Beetle Heater Booster System Opinions

..............Mexibeetles have lousy heat exchangers that don't have any fins inside. Buy some good ones here:

unneccessary, mexican bugs have horrible heat exchangers. Get yourself a good set and your cabin warming worries will be gone.

I got good old german ones on my car, once the engine is warm it heats the interior faster than my girlfriend's 4 year old car does. The system is otherwise stock, and I even have a few air leaks.

Drive for much longer than 20 minutes and I find myself rolling down the windows.

Is there sufficient air flow to defrost the windshield using just the stock exchangers without an in-line fan if you are just putting around town?

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Sorry to fork the tread, but at the moment I'm trying to sort out my heating problems on my 1200cc 1970 bug. The heat exchangers I have don't seem to be kicking out all that much heat at all and by the time the heat has got to the vents in the sills and the windscreen there is ziltch hot air. Is there anything you guys can suggest to make sure these might be restorable before I fork out for new ones? I read in one of my manuals something about a thremostat controlling the heat exchangers in some way (or have I read this incorrectly?), could it be that this thermostat is not activating the heat exchangers correctly??

Chris.

Best heat I ever had in a Bug was when I got a couple of large (2 inch? Don't remember) vacuum cleaner hoses, and went under the rear seat to where the heat was coming in, took the ducts off that pumped the warm air into the well-ventilated rocker panel ducts, hooked the vacuum cleaner hose dirtectly to where the warm air was coming in, and ran the vacuum cleaner hoses under the front seat to where I was sitting! The driver's side one I just left laying on the floor, and the one on the passenger side I rigged up to hang from the dash on a little coathanger wire hook that I made, and I made a little aluminum deflector plate to spread the warm air flow over my windshield. Best defroster I ever had in a Bug, lemme tell ya!

Oh, and this was with the good finned heater boxes.

.............There is on my '77 bug. Of course, at highway speeds there's more heat and airflow. But it's still pretty good driving around city streets. They key to getting the driver's side of the windshield warmed up and clear when you first start out, is to open the driver's side vent.

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Just got a response from Wofsburg West in regards to heater boxes:

************************************************************************ Hello, I have a Mexican Beetle and am trying to figure out the best way to upgrade the heating system. I have been told that Mexican heater boxes are far inferior to the German type, which have fins inside. What is your opinion about this and do you carry the German heater boxes that will fit the MexiBeetle?

Thanks a lot! Tom Loos

I am not familiar with a source for German made heater boxes. All of the heater boxes these days are made in Denmark. Conversely, I am not familiar with the variety made in Mexico. Most folks looking to stay warm while driving opt for installing an aftermarket heater. Regards, Ron

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So - what's the deal? Are you guys talking about the Danish heater boxes and are you SURE that they have the fins? I wouldn't want to replace perfectly good heater boxes for nothing.

Thomas M. Loos wrote:

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i have a set of the danish boxes....they do well...not as well as the german originals, but quite well....the german ones have more fins and that means more surface area, which inturn means more heat transfer....but even in 0 (F) i have no problem with the "dansk"(sp?) boxes..

------------------- Chris Perdue

*All opinions are those of the author of this post* "Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug" reply take your PANTS off

Is there a way to look into the heater boxes and see the fins? I could take mine off to verify that there are no fins...

Chris Perdue wrote:

im not sure how the arrangement is on the mexibeetle(you have a mexibeetle, correct?), but it is possible to see the cast "fins" that the pipe runs through by looking down through the inlet side.(the fresh air inlet from fanshroud)....

------------------- Chris Perdue

*All opinions are those of the author of this post* "Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug" reply take your PANTS off

This is a fan... Although it might seem to blow more hot air, you do not get more heat. The type of heater box may some difference, but the main thing is have all 'hose' connections tight and all body seal leak-proof. Especially the front hood. The air coming through the dash will cool the car, no matter how much heat you have.

The bottom line is the if you seals are good and you connections are good the heat will be more then you can handle.

Read John H's info the heating system....

I have a 99 mexi and the heat is fine, but I'm in WI and store it for the winter. I drive my 75' standard bug in the winter. That's the one you need a ice scrapper for the inside of the windshield. Store that 2003, and get a winter car. Ray N.

"Thomas M. Loos" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@zoominternet.net:

If you opened up the heater boxes you would find lots of Finns.

.....................My heater boxes are German which means that the Finns are lined up straight and looking straight ahead.