Possible to convert car AC to Heat Pump?

[ISUZUROVER]

Come on KB - I thought you liked the simple option. Just get an inverter and a hair dryer. Lots of hot air, and lots of load on the alternator.

[noelb1]

check out waeco/dometic they have diesel and gas heaters for automotive purposes.

[KiwiBacon]

Come on KB - I thought you liked the simple option. Just get an inverter and a hair dryer. Lots of hot air, and lots of load on the alternator.

Will work yes, but I'm not sure people will believe my explanation for the hairdryer though.

[Kitika]

I reckon that it'd be the size of your heater element than anything else. For your engine to be super efficient it'll need to be getting up to operating temp as fast as possible So i'd say your heater element/fan or thermostat isn't working properly or is too small. Maybe you could put a second heater element in and see if that helps out? 80 series cruisers have a second heater in the back which maybe easy to fit in. Also waeco makes slip on seat warmers which will be the cheapest option imo.

[KiwiBacon]

I reckon that it'd be the size of your heater element than anything else. For your engine to be super efficient it'll need to be getting up to operating temp as fast as possible So i'd say your heater element/fan or thermostat isn't working properly or is too small. Maybe you could put a second heater element in and see if that helps out? 80 series cruisers have a second heater in the back which maybe easy to fit in. Also waeco makes slip on seat warmers which will be the cheapest option imo.

I'm not convinced it's a thermostat or heater issue. I still say it's heat generation that's the problem.

Heated seats are appealing though. Got into a leather seated vehicle today in a frost, if it wasn't for the heated seats I would have got back out again.

[Kitika]

My gfs commodore has the same heater system that my ls1 was built for but it takes about 10-15mins to get warm whereas my 80 series with an ls1 is defrosting the windscreen in about 30secs and is at burning my feet in about 2mins. The only difference is in the heater size. I also have a probe in the heads water jacket so I know exactly what temp it is and when the thermostat is opening which is handy and at 35-40*C it is warm enough to start defrosting the windscreen. To reach emmission standards modern engines have to get to operating temp as fast as possible so I highly, highly doubt it is a heat generation issue unless your heater line comes off the radiator and not straight off the engine block/water pump.

[KiwiBacon]

My gfs commodore has the same heater system that my ls1 was built for but it takes about 10-15mins to get warm whereas my 80 series with an ls1 is defrosting the windscreen in about 30secs and is at burning my feet in about 2mins. The only difference is in the heater size. I also have a probe in the heads water jacket so I know exactly what temp it is and when the thermostat is opening which is handy and at 35-40*C it is warm enough to start defrosting the windscreen. To reach emmission standards modern engines have to get to operating temp as fast as possible so I highly, highly doubt it is a heat generation issue unless your heater line comes off the radiator and not straight off the engine block/water pump.

An LS1 puts out about 10 times more heat at idle than a 2.2L diesel does.
What is the outside temp when you get hot air in 30 seconds?

It is a heat generation issue and it's one that modern diesel cars use electric heaters or AC running as a heat pump to get around. Even the diesel 100 series had an optional warmup pump which stirred oil to warm up the engine and cabin heater faster.

In open road driving I can have some heat in about 3 minutes, full heat in about 5 minutes. But in low load and short running it takes longer and there's not enough heat to provide comfort when it's very cold. It has a "warm up" switch which raises idle and throttles the intake, but this only works at idle, not driving slowly.

[Kitika]

My gfs commodore has the same heater system that my ls1 was built for but it takes about 10-15mins to get warm whereas my 80 series with an ls1 is defrosting the windscreen in about 30secs and is at burning my feet in about 2mins. The only difference is in the heater size. I also have a probe in the heads water jacket so I know exactly what temp it is and when the thermostat is opening which is handy and at 35-40*C it is warm enough to start defrosting the windscreen. To reach emmission standards modern engines have to get to operating temp as fast as possible so I highly, highly doubt it is a heat generation issue unless your heater line comes off the radiator and not straight off the engine block/water pump.

An LS1 puts out about 10 times more heat at idle than a 2.2L diesel does.
What is the outside temp when you get hot air in 30 seconds?

It is a heat generation issue and it's one that modern diesel cars use electric heaters or AC running as a heat pump to get around. Even the diesel 100 series had an optional warmup pump which stirred oil to warm up the engine and cabin heater faster.

In open road driving I can have some heat in about 3 minutes, full heat in about 5 minutes. But in low load and short running it takes longer and there's not enough heat to provide comfort when it's very cold. It has a "warm up" switch which raises idle and throttles the intake, but this only works at idle, not driving slowly.

Ambient temperature is under 10*C usually around 7*C for me. Maybe you should just drive faster I reckon heated seats would be the best solution.

[KiwiBacon]

Ambient temperature is under 10*C usually around 7*C for me. Maybe you should just drive faster I reckon heated seats would be the best solution.

Yeah I'm not talking about +7 to +10C, I'm talking about -6 to -10C.

First issue, de-ice windscreen, second issue keep it defogged, third issue is keeping warm inside the car.