14 replies to this topic

[SolarB]

The standard centrifugal fans in the heater generates quite a bit of noise on full power. I was pondering about pulling out the fans and motor and replacing with a pair of PC type cooling fans instead. They should fit nicely inside the housing against both of the intakes and would be considerably quieter, but I was wondering how much air they would move.
Someone must have done this before?

 

[pete l]

Try it and let us know

[Compdoc]

I'm pretty sure that a PC fan would be nowhere near as powerful as the standard Mini heater fan. Obviously depending on the year of the car, or heater.

I have an MPI 2 speed heater for my '85 Mini which has quite a powerful centrifugal fan which is not too noisy. I've quietened it down more by sticking thin sheet closed cell foam around the internal passages as well as the heater matrix to make sure that no air gets lost around the matrix. I've also fitted a 4 speed heater resistor from a Vauxhall Vectra  C, which was only £8 new and thin enough to replace the existing resistor coil of the 2 speed. (This has to be in the fan airflow to keep it cool) This means you have the choice of 4 speeds if you want to keep the fan noise down even more.

I hope this may be of some help.

[Simont]

not helpful, but if you get the heater resistor from a zafira B you can have heat (a car fire) when the engine is off,

[Compdoc]

not helpful, but if you get the heater resistor from a zafira B you can have heat (a car fire) when the engine is off,

Nice one. I must admit, I did run it on the bench for an hour.

[Ethel]

Radial fans, like you find in the heater, are more efficient and quieter than propeller style radial fans. I suspect some of the noise is down to how close the fan is to the heater matrix, little space for the airflow to smooth out before it hits the thin heat exchanger fins that must vibrate some. It could be interesting to experiment. Isolating the heater vibrations from the shell with rubber bushes / grommets, smoothing the convoluted ducting and shrouding the outlets to fire away from your ears will all be easier.

[Compdoc]

Lining the internal airways with closed cell foam, really makes a difference. I first saw it used on a you tube video when trying to quieten down my air compressor installed inside a garden storage bin. I ended up with two Z shaped double skinned ports each end (in and out) with internal foam in the ports. Using two mains powered sun bed fans, it is unbelievably quiet and the compressor stays cool..

[cal844]

not helpful, but if you get the heater resistor from a zafira B you can have heat (a car fire) when the engine is off,

Nice one. I must admit, I did run it on the bench for an hour.

Any Vauxhall!

[minimans]

You must have a well insulated mini if your worried about heater noise!

[Sprocket]

Its a Mini.......... I'd say just deal with it......... its one of those things that makes the classic Mini so quirky, cool and trendy. If you want modern comforts, drive a modern car maybe?

[RooBoonix]

I'm not worried about heater noise, I fine mine quite effective but I would like 2 speeds so I may find a way to wire in a 2 speed switch so it can run at half speed too.

[Ethel]

Most just use a big resistor in line with the motor, I'm sure you could find a suitable one in a breakers yard. Stick it in the fan's airflow to avoid doing a Vauxhall.

 

An alternative would be a PWM controller from the likes of Fleabay.

[tiger99]

Please use ONLY a PWM controller! The resistor was never a good idea, even though not all implementations were as downright dangerous as in the recent Vauxhalls. Many resistors on various cars will overheat seriously if the motor is stalled due to something jamming it, which does happen sometimes in a Mini.

 

Or maybe see here for something much more modern, lighter and more efficient:

 

http://www.carbuilde...and-ventilation

[Compdoc]

Please use ONLY a PWM controller! The resistor was never a good idea, even though not all implementations were as downright dangerous as in the recent Vauxhalls. Many resistors on various cars will overheat seriously if the motor is stalled due to something jamming it, which does happen sometimes in a Mini.

 

Or maybe see here for something much more modern, lighter and more efficient:

 

http://www.carbuilde...and-ventilation

Thanks Tiger99, all this talk of cars bursting into flames started to get me edgy so I tried running the heater blower on slow speed with the fan disconnected and it did indeed get very hot,very quickly then blew the thermal cut out built into the resistor pack. I always work on a relatively tight budget, but have decided to blow another £7 on a 10amp PWM controller, as advised.

[Ethel]

To be fair a resistor is going to reduce the load on the wiring from a stalled motor. PWM is still a better solution.