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Aux Heater?

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8K views 59 replies 28 participants last post by  Overlander 
#1 ·
Hello again;

I've heard stories of people adding a second heater to their D90s... has anyone here done it? I didn't see it in the FAQ or in the archives...

Yes, I know about new door seals and a drop curtain and all of that. But for hauling a full car of people long distances, this seems like a great option.

I'd like to look into seeing how other people did it before I get the tuffy center box in case I decide to mount it in there and cut holes in the back... Anyone have pics/model names?

Cheers;

Chris
 
#4 ·
Chris,
It came with the truck when I bought it. It is mounted under the back seat and exhausts out the drivers side just behind the back door. Sorry I cant help with the install. I think I have the manual laying around somwhere. If I find it I can fax it to you if intereasted?
 
#5 ·
No, but thank you very much... I have to figure out some minor points like "cost" and "how not to blow up my car messing with gas lines" first. Also how the hell I'd put this in a reasonably water resistent setup, as I'd still want to be able to take this thing in water.

Thanks again Kevin,

Chris
 
#6 ·
Chris, my father's '95 came with a heater mounted behind the cubby box. He swears by it. When he traded for his '97 he had it switched over. I don't know much about it or the brand, but I might be in TN this weekend and check it out for you. I do know that it has it's own power switch, and is plumbed to the engine... It does the job very well!
 
#7 ·
Chris,

I have an aux heater that is mounted in the box under the passanger seat. It blows heat into the rear just behind the passanger seat. It is controlled from a switch in the dash and runs just like the main heater with coolant lines. Somebody told me that it was from a 110 but I am not sure. It was installed when I bought the truck. If you want to see some pics let me know.

Nigel
 
#10 ·
Canadian D90=warmer, makes sense.

I don't want to put anyone out...does anyone know of photos of this setup anywhere? I'd love to do a stock looking stall of this, if anyone has some info. Pictures would be slick, but as would be part numbers... anyone have ideas?

Thanks!

Chris
 
#14 ·
The webasto definately looks like the pro way to go... although $800-900 is about 3 times what I wanted to spend on this one. The electrical unit that Vadim found for 40$ looks interesting, all I'd need is ONE person saying it's not crap and I'd get one to test it.

The mojave looks pretty boss though, but (PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong) doesn't the fact that it


"gets it heat from the hot water in your vehicle's cooling system (just like an O.E. unit), but has the advantage of fitting into a wide variety of confined spaces."


mean that it will succumb to the same problems as the stock heater? I'm under the impression here that an electrical unit will be ok, a gas unit will be fantastic, but what about this water unit?

I'd be interested in seeing what those boat heaters were that Dennis was talking about...

Am I the only one who has added one of these? I would have imagined everyone above the mason dixon would have put something in, or do you guys just put these away for the winter (or better yet, not ride with friends?)
 
#15 · (Edited)
Chris,

Here are a couple of pics of the aux heater in mine. I guess it was a Canadian option.....One bad thing with this setup is that the passanger seat tends to get hot even without the heater on as the coolant is still pasing through the heater core. I am considering putting a shut-off valve in for the summer. Hope this helps.

Nigel
 

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#16 · (Edited)
The main thing I see with a defender is the relative efficiency at which the aluminum body transfers heat. I would bet a good job of insulating the floor and ceiling with aluminum sided insulation pad would go a long way.

On the heater side, I bet the heater core size and amount of air flow through it also are not sized properly to heat the truck. I know in an early pop-up camper equiped Bronco the 8000 btu heater we had would make you sweat. I think if you could plumb the mojave heater to the right spot it would do the job given its 12k btu rating.

That being said the heaters the bronco guys put in are this one http://www.heatercraft.com You can also see it at http://www.completeoffroad.com which is a bronco specialty shop. Look under heaters. I have heard from several guys on the Bronco forums that this heater would seriously overheat the interior of an early bronco.

I only had my truck a half a winter and Colorado certianly is not that cold but i know after taking the vent cover off, under the dash, there was alot more hot air blowing into the cab. It may just be my imagination but it sure seemed warmer.

I had invisioned taking the heater, puting it under the passenger side storage compartment with the small circular vents pushing air out. I think its key to also have the proper amount of air inlets for supply.

Dennis
 
#18 ·
Thanks to everyone for all their help... I'll be buying up parts in the next week or so and I'll be sure to take pics for anyone who wants. I didn't even think that I'd have to run heat tubing to vents, we'll see how this goes...

Thanks again for all your help!

Chris
 
#20 · (Edited)
dnewman9 said:
I only had my truck a half a winter and Colorado certianly is not that cold but i know after taking the vent cover off, under the dash, there was alot more hot air blowing into the cab. It may just be my imagination but it sure seemed warmer.
Not your imagination. I did that last winter and it made a big difference.
 
#21 ·
I like the Mojave idea, I was thinking I might replace the stock heater with it, as my stock heater doesn't work most of the time, it doesn't blow enough air, and it sometimes makes funny sounds. Oh and if you have a 180* T-stat in your engine you should get very warm air out of the heater. You may need a radiator muff to help the engine warm up if you do allot of highway driving. The problem with the stock heater is it doesn't blow enough air, it needs more cfms to do the job right.

PS I have a Canadian D-90 and it doesn't have the extra blower, the PO must have removed it.:(

I don't think those little 300 watt electric heaters will do to much in a Defender.
 
#22 · (Edited)
Okay...It's been a while. Anybody install any of these aux heaters? Work well? Guys, I use my stock heater on summer mornings in Denver, forget to turn it off, drive home...I'm warm. So you know I'm hurting in the winter. What works? Any techs ever install one of these?
 
#25 ·
For what it's worth, I recently installed seat heaters in my front seats. It was an easy DIY job and they are my best upgrade so far. The warm in about 2 minutes, and keep me comfortable until the engine gets warm. The ones I got have a high and low setting, and on high, I"m ready to take my jacket off, before the engine is even warm on the way to work. I had to come up with a solution, as the 2.8 diesel has a 5 core radiator, and like to run under a 100* most of the time. (RN radiator muff on the way).
 
#26 ·
Overlander said:
For what it's worth, I recently installed seat heaters in my front seats. It was an easy DIY job and they are my best upgrade so far.
I've been thinking about doing this to my 110 and replacing my seat foam at the same. Got any details on the install? How much of a PITA is removing/reinstalling the seat cover? Which seat heaters did you purchase? Where did you mount the switches? Thanks!
 
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