I live in the PNW and wanted to try a different approach.
1. clean no motor air
2. Instant with out motor running.
3. not gasoline.

Reading about auxi. heaters for years, I always wanted a Wabasto Esenbacher OR
or similar, with the no idle laws in place they became much more affordable, but run on diesel, yes they make gasoline (not what I wanted)
Price new 1100-2000

Searching around I found a propane fired unit Propex hs200, $700
more the teener price range.

I did consider the deisel wabasto ,but I dont like the smell of deisel and propane has the nasty odor for saftey.

I was still not sure how the thing would perform so I did a quicky install.

I only had to drill 2 - 1 inch holes and various screw hole , not bad.

As I said this is the quicky install for testing.............so far so good.


here is the unit;
http://westyventures.com/propex.html

Current condition , and 10 minutes of running, unattended, Engine not running.

Here is the location I chose. passenger footwell. I lost about 5 inches of foot room.
Wait no I didnt I am the driver

Remember, temp install for testing. I have fabbed mounting brackets.

Intake and exhaust through the floor and back.

Agian at this point only 2-1 1/4 holes through the floor

Nice!

The cover aluminum, As you can see thats as far as I got, I plan a vent facing back, and hose the splitting off right and left with 1 1/2 tube for defrost.

I left all wiring long , Testing Testing

Jeff,
That really looks like a good option for heat. Have you taken temps? Although it sure looks like it heated up well. As I get older, heat becomes more important.
Is this more Raincity Rednecks? LOL! Keep up the good work.
Tom

OK the fuel supply, 11lb 2.5 gal propane tank $6o. ouch, good news $10.50 to fill
I am going to cut the board and just the top will protrude up still allowing some trunk space.

So far for air circulation I have capped the long heat tubes and cut off the hose flush behind the speaker grill, So the defrost air is being pulled from inside the cabin.

Works OK, but needed a better push = Fan.

So I got a couple of Carrera footwell blowers and found they fit quite well.
The hoses do not hook up well though.

I have these fabbed up and the hose will be a straight shot and tidy up the install for sure.

Remember testing testing.

BTW the foot well blowers are an awesome addition = Defogged front windshielsd.
As i mentioned earlier, an 1 1/2 hose to each intake of the foot well blowers will work even better.

Stay Tuned. Testing

Have you considered using the camper sized bottles like they use for hand held torches?

Very interesting. I don't really have an application since I don't drive mine through the winter, I'm just curious about a few things.

• Do the intake and exhaust have some sort of baffle or something on the end to keep crud and critters out?
• Would it have been practical to vent to the front or side? Our cars are so low to the ground those intake/exhaust pipes seem pretty exposed.
• If that's designed to heat a Westy, I hope it has some sort of thermostatic controller. Otherwise you'll probably roast. It doesn't look like Propex makes a smaller model. I wonder if you can dial its output way down?

Skip, I really wanted to mount it in the rear trunk, but I also wanted to monitor the
thing.
And yes I already smashed one its low and daily so it goes everywhere..
I was thinking thicker wall tubing and Yes a mesh on the end,

It does have a thermostat and does work great , but when driving it is necessary to shut it down manually, much like reaching down and adjusting the Red knobbed heater lever.


Ya I did , But I thought the bigger was better, propex says they will run on the smaller but suggest the 2 1/2 as the best .

Can you post PDF copies of the idiot book?

I went to a get together and my 914 was great=warm, The gentle roar of Heater, just sitting there. Another -6 conversion was there and he was freezing his rear off.

Project warm daily, so far so good.

You had my interest up until I saw the bomb in the front trunk

ever try to blow one up ? Be COLD or use diesel or even better modern gasoline (if that's what you want to call it)

Not sure how cold it gets where you live, but my heat still requires me to open the window...

WTF does that mean ? I can go out start the heater go in for 10 min come out be happy. If you dont like it fine. I doubt you drive a 914 everyday. Movin On

The angry burning orb appeared in the sky today, so I thought I would venture out with a roofless drive to the grocery store. Within a couple miles my hands were numb, so I’ll admit I’m interested in learning more.

I saw it in action , pretty f'n kool!

I did the propane 1- the price, 2 - I knew I could sell it to a VW bus guy.
3- its a test/experimental

Here is a link to the one I would use for a permanent install.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/WEBASTO-AIR-TOP-20...=item3f0fb54d7a

I have $800 and my own time (not much) and fabbed stuff.

The wabasto's New $1500 for petrol, The diesels are everywhere $750

I have heard of others going this route and have only seen one gas in the rear trunk.

I better go start my heater and get ready for work. Jeff

The the only concern I have is I think legally (IIRC) a propane bottle is supposed to be mounted on the outside or under the vehicle.

Other than that it's a cool...or should I say hot..idea!

WOW, I agree a bomb in the front trunk ???

A friend of mine had a Electric Heater in his 911, on low it was very

confortable here in N.W. Ohio. Front end collision and you are toast

Literaly , ( sp) Boom and your gone, no matter who's fault !!!!

My 2 cents !!! Dave

I think the problem isn't from a crash. It if from gas building up from a leak. Then the front trunk becomes a bomb. In Indianapolis in the 60's, propane blew up the Colosseum during a Holiday on Ice show. Blew people from one side to the other.

Man, I just did a youtube search for "propane tank explosions" and found a bunch of redneck videos of them shooting at tanks. The tanks exploded, but every single one was placed in fire. Same would happen to a gas tank.

I had been looking into this for my bus, but I have an idea that I am gonna try that uses water in coils around the exhaust to reclaim heat and transfer it to a heater core in the cabin I will get to it.....eventually

You'll shoot yer eye out kid!

how long does it take to boil water ?

No need to boil. I am hoping to circulate at speeds sufficient enough to keep the water at a nice 180*.

True , but I removed the 2-3 inch floor plugs and layed screen over them. Propane is a heavy gas, The heat and pressure build up , If it should happen and the OPV opens, again it will go out the bottom.

It is not for anything more than to draw out other idea's . I didnt want a permant install and under $1000,
Now I would buy the gas wabsto or esnbacher .


Doc , I wanted instant heat without the motor running.

Motorhome tanks are required to be out in the open air....I suspect that is for a reason.
If it was only inside the front trunk...and you get a spark or some other ignition source...that would suck.

I believe there are tanks available for the VW bus that mount underneath...brackets and all.

Rich

Damn, you guys leave poor Jeff alone. He already won "That Guy" award and maybe he's going for #2.

Not poo pooing your idea, just mentioning an alternative I am glad someone bit the $$ bullet and did this.

I will try one of the small camp bottles and see how it works,
stay warm

With the floor open, a small low pressure area might build and the gas would enter the cabin????? just a thought.

For motorhomes, the propane compartment must have venting under the propane tank to vent out any leaking propane, an the compartment must not be locked so it can be opened from the outside of the vehicle.

I think the best place to keep that propane bottle is next to the BBQ grill!

There are some photos around that do show an Eberspacher gas heater mounted in the front trunk that may give you some ideas of alternatives. It would be nice to see an alternative to heat exchangers.

A gas leak will be a problem regardless of where the tank is mounted assuming the heater is in the passenger compartment. You will need to run a line for propane to the passenger footwell where the heater is mounted. This means possibilities for leaks. Maybe you could mount the small canisters in the engine compartment and run the propane line from there. Maybe mount the heater in the engine compartment and use the existing heat tubes that come with the car.

Just finishing an Espar B1LC gasoline heater in my Double Cab.. Its awesome!

jake good stuff, The bus guys use em all and love em.



Right next to an open Flame

mine is 2.5gal

Just hope you don't have any frontal collisions.

I'm with Jake and some of the other guys.....That tank sitting up front like that scares me to death! Theres got to be a better solution!

Good luck on your quest for good heat!

I wonder how it compares to the propex, noise wise ? fan and exhaust.

here is a 911 with an esnbacher gas heater;
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911...stallation.html



"Theres got to be a better solution!"

There is it is gas and deisel.

In Europe the mercedes camper vans have the propane tank in the occupied space, something not allowed in the US.

a tire and wheel surrounding , is the best protection there is, I have aluminum wheel I am machining to be the hold down and protect the top half with bling. JIC I should be involved in a frontal collision.

got the warm the car up (push button) got some running around to do.

Nice ingenuity. Standard heat in a 914 is marginal when temps are below freezing; circulation sucks.

Maybe you can take the tire and wheel surround thing to an extreme and get 2-3 steel wheels, take the webbing out of the middle wheel, weld the middle to the bottom, and bolt the top one to the other 2 for a protective cage. Any steel wheels would do. Use spray foam insulator to create a form-fitted cavity for the tank.

With this kind of tank protection, if the impact is hard enough to deform the wheel cage and pierce the tank, you likely have other issues to contend with besides leaking tank.

Propane tanks are much stronger than most posters seem to be aware of. Smaller ones even stronger. Just google propane tank strength tests.
Jeff, I would ride with you in your warm 914. The only concern I can really see with this is the valve area. Maybe some protection there would be a good idea. If the car is in a collision that is bad enough to cause rupture of the tank, anyone inside will have other issues than burning propane. And the gas tank would probably be compromised also.
I don't think it would be that hard to devise some electronic system of tank pressure monitoring and propane use. IE: is the pressure remaining steady, OK no alarm light. If the pressure is changing and is the heater on. If both yes, then no alarm light. Heater not on and pressure changing, Alarm light.
Tom

In my opinion you should look into mounting smaller bottles maybe in the wheelwells. If you can determine burn rate for the smaller bottles you may find two small bottles is enough. I think you can easily fit one in front of a front wheel and one behind.

I like it

Modern Marvels on the History channel featured this:

http://formandreform.com/wordpress/?page_id=388

According to the narrative on the show, it's street legal, in California of all places, with a propane tank right there in front and visible through the grill.

I bumped into this guys solution

http://www.atomicheater.com/