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Wed Apr 28, 2021 1:02 am

Ive never owned an aircooled yet that has had a functioning inlet manifold pre heat system, they've all either been clogged up or rotted out. It might not be an issue in warmer country's but here our winters are pretty cold. A local vendor is selling an electric system that looks like a small electric blanket that wraps around the upper part of the manifold, has anyone seen or tried these ? So ive been thinking of an alternative, one idea I had was to wrap small copper tube around the part of the manifold just below the carb and re-direct hot engine oil through it, maybe tap into the oil pressure sender port and return it into the oil filler part of the gen stand, may need a restrictor to maintain good oil pressure. Good thing about the electric one is it could be turned off in summer, I suppose the other one could be too with an on off valve.

Wed Apr 28, 2021 2:49 am

bergfan wrote: A local vendor is selling an electric system that looks like a small electric blanket that wraps around the upper part of the manifold, has anyone seen or tried these ?

https://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=C21%2D2139

Wed Apr 28, 2021 3:31 am

Jimbug57 wrote: bergfan wrote: A local vendor is selling an electric system that looks like a small electric blanket that wraps around the upper part of the manifold, has anyone seen or tried these ?

https://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=C21%2D2139
That's it but it's 80 bucks here

Wed Apr 28, 2021 6:15 am

If you went to dual carb.s they don't need one.

Wed Apr 28, 2021 7:17 am

These sorts of ideas get discussed fairly regularly in this forum. Here's an example of a recent chain regarding using engine oil to heat the intake manifold: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=744092&highlight=oil+heat+risers

But my overall "SWAG" (i.e. scientific wild-assed guess) is that it would be pretty hard for any electric or engine oil-based intake manifold heating system to come remotely close to what the stock system is capable of. There's just a lot of waste heat available in that exhaust stream, period. It's both very hot, and very quick to heat up the tubes it's flowing through.

Wed Apr 28, 2021 7:37 am

You can clean the heat riser tube by soaking it in a tub of white vinegar over night then heating it with a propane torch.

Wed Apr 28, 2021 3:46 pm

Starbucket wrote: You can clean the heat riser tube by soaking it in a tub of white vinegar over night then heating it with a propane torch.

If it is fully blocked with carbon, NO ACID or ALKALI or SOLVENT will remove carbon. Carbon is inert to normal solutions. The ONLY way to remove carbon is to oxidise it i.e. burn it up. The normal trick to do this is to use oxyacetylene to get the carbon to red hot, then turn off the acetylene and run pure oxygen into the carbon to burn it off to carbon dioxide.

However, if there is just some varnish holding together some carbon then you might be lucky to dislodge some of it. That is why most people have to dig or drill the carbon out.

Wed Apr 28, 2021 3:51 pm

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=666905&highlight=

Wed Apr 28, 2021 4:27 pm

I don't think any alternative would put out the heat needed in really cold weather. My recommendation would be to fix or replace what was originally there.

In cold weather on the stock setup you NEED the warming systems operational and functioning properly. You NEED the thermostat/flaps, the manifold pre-heat pipe, warm air off the head going to the air cleaner and the oil cooler kept off line as long as possible. All of the above at the same time.

VW never put anything on our engines that wasn't necessary. The sooner you get your carburetor and manifold up to temperature the sooner your Bug will handle normally.

Wed Apr 28, 2021 4:34 pm

^^ Yeah, what he said^^
And it doesn't just apply to cold regions, it helps in tropical or desert climates as well (even though you may not understand why, yet.....).

I'd rater spend $80 bucks on a good used German manifold and clean it out (likely less $ than that), the end result is known to work perfectly and doesn't eat up alternator brushes.