Heater for TXi

[UWSkier]

You can take the pump out and hook it to a 9v battery to bench test it.  I did that last year when I thought mine had failed.

[braindamage]

2 hours ago, UWSkier said:

You can take the pump out and hook it to a 9v battery to bench test it.  I did that last year when I thought mine had failed.

I’ll just fill a bucket with water and put the engine hoses In it. I can feel it running, I just don’t know if it’s pumping 

[braindamage]

Primed the pump this am and she works great. I think I just had an air pocket. It took some convincing, but eventually she started working.

now to put everything back together after our morning sets.👍

[braindamage]

Final, pencils down.  If I have to replace the tubing in the back seat pullout or walkthrough I’ll add length.

[KDCr7]

Nice!Reaching the rear seats is great.  Wish i had 3 outlets.

Off topic, but where do you get the ski bar cup holders?

[Eagleboy99]

1 hour ago, KDCr7 said:

ski bar cup holders?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B07P7P7NHK/ref=dp_olp_afts?ie=UTF8&condition=all  One of many such places.

[Bruises]

So please help me with your final set up.  Thinking of doing this to my 2012 TXI which actually came off the line in 2013 and has the cat plumbing updated per UWskier pics.  Question... is the “ little pump” ( sorry UW) on the supply side of the heater core and what did you use for pump power?   Are you having any engine temp issues at this point?  My temp gauge lives at 160 basically with factory 3 port heater. Thanks, Kent

[braindamage]

4 hours ago, Bruises said:

So please help me with your final set up.  Thinking of doing this to my 2012 TXI which actually came off the line in 2013 and has the cat plumbing updated per UWskier pics.  Question... is the “ little pump” ( sorry UW) on the supply side of the heater core and what did you use for pump power?   Are you having any engine temp issues at this point?  My temp gauge lives at 160 basically with factory 3 port heater. Thanks, Kent

I used this pump:

bayite BYT-7A006 DC 12V Solar Hot Water Heater Circulation Pump Low Noise 3M Discharge Head 2.1GPM https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0196WL55G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_yh7YEbZ39Q1N7

with (2) hose barbs:

EDGE INDUSTRIAL 5/8" Hose ID to... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CV4WCJB?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

it’s plumbed to the supply side, but I don’t think that matters. If you already have the heater, just remove the supply side hose and plumb it in. If you aren’t sure which hose is which, plumb it in, then run water in a bucket with the two engine side hoses in while running the pump. It’ll quickly show which way it pumps. I had to pour water into the supply hose to get it to prime.

the pump only has on/off (on-red; ground-black). My heater switch is a DPDT, so there are 6 terminals on the back. The middle is the power. One side I used for the blower. I put in a jumper wire from the other middle terminal that powers the blowers. The single power wire I split into the upper/lower terminals, that way when the switch turns on the blower it also powers the pump. The Black wire routed to the ground bar.

here is an example of the switch and a pick of a hand drawing of where to connect. 
happy mods!

https://www.grainger.com/mobile/product/10C583?gclid=CjwKCAjw2a32BRBXEiwAUcugiDVfqId8Vkm-pWjKflLFbs_UBkjgMtntr7syyfMf9OSZKoSgyEg6phoCAZwQAvD_BwE&cm_mmc=PPC:+Google+PLA&ef_id=CjwKCAjw2a32BRBXEiwAUcugiDVfqId8Vkm-pWjKflLFbs_UBkjgMtntr7syyfMf9OSZKoSgyEg6phoCAZwQAvD_BwE:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!2966!3!216788409968!!!g!294737965147!

Edited May 25, 2020 by braindamage

[braindamage]

@Bruises I forgot to ask...do you control the Heater  through the MTC screen? If so, then the electrics will be different 

[braindamage]

12 hours ago, KDCr7 said:

Nice!Reaching the rear seats is great.  Wish i had 3 outlets.

Off topic, but where do you get the ski bar cup holders?

Specially these. They shipped from China and took a couple weeks, though it was in the middle of the covid19 craziness so not sure if that’s normal.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/133342978908

[ahopkins22LSV]

Looks great! I wish I would have thought of that tube to stretch to the rear seat too! Good work!

[braindamage]

53 minutes ago, ahopkinsVTX said:

Looks great! I wish I would have thought of that tube to stretch to the rear seat too! Good work!

My daughter used it for the first time last night. It stretched far enough to reach her blanket on the port side rear seat! 👍

[braindamage]

I am going forward with the cooling line replumb.  I ordered the kit and a replacement thermostat from bakesonline.  Even before installing the heater, I had an issue where the temp would oscillate between 140-180.  It was really intermittent, and was probably linked to the thermostat.

[UWSkier]

Looks great!

[Bruises]

@braindamage. Thanks for all this. Heater runs off hi/low switch on drivers right above the fuse panel below throttle. Thinking I could use that for my pump power also?

Thinking I’d really like to have pump mounted within reach of the bilge/motor box area for easy access. I can’t even see what is going on behind my “kick plate” under dash at drivers feet without mirror or using smartphone camera. Where is yours mounted? Is it easy to access?

Really not a night owl here, just work really odd shifts.  Rather be in bed and up skiing at daybreak!

[braindamage]

6 hours ago, Bruises said:

@braindamage. Thanks for all this. Heater runs off hi/low switch on drivers right above the fuse panel below throttle. Thinking I could use that for my pump power also?

Thinking I’d really like to have pump mounted within reach of the bilge/motor box area for easy access. I can’t even see what is going on behind my “kick plate” under dash at drivers feet without mirror or using smartphone camera. Where is yours mounted? Is it easy to access?

Really not a night owl here, just work really odd shifts.  Rather be in bed and up skiing at daybreak!

If yours is an aftermarket Heatercraft, I would bet your switch is already a DPDT, as I’ve done 2 installs and both came with that as standard. It’s easy to check by removing the switch. If it has 6 connections then you are good to go. If you still are unsure you can google the part number. Either way, I’d put in a DPDT as both pumps and blower motors draw quite a bit of current, especially when first turned on.

you will most likely need to remove the kickplate. I suppose it could be done without removing it but that sounds like a PITA. Mine had 2 screws on the far left, two in the middle through the bottom i to the floor, and one through the shelf on the right. The sides are easy to find by tracing back from where the screws exit on the other side. The ones in the bottom you just have to fish around using a screwdriver to find them. 
once off it’s not bad from an access standpoint. 
you could mount the pump in the engine compartment or behind the kickplate. You’ll need to fish the wires through the floor if you decide to mount by the engine. The kickplate area is cleaner and less likely to get wet, which will be a source of corrosion or failure. I don’t think there’s a wrong answer. I mounted mine behind the kickplate. I didn’t put the middle screws back, so from an access standpoint I’m behind the kickplate in less than 5 mins.

attached is a photo I took before I cleaned up the wires. You can see the beige color if the pump in the bottom left.

[Bruises]

I will pull out my switch and see if it is a DPDT. Thanks for kick plate screw advice, the way mine feels I would of suspected Only two screws on left, not floor or on right.  The brief moment I looked the other day I didn’t see a wye in the return or supply line and figure  the little pump sounds cheaper with added function. 

[UWSkier]

2 hours ago, Bruises said:

I will pull out my switch and see if it is a DPDT. Thanks for kick plate screw advice, the way mine feels I would of suspected Only two screws on left, not floor or on right.  The brief moment I looked the other day I didn’t see a wye in the return or supply line and figure  the little pump sounds cheaper with added function. 

pump works great.  You even get heat with the engine off.  Only thing I'd recommend though is to install behind kick plate, not in engine compartment.  It's not an ignition-protected unit so it shouldn't go where there are possibly fuel vapors.

[Bruises]

Kick plate it is!

[braindamage]

Update-the heater kills it when at speed, but for some reason it cools greatly at idle. I’ll have to check on my lil’ pump.

it is also awesome that it vents out between the jump seat and the wind block. The towels and sweatshirts are nice and toasty when getting back into the boat after a set! I’m thinking of fab’ing a milk crate or something to make grabbing them easier and to ensure the heat flows unobstructed.

Edited June 17, 2020 by braindamage

[UWSkier]

8 minutes ago, braindamage said:

Update-the heater kills it when at speed, but for some reason it cools greatly at idle. I’ll have to check on my lil’ pump.

it is also awesome that it vents out between the jump seat and the wind block. The towels and sweatshirts are nice and toasty when getting back into the boat after a set! I’m thinking of fab’ing a milk crate or something to make grabbing them easier and to ensure the heat flows unobstructed.

Mine's on the return line after the core and pushes back towards the engine.  If I pull the supply hose off the top of the engine and turn the pump on, it'll push water through the block and out the top of the manifold until it starts sucking air.  If you're getting air pockets when you return to idle (necessitating the re-plumb) it's possible your pump is sucking air and losing prime at idle.

[braindamage]

I verified flow, but it was very small volume and pressure. I should’ve taken a pic, but I took it apart to inspect the impeller and there was a pea sized bunch of lake yuck stuck in it. I cleaned it up and it’s back together. It’s 91deg now so I’ll run it this evening and see if that fixes it.

[braindamage]

@mswsetter00 here is the thread. Since taking out the small debris it’s been working like a champ!! It does take quite a bit of battery power, so even though my battery is keeping up, I think I’ll be installing a 2nd battery just in case.

[granddaddy55]

55 minutes ago, braindamage said:

@mswsetter00 here is the thread. Since taking out the small debris it’s been working like a champ!! It does take quite a bit of battery power, so even though my battery is keeping up, I think I’ll be installing a 2nd battery just in case.

using that heat at engine off a lot, huh!

bravo, i only have y pipe, one day if i remove my sub wall thats a pita for sub upgrade, i will install this on RETURN side 

if you had heater before i noticed the ypipe made the running heat that was mostly warm before install to almost hot, guessing the pump did same for you

[braindamage]

3 hours ago, granddaddy55 said:

using that heat at engine off a lot, huh!

bravo, i only have y pipe, one day if i remove my sub wall thats a pita for sub upgrade, i will install this on RETURN side 

if you had heater before i noticed the ypipe made the running heat that was mostly warm before install to almost hot, guessing the pump did same for you

It is very warm. We ski a lot at sunrise when it’s cold, are early in the spring and late in the fall. There’s quite a bit of downtime between passes while the skier rests and between sets where we are swapping skiers. Having the pump makes a huge difference. My MC buddy has a heater but it’s not really worth it to turn on as it only blows out real heat while pulling the skier.