Heater Core Alternatives

[Dom-AE71]

Ive pulled the heater core out of my AE71 becasuse the pipes to the engine bay had been damaged and i was going to replace it with a KE70 one because the pipes come out at different angles and are out of the way of the 20v bits.

but i seriously couldnt be bothered. so. i read somewhere someone mentioned the possibility of using a 12v marine heater? i have no idea about these, how they work ect, so if anyone could help me out itd be good, ive been trying to look up some stuff through google but i dont really know what im looking for. the stuff im finding appears to be electric water heaters, i need it for the purpose of keeping within legal guidelines and i dont wana freeze my ass off at 5am on the way to work

thanks

[Dom-AE71]

http://store.irawoodinc.com/eeexmtawahef.html

thats what ive been looking at

would i be correct in assuming you could opertate this with air flowing through and heating as apposed to water?

[BradW]

Hey Dom, that runs on 120v and is a water heater for having a shower, etc. I doubt it would be very effective with air flowing through it instead of water.

Is running coolant lines a problem or the heater core location itself?
There are universal heater boxes available but using the standard one would be easier.
Check out hot rod parts suppliers as hot rods commonly need small universal heater units (if they want a heater). I have used a 12v hair dryer as a demister before but they draw heaps of current for not much output.

Good luck with it and I hope this helps.

[Cool1]

Replace the heater core with the ceramic element out of this:
http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView...Max=&SUBCATID=
I've done a few of these now.

[Dom-AE71]

haha thanks brad yea like i said i didnt really know what i was looking for

Shane, that looks like its what im after, how did you hook yours up? i mean the routing of the pipes ect into the standard air flow parts and such. the pic on the site doesnt really show how its designed very clearly.

i will 100% hardwire it with a dash mounted switch as well, and ill be using a Deka Drycell battery casue the microtech is already chucking a hissy fit with the standard battery as it is.

[Dimitri]

apprently a particular model barina runs an electric heater box. aswell as some earth moving machinery. ive seen those types for sale on ebay. lots of v8 dudes running huge motors that require recessed fire walls do this type of conversion.

you should also try asking this on the clubman forum. http://www.ozclubbies.com/phpBB2
im sure a few of them run a similar setup.

[Cool1]

Dom, I just pull the heater core out of the factory heater box and replace it with that ceramic core. Everything looks factory then

[Dom-AE71]

yeah shane that sounds like a good option

lets hope i didnt throw mine away

[BradW]

Consider wiring that through a relay too Dom as it will pull a bit of current (around 20A).

[Dom-AE71]

haha speak to my friend jeremy sheilds

he'll be the one wirinig it up

not me

im sure he'll make me spend another 30 bucks on useless bits of shit to get it hooked up heheehehe

[chrisellis]

i know a guy who is running 2 small electrical heaters, draw heaps of current, but do the job, keep it legal (demister wise) and save running all the heater accessories. Might be something to consider if u think u can do without it most of the time and still want it legal and usefull as a demister.
Just thought id mention it as an option.

edit: these arnt water heaters, they are like a mini version of those electrical heaters for your feet in a house, if u know what i mean.. pump out some heat allright but use heaps of electricity.

[SL666]

you will need to run the suckers off an altenator.. a battery will go dead VERY quickly..

to give you an idea.. reasonable sized bar heater at home will be 2400 watts.. at 12V that will be 200 amps..

[Dom-AE71]

im jsut going to put a ke70 one in, itll be easier than fucking around installing an electric one especailly if i have to remount it inside the standard box.

thanks for your help guys

[AE86slut]

haha speak to my friend jeremy sheilds

he'll be the one wirinig it up

not me

im sure he'll make me spend another 30 bucks on useless bits of shit to get it hooked up heheehehe

lol... I thought you'd forgotten about me (well, I hoped anyway) coz I hadn't heard from you for a while.

I'll definately make you spend more money on shit to do it properly, otherwise we can do the old 'twist-and-cover-with-tape' like that abortion I was confronted with a couple of weeks ago!

Glad you made this thread though - looks like I may be investing in one of these 'air-to-air' heaters for emergencies too!

[mullett]

"This 12 Volt Heater has 2 heat settings, 150W and 250W, and it can be used simply as a fan, if heating is not required."

From the JayCar site. I really, really doubt your alternator is going to pump that much power out. As far as I know, there's no point running it direct off the alternator, which runs straight to the battery anyway, because if it needs more than the alternator can provide, it will simply pull the current down the wire from the battery anyway, there's no real difference between putting the power line for it on the + battery terminal and on the alternator output terminal. Good idea though, waterheaters are bastards. Pity an electric one draws so much power...What IS your alternator rated too anyway?

RM.