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Compact heater fan options?


Sprint95m

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Looking rather sorry for itself is this heater fan from my Dolomite Sprint.

These don’t give a great performance really so I am wondering about an upgrade?
It is possible to get decent heat from the standard heater, eventually that is, but
screen demisting is pretty poor.
I have already upgraded the heater (at least I hope I have) by replacing the heater
matrix with one from a VW Transporter so I am thinking, to take fuller advantage of
of this, a better fan is a good idea.

Space is a bit tight, the diameter of the aperture in the casing is 11cm,
the fan impeller is 7.5cm deep and the motor is 7.5cm high.
I have read that an MGB and Sprint use the same heater fan and that folk convert
MGs to a VW Golf fan. A google search suggests a Golf mark 2 part no. 191819021.

Alternatively I could use a universal fan and ducting (from Car Builder Solutions)?

 

Any thoughts or experiences of this please?

thanks,

Ian

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22 minutes ago, Nick Jones said:

Can you not just fit a later Spitfire assembly - they seem quite reasonable?

I did wonder Nick. Air controls are different, the later ones actually have them! And the outlets for the demister vents are in a different position. But that shouldn't be beyond the wit of man.

However I also know that it's thicker than the one in the early cars which is already a bit tight so I wasn't sure. And of course the diameter and depth of the fan and the motor are all bigger so that's not a straightforward swap either.

It is a far better type of centrifugal fan than on the early cars. Might have a look at a bodge with that. Unless anyone has tried and can advise.

Edit: and of course the cables for the speedo and tacho run through the whole thing as well !!

Edited by Escadrille Ecosse
speedo cable
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@Nick Jonesyou got me doing some searching. This is the Mk1,2,3 style heater, with the small motor and thin fan

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However looking at a photo of the Mk4 type motor assembly there are cutouts in the flange that look like they should go round the speedo and tacho cables.

s-l1600.thumb.jpg.8988d82c40de7c9953bf889d296b8b52.jpg

So presumably they were intended to fit the early cars in some form or other. With or without the later style box I don't know but worth a punt.

There's a heater on ebay at the moment, £15 starting bid. Will keep an eye on it.

 

 

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Thank you Roger for posting the link
and thank you Nick for confirming the Golf option and suggesting the Nissan one.

I have been giving this some thought.
A standard Dolomite heater matrix is puny and on cold days even a Dolomite blower on top speed
will cool the heater output rendering it useless. On the lower speed it doesn't clear the windscreen very quickly.

An option I considered was fitting a 120mm cooling fan into the existing housing but I think this will be too powerful
so a potentiometer would also be necessary to slow down the flow of air.
This makes me think buying a three speed unit will be more sensible, pricewise at least....
https://www.carbuilder.com/uk/3-speed-squirrel-cage-heater-fan
(This type is in the link you posted Roger, but I will use CBS because I need other bits and pieces too.)

A friend of mine had, not one but, four derelict mark 2 Golfs outside his house.
When the stay at home order was lifted I checked and they are now all gone!
I could have got a heater fan from him to trial fit, I am not convinced there is enough room in the engine for the motor
(I am fitting a Volvo header tank in an exact location to get it as high as practical, I am thinking the two will clash).

The squirrel cage heater blower will be possible to fit into the Dolomite housing, so that is what I think I will go for.

 

 

thanks,
Ian

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16 hours ago, Nick Jones said:

Might have a spare here.  Though geography not very helpful......  Had been contemplating putting one in the Vitesse (not easy)

Thank you Nick. Very much appreciated. As you say the geography is unhelpful in this instance. See how the ebay one goes, I can always put in an offer and he's only charging a fiver for postage

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I fitted a heater fan motor from a Smart Two Four onto a standard Mk 3 heater assembly. It was £15 from ebay.  It needed to be spaced away from the heater box by about 2 inches, which I did using three alloy spacers and longer fixing bolts, and some of the plastic mounting lugs need to be trimmed slightly.  I drilled the original Spitfire plastic fan centre hole out a bit to make a tight fit on the new fan motor's shaft. It's all a bit bigger than original but still fits in the space behind the dash ok, and the speedo/revcounter cables still go through though the heater matrix ok.

Coupled with a 12v adjustable power module, complete with an on/off switch and potentiometer (£10 from ebay), it produces plenty of power and heats the screen and cabin very quickly, much faster than the Sparrow's fart power of the original Smiths one.

I wish I'd taken some photos of the thing while I was doing it, as quite a few people have asked about it, but unfortunately I didn't think about it at the time.

 

 

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On 5/16/2021 at 1:47 PM, sparky_spit said:

I fitted a heater fan motor from a Smart Two Four onto a standard Mk 3 heater assembly. It was £15 from ebay.  It needed to be spaced away from the heater box by about 2 inches, which I did using three alloy spacers and longer fixing bolts, and some of the plastic mounting lugs need to be trimmed slightly.  I drilled the original Spitfire plastic fan centre hole out a bit to make a tight fit on the new fan motor's shaft. It's all a bit bigger than original but still fits in the space behind the dash ok, and the speedo/revcounter cables still go through though the heater matrix ok.

Coupled with a 12v adjustable power module, complete with an on/off switch and potentiometer (£10 from ebay), it produces plenty of power and heats the screen and cabin very quickly, much faster than the Sparrow's fart power of the original Smiths one.

I wish I'd taken some photos of the thing while I was doing it, as quite a few people have asked about it, but unfortunately I didn't think about it at the time.

Interesting option that :thumbsup:

I got the heater from ebay anyway. The MkIV / 1500 has a thicker heat exchanger but the motor idea is worth exploring. The Mk1-3 fan is pathetic. Although I do like the the low tech footwell flaps as they let you shut off the passenger side if you're on your own in the car.

Experiments in creating a Frankenheater beckon, I reckon :biggrin:

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On 5/16/2021 at 1:47 PM, sparky_spit said:

I fitted a heater fan motor from a Smart Two Four

 

 

Thanks for posting this. I looked this up and it looks like it could work on a Dolomite too?

Anyhow, the heater blower I ordered from Car Builder Solutions has arrived, having paid for it I am sticking with it 
and it will fit into a modified housing with space to clear within the engine bay, albeit it won't look standard.

Ian.
 

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