12v AUX heater... Anyone use one?

Patrick McHugh · Post by **Patrick McHugh** » Dec 01, 2006 4:48 PM

I'm looking for a small electric heater unit I can mount in my trunk to give instant cabin heat in the mornings. I'd like one with a blower rather than the radiant style. It would have to be powerful enough to heat the car quickly without drawing too much current.

Anybody seen something like this? All I can find is little weenie autozone heaters, or radiant truck heaters.

I'm dreaming of something like the European only internal combustion heater pictured here.

But they're pretty hard to find and a little dangerous.

Any ideas? Would an engine block heater warm the coolant all the way in the top of the engine?

johnnye23 · Post by **johnnye23** » Dec 01, 2006 4:51 PM

How about JCWhitney ? They got lots of funky things. I think I may have seen one there.

Duke · Post by **Duke** » Dec 01, 2006 5:11 PM

I have a complete E28 aux heater in great condition...................want to buy it? I even have the intall instuctions somewhere.

M635CSi · Post by **M635CSi** » Dec 01, 2006 5:36 PM

Duke M535ti wrote:I have a complete E28 aux heater in great condition...................want to buy it? I even have the intall instuctions somewhere.

Is it a BMW gasoline hot air furnace?

Duke · Post by **Duke** » Dec 01, 2006 6:05 PM

M635CSi wrote:
Duke M535ti wrote:I have a complete E28 aux heater in great condition...................want to buy it? I even have the install instructions somewhere.
Is it a BMW gasoline hot air furnace?

It is THE BMW gasoline aux heater pictured above...................extremely rare. I have only seen one installed on a car in Germany, I got this one off of German ebay when I was there.

BTW - this heater has several safeties to protect against fires. Come on now, its a BMW product. You think that the TUV would allow anything remotely dangerous to be installed in cars. Safe for use.

Ety · Post by **Ety** » Dec 01, 2006 6:06 PM

I saw this a few days ago:
http://silenceisdefeat.org/~lgtngstk/Si ... eater.html

Realy cheap and simple.

Kyle in NO · Post by **Kyle in NO** » Dec 02, 2006 10:18 AM

Just get a block heater. That will allow a very short wait for warm air right? I mean the coolant will already be near 100 degrees F when you start the car...

stuartinmn · Post by **stuartinmn** » Dec 02, 2006 10:40 AM

If you have a place to plug the car in at night, the block heater Kyle suggested would be a good idea - the engine will like it, and since the coolant will already be warmed up you should have heat in the cabin almost immediately.

David Hunt · Post by **David Hunt** » Dec 02, 2006 11:27 AM

Where's the sense of gadgetry there? Got to have some doodads!
I am definitely finding some seat heaters soon. That storm came off the Rockies and 'bout froze my seat.

stuartinmn · Post by **stuartinmn** » Dec 02, 2006 1:14 PM

Heated seats are nice - I have them in my 325iX. They're one of those things I never thought would be all that useful until I bought a car that had them.

RonP · Post by **RonP** » Dec 02, 2006 2:49 PM

Julius (Madhungarian) has one in his euro 535i. I have never seen one nor did I know they existed. A very strange set up.

M635CSi · Post by **M635CSi** » Dec 02, 2006 4:35 PM

Duke M535ti wrote:
M635CSi wrote:
Duke M535ti wrote:I have a complete E28 aux heater in great condition...................want to buy it? I even have the install instructions somewhere.
Is it a BMW gasoline hot air furnace?
It is THE BMW gasoline aux heater pictured above...................extremely rare. I have only seen one installed on a car in Germany, I got this one off of German ebay when I was there.

BTW - this heater has several safeties to protect against fires. Come on now, its a BMW product. You think that the TUV would allow anything remotely dangerous to be installed in cars. Safe for use.

I seem to recall a gasoline fired supplemental heater available on the Porsche 911e in the early 70's.

C.R. Krieger · Post by **C.R. Krieger** » Dec 02, 2006 5:23 PM

For a lot less bother, go with the block heater. My old 2002 had one. It took about a mile to get the engine all the way up to temperature. It was always at least slightly warm on startup. Yes; it does heat the whole block.

Karl Grau · Post by **Karl Grau** » Dec 02, 2006 6:07 PM

M635CSi wrote:I seem to recall a gasoline fired supplemental heater available on the Porsche 911e in the early 70's.

Yes, they were made by Webasto and Eberspacher. They also were on some VW's.

<img src=http://forums.pelicanparts.com/attachme ... tid=697576>

Patrick McHugh · Post by **Patrick McHugh** » Dec 02, 2006 9:34 PM

Thank you all for the input! I'm going to definitely do one or the other. I didn't know block heaters heated the whole block. C.R. Where was the heater on your 2002?

bmw4aaron · Post by **bmw4aaron** » Dec 03, 2006 10:27 PM

Charles Gray wrote:
M635CSi wrote:I seem to recall a gasoline fired supplemental heater available on the Porsche 911e in the early 70's.
Yes, they were made by Webasto and Eberspacher. They also were on some VW's.

<img src=http://forums.pelicanparts.com/attachme ... tid=697576>

Also came on a lot of Mercedes Benz G-Wagen models. Webasto heaters.

M635CSi · Post by **M635CSi** » Dec 03, 2006 11:04 PM

Charles Gray wrote:
M635CSi wrote:I seem to recall a gasoline fired supplemental heater available on the Porsche 911e in the early 70's.
Yes, they were made by Webasto and Eberspacher. They also were on some VW's.

<img src=http://forums.pelicanparts.com/attachme ... tid=697576>

I think they were mounted in the contraband compartment on the early 911 cars. I seem to recall my 911E having one.

C.R. Krieger · Post by **C.R. Krieger** » Dec 04, 2006 12:47 PM

Patrick McHugh wrote:Thank you all for the input! I'm going to definitely do one or the other. I didn't know block heaters heated the whole block. C.R. Where was the heater on your 2002?

Not exactly sure. I suppose it was in a freeze plug location, but I don't know how many there are (on the M10) or which one it was in. I bought the car with it installed and I'd recommend them for any BMW you're driving all year in this area. I'm about to call about having one put into my Jeep. It's just great to go out in the morning and have the engine start like it's 75 degrees outside. And then you get heat about a minute later. 8) It's better yet if you can get an exterior outlet at work.

Clint in the 'burgh · Post by **Clint in the 'burgh** » Dec 04, 2006 6:47 PM

Soooo...any recommendations on block heaters?

Or are we talking about one that was an option on the e28?

Karl Grau · Post by **Karl Grau** » Dec 04, 2006 8:05 PM

There was an OEM block heater on eBay a week or two ago. I remember it fit several models but I didn't pay much attention since I would never need one.
If you do a completed items search you could see what it looks like.

Kyle in NO · Post by **Kyle in NO** » Dec 04, 2006 8:49 PM

You could probably install one from the 524td. It utilized an element installed into one of the freeze plug ports. I'm pretty sure they all use the same freeze plug size...

Clint in the 'burgh · Post by **Clint in the 'burgh** » Dec 06, 2006 10:58 AM

Kyle in NO wrote:You could probably install one from the 524td. It utilized an element installed into one of the freeze plug ports. I'm pretty sure they all use the same freeze plug size...

So would an e21 320i Engine block heater work/fit?

stuartinmn · Post by **stuartinmn** » Dec 06, 2006 11:48 AM

You should be able to get a universal freeze plug heater from the local auto parts store. They use an expanding rubber plug so they should fit most any engine, the hard part is getting the old freeze plug out first.

Patrick McHugh · Post by **Patrick McHugh** » Dec 06, 2006 4:30 PM

The 4 cyl engines have 36mm plugs and the M30 has 44mm, so I doubt it.

Karl Grau · Post by **Karl Grau** » Dec 06, 2006 5:07 PM

Patrick McHugh wrote:The 4 cyl engines have 36mm plugs and the M30 has 44mm, so I doubt it.

The one that just sold on ebay supposedly fit M20's and M30's. Whoever bought it may have it for sale soon

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Patrick McHugh · Post by **Patrick McHugh** » Dec 06, 2006 9:30 PM

Looks just like the one I just bought from this company...

http://www.fuelinjection.net/zerostart/ ... ive_zs.pdf

For $15.05. Hell of a price!

Funny story, I found Zero Start online and called them up today. Turns out they're only a supplier, so the lady gave me the number to an international truck company near me and told me to give them a call. (Near me is Lafayette, IN mind you.) I called with a part number in hopes of avoiding the dreaded question... "What's this for?" After I told him it was for a BMW, he went and I quote "Bee M whaat?" (insert hilljack voice here.) It took me a good five minutes to convince him he could in fact order a part that wasn't going on an international truck.

I would have stopped a long time ago, but for $15.05 it's worth a try, and the Zero Start lady seemed to know what was going on. We'll see!

P.s. Thanks for all the pictures and correspondence Duke, I'm shure someone will nab that heater up in no time!

C.R. Krieger · Post by **C.R. Krieger** » Dec 07, 2006 12:16 PM

Patrick McHugh wrote:Looks just like the one I just bought from this company...

http://www.fuelinjection.net/zerostart/ ... ive_zs.pdf

For $15.05. Hell of a price!

A great link and a great story! I can hardly wait to tell 'em I need one of these things for a Jag-you-are.

BTW, who was it you called? Was it Phillips and Temro? I can't seem to find any listings for distributors anywhere.

Patrick McHugh · Post by **Patrick McHugh** » Dec 07, 2006 12:32 PM

The Bee M Wha guy worked for W&W Truck Sales at 765-448-9950. They're located in Lafayette, IN. I'd say call up Zero Start and ask them for the number of a place near you.

MyE28.com

MyE28.com

12v AUX heater... Anyone use one?

12v AUX heater... Anyone use one?

Block heater? Thats not fun enough!!