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Hot water heater questions

Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2014 10:46 am
by hooligan
At a yard sale yesterday I found a hot water heater. Just the heater unit itself, 2 wires, the switch and dash plate... So for 10$ I have it at home now. Motor works, doesn't leak, so after a little paint... I will have to find the bracketry to mount it...

The data plate on it says 24V but the motor is a 12v Motorcraft and the wiring seems to have an inline resistor. There were two wires in a bag along with the switch and dash plate. None of the wires were hooked to anything. The wire with the resistor does not have any aluminum tags. The other wire has three - 87, 106, 33.

Motorcraft is usually Ford, I think, and the first batch of Canadian M38A1's were built at the Ford plant in Windsor so maybe normal? And if normal, does anyone have a wiring diagram? Nobody at the yard sale knew anything about it...

Data plate
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Resistor
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Motor
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Thanks
Warren

Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2014 12:37 pm
by wesk
I have one of those I picked up cheap several years ago. Byron still manufactures automotive heaters.
http://bergstromstandardproducts.com/Pr ... -Units.pdf
Granted you don't see that one anymore. I was in the Air Force for 22 years and we often used vehicles that came without heaters or needed to add a rear heater to them. The tool crib stocked several model aftermarket add on heaters.

Looks like whomever used it before simply replaced a burned out 24 V motor with a 12 V motor and added the inline resistor. That heater is not a M38 unit but it could be adapted for use in the M38 with a bit of work. If you are 24V in the M38 just use the resistor.

Would need to see an overall photo of the entire assy to be of any more help.

Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2014 4:49 pm
by hooligan
Thanks Wes. It's actually for an A1 CDN2 and "looks" like the right unit but you are most likely correct. Somebody converted to 12v and then removed the heater for maintenance, never putting it back.

I got to fill the dash hole with the correct switch and plate so it wasn't a complete loss :-)

Pictures (one's a bit blurry):
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Warren

Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2014 10:11 pm
by wesk
That's the same unit I have but mine still has the 24 volt motor. Did you say it came from a M38A1 CDN2 or that you planned to put it in a M38A1 CDN2?

HOT WATER HEATER - INSTALLATION MANUAL

Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 1:14 am
by bluewatersailor
If you can't find it on this site (doubtful), I have scanned the 17 page installation manual. The folder is 2.4 mb. Let me know if you need it and I'll put it into DropBox. dwm

Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 5:48 am
by hooligan
Wes, when I found it at the yard sale, it looked like the ones in the pictures I'd seen at various sites, so yes, assuming it worked, the plan was to put it in my CDN2, once I found the fender mount. Everything else, distribution box, etc., including the mounting holes in the fender, are already on the vehicle. So now I'm on the hunt for a low buck motor as well as the bracketry... A long term project :)

Thanks bluewatersalior, I tracked down "TB-9-2855-43 Personel Hot-Water Heater Kit" last night... I appreciate the offer though...

Warren

Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 9:02 am
by wesk
Warren, Did you download the copy on our Downloads Page?

I just looked at that again and now I see the resistor is actually for controlling the motor/fan speed. I also noticed the electric motor is not listed in the parts list.

Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 3:54 pm
by hooligan
No, I didn't see it there. I found a 1956 version at archive.org... I'm looking at some cheap DC-DC convertor ideas to see if maybe I can get away with the 12v motor... No rush with out the bracket though... Plus the unit goes up on jack stands sometime in the next month... We got snowed on last night :-(

Warren