Source for accordion heater hose - solved!

[deschutestrout]

78 bay ... anyone know who carries the big (4 1/2" or so) heater hose that runs from the rear up to the front? Or, anyone have a successful "hippie fix" they've used? One end has deteriorated and keeps breaking at the clamp. Thanks!

[Amskeptic]

78 bay ... anyone know who carries the big (4 1/2" or so) heater hose that runs from the rear up to the front? Or, anyone have a successful "hippie fix" they've used? One end has deteriorated and keeps breaking at the clamp. Thanks!

Get superior high R-value insulated HVAC flexible duct hose and zip tie it to the shifter tube and clamp properly to the ends.
That outta do ya.
Colin

[vwlover77]

My "hippie fix" was/is black PVC pipe with rubber couplers at each end. In addition to heat, I get a nice little sound of engine growl coming up the pipe when the heater is on!

[deschutestrout]

the rubber withstands the ... eh hem ... heat ok?

[Amskeptic]

the rubber withstands the ... eh hem ... heat ok?

There are BA rubber couplers designed to exhaust furnace gases that can.
Black plastic PVC pipe should be sheathed in HVAC Insulated Duct.
So Say I,
Colin

[vwlover77]

Yes. No issues with the rubber couplings so far. They are standard sewer pipe couplers, as far as I know. I've been thinking about sheathing the pipe to reduce heat loss, but have not gotten to it yet!

[deschutestrout]

Easy fix, using old, original hose. The hose had sheared off at the rear clamp, and was now about 1 1/2" too short. Rest of the hose was well sheathed ... front was getting brittle too. Bought 2 galvanized 4" duct connectors ... drilled out a couple rivets to give make it easy to slide them on the ends ... clamped up, zip tied up .... ready again to not have "quite" enough heat . Thanks all for your suggestions. Ready for winter driving.

[surfdad]

I have been working on this project and finally have decent heat and defrost at the front. I have not found what I need for the cabin split offs yet so they are capped for now. For the straight pipe I used 6" or 8 inch ducting cut to length and wrapped and overlapped so it fit like a hard pipe. hose clamps every 6inches helps cinch down the overlap so its the same shap all the way. The tube forward to the front vent tube was constructed using a number 3 inch ducting adjustable elbows. and one small peice of straight 3 inch ducting. These elbows have three points you can twist for just abount any shape. This allows for snaking up through the strap loop and through the front beam and into the belly pan. Once finished I use foild ducting tape to seal all the seams then painted the tubes with some basic rustoleum. Once dried I blanketed the tube with a layer of reflectex held by zip ties.

My goal was to have a heat pipe with as much straight smooth airflow as possible and the reduction of heat loss as the air traveled to the front. Unfortunately none of my photos have been transferred to a computer yet.

[Amskeptic]

Unfortunately none of my photos have been transferred to a computer yet.

Then it didn't really happen . . .