s/h Car Heater?

[Viking]

I've got flow and return connects from the engine for either hot water or heating.
I was thinking of adapting a second hand car heater to add a bit of 'free' heat while the engine was running.
Anyone used this idea? any problems? and what would be a suitable heater model to use?

regards

 

[aod]

Clever Idea!

I must say this has never occured to me but I do think it's a clever idea. I will watch this thread closely to see what the forum thinks and may well have a go myself.

 

[Caronia]

Used this on a boat of mine some year ago, I used a Land Rover heater which is a single box with fan and matrix and makes installation easy. On the negative side, it made the Land Rover bloody cold.

 

[Gordonmc]

This will get a few brain cells working overtime!
The main problem will be to get air to go through the radiator. I think the draw from a heater fan may be fairly heavy. Could a fan blade be attached to the water pump pulley with the rad. in line? Ducting would be easy enough.
Another thought... would an oil-cooler working as a heat exchanger be more efficient than hot water?
I can see the scrap yard is going to see more of me.

 

[claymore]

I have a Leyland Sherpa heater connected to my engine and it works very well. I ran 2 outlets at first one to the main saloon and one to the rear cabin but then changed it so that I only have one into the saloon now which is much warmer.
I used that white ducting that you use on a tumble drier to pipe the warm air from the heater unit to the saloon grille

regards
Claymore
/forums/images/icons/smile.gif

 

[Viking]

The idea of using an oil cooler as a rad. did cross my mind. But I thought the heat would be to local?

 

[Guest]

Land Rover used to have ...

My series 2 LR had a electric heater ..... run from the 12V .... had LR all over it so I don't think it was a bodge / other adaptation.
But the idea of a car heater is not a bad idea .... I would suggest one that has blower and element in one box ... similar to truck / van styles years ago. Then ducting off to supply specific areas.


Nigel ...
Bilge Keelers get up further ! I only came - cos they said there was FREE Guinness !

 

[Guest]

And me !!!!

*

Nigel ...
Bilge Keelers get up further ! I only came - cos they said there was FREE Guinness !

 

[dog]

Hi.... got me interested here! Ive got a Land Rover Defender at the mo, had to have the heater unit apart last year as motor had seized, it is an all in one jobbie as suggested earlier. I am thinking of trying this route- would you have to have some sort of external louvre for the fan or could it work within the engine bay?

Any suggestions on how to make this a goer welcomed- dont fancy the £400 for a volvo penta version!

 

[tr7v8]

Yes we were talking about this on the Mobo forum the other day. Use the heater from a Mini as it's a simple biscuit tin job, without the shedloads of hoses and cables more modern ones have. It's also more available than a Land Rover.
Power consumption of it's little fan is reasonable although on second thoughts with a raggie you'd need engine running to give heat so battery charging isn't an issue.
If you're allowed to rob your own Mini at the scrappy it comes with heater ducting and thinks, take the lot.
If you're not a scrap yard rat then
Europa spares <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.europaspares.com/>http://www.europaspares.com/</A> do everything you'll need but its quite expensive, but nothing like a Eberspacher!

Jim
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[mtb]

A Smiths heater is what you want, every one is right re the S11 Landrover heater, I'm putting the one I have in Danbrit .
The S11 one is the best because it is a compact rectangular shape 16 inches side to side 9 inches high by 5 inches deep , the fan is central and the outer casing has a flap each side with a 1.1/2 inch ducting tube for demisting. So you could heat the compartment or demist windows. 12 volt fan but not a great current draw . The feed pipes are standard 1/2 inch copper.
Austin A40 Cambridge and so on had a round type which were not a lot of good .
You can buy new after market units that are sold for kit cars . A firm called Tepco 01584811575 who deal in vintage and classic electrical parts should be able to supply em , the price last time I knew was around £120 ish but prices will be more than that now, tell em I told you to ring.
As long as the pipe run is not to long and above the engine height it should cause no problems and would even thermo cycle.
They recon 68% heat is lost from an engine so it's not a bad idea to use some of it.
cheers
Mick

smile you'l be on your boat soon ;-)
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/boats/>http://homepage.ntlworld.com/boats/</A>

 

[pvb]

Yes, it works....

I did this on a Westerly Pentland in the 70s. Used a heater from a scrap yard. Worked fine, but of course it only works when the engine's running. And unless you put a stopcock in the circuit, it also leaks heat into the cabin in the summer. On balance, I don't think it's worthwhile.

 

[seahorse]

Re: s/h Car Heater? Quantum Leap?

I tried this idea several years ago but found it difficult 2 get a good water flow thru the system because of air blocks which I could not clear.

I then used domestic central heating radiators!
no electrics or blown warm air but very simple.

 

[Viking]

Hi
I've got good ventilation in the engine bay under the cockpit sole. The 'taps' are already in place, I just had to connect the tubing. I have a wallas heater, it was that the 'tapped' connections are there what to use them for?

 

[Aeolus_IV]

For a fan, has anyone considered using a 12v cooling fan in the style of those used in PC power supply units. They do come much larger than the 4" one in PSUs, and it should be possible to run off charging circuit so it is only running when the engine is on.

Jeff.

 

[jollyjacktar]

Worked a similar scheme as metioned in some of the threads below. Used a heater radiator core, mounted in a box in the engine box area thus keeping water pipes to a minimum and at the right height. Fitted plastic ducting and computer blower fans to pump warm air to the right places, also sucked warm air from the engine compartment as a bonus. Often I did not have to use the radiator at all just sucked warm air from the engine compartment. However have to make provisions to exclude fumes from engine breathers and exhaust leaks which could be fatal.

 

[Plum]

Not if you have raw water cooling!

The heat exchangers in car and commercial vehicle heaters will not last very long in salt water.

 

[Trevor_swfyc]

I fitted a Martec fresh water system to my Volvo 2002 18 hp engine probably 8 years ago. I like you thought what a waste of potential heat. The purpose built Martec heater cost about £160 at the time so I purchased a second hand Mini heater with box and fan. I wanted to fit it under the starboard berth but the heater box was to big and I did not require all the levers and flaps. So I made up my own box to hold the heat exchanger. The vents and pipe 52mm connectors I obtained from Martec, the plastic pipe from a chandler. The fan draws about 5 amp so I ran it via a relay which is activated by a separate switch and the engine switch, both have to be on to run the fan. I have two outlets in the cabin and one in the heads.
I would not put the heater in the engine bay, I would say this is a no no, as the air is recycled within the cabin and gradually gets warm. Yes warm not hot as the way I set it up the water goes into the heater exchanger then through the fresh/salt water exchanger, mine requires a modification so that it only goes through the cooling exchanger if the temperature goes over a preset limit.
One day maybe Ill get round to it.
Ps It may be better to use a small bilge blower to move the air, and remember you require an air supply in and out of wherever you fit the exchanger.
All the best.
Trevor

 

[PaulAG]

Did the same job on MDIIC engine in my Centaur. Smallish car heater in S/S box with computer fan - very low current draw. Box mounted in stbd locker next to galley sink. F/W engine cooling driven by electric pump so can draw residual heat from engine for about 30 mins. after shutdown. Also have calorifier in circuit with diverter valve - very useful!

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[Avocet]

I think most old Relaints have a nice little sel-contained heater box which has a fan and a matrix in it. All I would add to the baove is that you can't do this on a raw water cooled system because the matrix won't last 5 minutes in salt water and the water probably won't be hot enough. Car cooling systems normally work between 75 and 95 centigrade. Below that, the output is poor. I don't know if amny small marine diesels run that hot.

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