Heater Craft hot air heater install

[FastFreddy]

This is how I was thinking about running it. Please correct me if I am wrong or there is a better way. This way still utilizes the Y pipe and uses the extra 12v circulation pump as a boost. However, I don't see how this way could give you heat if the engine wasn't running.

Is there a place to put a return line right into the engine on the opposite side of the heater circuit supply line? If so, this would allow you to circulate warm water through the motor while not running the engine and you won't need the Y pipe. You would be relying on your 12v pump for heat.

Your diagram is accurate. You would get a small amount of heat form the engine even while it's not running since the engine will stay warm for a few minutes.

[NorrisMike]

That would be the plan but hows is water circulating if the impeller is not spinning like Tvano pointed out? If it were this was routed in and out of the motor I could see getting some residual heat for some time when stopped.

[FastFreddy]

That would be the plan but hows is water circulating if the impeller is not spinning like Tvano pointed out? If it were this was routed in and out of the motor I could see getting some residual heat for some time when stopped.

You're right. One would need to find a different return point than the Y-pipe on the intake. What about T-ing into the transmisison cooling lines for a return from the heater?

[shawndoggy]

there are two fittings at least on top of the motor. You don't need the Y pipe at all. Should be one on the water pump and one on the intake manifold. They should be filled with 3/4" square drive plugs right now (or I'll bet they are) that are probably painted over.

Here's how it works on the PCM 5.7's, I'd assume Indmar would be the same.

On an LCR motor with no knock sensors you could also use one of the block drain plugs (that's what I did on my vride install).

Edited December 18, 2012 by shawndoggy

[Bill_AirJunky]

Sorry if I missed it but would this pump take the place of the "Y"....because it's about half the price!!!

I believe you could use the additional pump either using the Y or not.

Good diagram, Mike. I like it. Need to go take a look at my boat & see how to make it happen!

[tvano]

based on the installation document on the heatercraft web site i suspect the aux pump isn't going to do much good w/o engine run because of the impeller.

i could even buy the idea that the pressure side of the aux pump can drain to the lake (through hull) but the suck side isn't going to pull much water before it doesn't have enough grunt to pull water past the impeller.

must be just to insure you get good heat w engine run.

based on the heatercraft web site (search for aux):

Optional Equipment

H415 In-line Circulation Pump

1. Locate and mount the pump.

Note – Do not mount he pump into bilge, or any location where it may become submerged. The warranty for

the pump will be void if, upon disassembly, we determine that the pump has been submerged in water for

any length of time.

2. Cut the return water hose from the heater unit.

Note – The output hose is connected to the intake manifold or thermostat are (most V-8 gasoline engines).

The return is connected to the water pump or the large hose between the thermostat housing and the water

pump (most V-8 gasoline engines)

3. Attach the hoses to the corresponding ports on the pump.

Note – Fasten the hose clamps near the end of the hose to prevent the hose end from "mushrooming" and

to prevent coolant leakage.

4. Wire the pump to the switch or use 2-7061 Auxiliary Pump to heater relay switch harness to power the

pump and heater unit using standard four position switch. (The pump and switch should be protected with a

10-amp in-line fuse.) The pump wires should be routed with the factory wiring harness whenever possible.

[shawndoggy]

tvano, it's the "water pump," not the "raw water pump." As in the engine circ pump. Those are vaned and not difficult to push/pull past. the whole heater circuit should be installed AFTER the raw water pump and impeller if you are using the electric circ pump. If you are using the Y pipe, that does indeed go before the impeller.

this is a WATER PUMP:

THIS is a RAW WATER PUMP:

it probably is a "one or the other" scenario, the one being the y pipe and the other being the circ pump.

Edited December 18, 2012 by shawndoggy

[FastFreddy]

tvano, it's the "water pump," not the "raw water pump." As in the engine circ pump. Those are vaned and not difficult to push/pull past. the whole heater circuit should be installed AFTER the raw water pump and impeller if you are using the electric circ pump. If you are using the Y pipe, that does indeed go before the impeller.

this is a WATER PUMP:

THIS is a RAW WATER PUMP:

it probably is a "one or the other" scenario, the one being the y pipe and the other being the circ pump.

+1. Well said.

[NorrisMike]

I just located the fitting on the side of the engine circulation pump. This is definitely another option for doing away with the Y pipe as Shawn already pointed out. Looks like there is more than one way to skin a cat here!

12v auxiliary pump system

Before Raw water pump with Y pipe

Before Raw water pump with Y pipe & additional 12v auxiliary pump

Now if someone would make a diagram showing the proper way to wire everything so the pump came on when the heater switch was activated......

[shawndoggy]

You just want to take a jumper from the turn in switch to close a relay for the pump.

Like this except that the accessory is the pump and the remote turn on is the jumper from the heater switch. Make sure the positive run is fused!

[NorrisMike]

Thanks for that. I will be digging into this project in the next few days.

[FastFreddy]

+1 on using a relay for turning on the 12 volt pump. This way it has it's own circuit. Once you understand these relays you start using them on everything. I have three on my truck for auxiliary lights, fuel pumps, etc. They are great.

[BlackBluMalibu]

Has anyone tried installing a three outlet heater ore on bothe port and starboard sides so you can have 4 pull out tubes and euro tubes?

[shawndoggy]

Has anyone tried installing a three outlet heater ore on bothe port and starboard sides so you can have 4 pull out tubes and euro tubes?

http://www.themalibucrew.com/forums/index.php?/topic/34499-dual-heater-install/

[BlackBluMalibu]

Thanks shawndoggy! I will be working on the dual heater install late this summer, so we have it for the fall/early winter. We just went out last weekend and it was 45 degree air temp with 64 degree water temp ( private side of Lake Anna, nuclear reactor discharge side) should have used the heaters, but we'll do without until later as work is going crazy good right now. Have no been able to find the time to get to this important task..lol thanks again, and sorry for the delay in responding.

[Bill_AirJunky]

Has anyone tried installing a three outlet heater ore on bothe port and starboard sides so you can have 4 pull out tubes and euro tubes?

On my MC 205 I installed a 300H under the spotters seat. The 300H is a double wide core with 2 fans & 3 vents. I split 2 of the vents so I had 5 vents total...... 2 hot tubes, a vent at the driver's feet & 2 windshield vents. I used the Y adapter & had good heat with the engine at idle speeds. Oh, and one of the hot tubes was 6' long so we had heat available at the back of the boat (the 205 is a direct drive).

Also, I bought 2 Hot Wrap boat blankets. Still have these babies & we use them all the time.

Edited March 8, 2013 by Bill_AirJunky

[wakeparadise]

This is a great write up, but does anyone know how to wire the heater into a 2010+ Wakesetter with MTC? Any ideas?

[wakerider22]

I have the # vent Heater already Installed. I'd like to install a Subwoofer in there some how. Any chance you have pictures of heater installed with sub box? No room at all on my 2001 Wakesetter.

Thx

Great Install!

[wakeparadise]

I had the same issue in my 2011 VLX so I removed the sub from its box and mounted into the kick plate. I have a 3H from Heatercraft and the room was perfect.

[Wakesetter2008]

On 19-4-2012 at 6:58 AM, 09vRide said:

I decided to install a Heater Craft hot air heater into the boat as a winter project. We have cool mornings and evenings here, and this will be a nice addition that will extend our boating season. I had a lot of questions going into it and I figured if I had the questions, others probably do too. I took a lot of pics of the process in an attempt to help someone else out if they ever wanted to do the project. i should mention that I got some great advice from CedarLakeSkier prior to starting out. A big thanks to him.

This project took approximately 6 hours to do. Total cost was $505.00. It's installed on a 2009 vRide with the LCR engine.

First step that I highly recommend is take out the drivers seat. This will make your job a lot easier. I also plan on installing some 2" spacers for the seat when I re-install it (I don't like how low I sit while driving - even with the bolster up).

Remove subwoofer panel to gain access to bulkhead. This is where the heater box will be mounted.

Run two lengths of 5/8" heater hose from engine compartment through the stringers and exit them at the bulkhead behind the helm. I used a fish tape which made it a lot easier. There are multiple access points along the stringer, and rather than pull the hose in one long pull, I did it in shorter distances. I did one pull from beside the tranny to the floor access between the helm and observers seat, and another from that point to under the helm. Once the fish tape is through, tape the heater hose to the end and pull the fish tape out while feeding in the hose. Two lines are required; one is the supply, one is the return.

Mount the heater box to the bulkhead with the screws provided. I mounted mine with the heater core ports pointing down and with a slight slope down at the ports. This will allow the best drainage when I winterize.

Connect the two 5/8" heater lines to the heater box. Water will flow in either direction through the core, so don't worry about which line connects to which port.

Connect the supply line to the engine at the intake manifold. Locate and remove the 1/2" Brass NPT plug on the top of the manifold. It's located near the the thermostat housing. I opted to install a ball valve at this location so I can shut off the heater circuit should a problem occur. All the fittings are 1/2" NPT and available from your local building supply. Use pipe joint compound on all the fittings to ensure no leaks.

Connect the return line. I opted to use Heater Craft's low RPM 'Y' pipe based on the research I did prior to getting started. Many people claim that running the return line into the main water pick up line improves water flow through the heater core at idle, therby improving heater operation. I installed the Y pipe after the tranny and before the raw water pump. Ensure the 5/8" fitting is pointing towards the water source. This will create a venturi effect and draw water through the heater core.

Wire the switch. Heater Craft supplies a three speed motor with the kit. I wanted the factory look and ordered a three position OEM switch (ON-OFF-ON) and cover. This switch replaced an unused Accessory switch in the switch bank. The three position switch allows only two fan speeds - I went with the High and Medium speeds, and didn't hook up the Low speed. First you need to remove the circuit breaker panel under the throttle control. There are two existing 15A heater circuit breakers which had nothing connected to them. Pick one and connect a hot wire from the circuit breaker to switch hot terminal. Next, run ground wire from fan motor to the ground bus located under the dash. Now run the high speed fan wire to one side of the switch and the medium fan speed wire to the other side of the switch. Lastly, you'll need to ensure the switch ground terminal is connected if you want the switch to light up correctly when you turn the fan on. (The switch ground in my case was already there for an accessory switch that had not been utilized.)

Now you need to run the heater ducts. I installed a three vent unit - two vents were Hot Tube pull out style and the third was a fixed vent. I put one of the hot tubes in the walk-thru to the bow, another hot tube in the starboard cup holder pocket and the fixed vent into the subwoofer panel.

Using a 4" hole saw, cut a hole for the walk thru hot tube. I recommend starting from one side and when the pilot bit comes out the other side, stop, and finish the hole from the other direction. This makes for a nice clean hole. Mount hot tube with included screws.

Repeat this step for the fixed vent in the subwoofer panel - except this hole is only 3" diameter.

I decided to put the last hot tube in the starboard gunwale cup holder pocket. This required that I make a little bulkhead to mount the hot tube too. I made a template out of cardboard and then transferred the template onto 3/4" plywood. Cut a 4" hole to mount the hot tube into the plywood bulkhead. I covered the plywood bulkhead with some plastic heat shrink covering I had in the garage. This made for a nice finished look, although it is hard to see and appreciate given its location.

Run the 3" ducting from heater box to the vent locations and attach with supplied ties from the kit. Reinstall subwoofer panel

Test operation of fan motor. I was pleasantly suprised at the volume of air that comes out of each vent!

How did you remove the kickplate, there are hidden screws, but can you tell me at what postition ?

[CedarLakeSkier]

2 hours ago, Wakesetter2008 said:

How did you remove the kickplate, there are hidden screws, but can you tell me at what postition ?

The screw heads are buried in the carpet and quite long.  Can't give you a specific location as they are manually/randomly screwed in.   I think there were 4 (maybe 5) along the bottom, at least one on the right that screws into the bolster with the cup holder, I don't recall if there were any on the left side as that is where the fiberglass/walkway wall was.  you can probably feel the Phillips screw heads with your finger, but a magnet might help you find them

[09vRide]

1 hour ago, CedarLakeSkier said:

The screw heads are buried in the carpet and quite long.  Can't give you a specific location as they are manually/randomly screwed in.   I think there were 4 (maybe 5) along the bottom, at least one on the right that screws into the bolster with the cup holder, I don't recall if there were any on the left side as that is where the fiberglass/walkway wall was.  you can probably feel the Phillips screw heads with your finger, but a magnet might help you find them

A putty knife is also a handy tool to help find them.  Slide it along the joint and it'll stop at the screws.