What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

Rear Defrost

Rooster53

Rooster53

Registered Member
Joined
May 8, 2000
Posts
41
Reaction score
2
Location
CT
So winter is apon us and the rear defrost issue is back. After extensive research I have found this web site: frostfighter.com they sell this kit...

"Clear View Defroster Kits
Complete Defroster/Defogger Kits. The Frost Fighter Clear View Kits have everything you need to install a high quality defroster that melts snow and ice plus clears mist instantly. Clear View Kits provide full rear window coverage with an attractive factory look. The thin, dark brown grid lines come on pre-spaced rolls for easy installation. This kits is complete, with full instructions, pre-assembled wiring and electronic timing switch that make it easy to install. Available in three sizes. $45.95"

I plan on installing this kit and then tinting over it, hopefully this will prevent the kit from being detroyed when it goes up and down in the tailgate. I have also talked to every GM dealership in CT and they all say no Suburban window w/ defrost will ever fit in a K5, they used different size glass. Does anyone know if thats true?

Has anyone attempted this or anything like it? As soon as the project is complete I will post pictures.

The Rooster
 
Looking at that site, it appears the brass bar on the side has a tab which sticks out. How are you going to allow for that to slide down into the channel? It looks to me you would have to cut out a piece from the rubber and maybe even the metal to allow it to not get hit on the way down.

About the only way I see this working would be to run that brass thing all the way down below the rubber channel so the wire is always inside the tailgate. Even then, it seems like it might be easier to hang a hairdryer back there ... :haha:
 
I think frankin5 is onto something there. Either a Suburban rear heater or something similar would be good back there. I know on the cold frosty mornings so far my rear window has been thawed off enough to see through it just about the time I got to work.
 
Ditto!--I put a rear heater in my 72 K5 ,I found a nice one in a school bus under one of the rear seats--aftermarket ones like a Zero-Start brand fit well,they look like one of those ceramic house space heaters,about the size of a small boombox speaker..mine would not only defrost the rear and side windows,if I left it on more than ten minutes it would get up to 90+ degrees!..I could melt a foot of snow off its roof in about 10 minutes once the engine warmed up!..:D

I ran 20' of heater hoses and I plumbed in some "Y" fittings to the stock heater hoses,also put shut off ball valves in them ,so I could kill the heat in warm weather,and in case the heater hoses ever leaked..one did when the zip ties I used broke and let it SINGE against the muffler!..I wouldn't use copper tubing because all the heat would probably dissapate before it got to the rear heater,unless it was well insulated..
 
Aren't the Suburban factory rear heaters (at least our vintage) electric?

That said I'm just not a big fan of running coolant lines all the way back there.
 
I have no clue about the stock rear heater,it could be electric,but I think all you can get from 12V is about 300 watts,hardly enough to warm a hell of a lot..I'd stick with hot water heat if it were me,its worth the hassle of running the heater hose back there..there is probably some new piping like they use for radiant heat in houses they didn't have back when I plumbed my heater up,thats durable and could be insulated ,if you dont want to use regular heater hoses..

I recall a plumber I knew from work,who did some work in our home a few times--one cold winter day he came to replace a leaking well water pressure tank,and he was driving a big P-30 Step-Van,and he had one of those 20 lb gas grill propane bottles,with a "sunflower" type heater on it, with 3 burners glowing in the back of it,he said the heater core went in it,and he didn't have time to fix it--"Sucks having no defroster in this icebox more than anything "...but the propane heater works,its just not so great at keeping the frost off the windows!..

I looked at the setup and said "hmmm--looks kinda dangerous to me!"--and I told him how in my teens,I had a '63 VW Bus,and I tried using a keresene wick style heater in it once,and nearly roached it when it spilled fuel all over the rug when I took a sharp corner,and if it hadn't been snow on the ground,I could never have put the fire out,luckily flinging snow on the rug extinguished it!..he laughed ,and said,"yeah,we'll do anything not to be cold ,huh?"..

Then I had a thought ,and said "Hey,your a plumber,how come you didn't put baseboard heat in it"??..his eyes widenend and he says "yeah!..thats a GOOD idea!"..I told him I had seen ice racing cars that guys put strips of baseboard heaters up on the dash for defrosters,after they had to strip the entire interior out ( rules of racing)..--when he returned a few days later with the new pressure tank to install,he was beaming,and said "Hey,get in,check it out"..
I got in,and he had put two 8' sections pof the baseboard heat in it,and it was about 90 degrees inside the can!--he said "I gotta put some shutoff valves on them,its TOO hot in here now,I hate to see what it'd be like this summer ,if I cant shut the hot water off to them!".."but I still gotta fix the heater core,to get the defroster to work,even with it "hot" in here the windshield still fogs up bad"!..
 
I think the idea of the Suburban rear heaters is to just basically take the edge off. Clean off the windows and help the rest of the system to warm the truck.

Sorta like the small space heater I have sitting here behind me in my office.
 
AJMBLAZER said:
Aren't the Suburban factory rear heaters (at least our vintage) electric?

That said I'm just not a big fan of running coolant lines all the way back there.
Click to expand...


no they are coolant fed with their own fan. hi and low and a vac shut off run mine next to the rear air set up.when it is hot out side.
 
Has anyone looked into the Bronco setup? The reason I ask is that my SIL's 94 Bronco has a roll up rear window and a defroster setup. I haven't had a chance to look at it closely, but surely there is a way to make this setup work on our Blazers. I know my Krusty only has a real issue with keeping the mist off of it, which makes the window basically useless during any bad weather. However, when I start it up it can take a long time to clear that window.
 
Yep. Cold (high 30's) and raining here today and I drove The Blazer for a good 45 minutes to an hour this afternoon/early evening and the rear window was still foggy even when I was getting cooked up front.

I'm starting to be all for some kind of a rear heater, even a small electric heater mounted on one of the rear wheel humps. Just something making it warmer in the rear of the vehicle.
 
My thinking right now is to get one that is slightly larger than necessary vertically. This would allow me to mount it with the electrical tabs below the seals when the window is in the fully up position. That would prevent damaging the unit, while still allowing the window to move freely. I am thinking that is probably how Ford did it with the Bronco, but I will double check as soon as I see my SIL.

AJM, heavy snow this morning, I cleared the window off before leaving work, by the time I got home it was again covered, but now with frozen water and snow, so I see the need for something back there.
 
Yeah, I keep cooking myself, turning down the blower speed, and then realizing every window other than the windshield is foggy.

I'm too used to Big Ugly's single cab and my Tracker's constant heat loss (just ran the fan on high and max heat all the time in the winter).
 
If your A/C works, the defrost is way more effective.
 
My A/C still works, with R-12, but it doesn't help much with the frost and freezing water that builds on the outside of the rear window without a wing to help break it up. I do have a wind around here, guess I could install it.:thinking:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom