B&B Deluxe heater conversion!

[yourpc48]

So my P15 came with a B&B Deluxe heater with defrost. I am guessing that heaters wer dealer installed and everyone seems to have a different heater. I took mine apart and cleaned it up and went looking for a 12 volt motor to put in it to replace the 6 volt. The heater came with a squirel cage blower in the rear of the heater for the defrosters and a bladed fan in the front for cabin heat. I found a motor that might have worked at NAPA but as work has been slow I decided to improvise. The heater draws fresh air into it by sucking air from in the car through the sides so it has a Square heater core surrounding the inside of the heater. This leaves a square hole open in the center of the heater core. I found that a large computer case fan would almost fit the hole and with a little weather stripping around the edges of the fan it was a nice fit. The first ones I tried were kinda whimpy so I was going to stick 4 small fans in (One on each side). I started pulling fans out of some old cases when I cam across a Dell case with another big fan in it that cooled the case and the CPU so I took it out and plugged it into a computer and WOW! that thing moved some air. So back to the original idea of 2 fans, one rear and one front creating a vacuum like the original that would suck air through the heater core and out both the front and the defrost. It ended up working good and since they dont draw much power I was able to use the original switch and have a low and high setting still.

Here are some pics of the project:

[yourpc48]

Here are the rest of the pictures:

So starting in the first post with the first picture.

Pic 1 shows the type of fan I am using X2

Pic 2 shows the mount for the original electric motor that I had to cut out for better air flow

Pic 3 shows the fan mounted on the back side of the case with 4 rubber mounts from the Dell case. (I drilled the 4 holes to pull the mounts through.) and had to round the corners of the fan since the opening on the back of the case is just a little smaller than the outside corners of the fan. It gives you a little more space for air to flow in the back defrost chamber.

Pic 4 shows the whole back with a glipse of the defrost cover on the back.

Pic 5 shows the heater core installed

Pic 6 shows the front fan put in. The little tabs you see are just to keep the fan from going back any further.

Pic 7 shows the back side of the front cover. I used 3m weather strip adhesive and put a spare distributor boot in the center to keep the front fan from going forward.

Pic 8 shows the completed unit with the four front flaps open.

Most computer fans are low draw 12 volt fans I just got lucky in finding ones that are high CFM. The Dell model I took these out of is the Dimension e310

The fans fit these Dell models E310 E510 E520 E521 Dell part # Y4574

There are 4 wires on the fans. You only need to use the Black- and Red+ wires.

Hope this helps if someone wants to doe an easy and inexpensive 12 volt conversion. I drive the car almost every day so I will report back how the fans hold up.

Edited November 21, 2011 by yourpc48

[Robert Horne]

That is a great find. I used a 12 volt to 6 volt reducer on my 38 heater,

but I have been looking for a small 12 volt fan to add to push air to the

defrost vents.

A friend of mine has very many old computers for parts....

[Rusty O'Toole]

If your old heater has 2 6 volt motors you can run them in series on 12 volts. This usually requires isolating one of them from ground, and grounding it to the input on the other.

[Robert Horne]

If your old heater has 2 6 volt motors you can run them in series on 12 volts. This usually requires isolating one of them from ground' date=' and grounding it to the input on the other.[/quote']

I never thought of two 6s to run on a 12 volt. I only have one 6 volt fan

on my little heater, nothing there for defrost. I took defrost vents from a

parts car, and hose from a shop vac. I Just need to figure how to push a

little air through the hose.

[1941Rick]

I am running my 6 volt heater on 12 volts....do not use high speed....wonder how long it will last.....good thing I only use the car in the early spring and summer....do not have a great need for the heater......

[yourpc48]

The original setup was one motor with a fan on each end of the motor. The motor was shot so I would have had to replace it regardless.

[Robert Horne]

Your computer fan ideas got me to thinking, (finally).

I took apart a wine cooler this afternoon, a friend gave to me.

It had three 12 volt fans. I hooked them up to a battery charger.

They work good, very quiet. One may be enough to push a little

warm air to the windshield..

[yourpc48]

Just an update. The original heater switch is holding up well and the fans move enough air to heat the car comfortably when the outside temp is in the mid 40s and not too cold when the temp outside is in the mid to high 30s. Its still pretty cold in the low 30s. Keep in mind thats pretty good considering there is no interior except the seats. Theres a lot of outside air making its way in cooling off the warm air the heater is producing. I did replace the defective thermostat with a new 180* thermostat from NAPA. It warms the engine quickly and allows the engine to get above 130* while going down the road. As far as fan longevity? Well have to wait and see but Ill also have to keep in mind that they were used fans in the first place. Maybe I will buy new replacements later.

[greg g]

Your engine should be running at higher temp than 130. If that is the case, the stat has probably closed, and believe it or not your heater, and its connections are providing engine cooling. This is where a witer front, chunk of old carpet, piece of cardboard come in. This will allow you to adjust the amount of air passing through the radiator. Adjusting the blocking until you can maintain operating temp at 180 or above.

Remember the temp rating for the stat regards the temp at which the stat opens, and does not refer to engine operating temp. Your operating temp should be between 180, and what ever the boiling temp is for you mix of water and antifreeze.

Running around with your coolant at 130, is not good for the engine.

I have read from a couple of sources, the the heater can provide between 30 and 45% of the total heat exchange for the engine. So you need to block of a similar area of the radiator to even thing out, with the cooler ambient passing though the exchangers, they become more efficient, so even blocking half the radiator when operating the heater is not out of the question.

As noted in a previous post, my father used to use a piece of carpet and he rigged it like a roman shade so he could easily adjust how much of the radiator it blocked.

[yourpc48]

Your engine should be running at higher temp than 130. If that is the case, the stat has probably closed, and believe it or not your heater, and its connections are providing engine cooling.

As noted in a previous post, my father used to use a piece of carpet and he rigged it like a roman shade so he could easily adjust how much of the radiator it blocked.

Sorry about the confusion. The car ran at 130* when I had the old thermostat in. It runs real close to the 180* mark now with the new thermostat and gets there pretty quick too. I was saying that the old thermostat was stuck part way and I replaced it to make the car run at the right temp. I like the cover part of your radiator thing. I used that idea when I was in Alaska on my Mazda P.U.

[Young Ed]

Hold alt and type 0176 on the number pad. Should get you a ° sign on most PCs.

[greg g]

I took a short ride today, I backed the car out and let it idle in the drive way for a few minutes while I did some things I needed to do in the garage. It was sunny and about 40 degrees. When I got in the temp gauge was a 170, after about 5 miles, at 45 to 50 the gauge was at 160. After I turned on the heater fan coolant temp droped to between 150/155. So my set up would decinately need a lot less radiator should I choose to drive it all winter long (which I won't)

As a reference, my car usually runs between 170 and 180 during the summer.

[yourpc48]

Hold alt and type 0176 on the number pad. Should get you a ° sign on most PCs.

Nope. It freaks out my laptop. LOL. Besides I like to make people crazy.

...

Thanks for telling me. It will probably work on my desktop. I dont have to use symbols in my tech work very often so I never have needed to remember all the extras you can make with the alt.

[yourpc48]

Picked up a nice new chunk of carpet rem from a guy I know that installs carpet (Industrial). Should help till I get around to a real interior......

[Young Ed]

Nope. It freaks out my laptop. LOL. Besides I like to make people crazy.

...

Thanks for telling me. It will probably work on my desktop. I dont have to use symbols in my tech work very often so I never have needed to remember all the extras you can make with the alt.

Yup doesnt work on my laptop either. For some reason I don't know it only works with the 10key #s not the ones above the letters.