webasto heater

[juicersr]

Anybody know where i can find a webasto heater similar to this one? Do they still make them? Anyone know if they work well? The company website is terrible.

[k9handler]

looks interesting...I could use one as well if it works better than the RS tube I have currently.

EDIT: On second thought, NO WAY! Over 2 grand!!! I wear my gortex instead.

[buster73]

I don't think they still produce the old style heater anymore (unless you find an NOS part somewhere). Most modern heaters are designed for liquid cooled cars. However Webasto is producing an air heater unit (BlueHeat Air Top) which should be adaptable for 911's.

[juicersr]

2000 bucks huh? where did you get that quote? I can't finding any pricing on their stuff anywhere. Any one with any experience with webasto heaters? Have replace both flapper boxes and hoses and still freezing my nutz off. Tired of feeling like a Panzer driver at Stalingrad..... suggestions about heat/ heaters?

[buster73]

I think I saw them for around US$ 1,200 at RV/Marine shops.

[Jack Olsen]

Truckers still use them, and -- probably because of the potential legal liabilities they pose for the manufacturer -- they're very expensive.

Used ones go up on eBay periodically for much less. I'd want to go through a used gasoline-fueld heater with an unknown history very carefully, though.

That said, I've never heard about one of them starting a fire or exploding.

[PorscheGuy79]

Originally posted by Jack Olsen
Truckers still use them, and -- probably because of the potential legal liabilities they pose for the manufacturer -- they're very expensive.

Used ones go up on eBay periodically for much less. I'd want to go through a used gasoline-fueld heater with an unknown history very carefully, though.

That said, I've never heard about one of them starting a fire or exploding.

There is a little voice in my head going... "this does not look safe"

[juicersr]

Thanks guys. Jack, any luck with that electric heater that you were going to buy on a previous heater thread?

[Jack Olsen]

No. The 12V heaters you plug into the lighter socket are useless.

I got some 12V seat covers with heater wires in them that are a little better, but they do nothing for defogging/defrosting the glass.

Since that post, I settled on headers with heater boxes.

[Series900]

I just cleaned and "fired" up my unit in the 67S, and wow it is HOT, the engineers knew what they were doing when they designed these gas heaters. I have also tooled up and am making the NLA for ever, mufflers and exhaust pipes for the old Webastos. Mikey74 listed a 66 on the forsale page, w gas heater! you could install that unit, although the wiring could be troublesome.

[real550A]

There's a Webasto on ebay right now.

[GeorgeK]

That unit on eBay is useless without all the ancilliaries. Plus the buy it now is outrageous....

[juicersr]

Right, this POS looks safe...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Porsche-911-912-European-WEBASTO-WERK-Gasoline-Heater_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ34197QQitemZ4598 367875QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

[juicersr]

Sorry, ebay POS pix... looks taylor made to explode on first fire-up.

[304065]

Juice,

That heater looks no worse than most of the ones I've seen. The real issue, as GeorgeK says, is that it is missing the:

Time Regulator
Resistor
Mixture Pump
Fuel Pump
Glow Plug
etc.

These are all components that are required to make the system work at all, and there are a bunch of safety features built in.

Now, in Europe, not only is fuel more expensive, they are very concerned about the environment. So truck heaters are very common, so you don't have to leave the engine idling all night long. It's catching on here, but will be a while. Anyway, Webasto, as you correctly note, no longer makes or supports the P1018 heater. However, Eberspacher, which made VW heaters, still makes "air heaters", and the model in the picture appears to be the Espar D8LC, 27,000 BTU/hr version.



Damon, I'll call you about getting in line for a muffler and exhaust pipe. Are you using the later transistorized ignition or the old-school version?

[juicersr]

Thanks for the lead John... they actually have a smaller one, the D5LC which looks like it might do the trick



Will give their US distributor a call on Monday for pricing.

[cary]

My 2c.

They REALLY work. Back in a day. I had one in a Thing. You could drive up skiing with the top off.

It would nice today in my Ford. 10 below this am.

[juicersr]

Just a little update for those interested. I talked the Webasto US rep and he stated that due to our brilliant politicians and lesgislation, despite decades of proven use in Europe, they no longer offer the gas versoion of the Air Top 2000- the modern version of the Webasto heater which was used in Porsche 911's in the 70's. However, Espar, the company which made the heater for air-cooled VWs for years, makes a gas version known as the 'B1LC' which is sold as an update for the early VW heaters, and will fit nicely in the front of the 911. The Espar rep in my area can get a heater, install kit and in car control, for 'around $1000'... it has it's own pump, and needs to be run from the non-pressure side of the fuel line (between the tank and pump.) Will keep you guys posted, but there may be a neat BBS project coming up, depending on total cost.

[GeorgeK]

I'd love to see this project go forward. I have amassed a lot of the original parts and yet could not get all of them as of now. If a viable modern alternative comes up, I'd be all for it.

I wonder in particular how/where to route the heated air into the cabin. The original routing was very nice (and it is these parts that I miss, duh...)

[304065]

George,

I have been thinking about this lately also. It seems to me that the critical pieces to re-engineer are the Time Regulator and the Thermostat. The time regulator itself was replaced by Porsche with a transistorized version. There is a current thread over on Early S with some more info:

http://www.early911sregistry.org/forum/showthread.php?t=8800

Now, the thermostat, of course, was two parts: the bimetallic spring attached to the heater body itself, which would activate the system when cold, and de-activate the system when it heated to the point where it contacted the other microswith, and the thermostat coil itself.

It seems to me that these two elements are most susceptible to being re-engineered as modern, solid-state components. However, I also wonder whether or not parts from one of the modern heaters could be made to work with the older one.