RA23 Electronic heater element - any ideas?

[Steve M]

Hey everyone,

I'm looking to not put water through the fire wall into the heater box and was wondering if anyone has any information on suitable electronic heater elements that I could adapt.

Cheers,

Steve M

[RA23]

I was thinking about the same thing a while ago (also for RA23). I have not looked into it much further, but AFAIK some European cars have electric interior heating (Saab, Volvo, BMW, Audi) that only works until the water temp is up. I guess you'll need some extra battery capacity though, and a bigger alternator when you want to run it all the time.
I think they call it auxillary heaters.

I guess this won't do?:
http://www.safetycentral.com/min12volcarh.html

[thechuckster]

this recent thread might help you. 12V hair dryers might be what you're looking for.

you'll have to get a bigger alternator tho - the stock unit will not deliver enough current if it's raining (wipers), at night (headlights) and you have very misted up windows (fans on high).

[Mos]

Jaycar sell a 12V ceramic heater. Comes apart very easily and should mount inside the factory boxes without much hassle.
Got one some time ago with that in mind but have never tried it so I have no idea how well it will work.
In terms of efficiency, you will probably need a hell of a lot of current to match the water heater.

HTH.
Mos.

[RA23]

You don't have to worry about efficiency, because 100% of the energy that goes in will be converted to heat. So you'll get 150 or 250W of heat. So that is (roughly) 10 or 20 A, that is not too bad.
I wonder how long it is going to take to get the interior warm(ish) with 250W? Too lazy to work out an estimation now...

To see this thing, go to
http://www.jaycar.com.au
and enter this part number: YS2805

[Steve M]

I'm not too worried if it warms up the cabin space or not, I have jumpers to keep me warm.
It's the demister that I need working for legal reasons.

Thanks for the suggestions though, I might look into the Jaycar option. I should have thought about that one first.

[TA-022]

link to old topic

[Mos]

RA23
In terms of efficiency, I wasn't thinking about the current going into the heater to heat generated - I was thinking amount of total power/current needed to match the water heater - as in it's not the most efficient way to heat air - probably not the best phrasing.

Take a look at any small 240V fan heater - check what the power consumption is (1-2kW) and you can get an idea how much hot air the 250W will give you (ie - not much).

Mos.

[RA23]

Take a look at any small 240V fan heater - check what the power consumption is (1-2kW) and you can get an idea how much hot air the 250W will give you (ie - not much).

I agree, but maybe (hopefully) it does make a difference in the small space of the cabin. Without doing the math, I would assume that it does not take much energy to heat up the air in the cabin, but it may take a long time before inside of the cabin is warm (seats, dash, etc, etc.
I'll probably give it a go anyway and see if it works. I'll post my results.

[Rcubed]

sorry i got into this thread so late guys.

i bought a ceramic heater with the idea of defrosting the glass last year. the power draw is HUGE. 25A fuse would occasionally blow on high power setting [i think 250W] and it wasn't even very warm. By the time it had started defrosting was longer than it took the engine driven heater to start becoming warm. I know some of the upmarket falcons and dunnydoors have electric heaters that start pumping the heat out as soon as they start. also if you see the v8 touring cars they have rear demister filaments on the glass [water vapour enters the cabin as steam off the exhaust and easier to demist than seal the cabin].
i can post pics of the heater i bought if you want.

[brett_celicacoupe]

so it loads up the engine through the alternator about as much as switching on the AC?

[Rcubed]

so it loads up the engine through the alternator about as much as switching on the AC?

similar. but i'd say the ac draws a little more power and had an idle up to compensate

[brett_celicacoupe]

ill bring this back up.

just come across this on ebay.

cheap as.... seems like a perfect replacement

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/BRAND-NEW-12-...item3eff2bf381

[river]

Hi,

150watts isn't much, is it? That's about the output of 2 x 75W bulbs and they don't give much warmth... certainly not enough for a car, which is not a sealed environment with draughts and all.

I'm not sure if that thing could warm up the cabin of a car on a bitterly cold winters day.

seeyuzz
river

[brett_celicacoupe]

this would be more of a thing for ADR compliance rather than actual comfort. ie sufficient for demisting windscreen.


townsville never sees bitterly cold days anyway haha