Steve,
I think I might have found a simple solution and ones I haven't seen before.
Try this site :
http://www.sportsimportsltd.com/12voltheaters.html?gclid=CJf7jcrclaMCFRe5bwodvgdWpQ
Kev
I thought rebuilding a VW would be cheap - Shit I was wrong, just don't let the wife know !!!!
Click here for my (slowy) modded 1961 Beetle build.Hi
Kev I think that they would draw too much power.
OK the good news is the fan & pump work fine, the bad news is that the heat exchanger doesn't get hot..........at all.
I'm not giving up on the idea yet, I will keep you posted.
Steve
Is the heat exchanger unit too big??? Just an idea but if the volume was smaller maybe it would heat up more quickly.
Hi
It maybe to big, but a couple of things that I will try is, I used some old Kevlar gloves to stop the clamps from wearing on the ceramic coating, so this may be stopping some heat getting through.
The other thing I will try is wrapping the heat exchanger in exhaust wrap.
Steve
you can get another set of j pipes and build them into heat exchangers. Another way you can get the current ones to transfer heat is TIM (thermal interface material)
some sort of high temp ceramic or silica compound or adhesive squished between. I know! try some muffler putty 👍 is silica based. Traditional TIM is heat sink compound but there is far to much heat for any
electronic/computer thermal paste to work without melting off.
71 notchback,
Past owner of, 70 NB, 73 SB and 72 FB TLE
Sounds like you need to have the core (the pipe carrying the water) wraped tighter to the exhaust and then fully enclose it, I have seen this method used in heat exchangers used on 4x4s for hot showers, the one I saw had the water so hot they had to have a cold water inlet to mix it to a cooler temp.
I dream of a day when a chicken can cross a road without being asked for it's motive!
Hi Donn
I thought the 4WD showers used coolant heat to transfer heat to warm the shower water.
So you're seen them wrapped around an exhaust?
Steve
Yeah, my son had one that a mate of his made up (made a few so they all didn't have to shower together 😀) that was way back b4 they all got rich and bought the shop made ones that you mentioned.
I dream of a day when a chicken can cross a road without being asked for it's motive!
You could try coiling 1/2" copper pipe around the J pipes, them wrapping that with thermo tec insulation.
Nice idea. I find ashing my cigarette into the shag pile seat cover behind me works well, albeit destructively.
let sleeping dubs lie
Hi Guys,
Love the concept, but wonder if in these less than standard applications, if it wouldnt be a simple way to go by using the pre fresh air heating system that was used by VW for 20 odd years.
Newt
It is as it is - If you didnt enjoy today, you've missed the opportunity.
Hi
The early heating system was always plagued with smells and sometimes stuff that didn't smell but it would kill you.
I put some muffler putty between the J pipe and heat exchanger to make a tighter seal between them as there is a bump in the pipe where it fits up now. I'm going out to get some exhaust wrap to cover the unit.
Steve
Hey Steve, if you wait a couple more months things will have warmed up, and a heater won't be necessary.😂
By next winter - you never know - 'Global Warming' may be starting to kick in. 🤪
Cheers, Greg
I'd rather wear a Beetle out by racing it than by polishing it!
Hi Greg
Yes its nearly warm weather again, the car haters in government & RTA may have confiscated the car by then.
Just looking at the amount of money that was spent on keeping old cars on the road last weekend, if this industry is lost it will mean a lot of money taken out of the economy.
It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be driving up to Vall with no heaters, the only problem was the back windows were fogged up all the time.
Steve
Try welding fins to the J-tubes to increase the surface area which would aid heat transfer
Gracey wrote:You could try coiling 1/2" copper pipe around the J pipes, them wrapping that with thermo tec insulation. [/quote
Yeah, that's the idea but they had the copper enclosed inside a metal canister fitted around the exhaust pipe, only pumped water through it when they wanted to use it out bush for a shower, made the ladies happier to tag along so the boys got to go away more often 😘 😂, pumped water through the system with a bilge pump placed in a creek or large water container.
I dream of a day when a chicken can cross a road without being asked for it's motive!
As for the back window go to dick smith and but two little fans, and point em at the window, works well just need something to mount them too aye.
Hi Josh
I have a factory heated rear screen that is yet to be fitted, I will try a few different things with the heat exchanger I have first.
Thanks for all the suggestions.
Steve
this may be an option with some tubes, and original flapper valve under the seats.
http://www.cbperformance.com/catalog.asp?ProductID=1523westi wrote:That's mad Alan.
Hi Dave
So that would take the heat directly from the dog house cooler that would normally be blown onto the road, good idea.
Steve
OOOOOOOHHHHHHH That looks fantastic... I like that idea
I was pondering last night and want to suggest some more investigation into the copper pipe idea. If you tightly wound the copper tubing around the J-pipe and then wrapped exhaust wrap around the whole thing to make it an insulated body, or even made a larger steel enclosure that bolts together around the exterior so that the heat is confined and has to circulate aroud the pipes.
Alternatively why not just leave the heat exchanger in place and the car on and run the coolant from a large bucket fo coolant and run into the heat exchanger and out back into the bucket and you could test the heat out the pipe coming out????
You're doing a great job there is a lot of interest in the topic. Keep it up.
Cheers
Has everyone gone"cold" on this idea???
Hi
Its nearly warm enough now not to need heaters.
I'm going to look into getting some copper tube wound in a spiral to wrap around the J pipe, failing that I might try some straight 3/4 copper tube fitted tightly to the J pipe.
Steve
steve, i think the copper pipe idea will work quite well as its exactly the opposite of the chillers used in making home brew beer to cool the wort after the boil before fermentation.
ive heard of going from boiling to 30 degrees in about 15 minute using tap temp water.
“We all pay for life with death, so everything in between should be free.” Bill Hicks
the chaos project - click me
how bout run hoses from the pickups under the car to a collector box wit xternal oil cooler inside and put reversible fan in car at each pipe under back seat, if its hot have fan runnin taking air from inside car out thru oil cooler. if its cold have fans sucking air from outside thru cooler into the car.
Hi
Grogy, there is not enough heat in the oil, I did a couple of 25 k runs today mostly on a freeway, the oil temp was only around 60 C.
Barls, is was talking too a work colleague at Valla about this issue, he has friend that has a copper pipe around an exhaust pipe midway down the car and gets nice warm water out of it for his hand wash, sometimes too warm.
I think maybe my stainless heat exchanger held too much coolant.
Steve
your problem most likely was the stainless part, it has terrible heat conductivity compared to almost everything else.
give the copper pipe a go.
“We all pay for life with death, so everything in between should be free.” Bill Hicks
the chaos project - click me
Hi
I had visions of creating a potential bomb, stainless was bad a choice.
Steve
Steve,
Your box was awesome, well made, how about a smaller steel version that very simply blows air out of the original fan housing through the box an into the tunnels... i'm pretty confident the air would heat up enough to warm the car...
thoughts?
Hi
Thats an idea but it could get a bit fumy.
Steve
