Date:         Thu, 13 Feb 2003 09:52:25 -0600
Reply-To:     Roy Olynick <rrh@AUTOBAHN.MB.CA>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Roy Olynick <rrh@AUTOBAHN.MB.CA>
Subject:      Fw:      Re: 87 westy ac refrigerant
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252"

Volks, I suspect I may be that "someone"...the following is my November 2001
posting about improving AC efficiency...

A few years back, I improved upon the slipshod design of the Westfalia's AC with
a simple mod that took all of about 15 minutes and didn't introduce any
unsightly ductwork into the interior.

The problem with AC air not reaching the front cabin area relates to the large,
leaky, cavernous overhead AC housing. Although the AC fan has enough power to
blast the
air to the front of the van, the AC housing has no channels or interior ductwork
to prevent the air from bouncing around inside looking for a way out, all the
while losing momentum. Added to this are the poorly sealed joints of the housing
which allow the AC air to leak out to where it shouldn't be going...like the
closet!

To overcome these problems, I cut a few lengths of foam tubing (about 1 5/8"
dia.)
normally used to insulate copper water pipes in the home. Using a meter stick
(that's a yardstick to those of you who are not metrified yet), this tubing was
then shoved into the
housing through the openings left after I removed the six vents on the front of
the housing. The tubing's diameter is just large enough that it will 'friction
fit' and remain in place after being positioned in the housing. The positioning
of this tubing is all important. The idea here is to use the tubing to create a
channel directing the AC air straight to the housing vents and not allowing the
air to bounce around inside. I also blocked off the two outside vents for extra
measure.

The air flow coming out of the AC is now more efficient and has enough momentum
to reach the driver and front passenger when the vents are 'aimed' properly. For
the minimum time and money expended on this mod, I've received more than value
for my money. I now rarely need to set the AC blower switch higher than the
second speed in order to cool the driver and navigator in the cockpit.

Roy Olynick
'87 VW Westfalia GL
(till death do us part)
'91 Honda Civic SE
'01 Honda Civic LX
www.autobahn.mb.ca/~rrh/Westy_Home.htm


----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark Dorm" <mark_hb@HOTMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, February 12, 2003 3:33 PM
Subject: Re: 87 westy ac refrigerant


| If you look in the archives, there is someone who put in tubing of some sort
that fit inside the stock ac tunnel, that fed cold air to the front more
efficiently...
|