Mr. Buddy in a car

[morongobill]

My heater core has been bypassed, the dash must come out to swap out the heater core and I refuse to pay over $900 for another plastic one.

Anyone ever use a Mr Buddy type heater while driving? I would put it in the passenger side floorboard and try to strap it down to the base of the seat.

 

[One Awesome Inch]

I'd be concerned about the clearance in front of the heater. I think they recommend 24 inches dont they?

 

[Van-Tramp]

It would get too fast, you would have to be able to reach it constantly (and the clearance issue). They have a smaller version that sits on top of a 1# bottle and you can aim the heat a bit more. You would have to be extra careful to make sure it does not tip over. Here it is

 

[highdesertranger]

a car is to small. I know someone that tried it in a blazer they fell asleep. lucky for him we checked up on him because we thought it was a bad idea. the heater melted all the plastic above it, when we checked the plastic had turned to liquid and was running down in long stringers. if one of those would have made it to the heater I am sure it would have caught fire. be safe. btw your heater core is not plastic it is brass/cooper, aluminum/plastic or aluminum. most heater cores run about 50 bucks plus new hoses and antifreeze another 50. they are nailing you on the labor. heater cores on cars with ac are a pain in the a**, but not 800 bucks worth. what year and model are we talking. highdesertranger

 

[Canine]

$800 worth of labor at $60 per hour is 13 hours. I can't imagine a heater core taking a day and a half to replace. Even at $90 per hour that would be an all day repair.

I had gotten a quote for a previously needed repair and it came to something like $1200. I looked up the amount of hours it took to perform the repair (Books are made that give set hours. This helps protect people from getting ripped off). I subtracted the cost of the parts then divided the hours that specific job was rated and into the labor cost. It came to over $200/hour. There was no way I was going to pay someone $200+/hour to work on my truck. They were trying to rip me off.

It's good that you posted here as the price you were quoted is suspect. Like highdesertranger said, that job is labor intensive, but I'm not sure it's $800 intensive.

 

[morongobill]

Thanks for the replies. The Blazer incident is the clincher against the idea. Thanks also for the link to the portable heater as well.

Regarding the labor costs etc, the 2002 Chrysler Concorde LXI, after extensive research, it requires that the dash be moved back over 6 inches, as well as removal of the center console. It is a huge labor intensive job and 8-900$ would be cheap. There is even a post from a master SAE certified mechanic that it took him almost 15 hrs to do the job on his own car,btw my exact model.

Well that's it,car has too many problems, good time to look for a van maybe!

 

[Spirituallifetime]

Having any propane device on while driving is NOT a good idea!

 

[jimindenver]

God forbid you have a accident with it running.

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

Maybe a 12v heater blanket? Keep some of you warm at least.

 

[AuricTech]

Have you considered something like this 12V heated seat cushion? Though it won't warm the air in your vehicle, it would be a simple way to keep your body warm as you drive.

Note to our host: I used your search function to link to this Amazon.com page. Please check it (and edit as needed), so that you get some cash from any purchases made through this post.

 

[Canine]

Thanks for the replies. The Blazer incident is the clincher against the idea. Thanks also for the link to the portable heater as well.

Regarding the labor costs etc, the 2002 Chrysler Concorde LXI, after extensive research, it requires that the dash be moved back over 6 inches, as well as removal of the center console. It is a huge labor intensive job and 8-900$ would be cheap. There is even a post from a master SAE certified mechanic that it took him almost 15 hrs to do the job on his own car,btw my exact model.

Well that's it,car has too many problems, good time to look for a van maybe!

Excellent research on your part and thank you for providing the follow-up. Wish you well in your search for a new-to-you vehicle.

 

[Theadyn]

Or a 12v heater, something like this or this?

 

[highdesertranger]

just a heads up for everybody, they make after market hot water heaters. a self contained unit that works the same way your factory heater works. they have a heater core and fan in a box, you just hook up to your engine cooling system and supply 12v. you can use this to replace or supplement your factory heater. they are great for larger vehicles like vans. highdesertranger

 

[ccbreder]

I had a vehicle with an after market heater as h-d-r describes. Worked very well.

 

[light trip]

I sure like Theadyn's idea of electric, just smart. If your in a hurry they always sell stuff like that at truck stops. It may not be as warm but much safer.

Plus you could point at the windshield and use as a defroster/defogger. If you have a state safety inspection, many states don't require a heater but do require a defroster.

 

[highpsiguy]

I have some experience with this. My buddy delivered pizza in his Isuzu trooper. His heater core got stopped up. We strapped my big buddy heater to his passenger seat with heat side facing windshield. Unfortunately, the bouncing would set the safety switch off and the flame would go out while traveling. So, what he would do is when he went into pizza shop to get pizza or took pizza up to house he would turn on the buddy heater. He would leave it on as long as it would stay on traveling. It made it bearable for several weeks until he got his heater core unstopped.

I use my buddy heater that is in my bus and fastened to wall while going down the highway sometimes to heat up the bus. Usually on high for about 10 - 15 minutes is enough to get the chill gone. By that time my engine is warm enough to get the bus heater up to a comfortable temperature.

 

[Coffee Tim]

A temporary solution that works well but would not be considered Stylish.

Buy a heater core, waterline hoses, and a cigg lighter fan from the auto parts store.
Buy a plumbing gate valve from a store like Lowes.
Mount the heater core to a board with the fan mounted behind it.
Install the gate valve in line to turn the hot water to the heater core off and on.
Plug the fan into the cigg lighter socket and turn on to blow hot air.

You can set the board on the center tunnle hump or the passenger floor.
I did this in a pickup truck I had and it worked great. Sure beats being cold.
Hope this helps.

 

[jimindenver]

I sure like Theadyn's idea of electric, just smart. If your in a hurry they always sell stuff like that at truck stops. It may not be as warm but much safer.

Plus you could point at the windshield and use as a defroster/defogger. If you have a state safety inspection, many states don't require a heater but do require a defroster.

Just make sure that the wiring from the battery to the heater is up to the task. I've smoked a factory installed cigarette lighter and its wiring with a inverter. Either that or my 200w 12v coffee maker would run so slow because the wiring couldn't provide enough current to let it run correctly. I hooked it up directly to the battery and it was as fast as my home coffee maker.

 

[morongobill]

Again thanks for all the ideas.

Thinking will go with the portable electric defroster/heater that was in an earlier link.

Since I am in socal, I am sure that the defroster is state required and now winter is here and the windshield could sure use defrosting from time to time.

Have begun looking for a different vehicle and will lean toward a van or minivan, hopefully one with a working defroster and heater!

Added is the car interior photo,271kb taken with my cell. The whole dash has to come out about 6 inches. The shifter console comes out. The center part with climate control knobs, radio etc comes out, that is the access point to do all work on the heater core which is done from inside of the car. Huge labor to replace a $51 part and no way to do it easily.

 

[TucsonAZ]

A temporary solution that works well but would not be considered Stylish.

Buy a heater core, waterline hoses, and a cigg lighter fan from the auto parts store.
Buy a plumbing gate valve from a store like Lowes.
Mount the heater core to a board with the fan mounted behind it.
Install the gate valve in line to turn the hot water to the heater core off and on.
Plug the fan into the cigg lighter socket and turn on to blow hot air.

You can set the board on the center tunnle hump or the passenger floor.
I did this in a pickup truck I had and it worked great. Sure beats being cold.
Hope this helps.

This is what I would do as well though I would use a computer case fan and make an little enclosure for it with a ball valve and all. I don't think this would cost more than $50 no matter how you did it.