ZeroDelta Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 Has anyone installed a Heatshot system into their Defender? It basically retro fits into the engine bay and splices into the existing washer system then provides hot washer fluid when you squoosh your windscreen- it all looks very simple. The link below will take you to the website: http://www.heatshot.co.uk/ It is £178 for a unit and if the marketing is anything to go by something the Defender driver has been after for years - especially in winter. My question is has anyone installed one and was it worth the cash? Cheers, 0D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 seems very expensive for what is effectively just a water heater, OK it will give instant warm/hot water to the screen, but same effect can be had by wrapping some washer tubing around one of the heater hoses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frax Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 Looks good but I would still worry about the window going pop as the steem hits it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landy-Novice Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 and to me it looks speeded up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 Ralph, Frax Yes to both of you. I believe it was Holts that made a heater for the washer jets in the late 1960's. It was a plastic container with an aluminium tube through the center. Two washer ends at the bottom. Quite effective as well. Yep I still have mine. Washer tubing wrapped round the heater hose does a good job as that's what I use.... Only costs a couple of quid. Moving the washer jets to the back of the bonnet helps to stop the jets themselves iceing up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverik Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 What I have done is thus.... bought a new TD5 squisher nozzle... bought a new "heated" disco nozzle... destroy disco nozzle to get hold of the wee heater resistor - stick heater resistor onto TD5 squisher nozzle and plug in... Not quite finished it yet, nor thought about quite how I'll wire it in, but I think I'm onto a winner for a lot less that 150 squid plus! Mav Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 Mine is jsut wrapped round the heater pipes on the way to the screen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeroDelta Posted November 5, 2011 Author Share Posted November 5, 2011 HAving suffered from frozen washer pipes all last winter, I take it that wrapping the washer pipes around the heater really works. What about the nozzle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 Ralph, Frax Yes to both of you. I believe it was Holts that made a heater for the washer jets in the late 1960's. It was a plastic container with an aluminium tube through the center. Two washer ends at the bottom. Quite effective as well. Yep I still have mine. Washer tubing wrapped round the heater hose does a good job as that's what I use.... Only costs a couple of quid. Moving the washer jets to the back of the bonnet helps to stop the jets themselves iceing up. Hi Mike, I remember the Holts heat thing, always meant to by one for the car I had before I bought my 110. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 Ralph. Yes I keep seeing mine in the workbench. The problem is that the heater hose pipe is too small for the Defender pipe. Another trick for the jets on the bonnet. Slightly cover them so there's enough room for the water to spray. Tank tape is fine. You can remove it after the cold spell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wunntenn Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 I helped solve my north of Scotland sub-zero washer freeze last winter by removing the non-return valve from the washer tubes. This allows the fluid to run back to the bottle where the sheer volume helps to prevents freezing. Having a full tube of stuff up top in the icy blast = freezing blockages. Only downside is that there is a slight delay when you hit the washer stalk before the fluid comes out, but better a delay then getting fluid, than getting none instantly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frax Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 That seams like a good idea to me also being in Scotland, my nozzles keep breaking with the frost - I can put of with the delay but nozzle replacement is a pain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Murphy Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 What I have done is thus.... bought a new TD5 squisher nozzle... bought a new "heated" disco nozzle... destroy disco nozzle to get hold of the wee heater resistor - stick heater resistor onto TD5 squisher nozzle and plug in... Not quite finished it yet, nor thought about quite how I'll wire it in, but I think I'm onto a winner for a lot less that 150 squid plus! Mav Pictures, mav, pictures ! Mo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeroDelta Posted November 6, 2011 Author Share Posted November 6, 2011 I would really be interested in pics too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverik Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 Standby, I was replacing my rear axle at the weekend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diff Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 I can see the need for these heated systems for vehicles which cover high motorway mileages in the winter on salted roads, because a lot of fluid is needed and it would get expensive. For those who don't do lots of winter motorway miles, including me, it is simpler to use decent winter screen wash. It is true that most screen wash liquids sold here in the UK are expensive, and do not have a decent cold weather rating hence the problem. I always check the label, and a lot of standard screen washes only go down to just below freezing. I usually buy screen wash from Lidl or Aldi, which is good value and has protection down to minus 24 degrees centigrade. I have been using it in the winter partly diluted for a few years without problems. Apparently you can also add methylated spirits as an antifreeze too. You can mix it with plain water at 1:1 for protection down to around minus 15 centigrade, or add it to existing winter screen wash to lower the freezing point. Regards, Diff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverik Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 I can see the need for these heated systems for vehicles which cover high motorway mileages in the winter on salted roads, because a lot of fluid is needed and it would get expensive. For those who don't do lots of winter motorway miles, including me, it is simpler to use decent winter screen wash. It is true that most screen wash liquids sold here in the UK are expensive, and do not have a decent cold weather rating hence the problem. I always check the label, and a lot of standard screen washes only go down to just below freezing. I usually buy screen wash from Lidl or Aldi, which is good value and has protection down to minus 24 degrees centigrade. I have been using it in the winter partly diluted for a few years without problems. Apparently you can also add methylated spirits as an antifreeze too. You can mix it with plain water at 1:1 for protection down to around minus 15 centigrade, or add it to existing winter screen wash to lower the freezing point. Regards, Diff. I got the highest alcohol content available last winter and it didn't freeze in the lines or the bottle, just the nozzles went. - and thats just pottering about up here, we got a few regular -15... and that combined with the windchill of any driving seemed to cause the nozzles to freeze up. never had the problem in my focus though... it has heated nozzles! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSD Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 That appears to be exactly the same as the Webasto Hotshot, which was made by a US company called (IIRC) Microheat. They were fitted at the factory to some US cars (GM I think), but were withdrawn after some wiring loom fires, probably due to undersized factory wiring looms. Click I have a Webasto one which I bought new for £50. It does work, as advertised. It solves the problem where the jets freeze in the first few seconds of squirt, by drawing the fluid out of the lines and heating it, and driving a jet of steam to clear the nozzles before spraying. The water that hits the screen is warm enough to steam, but not so hot I worry about cracking the screen. It's not perfect, but it does work at keeping the screenwash flowing. It's been used on snowy trips to Norway and Bulgaria, and it's not really let me down yet. I wouldn't pay that asking price though. Fridgefreezer has seen and used it in poor conditions, maybe he can offer an independent view. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frax Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 My mate was telling me that Halfords use to sell a pipe that went into the radiator hose which had an internal coil of tubing with two external pipes to connect to the screen wash pipes, don't know how true this is or if they still sell them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orgasmic Farmer Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 Mate once told me he had to buy some new heated nozzles for a rangie sport and was very surprised to find they were only about a tenner each (trade mind). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orgasmic Farmer Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 Just checked Microcat ... 2009 the heated nozzles were £5.63 +vat retail! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverik Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 Pictures, mav, pictures ! Mo Here you go mo, unfotunatly I'd already extracted the heating element from the plastic jets, looks like this. I've removed the plug and will put some small blade connectors on so it will fit through the bulkhead hole A bit of dremil action to make a hole... and some slots for the wires... Araldited into place... and then "potting" the rest of it, bot cold in the garage so will finish it off tomorrow when its set - I intend on filling the hole thing to make it a suitable heat sink... hopefully. Will do some freezer testing when I've got the wires set in. Mav Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 interesting mod, look forward to seeing the results of your testing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeroDelta Posted November 8, 2011 Author Share Posted November 8, 2011 I have just found a firm called Alphatherm, who do the same thing as the Heatshot, but sell their units at $99(approx £65) with free international shipping - limited offer if anyone is interested. The link is here: http://alphathermusa.com/Order.html I will let you all know what it is like when it arrives... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverik Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 I have just found a firm called Alphatherm, who do the same thing as the Heatshot, but sell their units at $99(approx £65) with free international shipping - limited offer if anyone is interested. The link is here: http://alphathermusa.com/Order.html I will let you all know what it is like when it arrives... Na my idea is better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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