Our sidecar has a 12v outlet. The wife wears a heated jacket liner and covers her legs with a blanket. She says she is as warm as toast!
I'm definitely going to fit a 12v socket and buy one of those 150w heaters. Not just to try out in the sidecar but to de-frost the windscreen. When there's a frost I can't see through the windscreen. I don't want to spray it with de-icer as any residue is going to blow back over me and the paintwork when I ride off so I'm hoping to melt the ice with the heater then I can wipe it away with a soft cloth. I've just ordered a new screen so I want to sort this problem before I fit it.
Sid
There is a company named "Curtis" that makes cabs for compact tractors. For their cabs they produce a very small all in one package heater core heater with a 2 speed fan.
I'll put in another vote for the 12 volt blanket. Everyone who has used it loves the thing. It only draws 75-80 watts. Bought it at a truck stop. Under $20.
Here are a few options to consider:
Go to a major truck stop and scout out their supply of electrical blankets and even some small heaters. One never knows what you may find in those places that can be converted for sidecar use.
Check out this vendor and see if something like this may meet your needs. It works as a cooler or a heater. Forget the nonsensical 3rd grade comments about the product though.
Hope the above link works...
Look at the old Zundap heaters that worked for both the sidecar and at the feet of a rider.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/a1930ford/8245856619/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/a1930ford/8245856553/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/a1930ford/8246923380/
The above reminds me of the old manifold heaters on Model A Fords. Check out the old VW's and see what they used and if it could be adapted or not. I know my old '59 Bug would melt the sides of my shoes after a while..... a long while though. 🙂
Bobby Riddle is trying to make a tonneau cover that works to protect the hack monkey from the elments and keep them warm. Here is a link to his site. He sells some lap robes that may be of interest for riders. Most of his stuff is specific to Urals though.............
http://www.riddlescustomupholstery.com/Products.html
Don't forget to check out your local John Deere supplier, as those farmers in those tractor cabs have to keep warm, too. One never know what they may be using.
Just some options to look at. Good luck in finding what works best for you.
Old air cooled VWs used two of what they called a heater box. The exhaust from the cylinders towards the front of the car went through a tube to the muffler. The tube had an aluminum casting around it to transfer heat. The entire device was surrounded by a sheet metal box. The engine fan pushed air through the box cauing heat to be transfered and moved to the passenger compartment. A simple valve on the box controlled the heat/air flow into the car. Would look ugly but transfer a lot of heat. One of these boxes could cook the inside of a sidecar.
Most owners complained of lack of heat, but that was mainly on short trips in town or on cars that had rusted rockers where the heat passed through the body causing heat loss.
If you were building a diesel bike w/sidecar it would be easy to build it in, but on a production bike it might not look to good. But, use that idea and build a muffler with this built in might look okay (If you're worried about what it looks like). I'm an old VW mechanic and would love to try this, but do I really want her to be warmer than me? Heated vest and blanket should do it unless they're really cold blooded. At my age I can't take the cold riding much any more so that will be good enough for my wife.
Mark , good idea , Harleys have heat shields over the exhaust. What about copper tubing wrapped around the main pipes and covered by the chrome heat shields put a fitting at either end close to the shield to disconnect . Heat wrap the pipes leading to the sidecar and a small fan box inside the hack to move the air .
Great idea, the chrome shield could hide the entire length of copper tube. Add a small electric pump, heater core, and fan in the hack and you have instant heat. The beauty of it is that the exhaust gets hot almost instantly as opposed to the coolant in a water cooler engine. Great for my stone age Electra Glide, but if you're sporting a high tech BMW you need high-end technology. So for the tech-heads I propose a fuel powered heater. Some of these are mounted inside the cab of over the road trucks to keep the bunks warm while the operator is sleeping with the engine off. The heaters are small in size, very light weight, draw less than one amp, and consume as little as 1/4 liter/hour of diesel fuel. Probably over kill but it may be the ultimate accessory.
wvsporty - 12/5/2012 8:16 AM
Mark , good idea , Harleys have heat shields over the exhaust. What about copper tubing wrapped around the main pipes and covered by the chrome heat shields put a fitting at either end close to the shield to disconnect . Heat wrap the pipes leading to the sidecar and a small fan box inside the hack to move the air .
Doug
I think we need a small reservoir with a radiator cap to relieve pressure if it gets to a boil.
I was actually thinking just passing air thru the tubes and if yo wrap a few feet of tubing around the exhaust the internall air will get quite warm. I guess I could start with air and change to an antifreeze system with a overflow tank later if the air didn't work as well as I thought.
Over the years I've seen some weird and wonderful ideas appear in the bike press for heating a sidecar including running the exhaust pipe through the sidecar and soldering a copper water tank onto the exhaust pipe and running a rubber hose from it through the sidecar and back. These ideas appeared but you never heard what happened to the people that tried them, third degree burns I should think with an exhaust pipe an inch or two from your leg, that or the sidecar went up in flames.
I bought a 150w 12v heater but it'll never heat my sidecar in a British winter. This post has certainly bought out the the ingenuity and capacity for lateral thinking in people. I still favour fitting a heater core, fed from the cooling system, into the box section under the front seat but it's going to need a fair bit of measuring up and research.
Sid
wvsporty - 12/7/2012 7:49 AM
I was actually thinking just passing air thru the tubes and if yo wrap a few feet of tubing around the exhaust the internall air will get quite warm. I guess I could start with air and change to an antifreeze system with a overflow tank later if the air didn't work as well as I thought.
When you said tubing I was thinking 1/4 to 3/8 diameter soft copper tubing, so I assumed your pushing water through it. Air is simpler and maintenance free, but I think the tube must be large enough to blow a decent volume of air through it. The air boxes on a VW had an air opening of about 2-2 1/2" in diameter and the system siphoned air from the fan that cooled the engine. Perhaps a small scoop at the front of the rig could funnel ram air (caused by the bikes speed) through the tubing and into the hack.
And the beadle would warm in summer and cool in winter....The day I had to bring my father into hospital we left at -13°C and after 120 km reached at -3°C...
A few weeks later the gas pedal broke off because the ice below had become too thick...
Sven
Markh00 - 12/7/2012 10:19 PM
wvsporty - 12/7/2012 7:49 AM
Air is simpler and maintenance free, but I think the tube must be large enough to blow a decent volume of air through it. The air boxes on a VW had an air opening of about 2-2 1/2" in diameter and the system siphoned air from the fan that cooled the engine. Perhaps a small scoop at the front of the rig could funnel ram air (caused by the bikes speed) through the tubing and into the hack.
Here is a picture of the Beetle air box. The small lever on the upper left allowed a tin steel cable to move the lever and rotate a butterfly valve to restrict air flow
the wv thing looks to me like it will work. the thing that scares me is that in the event of a crack in the metal that will allow exhaust gas into the air supply and that could be bad. on airplanes the exhaust can be inspected every year for cracks. maybe i missed something but it doesn't look like the vw can be disembled to inspect. also the entire muffler is used to collect heat. its a fairly large area and it works quite well. it will put out more heat than you can use here in texas even at altitude its not all that hard to heat the bird. course it is traveling along at 150 mph too and the rig will not be that fast. also it doesnt' work at all sitting at a red light unless of course you put in a fan. johnny
