FAQ

Commonly asked questions:

Can the heater matrix be installed with the barbs facing the opposite way? Yes, the heater matrix can be removed and reinstalled the other way around so the barbs are facing the opposite direction away from the front of the heater. This applies to both the Lightweight Heater range and the Micro Heater.

I have a Mini / Land Rover S1/2, what heater would you recommend? I have designed the 'Lightweight Heater with Side Vents' specifically for the Mini and Land Rover Series 1 & 2's. This heater has 3x modular upper vents for demisting purposes and two round vents at the bottom for heating the cabin directly. These lower vents are directional and closable so you can direct all your heating towards the windscreen if required. The upper outlets are modular so you may chose a size of hose outlet so that your existing ducting can connect straight up and you don't have to worry about finding hose adapters. Sizes of outlets available are 2", 1.75", 1.5" and 1.25". Please specify which size you require at the time of ordering.

Can I control the fan speed? The fans are single speed in both the Micro Heaters & the range of Lightweight Heaters with no fan control onboard. A PWM fan controller is in the works, however due to a couple runs of bad luck with various companies I am unfortunately out of pocket and the prototype & info are no longer available... Currently other solutions are inline resistors, rheostats or ebay PWM controllers though I cannot guarantee how reliable these are!

My engine heater hose barbs are a different size to those on your heaters? There are a range of sizes that car manufacturers currently use, the most common today are 5/8" and 3/4" ID, vehicles of yesteryear commonly used the smaller 1/2" ID hose. I have designed a range of bulkhead hose adapters that are CNC machined from alu bar and look great on a vehicles bulkhead/firewall. These adapters allow you to run either 1/2", 5/8" or 3/4" pipe on the engine side and 1/2" pipe on the other side for the heater unit.

Ducting: When planning your installation it is important to keep the ducting routes as short and as bend free as possible, this is to reduce the resistance along the path of the ducting to maximise the flow and pressure at the outlet point. Smooth bore ducting is going to flow greater than concertina ducting.

Heater Hose: Greater water flowing through the heater matrix equals more heat out. To maximise the flow rate you need to take the same points into consideration as you have done with the ducting, short runs with the least amount of bends will help keep the flow as high as possible. To reduce the resistance even further you should use as large a bore as piping as possible, for instance if your engine has 5/8" hose connections then I would run this size hose as far to the heater as possible before stepping down to the 1/2" size used on the lightweight heaters.

Heater Matrix Orientation: The heater matrix can be installed with the hose fittings facing either towards or away from the heater box and this has no effect on performance of the heater. You should not fit the heater with the hose fittings at the bottom of the heater matrix, not only does this cause problems bleeding the air out of the system but air can also collect in the matrix over time and reduce the output of the unit. The best orientation is to fit the unit with the hose fittings at the top or on the side only as long as the water return is connected to the top fitting. You may mount the unit with the matrix lying down flat but only if the hose fittings are facing up.