Is this a floor heater for a high end classic car?

[Guest Jonh1961]

I pulled this out of a barn also and I have no idea of what it belongs in. Looks like a high end car floor heater . Any ideas?

[unimogjohn]

Yes, it is a heater.  An after-market produced item.  Used the exhaust to heat the chamber and radiate heat into the rear passenger area of the car.  Good idea, but when the chamber got a hole in it or rusted out, the exhaust was then released into the car.  Not a good thing.  Usually in early 1920's cars.  Nice display piece.

[Guest Jonh1961]

Thanks john.

[JamesBulldogMiller55Buick]

Yes, it is a heater.  An after-market produced item.  Used the exhaust to heat the chamber and radiate heat into the rear passenger area of the car.  Good idea, but when the chamber got a hole in it or rusted out, the exhaust was then released into the car.  Not a good thing.  Usually in early 1920's cars.  Nice display piece.

That's not a good argument against the heater.

A leaking exhaust is bad , heater or not

[Joe in Canada]

I have a pair of factory accessory Kelch exhaust floor heaters that came out of a 1030 Cadillac so they were used in the 30s also. They are in a good place on a shelf where they belong.

Edited January 14, 2016 by Joe in Canada (see edit history)

[Graham Man]

VW used them into the 1970's and so did the 911 Porsches.  Last air cooled Beetle 1976?  last air cooled Porsche 1979?  SO yes fast warm heat, but watch out for corrosion.

[JACK M]

If the exhaust ran directly through it there would be no way to regulate it.

I don't think the air cooled engines referenced above were direct exhaust. Rather a manifold of sorts over the exhaust.

[Graham Man]

That is true, the vw has a heat exchanger over the exhaust manifold and only the air is pumped (by fan into the car) extra heat is dumped outside.  Leads to the question of heat control, I would guess there was a exhaust cut out used to regulate the heat?

[JamesBulldogMiller55Buick]

I've driven a Ford 'A' with that type of heater. 

Heat is regulated by opening and closing the air inlet.

or opening the windows to let the heat out

Edited January 15, 2016 by JamesBulldogMiller55Buick (see edit history)

[JACK M]

Opening the windows.

That's how my AC works.

[Stude Light]

General aviation aircraft still use air to air heat exchangers using the exhaust system to heat them. Generally there is an outer wrap around the muffler or exhaust pipe that has a fresh air inlet (powered by a scoop) and a hot air outlet that has a slide valve that regulates how much air flows. Regular inspections and CO detectors are used to prevent issues.

Scott

[Rusty_OToole]

That is true, the vw has a heat exchanger over the exhaust manifold and only the air is pumped (by fan into the car) extra heat is dumped outside.  Leads to the question of heat control, I would guess there was a exhaust cut out used to regulate the heat?

The better VW heater system began in 1963. The exhaust manifold had a finned aluminum heat sink cast around it. This was covered by a tin duct. Forced air from the cooling fan passed over the heat sink through a duct to the interior of the car.  There were 2 heat registers, front and rear, plus the defroster duct. There was a handle with cable operated flaps to control heat or defrost. There was another handle to regulate the amount of hot air. This had a flap on the heat exchanger to direct the hot air into the car, or dump it under the car. If you shut it off no heat went into the car, but hot air went through the heat exchanger and  dumped under the car.

 

This system was duplicated on both sides of the car. So you had 2 heat exchangers, 4 heat registers and 2 defrosters. Controlled by 2 handles, one for how much heat, the other for heat/defrost.

 

I had several VWS with this system and they worked great IF the system was in good condition. On old VWS the duct work would get rust holes and the control wires would get broken and you got no heat. But, the system was not very difficult or expensive to fix. If everything was working right the heater would drive you right out of the car down to freezing temps and keep you warm down to 0.

 

There were a few tricks. One was to crack a window or open a vent window. VW bodies are so well sealed you have to let the cold air out before the hot air can come in. Another trick was to stay in 2nd or 3d gear in town. The faster the engine revved up the more heat you got because the engine fan supplied the air. The third trick was to keep a clean rag in the car to wipe the windshield until the defroster started working. It's a long walk from the engine to the windshield and the defroster doesn't work until the ductwork warms up.

 

They also offered a gas heater but I never liked them.

[Joe in Canada]

Here is an inline exhaust flow through heater if you have never seen one and you do not want it on your car. This one came with a 1930 Cadillac Kelch floor grates and for the size if the exhaust pipe it looks correct. The elbow on the right would be the air intake and the two close together one for the front passenger side floor and the other to the rear driver side floor. I was thinking how would it work if you made it out of stainless steel. Edited January 16, 2016 by Joe in Canada (see edit history)

[Curti]

I had one Volkswagen in my life, it had a gasoline heater.  The car was a POS, but it was warm in the winter.

The engine failed, when I went to junk it,  the heater was the only thing of value.