Electrically Heat WVO

[electricWVO]

I am currently running an electrically heated WVO system in my 1991 VW Jetta that I designed over the past 2 years .I have logged just under 1000 miles in the past 3 weeks and have had no problems.I will be installing my next system in a 1982 VW pickup and am in the process of making a system for my 2005 Dodge Ram 2500. My system working completly on electric and no coolant lines are needed to be cut into or added.I am curious to hear any thoughts on my system. Would you be interested? Is it appealing not to have extra coolant line running under you car and maybe leak onto the ground? Please respond good or bad I would like to know.

[leongriffin]

Mine is a mix. Coolant heat for the tank pick-up and electric heat for the filter.

While I think that electrical makes for a clean install the coolant heat is \"free\" waste energy. My coolant wrap is 1000W which is quite a bit if you think about it. I made a bike generator once and It takes a lot of work to keep a 100W bulb lit. So you could see some economy decrease but I think the real \"risk\" is the extra load on the electrical system. 1000W will work down a car battery in probably less than half an hour.
The electrical system in my truck (\'02 F350) is pretty serious with two large batteries so felt that I could get away with the extra load.

Final though is that the only problems that I have had with my conversion have been electrical so I would say that if you can run coolant lines AND use that heat effectivly it would be the way to go. However, that is not always the case that is where electrical comes in for me.

Don\'t let me discourage you though! There is an application for it and people that will benefit from what you have done. I and, I am sure, others want to see what you have done. This is the purpose of the forum!

[northwestpat]

I am interested in your VW pickup project. Have you started it yet? I have a 1980 VW pickup and have recently installed a 17 gallon tank from Summit Racing where the spare tire used to be under the bed. It fits perfectly and it is not visible at all unless you look underneath. I need to route a hose and install a filler cap. I'm also looking for a suitable WVO conversion kit to buy and install, as I don't have very much spare time. I may make a contribution to this blog with this project when I get some time and figure out how to post it. northwestpat.