Electric Heaters?

[Darkwriter77]

Came across this little gadget on JC Whitney today. I've tried those crappy little cigarette lighter plug-in models before - hardly enough heat/air coming out of one of them to equal a fart. But this one's actually a wire-in and has some decent amp draw to it. Of course, a 3g alternator upgrade is a mandatory prerequisite, which I'm already gearing up for, and they're kinda pricey. Still, they look pretty adequate for keeping my tootsies toasty, and keeping m'lady from whining (too loudly, anyway) about the chill.

Reason I'm looking into an electric unit is that I don't want to screw with buying/re-installing a heater pipe on my Notch, as well as all the related hoses and the headache heater core replacement process, since I have absolutely no need whatsoever for a heater for 85% of the year where I live. (As it is, it only drops down to 35* for a few nights out of the year, and it's usually around 60-70* during the day ... whooptie-doo!) With this electric doohickey, I could just wire it up for the winter months and/or when I head up north to colder regions (Arizona mountain country), use it when I need to, and unhook it n' stash it for the rest of the year when I don't need it.

Anyone used one, or heard anything 'bout 'em?

EDIT: Crap ... meant to post this in Talk...

 

[srothfuss]

Even though this isn't TECh...

I had one in an old 1980 GMC 1/2 Ton truck of mine. I wired it up in the middle of the dash to cook my feet as well as the passengers feet. Then mounted a toggle switch in the lower part of the dash so I could turn it on independent of the OEM heater. On really cold mornings, you can flip the switch and warm up the whole cabin without the other heater! Very, very effective in the small cabin of the truck.

 

[Darkwriter77]

Cool beans. Only problem would be deciding where to locate it in my car. I suppose I could delete the rear seat and set it up back there, since I don't have any seatbelts in back, anyway, but then I'd have to do the whole sheetmetal and carpeting gig to make it pass track tech and whatnot...

 

[mustang-a-holic]

The electric heater is acceptable in Tech as long as it is aiming at the N2O bottle.

 

[Darkwriter77]

Apparently nobody noticed the "EDIT" I placed on the first post. I goofed, okay? It happens...

Okay, something a bit more tech-ish: Should I wire it up directly to the battery with a toggle switch, or run it through the fuse block with, say, a 15 amp fuse? (Only draws something like 7-10 amps max...) And will this, when combined with an electric fan and a mild stereo setup, be too taxing for even a 3g alternator setup?

 

[srothfuss]

To save the switch gear from getting hot, you can wire it through a relay. The relay would then handle all of the loading requirements insteat of the little switch mounted on the dash.

However, a switch will work (that is how I did mine back in the day) It will just get warm if you use a wire that is too small for the current draw.

Also, radio shack carries inline fuse block holders that you can wire directly to the battery. You want the fuse to blow before the relay or switch does.

 

[Darkwriter77]

Cool beans. Many thanks!