Heater hoses.

Hi All,

I just finished fixing up a friends bug. Its a 1970 in very good condition, 72000 original miles. I installed bilge blower fans in the heater hoses (between the heat exchangers and the body. They are working great, but I'm wondering about the possibility of Asbestos in the heater hoses.

I read on RAMVA that some of the bugs had an asbestos gasket between the hose and the body. Well, this bug doesn't, it has the red rubber gasket so thats not a problem. What is unusual, is this bug does not have the typical black plastic corrugated hoses between the exhangers and the body. It has those metal flexible exhaust pipes, with a rubber liner/insulator on the outside. Now, there is a layer of white woven material between the pipe and the outer layer of rubber (the rubber is grey in color). Anybody ever see these hoses before? I've only seen the plastic ones. These ones almost looked factory as the rubber outer liner was cut and the ends properly hemmed to the correct lengths.

I had to cut a section out of these hoses to insert and "duct tape" the fans in place, and if this material is asbestos, I need to tell him about it and come up with another solution. I did try burning the stuff with a propane torch, the fibers do tend to burn, but the larger wads of it do not. I wasn't even thinking of asbestos, just wondered if it was flammable. Now today I read about those asbestos gaskets, and I dont' want him to panic until I know what this really is.

Should asbestos fibres burn with a propane torch? Any other way of knowing what these are? Were these a factory or dealer installed hose from the earlier years? I mainly have experience with the 71 and up bugs.

Thanks for any advise you can offer, I just want to do the right thing.

Ryan

Reply to
cyclonegt68
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Here are some good links:

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I=92m not sure if this heater box to body heater hose would fit but anyway:

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-------------------------------------------------------- > Hi All,

Reply to
Jim347a

Reply to
Jim347a

My bilge fans have been in my beetle for about ten years, and are still working flawlessly. No cracks or issues whatsoever.

I had another look at that white fabric, and I'm positive they are not asbestos. That stuff burns super easy with a lighter or propane torch.

Thanks for all the advise.

R.

Reply to
cyclonegt68

Reply to
Jim347a

I just went to a marine shop that sells boat parts and accessories. They were 40 bucks each (Canadian), and are the three inch diameter size. There is a four inch size available, but I'm not sure how those would fit. They are made by a company called "Atwood".

Here are some tips for installing them. Use the wiring for the rear window defogger to power the fans. It already has a relay there under the seat, just tap into that for the positive, and ground each fan with a sheetmetal screw into the body near each fan. You could also ground elsewhere, but this seemed the easiest way.

Cut a section out of the hoses to make room for the fans, but closer to the heat exchanger than the front of the car. I used a bunch of duct tape to secure and seal up the fans in the hoses. Keep in mind you have to retain a certain amount of "curvature" in the hoses as they are not perfectly straight. In the last ten years, I've only had to fix or reseal the hoses twice using the duct tape method.

Surprisingly, the fans can take all the heat those exchangers put through them, never had them melt or smelled anything bad when they were on. Not too much drain on the electrical system either.

I've tried putting the fans in the engine compartment, but that really did not make a difference in air movement. Under the seat makes too much noise, but in the heater hoses, its perfect. Only hear them when engine is idling.

Hope this helps.

Ryan.

Reply to
cyclonegt68

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