Date:         Fri, 22 Feb 2002 09:06:12 -0500
Reply-To:     The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Subject:      Re: BA6 Heater vs. Regular Heat
In-Reply-To:  <20020222065126.46731.qmail@web13305.mail.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

> What I am curious about is the regular
> heating ability of my van.  I have ridden in many VW
> bugs of the 70's and found the heater to be completely
> adequate.  Of course I realize there is a bit more
> cubic meters of interior space in my van to be heated
> however.  Can one even notice the heat in a van agon
> when the factory heater is used alone?


In my opinion the factory heating system (sans gas heater) is simply
inadequate for frigid climates.  I found mine to be acceptable if the
outside temperature was above freezing (and if the van was moving), but
below that, forget it.  You hit the nail on the head - too much interior
volume, too little heat.  I tried adding a fan inline with the heat
exchangers.  This increased air flow but decreased air temperature, since it
whisked the air past the heat exchangers faster, thereby giving it less time
to heat up (at least my theory).  I then added a BA6 gas heater and
everything was beautiful.  Not only did I have instant heat, but it was as
hot as I wanted it, and could be use while camping with the engine off.
Having completely disassembled, tested, and reassembled the unit, I gained
an appreciation for the several safety devices built into the unit. If the
unit does not immediately ignite, it shuts off to prevent an explosion.  If
the internal temperature gets too hot it also shuts off. If anything it
tended to err on the side of caution, which was fine with me.  My present
aircooled bus is not used in the winter, but if I were to use one in the
winter, I'd immediately seek out another BA6 first (or at least a BA4).

Now, some others have stated that if you go through and thoroughly bring
every component of the factory air heating system back to perfect condition,
eliminating all leaks, insulating, etc., then it is indeed sufficient
without a gas heater even in cold weather.  I must admit that I cannot
refute that.  While I did spend a couple of hours insulating, looking for
leaks, etc., I can't say that I spent days totally disassembling and
reassembling the air heat system to bring it to mint condition before opting
for the BA6.

- Ron Salmon
  The Bus Depot, Inc.
  (215) 234-VWVW
  www.busdepot.com

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