The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay 6v heater question

back in Oct. i picked up a 1946 weather king heater (if anyone has heard of this brand PLEASE let me know, i cannot find anything on this neat little heater) at a swap meet, i took it all apart and completely restored it. but my question is, can the 6v motor run in my 55.2 12v system? i know that 6v starters don't know the difference, but can these little 6v motors work on 12 volts without going up in a little mushroom cloud?


i'm sorry if i put this in the wrong area, but i wasn't sure where to post this .



Indy

Simple answer NO.

If you've converted to 12v then you're only choices are to get a
12v motor or use a whapping large dropping resistor to drop the
12v down to 6v.

Denny G

I'm not totally disagreeing with Denny BUT my experience has been a touch different. In another life I had a 55.1 panel truck that I converted to 12v. I never put a voltage reducer on anything. I put 12v bulbs and coil on the truck and then put over 100K miles on it with no issues. The gas gauge worked fine as did the heater motor. That said I can't say you'll have the same experience. Maybe I was just lucky. If you can find a 12v motor to fit you would likely be safer by swapping it out. I'm just saying the old adage that one MUST put voltage drops on these things isn't necessarily true. Am I just one in a million??? My wife thinks so.

I too have gotten away with 12 volts to a 6 volt fan motor. And that is is what I did, got away with it. For the best solution, change to a 12 volt motor if you can find it. If that is not an option, then get a "dropping" resistor, and yes they are big and get hot! You will save the switch and fan control if and only if you have a fuse inline on the main hot wire to the control switch. Oh, the things I used to do. You have spent the time and effort to get the heater and clean it up. You have spent the time to restore it. Don't risk doing it all over because you need a resister. Just my 2 cents worth.

thanks guys, i can't locate a 12v motor to put in this heater (it has two shafts, one on either end of the motor, so it is very difficult trying to find a replacement motor as you can imagine, and i would like to keep it original) but i was considering installing a voltage reducer if nothing else worked as my truck has the original 12 volt system in it.




Indy

There are a ton of double shaft 12v blower/fan motors out there. Try the AP AIR site, they give a lot of dimensions. 1,2,3 speeds, shaft sizes, etc.
Volvo, GM, and lots of others have used them for decades.

thanks, I'll definitely check them out




Indy