Two 300 watt hair dryers

[Shaun @ Tru6]

I've got headers on the 3.2 in my 73. Love them.

I don't really need heat, but I will need windshield defrost heading into fall. I was thinking of getting two 300 hair dryers and plugging them right into each air diverter in the trunk and wiring them up to the control lever in the cabin.

I was thinking of creating unique circuits to the battery, each one will be drawing 25 amps so will have inline 25 amp fuses.

How will this set-up affect the alternator and charging system in general? Will it put too much of a strain on it? Anything to be concerned about?

[Ronnie's.930]

So you are going to have something in place to convert from 12DC to 125AC volts, or are these hair dryers designed for use in a car?

[schumicat]

You would need to have a power inverter that can handle that much current, unless you find a hair dryer that runs off 12v DC.

[cgarr]

see what they use in the electric cars and use that.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

The hair dryers I've found are specifically 12V, 350 watt. Not sure why I put 300, long day today.

but there is this product: 12 Volt Direct Battery Hookup Appliance Power Strip

[Danny_Ocean]

Bigger question/concern would be how long are the hairdryers rated to run continous vs. how long do you need them to run for defrosting purposes?

[steely]

check into this, if I did the math right, it's closer to a 30A draw (350/12) a piece.
if you don't use the AC ever, that ckt would of course be available - assuming it even comes close to meeting your need. just a thought - good luck

[Shaun @ Tru6]

12 Volt 350 Watt Hair Dryer

Features
Blows hot air up to 194oF (90oC) for hours.
Great for drying hair or defrosting windshields.
Folding handle with slim design for easy storage.
Automatic shut off system to prevent overheating.
12 Volt Direct Hookup Powerstrip Required (sold separately below)

[Ronnie's.930]

Not to appear negative regarding your idea, but 350 watts is not much power/heat for a hair dryer . . . I have a small hair dryer here that is 1875 watts and I don't think it would do much to defrost the windshield unless it was pointed directly at it . . . if the ones you have found are inexpensive and such, no reason to not give it a try, however.

[JohnJL]

It works. I use 2 small units, you can buy them in 12v from RV Camping supply stores. You don't need a lot of heat, a little goes a long way.

[Bob Goding]

Not unusual to see these 12 V haidryers used as footwarmers/demisters in some homebuilt aircraft.

[SP2]

Excellent thinking out of the box, Shaun!

[Winter]

Shaun, I've seen many posts from you and I know you also post a lot of "for sale" stuff, so you are no stranger to parting out these cars and working on them. Everything I've read on this forum indicates that if you swap to the stock set up, heat is no problem.

I guess my point is is that if you need defrost, why don't you have that set up working as a bolt on solution, and only run the headers in summer?

Or if not seasonal switch with a heat/defrost solution, then how about a winter car with the stock heat and your car with the headers for the summer? I just want to make sure you are considering all the options!!!

[HawgRyder]

If you are looking for either heat or cooling...try investigating Peltier devices.
They are solid state devices that when DC is applied in one direction...they get very hot on one side of the plate....and cold on the other.
If you switch the polarity....the opposite sides get hot and cold.
They take a fair amount of current...and you would still need a fan to blow the air...but even the high end cars (BMW...Mercedes...Rolls Royce) are looking at them...no Freon or CFC's.
Bob

[proffighter]

I've gone through the same issue. Tried two 12V/200W ceramic heater elements in the slots to the window, useless, because heating performance is simply too low. It can defrost within 10min. a standing car, but when driving and you need to defrost immediatly like out of a tunnel, no way.
Now I installed a gas heater:

Gas heater installation

The heater has a max heating of 2500W, which is fine to defrost and heat the cab a bit, but it's still too low for a winter ride (except you keep hat and jacket).

So my conclusion. Electric solutions like hairdriers etc. are nonsens.

BTW, a lot of electric cars uses gas heaters for some reasons too...

[DRACO A5OG]

How about two of these made for cars:

US Made 180 Watt 12 Volt Auto Portable Auxiliary Heater



180 Watt 12 volt

$35 each

[na2ub]

There was a thread not too long ago, where someone had clamped metal heat exchange hoses alongside his headers, since he did not have heat exchangers. He said it worked surprisingly well. Just a thought.

[proffighter]

Originally Posted by DRACO A5OG

How about two of these made for cars:

US Made 180 Watt 12 Volt Auto Portable Auxiliary Heater



180 Watt 12 volt

$35 each

As I said before (and tested myself too) it's able to defrost (not immediatly) a windshield within a few minutes, but never when car running

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by Winter

Shaun, I've seen many posts from you and I know you also post a lot of "for sale" stuff, so you are no stranger to parting out these cars and working on them. Everything I've read on this forum indicates that if you swap to the stock set up, heat is no problem.

I guess my point is is that if you need defrost, why don't you have that set up working as a bolt on solution, and only run the headers in summer?

Or if not seasonal switch with a heat/defrost solution, then how about a winter car with the stock heat and your car with the headers for the summer? I just want to make sure you are considering all the options!!!

You are correct, I haven't really considered all options. My top issues are:
1. install once and forget
2. very light
3. Only required for fall to early winter and early spring driving

I'm turning the 73 more and more into a DE car while still keeping it a daily driver. So far it has worked very well, even living with fixed back seats has been fine. I don't expect to be toasty with the hair dryers, I just want a clear windshield when needed, and if a little help from a towel is required, I'm ok with that. the trick may be to pull air from the cabin instead of fresh air from the trunk, which is easy to do.

Wish I could afford a winter car, a ratty but decent 84 would be nice, but I've got to start saving for the 69S restoration.

Thanks for your thoughts. I think the good news here is I can test this for $50. if it works, great. otherwise, not a big loss.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by na2ub

There was a thread not too long ago, where someone had clamped metal heat exchange hoses alongside his headers, since he did not have heat exchangers. He said it worked surprisingly well. Just a thought.

thanks, I'll do a search and may try that.