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What's inside a heater?


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Whilst my inner voice today was canting "drill it, drill it" I thought I would ask first before I make another job for myself!!!

Whilst the engine is out I thought I would fit my Hot Shot washer heater, it needs to be mounted in a certain axis and as vertical as possible, this poses problems in a Defender at the best of times, the only obvious space on the N/S wing however I will be using that space for my Eberspacher D2.

So I started to look for alternatives, there is one obvious semi vertical place, which is the front of the heater box, I would need to drill four holes mount the plate and then rivet it to the heater body.

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So the question is what's behind the heater face? I know the heater matrix is a good couple of inches but is there anything inside the body/face? or is it an empty space that I can drill into?

Cheers, Jason.

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I want to put it on the outside Ralph not on the inside, just want to know if I can drill the heater case and attach the heat shot to the outside of the case.

Jason.

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The front and engine side face forms part of the cold air bypass duct, so I think where you show the hotshot should be OK.

The only thing there is the warm/cold selector flap, and you can pretty much see where that covers from the actuator.

I probably have some pics of the inside I can dig out later.

Keep the wiring as short as possible on the hotshot, and give it a really good earth connection, or it will shut itself off due to low voltage because of the high current draw.

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Thanks, a photo before I go ahead and drill it would be great, it says it draws 50 amps so I am going to connect the feed inside the engine bay. and earth to the engine earth.

Jason.

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A little confusing but this should give you some confidence. This is the view looking down on the top face, heater blower enters from the right.

20120129_036.jpg

The hotshot draws 50A, but it has a low voltage shutdown to prevent it overloading your electrics in cold weather. It's a bit oversensitive in my opinion, and if the connections aren't short and clean it will often not complete it's heat cycle (or maybe it's just mine).

EDIT : Forgot to say this is an early type heater box (heater with curved pipes), but the later type isn't much different.

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A little confusing but this should give you some confidence. This is the view looking down on the top face, heater blower enters from the right.

20120129_036.jpg

The hotshot draws 50A, but it has a low voltage shutdown to prevent it overloading your electrics in cold weather. It's a bit oversensitive in my opinion, and if the connections aren't short and clean it will often not complete it's heat cycle (or maybe it's just mine).

EDIT : Forgot to say this is an early type heater box (heater with curved pipes), but the later type isn't much different.

Huge thanks, :i-m_so_happy: That's absolutely perfect, just what I needed. I had intended to take the live feed from the alternator or starter live so the shortest HV feed I will run the earth to the engine loom ground point so again a good ground.

Guess I just need to drill slowly now...

Thanks again, Jason.

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Not long had mine apart and confirm (as shown in the pic above) there is nothing at all to worry about behind where you want to drill. You would even have to keep drilling through a second skin to reach the matrix so can go at it with some gusto :lol:

Cheers Mark, although I think I will be taking it steady!!

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Does it have a flat back, how hot does it get and how heavy is it?

You could use VHB tape to stick it in place... I love this stuff, it's amazing.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=3m+vhb+tape

The thing I would say is you need the surfaces clean, the best stuff for doing this is alcohol gel (as in cleaning your hands)

You also need to apply some pressure to get it to activate.

You might want to read this if you have any doubts!

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_WW/VHB_Tapes/Home/Products/two/one/?PC_7_RJH9U5230OR180I4BB7BS910E1000000_assetType=MMM_Article&PC_7_RJH9U5230OR180I4BB7BS910E1000000_assetId=1180621747034&PC_7_RJH9U5230OR180I4BB7BS910E1000000_univid=1180621747034

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OK so next question...?

looking at the bulkhead is the front washer the left or right hand tube, my battery is disconnected at the moment so I can't figure out which pipe is the front and which is the rear!!

Jason.

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Does it have a flat back, how hot does it get and how heavy is it?

You could use VHB tape to stick it in place... I love this stuff, it's amazing.

http://www.ebay.co.u...nkw=3m vhb tape

The thing I would say is you need the surfaces clean, the best stuff for doing this is alcohol gel (as in cleaning your hands)

You also need to apply some pressure to get it to activate.

You might want to read this if you have any doubts!

http://solutions.3m....d=1180621747034

I did think about tape or PU sealant to adhere it to the but it has a fair bit of weight in the unit although I have no idea how hot it gets yet, thanks for the suggestion, but looking at the photo above rivets seem the best plan.

Jason.

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Ye gods, 50 amps ! I'd want that to make tea too ! :)

Mo

I got mine new just after microheat went bust due to the debacle over setting fire to GM cars.

I wanted a second one so I could try making a dashboard mounted espresso machine, but luckily I never saw another for sale :mellow:

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I got mine new just after microheat went bust due to the debacle over setting fire to GM cars.

I wanted a second one so I could try making a dashboard mounted espresso machine, but luckily I never saw another for sale :mellow:

Picked mine up for £80, new in the box I am heading to Norway in February so thought it would come in useful... Not sure it would be any good for making the coffee as it only delivers 50-60 ml of water at 63 degrees.

Jason.

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I wasn't entirely serious...

It is a useful device though - in the past mine has kept the screenwash flowing and the screen clear, even after the diesel has gelled and stopped.

The really clever bit though is not the heater part IMV, but the way it draws the fluid back from the washer jets before heating it, preventing that familiar instant freeze after the first squirt.

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I wasn't entirely serious...

It is a useful device though - in the past mine has kept the screenwash flowing and the screen clear, even after the diesel has gelled and stopped.

The really clever bit though is not the heater part IMV, but the way it draws the fluid back from the washer jets before heating it, preventing that familiar instant freeze after the first squirt.

Neither was I, just pulling Mr Murphy's leg a bit...

I looks like it will do the job, I wasn't sure about it at first since there is no on/off but I will monitor the current usage via my new battery monitor so thought I would give it a go.

Jason.

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