Date:         Sat, 2 Sep 2000 20:07:20 -0700
Reply-To:     Daniel Schmitz <djs@GENE.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Daniel Schmitz <djs@GENE.COM>
Organization: Genentech, Inc.
Subject:      Made Roy O's AC modification...
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Well, in a fit of unbridled, irresponsible ambition, I performed the AC
duct modification suggested by Roy O. (whose metallic blue '87 Westfalia
is identical to MY '87 Westfalia, but infinitely cleaner, I might add).

Frequent list readers will recall that Roy modified the AC duct in his
camper so that cooling air from the evaporator exits the housing ducts
in front at a higher velocity, thus enabling it to actually reach the
cab. How he did this was to add baffling so that the air pressure is
maintained rather than dissipated inside the AC duct. The factory design
allows the air from the evaporator to fill the duct housing and lose its
velocity in the process of exiting. This is great for back seat
passengers, but since I generally carry no passengers, I felt that my
own comfort was the priority here.

Since I didn't feel like going to Home Depot for materials, I simply
rolled up some newspaper and wrapped it in duct tape. I made two of
these, one for each side, and formed a narrow channel for the
pressurized air to travel through. I also had to remove the plastic
baffles in the AC ducting (I think they direct air to the full width of
the duct housing, which defeats my purpose), which necessitated removal
of the housing from the cabinet assembly.

While removed, I noticed that one side of my AC cabinet had come
unbolted from the van's ceiling, so I bolted this back up, using
locktite on the screw (heard that AC housings are prone to come loose
like this).

One further mod: I took the little plastic baffles out of the three
center vents so that they would not be an impediment to airflow. The
remaining vents are now merely cosmetic with the new baffling.

The cold air definitely reaches the cab a lot more, but it's not warm
enough to tell if it makes a difference yet. Tomorrow I will be driving
into the Sierra foothills, and will report on the improved AC
performance.

Dan