webasto blueheat

[absolutetraitor]

does anyone know of a greater toronto area installer of these magical things, or if there's even a jetta V application available.

my new 06.5 will be doing a lot of short trips, and until global warming gives southern ontario a virginia-like climate, this blueheat thingy really seems like the ticket. even at 2000 bucks.

i've noticed that there's not a lot of chatter about blueheat here, so i thought i'd ask.

 

[IXLR8]

Sorry, I can't help you directly. Doesn't the Webasto web site have a listing of dealers/installers? Or does that only cover the US?

 

[absolutetraitor]

they have a list, but honestly i'd rather have one reccomended by a fellow tdi'er.

 

[VwPodRacer]

go to one of the dealers on the site... they are really good... and you can only get yours installed by a dealer if you want to have a warranty webasto's are famous for bigger diesel engines that are in trucks and buses... due to diesels dont heat up quickly unless they are IDI.... In Direct Injection

 

[absolutetraitor]

so i assume you have a blueheat?

 

[jollyGreenGiant]

Just finished an install on mine last night, not for the faint of heart. I installed one in a B4V ( 96 passat wagon ) and the newer VW's are supported from Webasto with unique harness and complete instructions as far as I know, much easier than what I went through. But, I would say that anyone that is capable of installing it and making it work should probably do a pretty good job as it's pretty complex as it is. I've seen a 2004 Jetta install from the local installer and they did a great job.

Find an installer and have them do it if you want one ( you do, trust me... rationalizing the expense is a different story though ), that way you keep the warranty and I don't think there are too many TDIClub individuals that have any experience installing them since parts are available to regular users through normal channels. Anyone that does a lot of these should really have it down and do a great job, I learned a real lot about the system , steep learning curve I would say in terms of installing them.

 

[Birdman]

Mine had the wires all laid out and with the help of a club member Installed it. good investment if you keep the car as long as I do, 1200us with the Webasto remote that is not as powerful as the VW one which is more expensive. Most dealers will not sell to the general public as they are suppose to do the install.

 

[absolutetraitor]

i had the blueheat installed by TAG inc in niagara falls (canadian side) they came reccomended by a tdi clubber, whose name i can't recall. there was a few glitchs in the install process. a 2005 kit was used and required a little jiggering to make it all work in the mkV, but the result is stellar. a pretty solid bunch of guys from what my spidy senses tell me. extremely apologetic that it took a few extra hours to button up.

the blueheat system is awesome, it's like having a car with air conditioning in the summer... once you have it, you wonder how you ever lived without it. i don't even drive the car regularly, but from what my wife tells me, the 10 minute preheat that i programmed for the morning and afternoon, combined with running the system while driving, has the car fully warmed up within 2km of leaving the garage. our overnight temps southern ontario have bin around -5 c lately. my garage is not heated.

i am curious as to what the oil temps are like on start up though, i will have to investigate and post back.

 

[Scott_DeWitt]

Webasto units are popular in Europe and even came installed from the factory.

 

[absolutetraitor]

yeah, europe is just better. get to berlin, the women are insane.

 

[Antsrcool]

the girls in amsterdam i had a fun time with

 

[david_594]

I have to ditto what Jollygreen said. Its not rocket science to install, but it is defenitely a long process. (Some will disagree with me) but I think you are better off with a webasto specialist than a vw specialist to install it. There is defenitely a mk5 wiring harness avaiable so they shouldnt have an issue installing it in your vehicle.

I installed mine last winter and it is defenitely great to have. No regrets.

 

[LNXGUY]

Webasto units are popular in Europe and even came installed from the factory.

Apparently in most of the northern countries like Sweden and Norway, they are on pretty much every VW right from the dealer.

 

[Cameron]

I wouldn't shy away from doing it yourself. I had a hard time at first because they gave me a bum unit. (blowing smoke all over the place like a aircraft carrier throwing up a screen) But, if I look back, the install wasn't that hard. You have to plan ahead a bit (what to remove, how you're going to run stuff) and understand the system. If you have a good grasp of the install before you go into it, it shouldn't take more then a weekend. And, it is does, you can always stop at certain points and still use the car if you hold on particular things...like connecting the coolant hoses. There are a couple write-ups here and using them along with the info that came with the kit, you can do it. One of the reasons I shy away from the Webasto installers is that, at least here, (balmy southern New England) it seemed hard to find a Webasto dealer that was well versed in the BlueHeat install. I mean, there was plenty of dealers around but do I want the guy who usually installs Webasto sunroofs to be screwing under my hood?

By the way, how ever you install it...it is nice!!

 

[grimkiller]

why dont you save yourself 2 grand and get a zerostart circulation heater. i paid 75$ i think it was for the 1500W. the thing heats works awesome. it will heat the coolant to about 80 degrees C. it took maybe an hour to install. it comes in a kit but i found the hose clamps they provide arent up to clamping tight enough so a whole 4$ for SS hose clamps and 5$ for some 5/8" rad hose iirc. http://www.zerostart.com/pub_AppGuides.asp page 73 on the adobe reader actual page is 71 on the page the coolant heater is on there its the Automotive & Light Truck Heaters. i got the 1500 because the power where i am is on for an hour then off for 2. if you think you need that big make sure you have a timer it doesnt need to be on that long

 

[david_594]

why dont you save yourself 2 grand and get a zerostart circulation heater.

Because the webasto is better in nearly every regard. Ive owned both(at the same time even). The Zerostart is great if you have a plug everywhere you park your car and electricity is free(not my case).

I am pretty sure ever other person here who owns a webasto will agree with me.

 

[grimkiller]

it is a fuel fired coolant heater is it not? it costs you either way. but if you dont have access to power the blue heat would probably be the way to go. i like the zerostart works great for me.

 

[david_594]

it is a fuel fired coolant heater is it not? it costs you either way. but if you dont have access to power the blue heat would probably be the way to go. i like the zerostart works great for me.

With the zerostart you are talking 2 - 3 hours at 1000 watt-h's per hour. Local electric rate here is 12 cents per kilowatt hours so $.24 - .36 per use.

Webasto uses .16 gallons per hour running on high. A heating time of 10-20 minutes will provide a hot engine on startup which works out to .03 - .06 gallons per startup. So even with diesel currently at $3.50/gallon one is only looking at $.10 -.20 per use.

 

[gern_blanston]

Plus the original $1,500 price differential.

 

[Antsrcool]

ive seen davids webasto and was ultimately impressed fascinated etc....had no idea somethign like that existed. If i had the money it would certainly be for me. The scheduler and the powering up of your hvac fan are all amazing to me.

 

[jollyGreenGiant]

I am pretty sure ever other person here who owns a webasto will agree with me.

Best thing since sliced bread.

In these temps lately ( ~30-40 ), my car is toasty warm inside and the temp gauge is 1-2/3rds hot in about 20 minutes and the burner is cycling between low and no output modes already. When the burner is on high, it pumps some amazing heat into the system. Once everything is hot it just maintains. My install uses a 1 ohm resistor ( although I have a 1.5 that I can swap at will which will drop the fan speed a bit and reduce current draw quite a bit too, 1 ohm might be overkill but I'll need some icy and snowy "test" mornings ) for the interior blower motor control so it draws roughly 12 amps and like David said the fuel consumption is hardly noticable, I'll have to run a few more tanks to see really what kind of difference running this daily has on fuel range, since the engine is hot when starting, you don't run "rich" during the warmup phase and there should be less frictional losses too so theoretically the fuel used to warm the engine and interior may be a plus over driving off stone cold.

Bottom line is if you are going to own a TDI for any length of time ( as we all plan too pretty much ), the Webasto unit is a complete win-win, gotta think big picture and amortize this unit over the cars life as well as resale value, I know I would pay more for the Webasto unit.

I'm not kicking sand at the Zerostart cause it's good for what it is but it's like an electric blanket with an on/off switch compared to a fully automated blast furnace...

 

[IXLR8]

I loved my Webasto... until it quit working. It is past the warranty period, and I am having trouble finding somebody to work on it. I suspect all it needs is the glow plug. I at least need to find a garage to pull the bumper so I can get the thing apart to sort out just what is wrong with it. It was so nice coming out of work at 7pm the last few winters to a warm de-iced car and just driving away. When my co-workers were busy scraping snow and ice off their cars. I liked being able to use it when there was no power available, I liked using it when stuck in traffic for 30 min in 15dF weather. I HATED the price!! Comfort comes at a price.

 

[jollyGreenGiant]

There's two manuals on the Webasto site that show repair information, part numbers and such for the thermotop units. Basically the burner unit is replaced as one piece, no seperate glow plug from them but I suppose you could source one yourself with some legwork.

I would recommend however bringing it to an authorized service and installer and see what they can do for you as a start.

 

[weasel]

For me it was simple solution. I went with the Zerostart because I have power and work had plug-in's available. Now the power is gone at work and with 12 hour shifts, my baby's gonna be cold. If I had the cash I'd have a Webasto.

 

[dasher 1980]

For anybody in E. Mass, S.ME S. NH I recommend American Auto Aftermarket in Billerica MA. # 866-783-6222. They can do warranty work as well.

They did my install and they do more heater installs than anybody in New England. I was a former Rep for Webasto and so can attest that a Webasto sunroof installer absolutely cannot just "do" heater installs. It takes separate trainings to be authorized. Many would not do heaters because cutting a roof was easier work for them and they didn't want to mess with fuel/wiring etc.

Duplication is the key--it will take a shade tree guy a weekend to do it--and why screw with the warranty?

Warm car = sliced bread; nicely put JGG... I might add that avoiding cold starts is one of the kindest things you can do for any engine that you plan on keeping a while.

 

[redlinedave]

Got pictures?

 

[Birdman]

why dont you save yourself 2 grand and get a zerostart circulation heater. i paid 75$ i think it was for the 1500W. the thing heats works awesome. it will heat the coolant to about 80 degrees C. it took maybe an hour to install. it comes in a kit but i found the hose clamps they provide arent up to clamping tight enough so a whole 4$ for SS hose clamps and 5$ for some 5/8" rad hose iirc. http://www.zerostart.com/pub_AppGuides.asp page 73 on the adobe reader actual page is 71 on the page the coolant heater is on there its the Automotive & Light Truck Heaters. i got the 1500 because the power where i am is on for an hour then off for 2. if you think you need that big make sure you have a timer it doesnt need to be on that long

IT might heat the car up while you are in the drive way but in stop and go traffic it will not do you any good. I can turn mine on anytime while driving and get the temps right back up. I normally turn mine on when I get in the car in the Am then the car is heated up by the time i get out my 1 mile lane. Cost is high but so are OEM euro headlights or any of the dozens of mods we have done on our cars.

 

[IXLR8]

For anybody in E. Mass, S.ME S. NH I recommend American Auto Aftermarket in Billerica MA. # 866-783-6222. They can do warranty work as well.

Thanks.. I had heard there was a shop in Billerica... I just didn't know who. I will give them a call.

 

[absolutetraitor]

here's the advantage, with a zerostart, you have to plug in. Even if you have power at work to plug into, that doesn't really help you at the grocery store, beer store, mall. i use my blueheat at all those places. and i use it when i run the car in the cold weather too. especially on the DSG, cause the auto box, likes to let the motor fall on it's face, thusly not retaining nearly as much heat.

my 5 speed 01 golf warms up much faster when i hold the gears a little longer, and down shift a little earlier, rather than letting it idle. the DSG, while possible to manually shift (although i don't do it when the tranny's cold) pretty much keeps the motor at low revs. furthermore the wife refuses to grasp the concept of different gear ratio's for different speeds (despite a lesson involving a bicycle as a visual aid) so for us, the blue heat is the bee's knee's.

oh she could learn, she just doesn't want to.

 

[jollyGreenGiant]

Funny that this thread got bumped on a day where in my neck of the woods it's 95 F and humid...