Heater channel with plastic pipes

[nldco2]

Hi all
I am restoring a 1961 convertible and have aquired some doner heater channels of the correct period. I have removed the old bottom plate and am getting ready to weld on new ones.
The inner heater pipes that actually carry the air are ok but need a couple of patches.
I was wondering if anyone had removed the inner pipes and replaced with something else like plastic pipe or aluminium?
I am thinking if i take out the old pipes i would be able to get lots of paint on the inside of the channel and also prevet some more rust potential later?
From the outside you should not be able to tell so wondering if anyone thought this was a good/bad idea?
Thanks

[grandpa pete]

the plastic might be effected by the final welding
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63 two fold rag
66 sedan delivery Type 6

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=569619&highlight=sedan+delivery

[Derek Cobb]

The air that travels down those pipes gets really hot. Most plastic will melt or soften at those temperatures.
Bad idea.

[sjbartnik]

If you use plastic you will be gassing yourself with plastic fumes. The heat gets hot (if your system is right)
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1965 Volkswagen 1500 Variant S
2000 Kawasaki W650

[nldco2]

thanks for help. I had not thought about the heat aspect. My 1970 never gets hot but probably not really setup properly.

How about aluminium pipes? I was wondering really if anyone had done something like this before.

thanks

[nldco2]

I had another thought. is everyone clear I am talking about plastic pipe in the heater channels sills (american=rockers)? I am not talking about the heat exchangers attached to the engine.

Surely the air going into the heater channels is the same as that going into the rear foot well of later cars? If it was that hot we would have heard about lots of little kids with burned legs right?

In my 1970 standard beetle the air comes through the firewall via Bakelite tubes and then forks - some into the channels and some into the footwell. My 61 does not have the rear outlets but I suppose the principle is the same?

[Q-Dog]

The heat in a bug can get hot enough to melt most plastic. The heat in my '69 convertible melted a case of cassette tapes that I used to carry on the floor behind my passenger seat.
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Brian

'69 Dune Buggy
'69 Beetle Convertible
'70 Beetle

[Derek Cobb]

Bakelite can take a lot of heat, PVC and other plastics cannot. working properly, the heat coming out of those vents CAN burn you. Back in the late seventies we used to heat baby bottles using the floor vents of my 71 Beetle. The glass ones were fine, but the plastic ones actually melted and deformed. The heater outlets actually did get hot enough to burn your ankles, but back in the day we were smart enough to move our legs away from them when they got too hot.
You seem determined to put these plastic pipes in your rockers. It seems like a lot of work to avoid using the proper material, and the penalty for being wrong is to redo all of the work, or to have no heat, or to breathe in a lot of nasty plastic fumes.
It's not like it's tough to find replacement heater channels. Practically every supplier you can find has them available. I think you're solving a problem that doesn't exist.

[grandpa pete]

There are several threads in the bus section about using pvc bilge pumps that MELTED as far away from the engine as you can get in a bus . bilge pumps were located under the front floor of the busses .
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63 two fold rag
66 sedan delivery Type 6

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=569619&highlight=sedan+delivery

[panicman]

I have always made sure my cooling system worked, as well as the mechanisms and pathways to heat the car. I can attest that if I drive around town for a bit and crank the heater, the foot well (front only on a 60) gets hot enough to burn, and certainly hot enough to make me pull my flip-flop clad foot away!

I agree with the others, it sounds like you are trying an uneccessary work-around when the best solution is to replace to like-factory.

[Mr. Mike]

[nldco2]

ok thanks for info. My pipes are not bad - just need a couple of small patches so they are repairable and the channels themselves are good. They are actually attached to full rear quarter panel and front A-post base which is why I do not want to replace them. The convertible I am restoring is so rusted that I need the quarter panel/a-post to give me some kind of reference to build the whole car around!


Of course a second question is why the heat on my 1970 1300 never gets very hot (new channels both sides) but that is for a different forum ....

[KTPhil]

[hitest]

Bear in mind, rarely these days does an owner live in the same town their convertible was originally shipped to. What I mean is, your vert may have come from a wetter part of the country. So anything you do to repair and prevent rust will likely last another 50 years. I wouldn't worry about liners and other untested things. Just coat the parts as you go and it will last.
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[bluebus86]

why not replace like for like? many plastic wont take to well to the heat. go with metal.
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[bigdog1962]

of course, this is also a problem, ask me how I know. (picture is turned sideways)

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[bluebus86]

[flyboy161]

I for one am not a fan of mixing aluminum and steel. There's a little thing called dissimilar metal or Galvanic corrosion that occurs when two different metals are touching one another. The difference in conductivity of aluminum and steel is .95 volts. The difference should never exceed .15volts though typically .5 volts can be tolerated. This difference is known as the Anodic Index. Often when design requires that dissimilar metals come in contact, the galvanic compatibility is managed by finishes and plating. The finishing and plating selected facilitate the dissimilar materials being in contact and protect the base materials from corrosion. If there is no path for electricity to flow between the metals Galvanic corrosion will not occur.

In other words, I'm not a fan of mixing aluminum with steel.
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1968 Westfalia
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