OK.... I guess this might open a can of worms... but what do people do about heaters??

Can (obviously) get one from Dax, but at a hefty £250 +VAT (or near enough), which will I'm sure work very well, but at that price it should... also I've heard of mini and polo heaters, but how easy/hard/effective they are I've no idea?? Also there's the option of a heated screen or x2 hairdryers! I want to be able to use the car as a fast tourer in pretty much all weathers, so a heater would be helpful....

Has anyone got any wise words or advice??

Thanks

Chris

i have read that a few people have used mini heaters because they are compact i will most probably go for a mini heater also they will be cheaper just pop to your local scrapy

Mini heaters seem quite wide spread. Haven't got that far myself yet, need a chassis to put one in first
They're really simple to wire and the later ones have two fans speeds. May be a better bet. The earlier are basically on/off, and can be changed between screen/interior stteings should you use the mini surround/front thing with it.

Heater...

There is an article on refurbing mini heaters in this months MiniWorld, so a quick browse in WHSmiths is probably worthwhile.

Beware, the controls won't pass SVA as standard (nasty sharp lever).

Another fleece is a cheaper option

perhaps a three speed heater would be a better idea for those days when you dont want to get too warm

There have been many threads on heaters and as the wonderful ROFL Copter shows, it would appear mainly without much sucess.

Has anybody Tried just ducting the engine bay heat in to the passenger area? as it gets pretty hot in there on a run and the hot air appears to get forced up the transmission tunnel normally.

That and heated seat eliments out of a luxury car modded to fit your seats might suffice.

Ducting hot air from the engine not a good idea -- the bulkhead between the engine bay and cockpit should be sealed as much s poosible --- apart from anything else its is a big no-no with the MSA scrutes.


The plug in electric heaters do actually work I have been testing one to defrost the norm-mobile on frosty mornings but I think you would need four -- which would drain amost the whole alternator output.
However no reason why a Ford heater matrix couldn't be fitted on top of the tunnel and ducted uppwards.


I see Caterham now have a fresh air intake in front of the screen suspect this might be because a heated screen didn't meet the exact wording of the SVA requirements

Didn't know about the MSA rules, although not everybodys intending to race them.

There are devices used in Ducting called "Fire Dampers" which are held open by a soldered link which melts at a specified temperature and then they spring closed.

This maybe a way of getting around the problem, although you've already got problems should this be required!

This one is half the price of the Dax one and smaller than a Mini one.

Ah... like the look of that... is it car builder solutions??

Chris

Yep, and it can fit in a really small space too. It has a choice of fascias depending on the duct requirements. Nice bit of kit

That does look a nice piece of kit.

How about a Polo heater? Fan and heater matrix are combined in a single housing, and the plumbing is all on the engine side of the bulkhead, so if you do have a leak you won't boil your toes.

You can also buy a heater core from almost any vehicle and a small fan and build your own any size and shape you want.
Personally I intend a large heater core and small fan as my locost would be driven year round and I dont like to be cold. Drove my camaro with no heater (to save weight) on a cold night and could barely walk after I got home. Took me hours to warm up. Tin box with no heater and no insulation makes a really good cooler when driving at 70mph in cold air.

Besides, you guys who turn your noses at heaters probably dont drive your cars as much as people who have them Who is the winner there?
Cheers.

I decided to go through SVA with a screen, demisters, wipers etc. (not too sure why). Anyway, I used a mini heater which, judging by eddy's picture is about the same size as the Polo. However, again looking at eddys picture, it looks like the Polo one is much easier to install. If i'd seen that before I would have gone for the Polo one. Also a lot of the heaters in scrapyard mini's are past their best while the polo's should be newer and therefore probably better. My heater control is way up under the dash so no issue for SVA. I was going to extend the control to the dash but, in reality, you don't need to adjust it that often.

The CBS one looks good so far, we don't have the space in the engine compartment for mouting one on the bulkhead, though looks good and would make behind the dashboard less of a squeeze!

Do fancy having a go at making one though, if only to have tried - does anyone have any tips or photos of theirs? Presumably you put an ali box round the heater element, then put a fan and some openings in it and run some pipes where you want the air to go??

Chris

I have a mini heater, it makes driving in cold weather much more fun, feet toasty, wind in your (lack of) hair, you can't beat it.

Cheers

Chris