On Mon, 20 Mar 2006 09:00:31 -0500, Larry wrote:

"Ken Heaton" wrote in
news:HYvTf.3141$J43.2422@edtnps90:

This is a setup similar to a automotive heater. A very small water
coil (looks like a little car radiator) is in a cabinet with a fan.
It draws air from the cabin, blows it through the water coil and back
out into the cabin area. No air is drawn from the engine area. The
water coil is in the coolant line that takes the hot water from the
engine to the heat exchanger so it get the heat out of the water
before the heat exchanger gets rid of it.

Cool. I bet I could rig up something like that via my mixing elbow or
directly off the side of the A4. I don't have a heat exchange, though,
which brings me to Larry's point.



http://www.rustrepair.com/app2/onlinecat.htm?r=ms&p=wi

I've got heater C in the stepvan shop in the back. 20,000 Btu is a LOT of
recovered waste heat. I can make it 90F in short order when it's 25F
outside. Take your pick. All you need is standard auto heater hose and a
shutoff valve (also available from Mill Supply on this website) to control
it and secure it in the off season.

Of course, I wouldn't recommend it for raw water cooled engines. Seawater
would eat it in short order....

I'm in fresh water, Larry, and use raw water with a 180 F Holley
thermostat in the usual spot on the head of the A4. I usually top out
at 175 F when at cruising speed, which means a fair bit of hot water
is going out the stern. I will mull on this to figure out if there's a
way to do this with as few restrictions as possible. Your stepvan unit
is cruder, but cheaper, and I can think of a few places it would fit.
I can also think of using ganged muffin fans and copper tubing, but
again, this might be a custom job. Most people want A/C, but in Lake
Ontario, late April-June and late September to haulout in late
October, it's hard to keep the cabin warm when underway.

R.