I need a heater...

[DanGreen]

I've got j-tubes and I dont want to hook up heater boxes, I'm going to fill those holes so water deosnt get in. I have an old Hot VW's magazine from Sept,96 and they advertise a heater (Instahearter) made by the "Instant Auto Heater Co.,Inc.". Its a small heater and they make different ones. I cant find them on the web or anywhere. Anyone know which heater I'm talking about?

I've seen the 200w heaters that hook up to your cigarette lighter but those look weak. Where can I get a small electric heater that puts out about 300-400watts? I dont want anything that will drain my battery too fast.

[Eaallred]

Considering that a hair dryer is around a 1000 watts or so on 120 volts, 3-400 watts on 12 volts isn't going to put out much heat at all. If you put it in you lap, it will probably keep your lap warm.

I would recommend a gas heater. They are very efficient. About .3 gallons an hour while kicking out 20,000 BTU's. You aren't likley to be using that much in a bug, the heat lever would be on low most of the time.
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Eric Allred

You have to remember something: Everybody pities the weak; Jealousy you have to earn.

[DanGreen]

If I can find a heater with an output of about 3-400watts it should be sufficient enough to heat my bug. My small bedroom heater puts out 1500w and heates the run pretty good. I've also thought about making custome heater boxes. got any ideas?

[plasticman1432]

You may want to check out Summit Racing's catalog; a co-worker of mine is installing one in his late '80s Cutlass. He has a 455 stuffed in the car, so engine compartment space is at a premium. To make space & save weight, he removed the HVAC system completely - he really only drives it on nice days, as traction can also become an issue(car runs 12.0's on pump gas w/ prairie gears). He's looking to get the heater set up for this fall, so he doesn't have to put the car away as early as he did this past year. Up until now, the 40-some-odd pounds he saved was well worth it.....now he wants to enjoy the car more often. Must be getting older, like the rest of us.

I've been toying with the idea of a Baja as a winter beater, and I'll be very curious as to how well it works.
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Organized people are just too lazy to look for stuff

'68 Meyers Manx: M1689D815E

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[rfoutch]

We have addressed this issue on the Type 181 list. Colman has a small propane heater that is safe indoors and has a fan to push the hot air around. It is called the ProCat and puts out about 3,000 BTU's. It costs about $60 so not too bad at all.

Here is a link.

http://www.fitsmybudget.com/50colpowporc.html

Randy

[DanGreen]

that coleman heater looks pretty nice, it uses batteries and I'd like to avoid the use of batteries, maybe if there was a way to hook it up to my car battery.... I guess it wont be too expensive to buy a big box of batteries and some propane. Hank Hill would be proud of me. Thanks.

[rfoutch]

It does have a place for an adapter, so no worries on the batteries.

Randy

[vwclass11]

Dan, do you have a full-flow oil system? I have been using my oil cooler w/electric fan mounted inside my bug. It not only cools the oil but keeps me warm, when summer is here I just reverse the leads and the hot air blows out the car. I live in AZ so winters not that harsh, but summers suck, never a problem with the heat.

[DanGreen]

no I dont think so, I have stock everything except for the carb and exhaust. Scince I live in Goleta the weather never gets hot enough to the point that I would need something like that. The coldest it gets here is usually around th 50's maybe 40's. I'm gonna buy the heater mentioned by rfoutch.

[rfoutch]

To keep the cost down even further you could buy a large propane tank (like the ones for a BBQ) and use this adapter from HarborFreight to re-fill them.

I know that the little tanks can get pretty pricey if you have to get one every eight hours.

Here is the link..

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=45989

Randy