Packard Forum Index » Modification Discussion

Does anybody have experience with gasoline heaters as to a lack of heat coming out of them? When you turn mine on the fan kicks on, but no heat comes out. Is there a thermocoupler or some sort of igniter that gets fouled up with old fuel?

G'day 1803-1372,
to PackardInfo and for including your '40 One-Sixty Super Eight Touring Sedan in the Packard Owner's Registry.
Sorry I can't help with your problem.

This is a new one for me. Was there a heater to warm up the fuel tank on 1940 cars? Was there a compartment heater that ran on gasoline?

Or are you confusing the hot water pipe/hose from the block with a gas line? The only heaters I know of for 1940 were interior compartment heaters with an electric fan and a small radiator core for hot water from the block to warm the air. Yes the fan would work, but no heat is generated until the engine is warmed up.

Please enlighten me.

Joe, gasoline-fired heaters for warming the car interior had a period of popularity for a while, I can recall seeing quite a few cars with them when I was younger. All were aftermarket I suppose.

One popular gasoline heater of the 30-early 60s timeframe was a brand or model named SouthWind made by Stewart-Warner. There were probably other brands too. I remember a neighbor had one in his old Chevy but don't remember too many operating details.

IIRC, the SouthWind had a small 1/8 copper tube connecting from the fuel line near the carb to supply gasoline to the heater. I don't remember how it was ignited -- maybe a spark or something like a lighter element -- but it was lit when the blower was turned on. As I recall there was also tubing from the unit to the intake manifold which pulled the exhaust products from the heater.

There are some vendors who still sell SouthWind parts and maybe have a manual or a copy you can buy separately. Ebay is another possibility as there are several vintage heaters and some parts on there now. Didn't see a manual for the early units though. If the brand is not SouthWind then maybe info on what you have would be on ebay too.

Early Corvairs was another car that had a gasoline heater. A long cylinder affair with a blower on the end that sat in the trunk at the front of the car and blew hot air into the passenger compt. Even though there was a lever labeled temp that heater had two settings. Off and roast. I have not had the privilege of driving a car with a heater that heated as quickly or as hot before or since.

Wow, Dave, I'd never heard of such a thing. How much I know. Still, it seems kind of dangerous. For Packard, were they all after-market or did Packard offer them as an option? I couldn't find them listed in Hollingsworth's book on 1940 Packards.

But thanks to Wikipedia:
Gasoline heaters were commercially available on automobiles starting in the 1930s with continued use until the 1960s, when they were almost entirely replaced with heating systems using engine coolant. Wikipedia info says the igniters fail, and lists other maintenance issues.

I remember you could buy them at Western Auto which was a chain popular in the Southwest selling general merchandise -- sort of like Sears or Montgomery Ward. They had a huge auto accessory section -- almost a JC Whitney of the brick and mortar variety. I expect mail order too but I kind of doubt Packard dealers routinely sold them. Would almost bet money that if a customer wanted one it could be had and installed at the dealer particularly if he also handled lesser brands..

If you really wanted almost instant and intense heat Packard offered, thru 1939, the Kelch heater which used a stainless steel heat exchanger intergrated into the exhaust header. Piece-Arrow, Duesenberg, Lincoln, Cadillac and other expensive cars also offered the Kelch but the popularity of ethylene glycol antifreeze with it's higher boiling point than methanol antifreeze which in turn allowed higher rated thermostats finally improved the performance of hot water heaters enough to satisfy the vast majority of owners.

More info at:packardclub.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=340

I think I heard gas heaters were used on VW's also, if member serves me correct.
Wes

I can confirm the comment about gas heaters installed in VWs. I have seen such installed in Type 1's (Bug), Type 181 (Thing), and Type 2's (Bus). I owned a Type 1 with a Southwind and that heater would drive you out of the car. In the Type 1 the heater was mounted in the trunk . . . essentially in the passenger's lap, while the Bus mounted the heater in the driver's side of the engine compartment.

With respect to the question about a heater not producing heat. There are only 4 items to consider:
1. Insufficient fuel resulting in no combustion
2. Inadequate spark resulting in no combustion
3. Thermostat inoperative resulting in the heater remaining in the off state
4. Some type of safety device inhibiting operation

Trouble shooting is similar to the car's engine. There are a few YouTube videos of heaters being repaired. Search for the one where Ed China is fixing a broken heater in a 'Thing'. He covers the basics of trouble shooting . . . in that case both a broken fuel pump and a broken thermostat were found.

I would remove the heater from the car and conduct the testing outside with a fuel reservoir of limited capacity. In good working order these heaters are safe enough, however if the heater is broken I would treat it with respect.