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Adding a heater?


Chicken Drumstick

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One of my S3's doesn't have a heater. I know years back you could buy a "kit" to add a heater, as we did this to an ex-Mod 88 we had at the time.

Does anyone still sell anything like this? I've had a look about but haven't seen anything of the sort.

Failing that, are there any worthwhile ideas to consider when adding a heater to a Series these days?

Thanks.

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Yes:

Pick a heater core / assembly from the scrapyard/ebay and plumb it in.

Or buy a Webasto / Eberspacher.

Or see SimonR's "better heater" thread, or TSD's ceramic heater element mod (but not with a standard Series alternator!)

Also heated windscreens, seats, mirrors can make life nicer/easier.

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One of my S3's doesn't have a heater. I know years back you could buy a "kit" to add a heater, as we did this to an ex-Mod 88 we had at the time.

Does anyone still sell anything like this? I've had a look about but haven't seen anything of the sort.

A current and relevant thread on the forum of the Series 2 Club

HTH

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Or see SimonR's "better heater" thread, or TSD's ceramic heater element mod (but not with a standard Series alternator!)

Also heated windscreens, seats, mirrors can make life nicer/easier.

I have almost wired in my ceramic heater today, just waiting for a switch to turn up. Wish it had been functional two days ago when I was scraping the screen for the first time this autumn. I pretty much copied TSD's method, and after today's trial I can say that it didn't half get hot. Ever burnt ya mitts on a Landy heater? :hysterical:

As Fridge has pointed out, you need a substantial alternator. The 65A item in my 110 V8 was no match for the heater on full wack. Charging voltage dropped to 11.5V with all three elements connected. I might try just two of them next...

If you use this as your only heater, I'd recommend wiring it to give 1,2 and 3 element options for variable heat output.

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I put a Defender heater in my Series III. One needs to do a bit of adapting of the control levers/cables as the Defender system doesn't have a water flow valve, I removed the valve from the head of the engine and fitted a straight hosetail for the pipe. I then used the Series III temperature lever to move the temperature control flap on the new unit. I also had to wire the heater fan through a pair of relays as the Series III system works on switched lives whereas the Defender one switches the grounds. The flap which controls the volume of air coming in (and on the Defender is controlled by the same lever as does the fan speed) can't be made operable in the Series III unless you add another control lever, so I just left it fully open. So I now have the two-speed fan controlled by the standard Series two-speed fan switch, and the temperature and distribution levers doing their jobs also as per a standard installation.

The only thing I haven't addressed yet (to my shame) is the heater intake, I plan to do this by installing a second wing vent in further along towards the front and running a duct from here to the heater intake. As long as it will clear the tyre on articulation then I can't see this being an issue. One needs to cut the mud shield plate about a little bit as well to fit the larger heater unit in, other than that the physical fitting of the thing itself is dead simple.

As my 88" was a 'non runner' when I got it I am not sure how effective or not the standard Series III heater was in operation, but the Defender unit certainly kicks out plenty of heat once the 2.25 petrol is up to temperature.

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I find my little series heater gets hot enough to "almost" burn your hand if you put it over the vent, it just doesent blow anywhere near hard enough.

at lower speeds its okay but at higher speeds the draft comes in quicker than the heater air :hysterical: and I get cold toesies!

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