Howdy again,
Yes another strange and wondrous question, Is their an alternative to heater boxes for heaters?

More so is there an alternative to running the heater boxes to the fan shroud?

How much heat do the heater boxes keep in if their not being connected to the fan shroud?

NO especially if you live in Tassie or MElberg

big mistake leaving the heaterboxes disconnected from the fan shroud
i see it all the time ppl wonder why their engines are hot

they retain lots and lots of heat when u do that
so much so that it can fry the heads

if u look closely at heaterboxes they have snorkel ports at the the back
when the heater flaps are closed they pump the hot air out here instead

The UK has a few alternative heater setups
one ive seen is electric so it puts a huge draw on the genny
and another is a heater jacket built around J pipes and a heater core inside like a mainstream car
alot more controllable and quicker to heat up apperently

First thing I always look at on a VW engine is the heater tubes...
many VW owners don't release that having a hole in them
is like having a hole in a radiator...

and not running them at all...??

and you will have over heating problems...

same as having the heater tubes in place without any hose clamps....

and many people don't check that the heater tubes are clamped onto the heaterbox/exchanger itself...
allowing cooling air to escape...


the heater boxes/exchangers work well until it gets down around Zero C... ... Brrr

then they take a while to warm up...
and a longer time if You aren't driving on a highway...

Lee

240volt inverter and an electric heater

It would need to be a large inverter for a fan heater or a hair dryer - like 1200 watts or more of 240V AC...


Normally heaters are NOT used in the Summer months
so the heater boxes/exchangers don't get used..

so J pipes are the inexpensive alternative...
and easy to fit or remove....

LEE

J pipes are fairly easy to fit but i wouldnt say the same about heaterboxes
infact its a bloody nightmare with the engine in the car

theres nothing wrong with the stock heater setup and it works well if its all setup right and in good condition
mines melted several things sitting on the rear floors b4

the only reason i would ditch heaterboxes was for exhaust flow purposes on hipo motors

and alll u do in that case is get some good size J pipes like 1 1/2" or 1 5/8 whatever u need then cut the outter shell of the old heaterboxes and refit over the new big Jpipes

works well if u have the patients to do it

You could always keep a lookout for an old Eberspacher heater. They run on petrol and were used in colder countries.

Cheers

Steve