on 3/17/02 12:59 PM, Mike Razor at mrazor@mis.net wrote:
> Went on the first club outing this weekend and of course the weather turned
> nasty the night before, was in the 70s on Thursday and only got to 40 on the
> day of the trip.
> Anyway, the hamster breath heater in the MGB was running at its peak
> performance and we were still pretty cold. It did generate enough heat to
> clear the windscreen and at times would run warmer than at others. Seems as
> we cruised at highway speed the air temp it was putting out would drop to a
> very chilly blow and if we idled for a while or climbed a good size hill it
> would turn tepid warm again.
That's exactly what one would expect. A 195 degree thermostat would help if
you aren't running one, of course. But the real solution for winter driving
is to block off part of the radiator so that it doesn't super-cool the
coolant at highway speeds. It's nothing to do with the heater itself, really
(though the valve design could certainly be improved) -- it's the engine
temperature running cool. I used to keep in the trunk a small piece of
cardboard cut to fit neatly in front of the radiator, kind of snapped
between the lip on the top and bottom tanks, with about 50% coverage. But it
so very seldom gets that cold around here that I haven't bothered lately.
But maybe some Snow Belt dwellers have better solutions...
> I would like to get the heater to work better, if it is at all possible.
> Barring that I am looking at alternative solutions for heat. While at the
> local AdvanceAuto store I spotted a ceramic heater that works off 12 volts
> via the cig lighter. It said on the box it pulled 150 watts and put out 550
> BTU. I wonder if the wiring and fuses will handle that.
I wouldn't bet on it. That's 12.5 amps...
> My US old car guys
> said they use these stadium warmers that you stick in the microwave. I
> don't think I can convince my wife that the heater is doing a great job and
> she must be getting ill. Tried that all the way up and back.
> Mike
>
--
Max Heim
'66 MGB GHN3L76149
If you're near Mountain View, CA,
it's the primer red one with chrome wires
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