Looking at options for replacing the heater/demister in my mini conversion. I've read about replacing heater cores with elements from ceramic fan heaters, and that seems like a very neat approach. The existing heater system in the mini is pretty antiquated and extremely feeble though, so I would also have to upgrade the motor to get decent performance.
So I've started looking at hairdryers. The better models are quite powerful, in fact I've used my wife's 2kW model to strip paint before...
Looking around on eBay I can get a brand-name 1800W dual-voltage ceramic hair dryer for under £15. I've just tried out a 240V hair dryer on a 108V battery pack and it works fine, producing plenty of heat, although naturally running a fair bit slower than usual. A 120V version should make a big improvement over the existing mini heater when connected to the windscreen vents.
Because it'll be running on DC rather than AC I'll have to wire the hairdryer through a relay/contactor capable of switching the full DC voltage, and I won't be able to use the built in switch on the hairdryer while it is powered on. Since the switch is only rated for AC, the contacts would be likely to weld together if you attempted to switch the power off under load. Apart from this, can anyone see any real drawbacks or safety issues with this approach?
Vidal Sassoon heater?
Re: Vidal Sassoon heater?
MalcolmB wrote:Apart from this, can anyone see any real drawbacks or safety issues with this approach?
You might have to buy your wife a new hairdryer ?
![Wink ;)](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
- retepsnikrep
- Posts: 1387
- Joined: Sat May 26, 2007 4:50 pm
- Location: North Yorkshire England
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I used an American 115v hair dryer in my van on my 108v set up it worked pretty well. Bought on e-bay in UK from someone who had bought it back here from overseas, cost about £2:00 ![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
Regards Peter
Two MK1 Honda Insight's. One running 20ah A123 Lithium pack. One 8ah BetterBattery Nimh pack.
One HCH1 Civic Hybrid running 60ah A123 Lithium pack.
Two MK1 Honda Insight's. One running 20ah A123 Lithium pack. One 8ah BetterBattery Nimh pack.
One HCH1 Civic Hybrid running 60ah A123 Lithium pack.
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