <mostly> in.
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A man with any character at all must have enemies and places he is not welcome—in the end we are not only defined by our friends, but those aligned against us.

[damicotile]

I'll check out the bug section for this heating dilemma.
Thanks for your input.
_________________
'73 SB
82x94
W-120 w/ CB light weight lifters
Silicon bronze sleeves
Scat 1.25:1
CB H-Beams
Straight cuts
42x37 Steve Tims
44 IDF's
9.2:1
A-1 Sidewinder coated

__________________________________