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Heater tube install pics in VLX/suggestions


Fman

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I am getting ready to purchase some heater tubes to install in the new VLX. I want to have (4) total in the boat, I am going to "Y" off one outlet. Malibu mounts one tube in the walkway and two fixed ports under the helm area. Does anyone have any pictures of where in the boat they installed the heater tubes? I would like to have a couple in the lounge area, and one under the helm area for the drivers area. I thought about trying to mount the two in the lounge area up under cup holder area, but I am not sure there is going to be enough room to mount the entire tube. I am really interested to see where people have mounted them in the lounge area without sacraficing too much storage space because of the tube locations.

On my '11 I put two more tubes in the helm area (kickplate). The problem was people will set them down and step on them in the walkway area, so I am hoping mounting them in the lounge area will be better odds of people not stepping on them.

Any pics you have would be great!

Thank you....

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I wish I had pics of my buddies install we did in his LSV last winter. Maybe I can describe it so you can understand it.

Basically I always thought that mounting the core under the dash was stupid. It can cause a ton of problems if the core ever leaks, spraying all over the electronics in your dash. Plus mounting the hot tube in the walk thru just sucks.

So we mounted his core under the rear seat in the back corner, behind the driver. He has 2 hot tubes right next to it, easy for anyone to get to from the main seating area in the boat. And a 3rd vent goes between the cooler & the gunnel up to the driver & comes out to the right side of the driver's feet. The location is easy to work on & puts the vents in all the right places. I know the VLX is shorter, not sure if it will work or not (put the core under the seat back between the ballast tank & the cooler?).

Good luck & let us know what you end up doing.

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I'd do two two-vent heaters, daisy chained together with a heater circulation pump. Put one in the back of the boat and one in the front. I really like where 09 vride put his hot tubes. If you had a heater in the port rear you could do two hot tubes on the port side on either side of the cupholder area, and then have the other heater under the helm in the traditional location with one hot tube for the driver and one in the cupholder area behind the driver. That'd be super-clean.

You wouldn't need the Y pipe if you got the heater circ pump.

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Malibu installs the main heating core under the drivers helm area (in the back towards bow). The "Y" I am referring to is adding one more flexible line (4 total from a 3 core heater). I really like the location in the gunwal, I am definitely going to look into this. I will have to create a bulk head as well, but I think it might be do-able. I might even try to have a heat tube on each side of the boat, one in the walkway (stock from Malibu) and the fourth will be located on the kickplate for the driver to have some heat.

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No, I know which Y you meant. I mean the "y pipe" that they charge you $50 for to make the hot water flow correctly through the heater hose. You don't need that with a heater pump.

I had the setup you are considering in my vride, sortof. Three outlet heater under the helm. Hot tube in the walkway. I made a vent holder by the cupholder but didn't run a hot tube there. And then two vents off of a Y splitter under the helm.

I would caution against trying to do a long run of heater vent hose around the boat. I've got that setup now, and I think that the farther you get from the core, the weaker the heat. Which is why I suggested two smaller 2 vent heaters, daisy chained together, rather than the three vent with a splitter.

The two vents with one hot tube can be had for about $300 each. two more hot tubes another $100. One heater pump, $150. All in $850 for a b.a. heater setup.

Or you can go $500ish for the three outlet two hot tube kits, plus two more hot tubes for $100, plus the Y splitter ($50), plus a Y pipe $50. So $700 vs. $850. On the $850 setup you have more flexibility in tube locations, instant heat with the heater pump vs. so-so idle heat with the Y pipe, and more heatercore surface area for your four hot tubes.

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I've been told that the circulation pump idea is much better than the Y adapter. Apparently there has been issues with their supply on those pumps though.

So a buddy of mine sourced out another pump & has pretty good luck with it...... after he cuts the engine, he's getting heat for 30 or 40 minutes before the engine cools down. He's using a pump like this, the 10 LPM model, used in solar heat installations. He's on year 2 with it, says it's quiet & doesn't draw much power at all.

You can see install instructions for the heater itself & the H415 circulation pump located here.

This is on my list for springtime.

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I lucked into a shower pump (thanks BozBoat!) so I'm going to use one of those. That solar pump looks like a good alternative though... especially in comparison to the cost of the Y pipe.

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martinarcher

That pump rules....I have the "Y" pipe, but the girls always complain when the boat is off and we are switching riders when it's cold. I ordered one....that block holds heat for a long time and I can see hot air for a while after shutting down. Another good use would be a way to safely cool the block down after an overheat. :)

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Martin... Did you change the location of the return hose? If not where is the best place to route the return hose with a pump?

heatercraft says output hose to thermostat or intake manifold and return hose to engine water pump.

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Heatercraft sells a four-outlet core. I installed one in my last boat, 3 tubes for the cabin and a vent for the driver. Many options are installed at the dealer, so that may be something they are willing to do for you.

For the Vlx, our dealer installed an additional two-outlet heater in the back of the boat. The core is located just forward of the rear storage compartment on the driver's side and is in series with the one located at the helm (you can winterize both at the same time). The hot tubes are at the back seat. I've installed the y-fitting in our boat and had no issues. Wife and kids love the heaters. The downside with this option is that you loose the small warming tray underneath the rear center cushion. I have a photo of the rear outlets in the boathouse.

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That pump rules....I have the "Y" pipe, but the girls always complain when the boat is off and we are switching riders when it's cold. I ordered one....that block holds heat for a long time and I can see hot air for a while after shutting down. Another good use would be a way to safely cool the block down after an overheat. :)

Also wondering if it assist in winterizing the system. Might not need to have quick disconnects in the lines with the pump?

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I installed all of mine in the driver kick plate but plan on doing the same thing 09vRide did.

HeaterTubes_zps6857b2d8.jpg

DSCN3354.jpg

Any reason you guys think this won't work? I installed my heater using this $18 aerator circulation pump. I won't be able to test it out for a couple weeks yet. I can report back after I try it...

heaterpump_zps5cf78a7e.jpg

Here is where I tapped into the motor

Heaterpump2_zps763f3eae.jpg

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Looks good to me, Mike. Only issue I see is many of us have a sub in that kick panel where you have 3 hot tubes. Also seems like that might eat up a lot of your footroom when you have all those tubes out. The other one you have thru the gunnel is similar to how we did Dave's. Used a kind of dead space in the boat that isn't really used otherwise.

Let us know how that pump works for you.

Edited by Bill_AirJunky
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I like the look of THIS solar circulation pump (and the price). Does the circulation pump restrict water flow when the pump is off? If so, I'm assuming that would not be a problem...correct?

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martinarcher

Martin... Did you change the location of the return hose? If not where is the best place to route the return hose with a pump?

I just ordered it after seeing Bill's post so I haven't changed anything yet, but after thinking about it, I'm thinking I'm going to need to put the return "T" between the tranny cooler and my impeller pump (basically downstream of the impeller pump). If not, the warm water is going to get sucked out of the block and blown out of my raw water intake on the bottom of the boat.

Thoughts?

Also wondering if it assist in winterizing the system. Might not need to have quick disconnects in the lines with the pump?

I was wondering the same. I have the same two coolant quick drains and I'm thinking opening one of those and hitting the pump is going to drain the darn pretty darn quick! :thumbup: I won't miss bending down over the motor and blowing into the one fitting until air came out of the other one. :lol:

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I like the look of THIS solar circulation pump (and the price). Does the circulation pump restrict water flow when the pump is off? If so, I'm assuming that would not be a problem...correct?

I'm told this particular pump does not restrict flow when it's off. The guy who told me about it said that he liked this particular pump for very specific reasons, ie; the fact that water flows thru it even when it's off, low power draw, and ability to handle water temps to 100 C.

Now that I've typed that out, I'm wondering if a fat sac pump will handle the hot water.

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I'm told this particular pump does not restrict flow when it's off. The guy who told me about it said that he liked this particular pump for very specific reasons, ie; the fact that water flows thru it even when it's off, low power draw, and ability to handle water temps to 100 C.

Now that I've typed that out, I'm wondering if a fat sac pump will handle the hot water.

You really don't need the high flow of a FatSac pump through the heater. Also I don;t think aeretor pumps are ratedf for continuous duty.

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Is there a reason to have the pump turn on and off independent of the heater? I was just going to put it on a relay from my heater turn on switch and turn it on with the heater blower(s).

Sent from my BNTV600 using Tapatalk HD

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martinarcher

Is there a reason to have the pump turn on and off independent of the heater? I was just going to put it on a relay from my heater turn on switch and turn it on with the heater blower(s). Sent from my BNTV600 using Tapatalk HD

My thoughts as well.

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Is there a reason to have the pump turn on and off independent of the heater? I was just going to put it on a relay from my heater turn on switch and turn it on with the heater blower(s). Sent from my BNTV600 using Tapatalk HD

Thats what I'm thinking too. Only issue I can imagine is if the air is actually too hot?

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