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heater defroster

battdad

Member
hello all,
So this is going to be a weird question, I am working on building a custom five man cab on an old foremost under carriage, all hydrostat drive. I am at a point where i must build some sort of a heater/defroster. I have a few different heaters out of other projects but nothing seems to fit quite the way i think it should. I am hoping to get some real world input from you guys about heaters and defrosters. I know i need some way to defrost the windshield, but how much? can i get away with a heater mounted somewhere in the middle of the cab with a couple fans mounted to blow on the window or do i have to have vents pointed right at the window that blow hot air directly from the heater core? I know the latter would probably be best. Thats why i am looking for input, to get somewhat of an idea what i absolutely NEED as compared to what will be sufficient and easier to fit into my space. Any input at all on what you guys have in your cabs or maybe even what you wish you had would be helpful.
 

undy

New member
Hi Battdad,
I'm sure others with more knowledge than I will chime in.
I have an old cat that I use to groom my ski hill. It's got a heater that blows directly on the windshield. It has never been sufficient, once the snow gets flying.
I got a ride in a new Prinoth a couple years ago, and all of the windows heat themselves.
I'd recommend overkill, as far as the defrost goes.
 
when I redid my m-29 I had a fan blowing on the windshield and that was all I needed----another good idea is the way tucker did there it was a thin wall tube with small holes drilled next to the windshield with a hose going to the heater box----when I had my mid engine tucker that's what it had-----and I still had a fan blowing on windshield -----my Polaris ranger on tracks with no heat ---lol-----fan mounted to the roof blowing would keep windshield clear-----put a heater box blowing at your feet under the seat and use a fan on windshield------remember ------KISS-------keep it simple stupid
 

vintagebike

Well-known member
This is a simple but a bit pricey defroster solution. Winshield
and rear glass on the wish list for our 1969 Tucker 442A
Resto-Mod - a work in progress. :thumb:
 

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redsqwrl

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
Battdad,

300 H-H pointed out to me the key to defrosting windows. Understand I am a slow learner and after hearing the same message 11 times from 3 different farmers (who spend endless hours in glassed jail cells) [tractors]
It finally dawned on me,.... No amount of moist air will defrost a window.
The window has to be warmed above the dew point or the air has to be dry(er)
I have a new to me 1642 tucker that draws air from two sources to heat and defrost the windows. the drilled tube is very efficient delivery system.
I have a snow trac that has the dryest air imaginable from the exhaust heat.
I have experience with LMC's crude design in "the thing" spryte, they all work good.

given the situations they encounter, get rid of the moisture and they are all excellent.

If they don't work once the fluff gets swirling around, Draw air from somewhere else.

I find the that here in the midwest one side of the cat or the other will clear better on anygiven day..... Its the wind keeping the glass cold ect, or blowing the fluff away from the intake source.
If you want photos I could get some.

My subaru conversion on a snow trac will have AC.......
 

Snowy Rivers

Well-known member
Take a look at this link.

https://www.googleadservices.com/pa...hUKEwit9-D0sKPaAhWqv1QKHSs7B9kQ9aACCDQ&adurl=


Not sure what you have for room in your rig.

Myself I love re purposing components from other sources..

AS mentioned, keeping the incoming air free of the FLUFF is paramount.

The best defroster addition is of course the use of an AC system to dehydrate the air, but cold weather pretty much renders that useless as the AC will not operate in really cold weather.

Aux. fans help a lot.

Back in my grooming days in the Thiokol Spryte I always kept a couple good sized absorbent towels close when the fans just would not clear things well

One just has to get creative with a lot of this stuff.

Moving air is the big thing
 

JimVT

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
when moisture gets inside a closed heated cabin is my cause of fogged windows. if my defrost doesn't keep up i open a window. it usually reduces it some. clean windows help but the anti fog stuff never worked for me. my extra fan in the snow trac is mounted near the window that opens.
the heated wipers are nice for the outside. they help with ice fouling the blades.
 

battdad

Member
thank you all for the input. Im guessing with the tube with holes in it any size and shape of tubing will work. I can probably fit something like that under the window to blow hot air. I have a couple different heater cores to choose from so i will probably just mod a box to blow air upward to the tube. the only place to pull fresh air from is the engine compartment that runs from front to back in the middle of the cab. Maybe that would be best as it houses the engine and both hydro pumps and both motors with all the hoses so there could be a fair amount of heat to be utilized. it has a small diesel motor with exhaust routed out of the engine compartment and up above top of cab, maybe with a couple cabin filters it would not be to smelly.
redsqwrl, i would love to see some pics of your subaru on snowtrac conversion
thanks to everyone
 

Snowy Rivers

Well-known member
I would warn you about sucking air from the engine bay...

Carbon monoxide is always possible and grabbing air out of the engine bay could be a real bad plan.

Hate to toss cold water on the camp fire, but CO is some bad stuff and it can getcha real quick..

As much as the engine bay is a dry place, it could be deadly too..

You mentioned the exhaust is routed out of the engine bay and up...but the possibilities of a leak is always something to keep in mind.

Be safe...
 

battdad

Member
Yes you are correct and thanks snowy rivers for that warning. Some short cuts CAN be deadly. The other thing I thought about last night is an air intake of sorts that is mounted up front behind the grill as to suck fresh air flowing in next to the radiator, then the air would travel through an enclosed duct routed near the pumps and such to "soak up" some of the ambient heat, then feeding the heater core and on down stream to the defrost vents. However there would be a great possibility of sucking in the fine powder fluff and turning it into water in the air passages. And also the possibility of joints and connections in the airways coming apart or malfunctioning and then we are back to introducing co into the system.
This whole heater/defrost design is kicking my ass.
Maybe an external snorkle sucker thingy would work...kinda like what some of the jeep guys use for the engine air intake.
 

Snowy Rivers

Well-known member
Think about a reverse direction box with a couple little baffles and a drain to let any liquid out of the system.

The setup could be mounted in the engine bay to keep it warm.

Maybe explore the possibility of using large PVC pipe...say 4 inch.

Catch your incoming air right behind the radiator core in front of the fan.

This will warm the air some and get rid of the fine ice crystals and also be fresh air as well.

A simple fast rise (elbo) can act to knock down any liquid in the air stream.


Run your intake into the cab interior and then to the heater.

Rigs like cars, trucks etc. generally pick up the air at the base of the windshield (high pressure area in a rig moving down the road) but we don't have the speed in a cat.

Do you have the room to bring your air inlet from HIGH on the machine with a good vertical drop and then do a quick reversal (Create a water trap) and add a small drain that can be run out to fresh air to allow any liquid to go away.

Tough nut to crack here.

GOTTA be a simple, inexpensive and neat way to gitterdone.
 

battdad

Member
Think about a reverse direction box with a couple little baffles and a drain to let any liquid out of the system.

The setup could be mounted in the engine bay to keep it warm.

Maybe explore the possibility of using large PVC pipe...say 4 inch.

Catch your incoming air right behind the radiator core in front of the fan.

This will warm the air some and get rid of the fine ice crystals and also be fresh air as well.

A simple fast rise (elbo) can act to knock down any liquid in the air stream.


Run your intake into the cab interior and then to the heater.

Rigs like cars, trucks etc. generally pick up the air at the base of the windshield (high pressure area in a rig moving down the road) but we don't have the speed in a cat.

Do you have the room to bring your air inlet from HIGH on the machine with a good vertical drop and then do a quick reversal (Create a water trap) and add a small drain that can be run out to fresh air to allow any liquid to go away.

Tough nut to crack here.

GOTTA be a simple, inexpensive and neat way to gitterdone.
YES, YES to the PVC pipe idea, I found some vids on YouTube showing some pretty interesting solutions to bring air inside. I am going to try to load.some pics of my project.
I think I can bring it from the top of the cab at the rear of the machine, straight down and into the bottom of the engine tunnel then through a trap and then forward to the heater. If I run it next to the hydro system, it should pick up a little heat.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
 

battdad

Member
YES, YES to the PVC pipe idea, I found some vids on YouTube showing some pretty interesting solutions to bring air inside. I am going to try to load.some pics of my project.
I think I can bring it from the top of the cab at the rear of the machine, straight down and into the bottom of the engine tunnel then through a trap and then forward to the heater. If I run it next to the hydro system, it should pick up a little heat.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
I am going to try and mount the heaterbox right about where the drill is in this picture
Maybe not right on the floor but on the passenger side hopefully right below the window level. That would make it easy to pipe the defrost air into a tube that runs across below the window with holes in it to blow hot air on the windshield
525287cf9f3728d3ccf18ae3a2c2e63d.jpg


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
 

battdad

Member
I am going to try and mount the heaterbox right about where the drill is in this picture
Maybe not right on the floor but on the passenger side hopefully right below the window level. That would make it easy to pipe the defrost air into a tube that runs across below the window with holes in it to blow hot air on the windshield
525287cf9f3728d3ccf18ae3a2c2e63d.jpg


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
Here's some other pics of the whole project
a9e806cfae4d854ef12f9e0c8996ddfe.jpg


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
 

battdad

Member
Thanks for the input everyone. It always helps to get a different perspective on things. Sometimes my brain gets stuck in a rut and just needs a little persuasion to get going in the right direction.


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
 

battdad

Member
That "snowcat" is my production manager.
He's kind of like the one at my day job...he isn't happy unless he is in the way and slowing down production!
6c91753bf491216bf9de474e12db4b2b.jpg


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