Where do you folks hang out the frostheater plug?

[leicaman]

I have a nice lovely frostheater in my B5.5 Passat and I am wondering here now out loud, can any of you folks provide a photo of how you have it on yours? I am thinking of buying that section of grill and modifying it. Then in spring put the original back in and hide the cord for the season. I am open to ideas.

 

[aja8888]

What's a frost heater?

 

[s4phillips]

What's a frost heater?

nice!!!

 

[oilhammer]

I hang them out of the left (driver's side) lower grill. And in the summer months, pop that grill out and tuck the cord back behind them. The grill just pops straight out easily with your fingers. Once out, you can squeeze the cord end between the slats, then pop it back in place.

 

[Lug_Nut]

Mine runs up to the front left corner by the top of the headlight. I have to open the hood to extract the plug from whatever secure place I've tucked it, and then open the hood again to tuck it away before driving off, but I haven't found that to be an inconvenience.

 

[oilhammer]

Wait....did I read that right? Lug Nut found something on his B5 to NOT be an inconvenience!!!

Hey, how's that Cabby doing?

 

[blaz]

Like OilHammer, I keep mine behind the left (driver's side) lower grill. Then pull the plug and line out between the grill slats when needed. The plug is a force fit through the slats, and when it's -30C, finding and pulling it out can be hard on the fingers. On the other hand, it's somewhat protected and invisible back in there.

Would also be good to have a protective cover over the plug prongs to resist corrosion, but ... I just clean them up every fall with fine sandpaper.

 

[TheGrove]

When the weather clears up this weekend I'll try to get some pictures of mine. But it is along the lines of Lug_Nut. I bring it up through a hole covered by the piece of square rubber then out under the hood. I usually leave mine hanging out, you just need to watch how much you leave out. I left too much out last winter and it marked up my hood so this winter it will be shorter.

 

[Sprocket]

I'm really glad this thread came up. I just got my FrostHeater yesterday and will be installing it today. I'll probably have the plug come through the lower grill as well.

 

[NarfBLAST]

Four holes two black zip ties and it has been in place for almost a year. Best part is you can connect and disconnect with only one hand just like those plugs that you have to drill a hole to install, but this uses the regular cord and I think is hidden better than the big round plug.

 

[TheGrove]

When Tomo installed the heater he had it coming out of the lower grill. I just found it difficult for me to get down there to plug and unplug it in the dark. So I moved it up to come out under the hood.

So here are the pictures I promised. Here is where I bring the plug up just before it exists the hood.

And here is how it looks with the hood closed.

 

[Lug_Nut]

Wait....did I read that right? Lug Nut found something on his B5 to NOT be an inconvenience!!!

Yes, a non-VW, aftermarket item, properly designed, and installed by me, following well written instructions, is not an inconvenience to use.
Unlike the B5 VW cruise control, for one.

 

[Pizzadub]

Will this work on a standard amperage home circuit on a 25 ft extension cord without blowing a fuse? 1000 watts?

 

[TheGrove]

Yes I run mine on a 25' extension cord on a 20A circuit out of my garage (actually I run one for my truck off of a different circuit as well).

 

[Sprocket]

The extension cord needs to be 14 gauge or larger though.

 

[Lug_Nut]

1k watts at 120 VAC is 8.3 amperes. I run mine of a 15 amp outlet.
I'd strongly urge that you also use a ground fault device due to the outdoor location and possibility of wet exposure.

 

[MPBsr]

I hope to have mine installed within the next 10 days.

But I did buy the protective cover. Figured it would help to keep it clean and from me getting a shock when I plug it in if it's wet.

 

[misteroboto]

Four holes two black zip ties and it has been in place for almost a year. Best part is you can connect and disconnect with only one hand just like those plugs that you have to drill a hole to install, but this uses the regular cord and I think is hidden better than the big round plug.

Looks clean. Nice work.

 

[bigEZ]

mine comes out on the passenger side. i zip tied a path along the bottom of the engine bay, out of the way of anything that looked as if it might melt the cord. don't have any pix, but it is more recessed than narfblast's; it doesn't protrude that much, but is still easy to get to and is always in a fixed place. also, i got the optional plug cover which covers the prongs when not in use and thus protects from corrosion. at the time, i think it was $2-$3 extra.