Model a Ford adjustable hot water heater thermostat questions
 

So I’m cleaning up the shop and downsizing my collection and some model a bits .So ran across a couple of hot water heater thermostats. So what was the purpose of them and is it just one of the neat accessories . Cool or crap?
Thanks

Re: Model a Ford adjustable hot water heater thermostat questions
 

Hot water heaters take their hot water from the engine outlet, typically a port in the upper radiator gooseneck or hose, run it through the heater core and then dump it into the engine inlet. The "thermostat" you show is nothing other than a valve. Less water running through the heater is lower temperature air from the heater, more water running through the heater is higher temperature. The term "thermostat" implies a device that regulates automatically, these valves don't.

Looking again at your pictures, it appears these go in the radiator hose. The "thermostat" arrangement appears to be a couple of flaps that I would suspect open and close by adjusting the setting. These would be an obstruction in your cooling system. Most folks have more trouble cooling than heating, so any obstruction in the cooling system would be a bad thing.

Re: Model a Ford adjustable hot water heater thermostat questions
 

Jay Jay has some good observations on your "thermostats". If you want to use a heater that is heated by the coolant, buy the regular thermostats sold by the parts dealers, buy the goose neck that has an outlet that you can run to the heater, and buy the water inlet, located on the side of the engine, that has a fitting for the coolant return. Since the supply for the heater is before the thermostat the heater has first call for any heat the engine generates.

To help get the coolant to the heater you can fashion a scoop that sits in the goose neck that helps divert the coolant to the heater.

Re: Model a Ford adjustable hot water heater thermostat questions
 

I had a "Ha-Dees" coolant heater in my 1931 that I just took out (anyone want it? It works great, I just don't need it.). Out here in California we don't really need heaters, and in any event the heater core was located just above the clutch pedal and interfered with my left foot. I do like the idea of that heater that wraps around the exhaust pipe (not a manifold heater) and ducts to the floorboard. If I ever find one I'll consider that for the co-pilot.

I took the water supply from the upper radiator hose downstream of the thermostat. I didn't have any need for a scoop. It was either cool with the in-line water flow ball valve closed or hotter than hell with it open.

Re: Model a Ford adjustable hot water heater thermostat questions
 

JayJay - Hotter than Hay-Dees, eh?

Re: Model a Ford adjustable hot water heater thermostat questions
 

Yup, that's what I presume the name means. Kinda cute.

Re: Model a Ford adjustable hot water heater thermostat questions
 

Do you have a patent number on either of those hot water valves? I'd like to see how they are made inside.

They may, in fact, be thermostats that start out with the butterfly valves closed, and then start to slightly open the butterfly valves when hot water starts hitting them.

Here's something that looks similar that is just a thermostat, no outlet for a hot water heater.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/393858969575

Re: Model a Ford adjustable hot water heater thermostat questions
 

Thank you for the reply’s and interesting piece. @jim/ga I will have to see if I packed it away or threw it out. It didn’t sound like a worthy part to keep so it may have gone to the scrapper..