I went ahead and mounted the heater and wired in a switch I found that looked heavy duty. The metal coil was surrounded by the porcelain insulation, instead of the metal being wrapped around the porcelain itself. This setup seemed safer in my opinion. Not knowing the voltage of this particular switch, I put the reducer between the ignition and the switch. When I turned the system on, It worked!!! However, I feel that the blower still runs a little slow, even on high.
Now for the kicker. I mounted the reducer in the engine compartment on the firewall due to the heat buildup. Boy did that sucker get hot! I couldn't even touch it with my bare hands. It even started to melt the insulation off the wires attached to it! I'm seriously thinking of just doing away with the reducer and running the motor on low. Low speed on 12V is just a little faster than High speed on 6V so I shouldn't burn the motor out too soon, right? Hey, I'm just an electrical novice, but I'm willing to learn. I just don't want to toast my truck!!
If I blow the motor, I'll go with the 12V replacement from Grainger, but I'll have to find a different blower wheel to accomodate the smaller shaft diameter. Anyone know of a source for either the wheel or a shaft adapter? I've asked about shaft adapters, and just gotten some blank stares.
Thanks for any and all help/advice
