there are a lot of hoses that break and valves that need replacement every few years - so why not put a 12 volt electric heater in place of the heater core? the things are not very large now, and they could be wired into our heater controls to turn on and off and the vents, etc could remain the same.

so has anyone done this? does anyone know of a gm car that has an electric instead of a water heater? or any car for that matter?

i am just so tired of all that rubber cluttering the engine compartment and trying to move it and just incresing the amount of rubber hose under there.

 

An electric heater would require a serious increase in the size, probably physical, of the alternator.

Your present system should not be breaking down as much as you indicate.

When you service anything pertaining to the heating system inspect the adjacent parts.

Once you service it you shouldn’t have to worry about it for at least another 15 years.

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And drivers of non-performance vehicles would be complaining of lower gas mileage.

With a waste-heat water system the heat is free.

 

An electric heater would probably require more electricity than your current alternator could produce.

 

to get a reasonalbly sized 12v electric heater, you would be looking at something like 50 to 60 amps minimum, thats a HUGH draw on the electrical system.

The heater would be quite large too, it will never fit in the stock location.

For that matter, i've never seen a 12v electric heater. Have you found any to begin looking at?

 

I have two 40 amp heaters installed in my diesels intake for real cold starts. And they get real hot but they don't put off a large amount of heat.

 

OK IM CONVENCED - crappy idea for a camaro.



thanks for the info -