sound and heat shield under bonnet of RS??

[gldgti]

Mysticality,
Sorry, but I've got to ask the obvious. When you turn the Climatronic on are you hitting the "Recirculate" button on the console as well?

EDIT: The seat heaters are electric, so shouldn't be affected by any changes in coolant temp.

I pretty much never use recirc (my own choice, I just prefer fresh air) and agree that the heater is pretty slow unless you do

My octavia definately doesn't have an electric heater!

[Tigger]

so...I think we are all getting a bit confused.

The SEAT warmers are electric, and have nothing to do with the aircon or heater HVAC system.
They are not dependant on the HVAC at all.

Is that what we all agree on?

[BottomScratcher]

I pretty much never use recirc (my own choice, I just prefer fresh air) and agree that the heater is pretty slow unless you do

My octavia definately doesn't have an electric heater!

Like I said, it's an obvious question, but if the fresh air coming in is near freezing, then it's going to impact on the heaters ability to warm the air inside the car up.

I can't imagine the size of the 12V battery needed to power a 1000W heater. The only other heater I know of is what Skoda calls the auxillary heater, known more commonly in Europe as night heaters. They are nothing short of bloody marvelous if you're in a place where there are real winters. The car ones are adapted from Wabasto truck night heaters used by European truckies with sleeper cabs.

All they do is take a small amount of fuel from the main fuel tank to a burner unit that heats the engine coolant, then its own small, low power draw fan forces heated air into the car interior. They can be operated by an an on/off timer, so are great for snowy climes. Just set it to come on a couple of hours before you plan on driving and forget about scraping ice from windscreens, and getting a foot of snow off the car - giving the driver more time to dig out the driveway.

[Mysticality]

Mysticality,
Sorry, but I've got to ask the obvious. When you turn the Climatronic on are you hitting the "Recirculate" button on the console as well?

EDIT: The seat heaters are electric, so shouldn't be affected by any changes in coolant temp.

Nope. No recirc. I only ever use that on the Sydney highway tunnels.

And yes, I realise that the seat heaters are electric. I just thought it was interesting that both the seat heaters and the Climatronic heater kicked in at roughly the same time. Its like a big relaxing warmth.
Imagine the logistics of running engine coolant lines into the cab and under ya bum!!

[BottomScratcher]

Nope. No recirc. I only ever use that on the Sydney highway tunnels.

And yes, I realise that the seat heaters are electric. I just thought it was interesting that both the seat heaters and the Climatronic heater kicked in at roughly the same time. Its like a big relaxing warmth.
Imagine the logistics of running engine coolant lines into the cab and under ya bum!!

OK. That's most likely why your heater is struggling. If you've got a continual stream of cold air, even at 10C, coming in through your fresh air vents, then it's just not getting enough time to get heated before exiting the floor/face/demister/rear seating vents. The higher your speed the greeter the volume of cold air coming in. Try heating with the air recirculating, and see if it keeps you a bit warmer.

I love the seat heaters! "A big relaxing warmth" is a good description.

As for running engine coolant lines into the cab and under my bum, I had enough trouble fitting an extra under seat storage box that's made to go there!

[Mysticality]

As for running engine coolant lines into the cab and under my bum, I had enough trouble fitting an extra under seat storage box that's made to go there!

Ooh! Another question!
How much room is there between the plastic BT-unit cover and the bottom of the storage box?
I've mounted my UHF receiver ontop of that, but I want some more places to put things. The glove box just isn't big enough!

[BottomScratcher]

Ooh! Another question!
How much room is there between the plastic BT-unit cover and the bottom of the storage box?
I've mounted my UHF receiver ontop of that, but I want some more places to put things. The glove box just isn't big enough!

There should be a storage box under the passenger seat. The one that goes under the driver's side (I got mine from Superskoda) is the same shape and size. Have a look at your pax side one, and there's your answer.

[Brycem]

Like I said, it's an obvious question, but if the fresh air coming in is near freezing, then it's going to impact on the heaters ability to warm the air inside the car up.

I can't imagine the size of the 12V battery needed to power a 1000W heater. The only other heater I know of is what Skoda calls the auxillary heater, known more commonly in Europe as night heaters. They are nothing short of bloody marvelous if you're in a place where there are real winters. The car ones are adapted from Wabasto truck night heaters used by European truckies with sleeper cabs.

All they do is take a small amount of fuel from the main fuel tank to a burner unit that heats the engine coolant, then its own small, low power draw fan forces heated air into the car interior. They can be operated by an an on/off timer, so are great for snowy climes. Just set it to come on a couple of hours before you plan on driving and forget about scraping ice from windscreens, and getting a foot of snow off the car - giving the driver more time to dig out the driveway.

I used to have a webasto auxiliary heater on vw touran 2.0 tdi sport back in the UK (sadly not a model ever sold here). It couldn't be programmed but would boost the normal heater when the temperature was below 6 degrees. It was powered by diesel from the fuels tank. The only problem with it was that the exhaust outlet was located half way up the side of the car exiting just under the drivers door so you often got a blast of fumes when you opened the door.

[BottomScratcher]

I used to have a webasto auxiliary heater on vw touran 2.0 tdi sport back in the UK (sadly not a model ever sold here). It couldn't be programmed but would boost the normal heater when the temperature was below 6 degrees. It was powered by diesel from the fuels tank. The only problem with it was that the exhaust outlet was located half way up the side of the car exiting just under the drivers door so you often got a blast of fumes when you opened the door.

Australia has a history of adopting some European ideas, but not others. Add to the mix that we are such a small market to make some of them not commercially viable, but a barrier to many of them seems to be the attitude that the products aren't needed in Australia. I'd argue, that depends on where you live in Australia. Not so long ago people laughed at the idea of double glazing. In many new homes now it's industry standard.

The best example of the attitude, "But that's the way we always do it" I know of is the United States Postal Service, that had an architect design "a" post office, and then went about building them from literally one end of the country to the other. This one is in Key West Florida. The coldest day ever recorded in Key West was 5C in 1886, and there has never been a frost there. Nice snow roof, eh?

[DunlopRS]

We have experienced many mornings <-5^oC this winter. Although I have not had an issue with the heater (car in the garage overnight and I love the heated seats) I have been somewhat concerned with the time taken for the engine to reach "normal" operating temperature. I don't have an in to the computer, so I am basing this on the behaviour of the temperature "gauge". I seem to have driven (quitely) for about 10 km before it gets to 90oC - and more than 5 before it lifts off the stop. Been thinking about one of those shields to go over the lower part of the grill to reduce the air flow thru the radiator.......... I guess the sensor is on the engine side of the thermostat (and I guess that should not make much difference anyway because I assume there is always some coolant flow thru the radiator)?

at least its warming up now....