New Ministry of Defender AC kit

[brdhmltn]

It's hard to link direct to their video on Facebook, but Ministry of Defender in UK has made a new AC Heater blower unit that sits totally in the engine bay in place of the old heater box. Anyone stateside looked at these yet? This is a year or two down the road for me and I have not seen any posts or discussion. This is the same company making the puma dash aftermarket conversions.

Edit:Hey! New Nas row makes it easy to link! Cool.

https://www.facebook.com/1158837000814618/posts/2300688183296155

 

[Uncle Douglas]

Waiting for a lhd one of these to show up (he's shipped it) to see how much room the a/c and heat take up under the bonnet. Truck is getting an r2.8 so space on the right side is a sensitivity.

 

[LazyRabbit]

I don't see anything else about this A/C kit. I would definitely be interested in learning more about it.

 

[hillstrubl]

I don't see anything else about this A/C kit. I would definitely be interested in learning more about it.

Trevor is currently installing this kit in my RHD 300TDI 110.

Here's some pics he sent me thus far. He's got the box, condenser and dryer in, some of the hoses, etc. Today he was working on Dash mockup and installing the Mud Console. I can't wait to get it back!

 

[Roverman2010]

Trevor is currently installing this kit in my RHD 300TDI 110.

Here's some pics he sent me thus far. He's got the box, condenser and dryer in, some of the hoses, etc. Today he was working on Dash mockup and installing the Mud Console. I can't wait to get it back!

View attachment 15517
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Looking good, watching. Get your self a td5 washer bottle that fits under the wing it cleans up the bay some what

 

[Napalm00]

Trevor is currently installing this kit in my RHD 300TDI 110.

Here's some pics he sent me thus far. He's got the box, condenser and dryer in, some of the hoses, etc. Today he was working on Dash mockup and installing the Mud Console. I can't wait to get it back!

There has been some back and forth on the other site about vent ac temp on an early dash/bulkhead. Local guy here reporting high 60s vent temp (poor performance) on his. Would love to see your outcome. He's chasin colder temps. Can give you his number.

Seems like his issue is a combination of the heater valve not fully closing and primarily the bulkhead/lower dash getting hot enough to cook an egg and the cold air having to pass through it.

 

[Adam]

Nice. like that color too.

 

[hillstrubl]

There has been some back and forth on the other site about vent ac temp on an early dash/bulkhead. Local guy here reporting high 60s vent temp (poor performance) on his. Would love to see your outcome. He's chasin colder temps. Can give you his number.

Seems like his issue is a combination of the heater valve not fully closing and primarily the bulkhead/lower dash getting hot enough to cook an egg and the cold air having to pass through it.

I will definitely report back

Nice. like that color too.

Thanks! I want to paint the roof white, but it may have been easier to buy one of Zack's sunroofless roofs!

 

[LiquidMoose]

I am that guy^
Just returned a couple of hours ago from a 3000 mile trip from the SF Bay area to southern Arizona (looking to re-locate for refuge from the horrors of California).
Needless to say the MOD unit got a workout as the temps reached 105F.
Here's what I got:
1989 ROW 110 RHD 200tdi (Discovery)
Tinted windows all around, sunroof fully blocked off with a thick black plastic sheet, seatbox and trans tunnel insulated, firewall insulated, brand new OEM door seals (4).
Cowl vents leak free.
Air intake at footwell clear of obstruction.
16" puller fan, 7" pusher, both always on when AC is on.
AC system leak tested and charged one month ago.

Tweak #1
Duct work in lower dash.
Prevents the cold air from cooling down the inside of the lower dash or absorbing heat from the firewall.
Notice the insulation around the duct work.
I didn't measure volume or velocity of air between before and after, didn't seem to change much.




Tweak #2
Aluminum shielding with 3/4" hood liner insulation around HVAC box, shields held on by magnets.
I thought this was going to be the holy grail of tweaks as the HVAC box sits so close the the exhaust manifold and turbo, it helped
but nothing drastic. After a long drive the aluminum is almost too hot to hold but pulling it away from the HVAC unit the box itself is
quite cool.
Note the heater hoses have been disconnected and looped together.
Also note the high and low pressure hoses that pass over the engine have been insulated.


Gauges used:
Blue Sea temp gauge with sensor mounted well aft to avoid engine bay heat.
Typical meat thermometer in vent; always stayed in this spot, never moved.


When in southern Arizona I would turn the AC on at 85F ambient, vent temp would be 42F, then driving all day long, mostly 65-70 mph highway driving, when ambient temp hit 90F vent would be 50F at 100F ambient vent temps would be 60F and at 105F ambient (highest temp I saw) vent 62F. To simplify: approximately 1 degree rise in ambient raised vent temp by one degree.
At 100F ambient 60F coming out of the vent was better than nothing but not by much, it at least eliminated the wind buffeting and noise if the windows were down, which I sometimes did out of disappointment and frustration.

I really hope I've done something wrong or I have a defective component as I think this is a brilliant design and I'm really going to need it if I relocate to southern Arizona!

I apologize for the unflattering review and I hope those who install this unit have better results.

 

[erover82]

To take heat soak out of the equation, what is temp delta before engine is warmed up? Is it possible to fit a temp probe before the ductwork? Is the intake pulling in hot air somewhere?

 

[Napalm00]

I am that guy^
Just returned a couple of hours ago from a 3000 mile trip from the SF Bay area to southern Arizona (looking to re-locate for refuge from the horrors of California).
Needless to say the MOD unit got a workout as the temps reached 105F.
Here's what I got:
1989 ROW 110 RHD 200tdi (Discovery)
Tinted windows all around, sunroof fully blocked off with a thick black plastic sheet, seatbox and trans tunnel insulated, firewall insulated, brand new OEM door seals (4).
Cowl vents leak free.
Air intake at footwell clear of obstruction.
16" puller fan, 7" pusher, both always on when AC is on.
AC system leak tested and charged one month ago.

Tweak #1
Duct work in lower dash.
Prevents the cold air from cooling down the inside of the lower dash or absorbing heat from the firewall.
Notice the insulation around the duct work.
I didn't measure volume or velocity of air between before and after, didn't seem to change much.
View attachment 15537



Tweak #2
Aluminum shielding with 3/4" hood liner insulation around HVAC box, shields held on by magnets.
I thought this was going to be the holy grail of tweaks as the HVAC box sits so close the the exhaust manifold and turbo, it helped
but nothing drastic. After a long drive the aluminum is almost too hot to hold but pulling it away from the HVAC unit the box itself is
quite cool.
Note the heater hoses have been disconnected and looped together.
Also note the high and low pressure hoses that pass over the engine have been insulated.
View attachment 15538

Gauges used:
Blue Sea temp gauge with sensor mounted well aft to avoid engine bay heat.
Typical meat thermometer in vent; always stayed in this spot, never moved.
View attachment 15540

When in southern Arizona I would turn the AC on at 85F ambient, vent temp would be 42F, then driving all day long, mostly 65-70 mph highway driving, when ambient temp hit 90F vent would be 50F at 100F ambient vent temps would be 60F and at 105F ambient (highest temp I saw) vent 62F. To simplify: approximately 1 degree rise in ambient raised vent temp by one degree.
At 100F ambient 60F coming out of the vent was better than nothing but not by much, it at least eliminated the wind buffeting and noise if the windows were down, which I sometimes did out of disappointment and frustration.

I really hope I've done something wrong or I have a defective component as I think this is a brilliant design and I'm really going to need it if I relocate to southern Arizona!

I apologize for the unflattering review and I hope those who install this unit have better results.

You're actually the second person. It was actually referring to somebody else. Thought that you had yours fixed!

 

[BarryO]

Seems to me that having the AC evaporator unit inside the hot engine bay is going to be problematic. Fine for a heater core, though.

 

[LiquidMoose]

Seems to me that having the AC evaporator unit inside the hot engine bay is going to be problematic. Fine for a heater core, though.

Yeah, that's why I shielded the unit, the box is cool after hours of driving with the AC on.

 

[LiquidMoose]

You're actually the second person. It was actually referring to somebody else. Thought that you had yours fixed!

So I'm not alone. Mine's not "fixed" apparently.

 

[rdan2012]

I’m following along as well as I was looking at purchasing one as well for my 90. Any chance being a RHD sitting by the exhaust and turbo has an effect?

 

[Uncle Douglas]

Just looking @ components the condenser where the system gets rid of heat-looks puny. The condenser is a critical component in making cold.
Ford has been putting their similar units under the hood in Super Duty trucks for decades, thats not the issue.
Any idea what kind of head pressures the guys who are having issues are seeing ? Now hot is compressor itself getting ?

 

[Roverman2010]

I will definitely report back


Thanks! I want to paint the roof white, but it may have been easier to buy one of Zack's sunroofless roofs!

There's something to be said about the earlier ribbed roofs and the safari shade, and windscreen visor.

 

[Napalm00]

I’m following along as well as I was looking at purchasing one as well for my 90. Any chance being a RHD sitting by the exhaust and turbo has an effect?

The other guy that's having issues with this system has an LS.

 

[Napalm00]

Just looking @ components the condenser where the system gets rid of heat-looks puny. The condenser is a critical component in making cold.
Ford has been putting their similar units under the hood in Super Duty trucks for decades, thats not the issue.
Any idea what kind of head pressures the guys who are having issues are seeing ? Now hot is compressor itself getting ?

I don't know the specifics beyond that the local guy here having the same exact issue in an LS swapped 90. The truck is fully insulated with reflective coating and an air gap insulation on the bottom of the truck. The entire exhaust system is ceramic coated including the headers and wrapped.

He didn't do the work himself He's having a local professional shop do it and has had the truck to a few AC specific shops and they just cannot get the thing to blow cold. As I understand he's looking into either getting it replaced under warranty or removing it and moving to a knee knocker system.

It's a bummer because the unit is well made and self-contained and looks good in his truck. Hejust can't get it to perform well, I'm not saying this is indicative of every unit that's installed I'm just calling out that this guy has the same issue as the people above.

 

[LiquidMoose]

I’m following along as well as I was looking at purchasing one as well for my 90. Any chance being a RHD sitting by the exhaust and turbo has an effect?

The aluminum shields I made do a great job of isolating the HVAC box from those heat sources, see photo and text above.