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Electric Hot Water (Liquid) Heater

The Liquid type heater I used verses a ceramic heater was an involved deal. I purchased the components from www.EVAmerica.com at a cost of $500. It was made by Classic Electrics http://www.classicelectrics.com .
The components include the: heater box, pump, coolant reservoir, contactor, Anderson SB-50 disconnect, fuses, relays and some mounting hardware and hoses and clamps. The hoses and hardware were cheap but the rest of the kit was quality stuff.
Heater Box Area in Right inner fender in front of tireHeater Box Area in Right inner fender in front of tire
I installed the heater box inside the right inner fender behind the bumper.
This was done similar to the power brake components that are in the left inner fender area.
Electric Liquid Heater Schematic DiagramElectric Liquid Heater Schematic Diagram
The heater box 2 2000 watt elements run off the Saturn's high 144 voltage system. This current comes by a heater contactor and 2 20 amp KLK fuses located earlier in Electrical box #1. This contactor I mounted in a new electrical plastic box in front of the heater box behind the bumper.
All the other components like the pump, heater box thermostat, 2 relays, switch in dash, etc are all lower 12 volt driven.
Heater Box With Insulation StartedHeater Box With Insulation Started
Two signals need to be given off the original wiring. One is the blower must be on and the other is an added toggle heater switch. If either switch is off the heating elements are not turned on. If the blower is on but the added toggle switch is chosen off the pump will run but the heating elements will not.
Heater Box With Insulation DoneHeater Box With Insulation Done
The heater box is vented into a reservoir which is 1/3rd full. Note there is no pressure on this system.
This heater box will put out a lot of heat and quick. If the system was pressurized there might be lots of trouble keeping the pressure low and not losing coolant. Any expansion or contraction will push or pull water from the reservoir.
Back to the electrical part: On the feed to the positive side of relay #4 coil I made the toggle switch ground the old coolant fan relay in the underhood fuse box(wasn't using that fuse now that I have no radiator and cooling fan). I now let that relay, through the light blue wire that used to go to the radiator fan, turn on the relay #4.

After getting all systems going I turned on the heater and blower on high. Good volume but no heat. The heater box was hot but the hoses and heater core were cold. I over the next few days tried several things. Installing flush tees to bleed out air on both hoses mounting the tees at the highest points. Tried moving the pump to the lowest point. Tested the pump by placing it in a 5 gallon bucket half full of water. It pumped very well if the impeller was submerged.
Electric Liquid Heater System DiagramElectric Liquid Heater System Diagram
Lastly it was repaired by flowing the liquid towards the heater core instead of pulling from the core,
as the instruction diagram shows. That is, pulling from the hot box and pushing into the heater core. I guess the core has the normal restrictions where the pump could not overcome. Most centrifugal pumps have lots of push power and almost no pulling power as in an in the tank fuel pump. I thought it did not matter which way the pump moved the liquid, but please follow the instructions next time!?
Pump bottom view when I had it pumping the wrong wayPump bottom view when I had it pumping the wrong way

Finished: Right Inner Fender Where the Heater was installedFinished: Right Inner Fender Where the Heater was installed

Comments

Sat, 08/22/2009 - 00:39 — atzi

Do you like it or would you do something different?

I just wanted to ask you a few questions about your heater setup. Do
you like it or would you do something different? How does it work in
the 30 to 40 degree range? That is the usual winter temperature around
where I live with the occasional dip into the teens. Do you use the oil
heater regularly to preserve range or just when it gets below a certain
temperature?

Thanks,
Dan

Sat, 08/22/2009 - 00:40 — atzi

Answer on, if I would do the same heater again.

Daniel Monroe,
I was wondering if someone would ask if I liked the heater system. The
answer is no. Too complicated, too much heat loss even with the inner
fender heater box insulated etc. I plan on removing all that this
winter and install a ceramic type heater where the heater core is.
While I am at it I will remove the evaporator core and rig up a better
way to pull in outside air for vent fresh air in the summer. Now I
have not run a ceramic heater before. I will have a better
understanding once I have run both liquid and ceramic.

The oil heater I used on the cold days, below 25f and sometimes do not
even use the Liquid heater. TOASTY!

Sat, 08/22/2009 - 01:22 — atzi

User experience trumps

Hey Dan,

Thanks for the info. User experience trumps company advertisements again. ^_^

I was working on a DIY liquid heater set up but lost focus when the temperatures rose.
^_^ I saw the kit you were using and was tempted by the already built part.

Do you think it might help with the heat loss if you cut out all the extra hose, boxed
the whole thing up, and mounted it on the firewall?

Thanks Again,

Dan

Sat, 08/22/2009 - 01:25 — atzi

mount heater under the dash

Dan,
If you could mount all the stuff under the dash there would be no heat loss.
Mounting on the firewall would be the next best way.
Daniel Lynn

Sat, 08/22/2009 - 01:27 — atzi

leaking antifreeze or burns

Hmm, I would worry about leaking antifreeze or burns if something went wrong if it was under the dash. Against the firewall is a good compromise. ^_^

Thanks,
Dan