Has anyone out there had any experience with 12 volt electric heaters to heat your hot rod. From some initial research, it seems that they work to a degree (pardon the pun). I am not expecting them to keep the cabin toasty warm. Just enough to knock the edge off the cold would be good enough. The rest would be achieved by dressing appropriately. A little heat, and demisting of the windscreen, would be a good result. What are your experiences?
I think an electric heater large enough to be effective would pull an awful lot of amperage (never had one, just ASSuming). Having said that, electric seat heaters don't take too much power, and make a hell of a difference in my wife's OT SUV, been thinking of adding them to my '51. Air movement across the 'windscreen' (those Aussies have a different word for EVERYTHING) could be accomplished with a computer fan, might be enough, worth a try IMHO. Seat heater, long Johns, and Bob's yer Uncle!
Like I said, not wanting to melt the frozen north, just take the edge off. Mmmmm, electric seat heaters. Will look into those.
Do you have a small electric heater at home, ya know, one that may have two settings like 600/1200 watts? Put it in your car on a cold day and see if the lower setting keeps the chill out. Then realize that on a 12 v system a 600 watt heater will draw 50 amps. Recirculating hot coolant from the engine is an easier task
I don't know if the 600 watt cited above is a good size. But if it is, think about the wiring. If your total out and back wire length is less than 15 feet you will need #6 wire for 50 amps. If over 15 feet, you need #4 wire. That's big stuff. I think hot water is your best choice.
You want kilowatts, not just watts. You probably don't have a big enough alternator to produce even one kilowatt of electricity, while you constantly are dumping tens of kilowatts of waste heat into the cooling system just cruising down the road. I don't know about you, but to me it's obvious where to go to get heat inside the car.
My son's heater core is bad in his OT ride and they want $800 to change it. I got him a $20 plug in heater, just enough to keep the cabin ice-free. He says it works okay, but really has not gotten below 35 here so far.
Two words: heated seats. I have forced air heat (from engine coolant) in my roadster but in an open car at 80 mph it just blows away. I put in heated seats and it made a world of difference. The heat has to get through you before it can leave the vehicle. They are an easy retrofit to any seat by pulling the covers and setting them in place. They don't draw much either, I think I have a 10 amp fuse for mine.
After reading this post I wanted to share what I was going to try. Since I am a left coaster and it really never gets as cold as many of you experience, I was going to connect 1 or 2 blow dryers to a 12vdc to 120vac Inverter. For around 300-500 dollars all in I could get instant heat have multiple settings and have warm feet... I hate being cold. I have not installed this yet but it is on my agenda on Dads Hot Rod. I feel it would be money well spent, we shall see!
20 years ago when I had my Roadster, my wife got me a 12 volt electric blanket, plugged into accessory plug, helped a bunch for those cool evening rides home. I also used it in my 32 coupe until I installed the heat/Ac unit. A few guys I knew bought a small electric unit with a fan at the truck stop, look see there for something.
Tried the Mrs 1500 w hair dryer in a 28 Coupe, its only in the 40s right now, and Ohhhh how nice that heat feels! I am usually running for the shade or AC but small car instant heat is a nice thing. Now to work out some engineering /design, to fit in under the seat.
I just got an OT roadster, and I'm thinking about what to do for heat....I know that my main problem is keeping my feet warm. I built a heater from a heater core and a couple computer fans, that I used in a couple of other old closed cars, and it worked ok. I'm planning to try one in the roadster, and see how it does. Around here it doesn't get real cold, but in the next few days the highs will be in the 40s and lows in the 20s, so heat is really helpful (since we drive old stuff year round). I'd try electric socks before an electric space heater, though.
Manifold heater. Provided heat and you could fabricate something similar for your individual needs. Just make sure that you have no exhaust manifold leaks.
I used a electric heater in my old back 1932 fordor that still had a flathead in the car, the heater was marginal at best, if the ambient temperature was in the 30/40 degree range, forget it you will never get warm & comfortable, not even with a coat on. HRP
I purchased a vintage air heat/air unit and installed it in my old beater, is it traditional -No, but am I warm in the winter and cool in the summer, you bet I am! HRP I was able to hid most of it behind the dash and the control are made into the vent. HRP
there are these small retro fit kits, jegs sells them also, I recall a post from someone here. It basically still running hose to your engine, at least it looks like it. https://www.amazon.com/Windshield-D...2647e&pd_rd_wg=jHW07&pd_rd_i=B07Z9B8GNS&psc=1
You are correct: carbon monoxide was a problem with those. For peace of mind, I would avoid using exhaust heat inside the cabin... or... you can drive with a window open to provide fresh air, thereby defeating the heater. Go with a water heater or heated seats!
Don't use an electric heater. They don't work that well. You'll be better off plumbing one in. A buddy had an electric heater in his car in Ohio. It didn't do much and he hated it when we laughed at him for having it. I cleaned out his heater core then it roasted him out of the car. Thing was packed with leaves, mice and other assorted crap from sitting for a few years. He was a kid and didn't know.
I did a tech thread on this sort of thing a few years back, check it out here Technical - INSTANT HEAT, just dont add water (TECH WEEK) | The H.A.M.B. (jalopyjournal.com) It has been installed in my roadster for quite a while now and it works pretty well. My power gen is 100 amps and at an idle the heater dims the lights a bit. At speed it works well enough to keep the chill off. The unit was designed to heat truck cabs and golf carts and the like. It is wired direct to the battery (through a breaker but not through the fuse panel) I didn't want heater hoses on my blown flatty so this was my fix.
I've found a couple of old "accessory" 6 volt fan, hot water heaters at swap meets, etc. NAPA sells electric 12 volt motors and I've been able to find identical size to swap. Heater cores in the old one are a crap shoot, had one good, one replaced at a real radiator shop for $100. Or you can buy one from Speedway or Summit (I think). Anyway, with seat heaters from one of the same vendors and the fan going, it's OK. I have an old wool Navy blanket, cut and sewn to wrap around me, just need to install the velcro at the bottom of the dash to make it work. Keeps the important parts warm-feet and you know...
The socks thing wasn't totally a joke...my son got me a pair of heated socks for Xmas, since he saw I got a little roadster.
There's a lot of 12V heated clothes available for motorcycle riders if you decide to go that way. From what I've seen though, all that stuff is kinda spendy.
In college I had a '29 Model A coupe with a warm water heater and fan. It really didn't do the job, but that's because I didn't have a pressurized cooling system and it didn't have a thermostat to keep the water in the block until it was really warm. I didn't know the difference back then. Sorry, Joan, for that cold ride to the Swope Memorial that November afternoon.
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