1 Steam Cars : Phorum
General Steam Car topics
Gasoline Heater
Posted by: Peter Heid (IP Logged)
Date: March 13, 2004 04:00PM
<HTML>I have been intrigued by stories of old gasoline heaters for automobiles and how well they worked. I often wondered what made them tick, so I bought one. I bought a Southwind 781 by Stewart Warner often found in vehicles form the 1930's to the 1950's and beyond. The reliability and the fumeless operation had me wondering how they worked and what type of burner they used.
This thing is really cool ! It has a glow plug to ignite the vapors and a ceramic burner in a housing that is very small. The liquid gasoline is metered by a needle valve and trapped above the burner so only the vapors can get to the burner and glow plug mounted below. After lighting it vaporizes any liquid fuel above the burner. The one I bought has lots of miles on it but the ceramic burner and the vaporizer cup have very little carbon build up. It looks like the ceramic stays glowing and no carbon can form on it but the rest of it was quite clean also.
It might be a good burner design for other purposes, who knows.
Peter Heid</HTML>
This thing is really cool ! It has a glow plug to ignite the vapors and a ceramic burner in a housing that is very small. The liquid gasoline is metered by a needle valve and trapped above the burner so only the vapors can get to the burner and glow plug mounted below. After lighting it vaporizes any liquid fuel above the burner. The one I bought has lots of miles on it but the ceramic burner and the vaporizer cup have very little carbon build up. It looks like the ceramic stays glowing and no carbon can form on it but the rest of it was quite clean also.
It might be a good burner design for other purposes, who knows.
Peter Heid</HTML>
Re: Gasoline Heater
Posted by: Dick Vennerbeck (IP Logged)
Date: March 13, 2004 06:05PM
<HTML>Peter,
Check out the heaters as used on 1960 Corvairs. They worked really well also. They had a set of points and condenser mounted on the blower motor with a standard ignition coil and a sparkplug. The setup had it's own exhaust pipe and as I remember it would really blast you out even in the middle of a New England winter! Oh, and it even worked with the engine off, which was great for taking your girlfriend to the drive-in movies!
Dick</HTML>
Check out the heaters as used on 1960 Corvairs. They worked really well also. They had a set of points and condenser mounted on the blower motor with a standard ignition coil and a sparkplug. The setup had it's own exhaust pipe and as I remember it would really blast you out even in the middle of a New England winter! Oh, and it even worked with the engine off, which was great for taking your girlfriend to the drive-in movies!
Dick</HTML>
Re: Gasoline Heater
Posted by: George (IP Logged)
Date: March 13, 2004 06:22PM
<HTML>Peter,
The Kaiser Henry J (1950's) used one as well. A friend of mine had one way back then and I think he had problems with it a few times. Certainly put out the heat in that little car!
George</HTML>
The Kaiser Henry J (1950's) used one as well. A friend of mine had one way back then and I think he had problems with it a few times. Certainly put out the heat in that little car!
George</HTML>
Re: Gasoline Heater
Posted by: Peter Heid (IP Logged)
Date: March 14, 2004 12:23AM
<HTML>VW's had aftermarket gasoline heaters for them also. I was really impressed with the steel casting and the ceramic burner in the Southwind. Unimogs have available a heater that puts out something like 30,000 BTUs that mounts directly to the vehicle for heating the diesel engine. That type and several military heaters burn diesel and some only require electrical power to start, after which they run unplugged.
Does anyone know if any of the other heaters use ceramic burners ?
This Southwind will probably get a new needle valve and be used to warm a diesel engine in a log skidder during the winter months. The seat for the needle valve is aluminum and corroded some and I just may put a sparkplug in the glowplug hole for the 12 volt conversion.
Peter Heid</HTML>
Does anyone know if any of the other heaters use ceramic burners ?
This Southwind will probably get a new needle valve and be used to warm a diesel engine in a log skidder during the winter months. The seat for the needle valve is aluminum and corroded some and I just may put a sparkplug in the glowplug hole for the 12 volt conversion.
Peter Heid</HTML>
Re: Gasoline Heater
Posted by: Dick Vennerbeck (IP Logged)
Date: March 14, 2004 02:05AM
<HTML>Peter,
Where do you live? and what are you skidding logs for? A friend and I salvage timber with an Alaskan mill (Husky 394XP) and make furniture! We hsve done a lot of Redwood and some nice spalted Tan Oak we are working on some Acasia and California bay I would like to make some Voodoo Mojo boxes out of Poison Oak vines! Do you think there's a market on eBay?
Dick</HTML>
Where do you live? and what are you skidding logs for? A friend and I salvage timber with an Alaskan mill (Husky 394XP) and make furniture! We hsve done a lot of Redwood and some nice spalted Tan Oak we are working on some Acasia and California bay I would like to make some Voodoo Mojo boxes out of Poison Oak vines! Do you think there's a market on eBay?
Dick</HTML>
Re: Gasoline Heater
Posted by: David K. Nergaard (IP Logged)
Date: March 14, 2004 10:55AM
<HTML>The original South Wind heaters used the engine's intake manifold for draft, the heater exhaust was sucked throught the engine. Ergo, no heat if the engine isn't running! On a Diesel, even when it is running, there may not be enough draft for the heater.
The after market heaters for VW, also made by South Wind were very good except for one problem. They used a stainless steel heat exchanger/fire pot, which held up very well. But, the exhaust pipe, welded to the heat exchanger, was ordinary mild steel, and rusted through in two or three years of heavy use. Then, major fume in car problems! I gave up on mine after the third heat exchanger gave out.</HTML>
The after market heaters for VW, also made by South Wind were very good except for one problem. They used a stainless steel heat exchanger/fire pot, which held up very well. But, the exhaust pipe, welded to the heat exchanger, was ordinary mild steel, and rusted through in two or three years of heavy use. Then, major fume in car problems! I gave up on mine after the third heat exchanger gave out.</HTML>
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