A question for those of you with electrical prowess
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Hey there, |
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Your current heater will do a better job if you fix it. |
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Do some research if you go the propane route so you dont end up in a pine box. |
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TFerguson wrote:Hey there, I'm doing some prep work for an extended road trip this winter in my Eurovan, which doesn't have any working heat. Is there a way I can plug in a space heater to use while driving without frying anything? Or should I just look for a lower voltage space heater? I am open to any and all suggestions - just keep in mind I have the electrical prowess of a chimp. Thanks! TessYou could get a big enough inverter to plug a very small space heater into, but the efficiency would be miserable. You're much better off fixing the van's heater. |
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Lee Green wrote: You could get a big enough inverter to plug a very small space heater into, but the efficiency would be miserable.And in the morning you might have enough left in your battery to turn over the engine once or twice....it might even start. |
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Marc801 wrote: And in the morning you might have enough left in your battery to turn over the engine once or twice....it might even start.Good point but even more so. Almost certainly it wouldn't turn over even once. I was thinking of heat while the engine was running, which would be the replacement for the non-functioning engine-based heater the OP asked about. Engine off, even a small space heater would kill the battery in < 2 hr. |
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An electric space heater draws a lot of power. Also they are AC and your van is DC so you will need a big expensive inverter for it to run. An inverter is also only ~75% efficient so the space heater would draw even more power than it would being run from a house. I'd say this isn't the best idea. |
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Is the heater in your van broken or is it just not very effective to start with? If it's broken, you should fix it before you spend money on another heater. That way you'll have a defroster for your windshield as well, which is a good thing to have. |
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Thanks everyone! The catalytic heater sounds like a great option. I'm not entirely sure what's wrong with the van's heater, I'll look into getting that checked out. Also- insulating the windows is on the to-do list as well. |
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The problem with the heater may be as simple as replacing the heater core, but....its a VW and they can be good at over engineering and making simple task extremely difficult. Took 9 hours to replace the heater core on my 93 golf because it required removing the entire dash. Mechanics didn't even want to do it and gave a rough quote of $500+ to replace a $30 part. Great vehicle, until you have to work on them. |
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Perhaps heated car seat covers would help you with your predicament? |
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Old--as in 1960s era and earlier--VWs could be fitted with after-market gas heaters. Installation involved cutting into and redirecting the fuel lines, so even if there is such a thing available for a Eurovan it might not be a DIY project. |
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Definitely get the heater fixed in the van. Maybe you can find someone handy with cars to do the work? If you aren't the first owner, there is a chance the heater core (heat exchanger) in your dash was bypassed once it started to leak. You can tell by looking on the engine block where the hoses are connected. They will be looped or capped off. This is a common way to patch leaking heaters. Since this cuts off the flow of coolant to the core, you no longer get heat. |
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PRRose wrote:I also had a secondary deep-cycle battery installed with appropriate circuitry to draw from when stopped to run lights. That way that the primary battery can't be drained.Anyone seeing this should keep in mind that secondary battery systems are non-trivial to install and are not cheap. |
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Marc801 wrote: Anyone seeing this should keep in mind that secondary battery systems are non-trivial to install and are not cheap.All you really need is a battery isolator which lets the second battery charge when the vehicle is running and then disconnects it so you dont drain the starter battery running your lights/toys when vehicle is stopped. Some people accomplish this with a manual disconnect, or you can spend $25 on an automatic disconnect solenoid. The wiring is not complicated. Automatic aux battery disconnect |
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Little Buddy space heater is what I use in the back of my truck in the winter. Has an O2 cutoff, but I still crack a window. |
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Rframe wrote: The wiring is not complicated.For a noob? Hopefully the resulting fire caused by the use of 28 gauge wire won't result in any injuries. Of course the OP will have the terminals, mounting hardware, wire tool, etc just sitting around, and what do you do with that ground thingy anyway? Fuses? |
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Marc801 wrote:Anyone seeing this should keep in mind that secondary battery systems are non-trivial to install and are not cheap.False. 90 Amp battery isolator is $30 ( amazon.com/NOCO-IGD140HP-14… ) 65Ah deep cycle marine battery is $75 using an AdvanceAuto $50 off $125 coupon (they pop up every month or so). Quality 4ga amplifier installation kit for the fuse/wires is $30 ( amazon.com/KnuKonceptz-KCA-… ) Total investment is $135. Installation involves installing three new wires: 1) Move the current alternator wire from the fuse panel (or battery) to the alternator connector on the isolator. 2) Connect one output of the isolator to wherever the alternator wire was connected previously. 3) Connect the other output of the isolator to the positive terminal of the new battery, making sure to put a fuse as close to the battery as possible. 4) Connect the negative terminal of the new battery to ground...that is, just attach it some bare metal part of the frame. That's it. The hardest part is finding a suitable installation location for the isolator if there's no room in your engine bay (I found a spot behind the headlight in my van). That all being said, an electric heater is not what you want here. Fix the vehicle heater, use gas, or throw on a puffy. |
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Ian Stewart wrote: False. 90 Amp battery isolator is $30 ( amazon.com/NOCO-IGD140HP-14… ) 65Ah deep cycle marine battery is $75 using an AdvanceAuto $50 off $125 coupon (they pop up every month or so). Quality 4ga amplifier installation kit for the fuse/wires is $30 ( amazon.com/KnuKonceptz-KCA-… ) Total investment is $135. Installation involves installing three new wires: 1) Move the current alternator wire from the fuse panel (or battery) to the alternator connector on the isolator. 2) Connect one output of the isolator to wherever the alternator wire was connected previously. 3) Connect the other output of the isolator to the positive terminal of the new battery, making sure to put a fuse as close to the battery as possible. 4) Connect the negative terminal of the new battery to ground...that is, just attach it some bare metal part of the frame. That's it. The hardest part is finding a suitable installation location for the isolator if there's no room in your engine bay (I found a spot behind the headlight in my van). That all being said, an electric heater is not what you want here. Fix the vehicle heater, use gas, or throw on a puffy.I was in part basing my comment on this Jeep Wrangler dual battery system when I was looking into dual batteries for my JK. Admittedly on the high side of price points (and that doesn't include the Optima second battery), but with the CanBus computer system in that vehicle, I didn't want to take any chances. No, I haven't bought one yet. |