Heating a Max II with Cab

[Max King]

Hi Guys

I'm new here.
I have a Max II with the 23hp Kohler Engine. The heat the engine gives off
is good down to zero out. After that it gets frosted up and chilly. I plow
snow with it I need good heat. Anybody have any good ideas? Tried small
electric heaters but not good enough.

[Killr]

Heating a Max 11 with Cab

I've got a 2007 Max 11 with the 23 hp Kohler and all I did was install two small 150 watts window defrosters.Has soon as the winshield starts to defrost I use the only the fans because the engine doesn't make enough current to run anything but the lights.

[jerseybigfoot]

The golf cart folks have a small propane heater that fits a cup holder.

[Max King]

Max Heater

Thanks for the ideas.

I tired the electric heaters blew a fuse, can try turning them off.

the propane in a cup holder might be dangerous could get a grilled face.

How about a VW gas heater maybe? out of an old beetle. Might melt the body.

Anybody else have any great ideas?

[liflod]

Install a bilge fan from a boat store into the engine compartment and use it to blow hot air from the engine to the front of the machine through the sides of the upper body.
That's the set up I have on my Max IV and it works pretty good on chilly rides, but I don't have a full enclosure to keep the heat in. My feet stay warm.

[Max King]

Thanks for the tip. I was looking at bilge fans, I tried a car radiator fan but too much cooling from out side it was mounted over the engine blowing air down and in. There its a lot of heat coming off the motor keeps the seat warm the fan can be use to cool it in the summer. Where did you mount it? Not sure where it would fit in a max II. I am going to try it on a max IV and Max II.
Sounds like it would work great.
Thanks again!!

[liflod]

http://www.6x6world.com/forums/max-atvs/1288-max-iv-mods.html#post5392

hERE'S A LINK TO THE DISCUSSION

[BChunter]

Max II with a cab

I just bought a Max IV and as you can see in the pics, the cover goes over the engine cover to collect engine heat which is forced into the cab. I have the option of snapping it onto the forward side of engine cover for warm days. Seller said he could ice fish in his shorts.

[Max King]

Hey Guy's:

I found a heater that runs on propane bottles at a army surplus store it has forced air and heat tubes runs on 12volts but it would have to be mounted outside the cab. I might try it should be able to mount it on the cargo carrier.
Its maked for tents and ice houses. Wind might blow it out?

[Max King]

heating a MAX II with cab

Out of all the rider's out there, some one must have figured out how to heat the Max II. All ideas would be apprecitated. It's going to get cold soon lets get ready! need more heat.

[Eldon]

I have a 150 watt defroster that the alternator will handle.It won't show a charge unless you have it at about 1/2 throttle though and it really isn't all that effective.I use it to defog the windshield and once the glass is warmed it stays for a while.I don't seal my cab off tight though as I'm paranoid of carbon monoxide fumes.I find a fair amount of heat comes up through the holes by the levers and it helps a lot.My Max II is also a 23 hp Kohler and I find on the left side there is a fair amount of heat comes through the body opening between the upper and lower body of course on the side with the muffler.I am thinking about incorporating a fan on this side in this small opening to draw heat out and force it either at the windshield or blow it across towards the other side.Its hard to get a real good system with an air cooled engine and propane and kerosene heaters all have their own risks.There is a system some argo buddies have tried with some success in which a sealed flexible metal vent like used on clothes dryers and small exhaust fans in which one open end from one side of the cab passes in the engine compartment then the other end returns to the cab on the other side.A fan at one end hauls the slightly warmer than outside air through the hot portion in the engine muffler area and blows it to the other side of the cab recirculating the cab air and in thoery does not pump fumes from the engine compartment as it is a sealed tube there.The aluminum flex line absorbs and conducts the heat pretty good.In the Max II as in other amphibians space is at a premium everything is easier said than done.

[Roger S]

I'm not that familiar with how a II is laid out, but Liflod and I both use marine blowers.. not the squirrel cage kind, but it looks like a propeller in a tube. I use mine on the argo, it uses 4 amps, 1/2 what the stock blower uses. 150 cfm on a 3" tube, it would defrost a windshield and also blow on the feet. I'd shroud the header pipes and duct the heat. If worried about carbon monoxide, fix your exhaust and buy a monoxide alarm.

[Eldon]

The way a MaxII is laid out with the rear mount engine and rear exhaust with engine compartment vents in the rear one could suck exhaust into the cab when idling.A carbon monoxide detector is definitely a good idea though not infallible.A ducted heat exchange system would be getting its air supply from the front as far as possible from the exhaust . The three inch 150 cfm blower would be perfect.IMHO.

[Max King]

Max II heat

Do you have any pictures of the duct work set up in your Max II. The
carbonmonoxid detector is a good idea, even with out a heater. The Max to is really limited for space, for any big heating system. I wish it had a liquid cooled engine so I could put a Jeep or cargo heater in it.
Below about 10 degrees is when it starts to forst up.
I plow parking lots all day long with the Max II, it works better than my Jeep.
Really good heat would be nice, I don't know if it's possible.

A small liquid heating system, thats affordable would be the best.
I found some piping to wrap a liquid cooling jacket around to exhaust muffler, that would work for $ 800, much to expensive.
Any ideas how it could be made, cheaply?

I won't give up until I'm warm.
We all can be warn when its cold out, if we solve this problem.

Thanks for the feed back. 2 heads are better than one.

[Max King]

I finally found something that helps keep you warm. I bought a pair of heated snowmoblie/motorcycle gloves that just plug in. they keep your hands hot!! They really make a big difference when plowing snow.