Date:         Fri, 25 Oct 2002 00:11:31 -0500
Reply-To:     Stan Wilder <wilden1@JUNO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Stan Wilder <wilden1@JUNO.COM>
Subject:      Re: Aircooled Heat inline fan?
Comments: To: Roq8cyans@AOL.COM
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

I'm not in an area that gets 20 below zero but the thing that fixed my
system was good heater boxes and good flapper valves.
True it takes 15 minutes to get going good but in zero temperatures twice
a year its still hot enough that I have to turn it down after its been on
for that second 15 minutes.
If I'm driving 55 or above it develops good flow (tells me that engine
rpm has a lot to do with it).
You might want to remove your heater kick panel, remove the tube going up
to your blower box and see if you're getting good flow.
I get much more heat out of the rear facing floor vent than out of the
front unit, melted my cheap PVC bicycle pump. I mean it really gets hot
there, as an example I had a six pack of soft drinks sitting right at the
discharge vent and one of the drinks exploded ........... sounded just
like a gunshot. I have to be careful about putting or letting anything
get near it when its going full bore.
My fresh air blower flaps leak so my fresh air blower also blows heat
that escapes into that portion of the box.
In summer months I disconnect my flappers and just tie them back away
from the box outlets and away from drive axles.

Stan Wilder
83 Westfalia Air Cooled

On Fri, 25 Oct 2002 00:32:56 EDT Eric Johnson <Roq8cyans@AOL.COM> writes:
>   The fan should be mounted as far forward as possible to keep it
> from being
> cooked by the outlet heat from the heaterboxes.  A good installation
> spot
> would be over the spare tire (but be advised that it will not supply
> the
> floor vent in the step at the back edge of the drivers' compartment
> if
> mounted at that point in the duct).
>   Note that in any case, the fan and motor will be operating above
> their
> design temperature, and service life may be measured in months (the
> fan blade
> melts and the motor's permanent magnets lose their magnetism).  I
> would
> suggest using quick-disconnect connectors (such as spade lug
> connectors) and
> keeping a spare fan unit on hand with matching connectors to enable
> a quick
> replacment if needed.
>   Recirculation presents a slight problem, in that after shutdown
> the hot air
> from the heat exchangers will flow back up into the cabin through
> the
> recirculation intake duct -- great in winter, not so good in summer.
>  A
> spring-loaded or counterbalanced door is needed in the duct to keep
> the air
> from flowing back into the cabin, and if you seal the heaterbox
> intake
> completely, there is a possiblity of damaging the heaterboxes from
> uneven
> cooling.
>   One possibility for a _partial_ recirculation system would be to
> run a duct
> from under the back seat to a tee connection with the crossover pipe
> between
> the stock blower and left heaterbox, while leaving the remainder of
> the
> system intact.  Feed it with an inline blower such as the one you
> have
> already (the crossover tube is approximately 3" dia, so you'll need
> to step
> the duct size down somewhere along the way) and include a
> anti-backflow door
> as mentioned above.  Put the door between the fan and the duct to
> prolong the
> life of the fan.
>   That's what I'm planning to do with my van this winter, anyhow, if
> fiddling
> with the cables and flaps doesn't result in sufficient heat.
>
> Rusty
> Ogden, UT
> '80 Westy -- The VW Campmobile Formerly Known As Vanagon Valdiz
> (sp)
>
> In a message dated 10/24/02 5:47:08 PM Mountain Daylight Time,
> CTTAPER@AOL.COM writes:
>
> <snip>
>  the inline fan but not
> > sure
> >  where to mount it and if I should hot wire it off the battery
> using a fuse
> > of
> >  course or go through the fuse box? Also to make it a
> recurculating system
> do
> >  I take off the rubber elbow at the alternator and run a hose to
> the
> interior
> >  back to the plastic cage?  Would the cause the alternator to run
> hot?
> >  TIA
> >  Kevin
> >  80 Westy
>
>

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