Date: Fri, 18 Apr 2003 15:27:12 -0700
Reply-To: TJ Hannink <tjhannink@YAHOO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: TJ Hannink <tjhannink@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: How to Keep Cool in Your Vanagon
In-Reply-To: <9.f4dd7f3.2bd1ce44@aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
--- Sidney White <Jeanon@AOL.COM> wrote:
> While awaiting parts to get my van running I am
> wondering what great
> improvisations (aka 'farkle') members of the group
> have made to keep cool in
> a vanagon, since my a/c still needs repairs
Summer will be coming to most of you soon (it'
s already here in Orlando) I'll repost my current list
of A/C improvements. They can also be found in the
Wolfsburg_Campers Yahoo!Group in the FILES section.
This is what I have done so far to my camper to help
the AC to work
properly in hot weather (in no particular order):
1. I removed the upper rear cabinet and the evaporator
cover panels,
then pressure washed the evaporator from the inside of
the van,
clearing out all of the dust. I did mine while it was
in place
without disconnecting any of the freon lines, using a
lot of plastic
sheeting to protect the interior. I installed filter
material
between the evaporator and the rear intake grill on
re-assembly to
keep it clean.
2. I also make sure all the fins on the input of the
evaporator are
straight.
3. Make sure both evaporator fans are working.
4. Re-sealed the plastic evaporator housing panel
mating surfaces
with new weatherstripping and stainless duct tape.
5. I added some foam inside the vent housing to
channel all the air
to the front vents.
<http://home.earthlink.net/~tjhannink/photos/Additional_Air_Channels2.
jpg>
6. Cleaned the radiator and condensor from the spare
tire well-out.
7. Filled the open area of the poptop to keep the cool
air from
getting lost in the opening. I use a windshield sun
screen for an
RV. It also blocks the sunlight from the skylight.
<http://home.earthlink.net/~tjhannink/photos/RVTwistShadeRoofOpening.j
pg>
8. I keep my my back curtain closed in an effort to
keep the area
behind the back seat as cool as possible.
9. Get the darkest tint possible on all the windows.
10. Make sure the rear heater is turned off.
11. Make sure the front heater is turned off.
12. Block off all the air flow through the front
heater/plenum. I
have some foam rubber blocks cut to fit in the opeings
of the heater
vent cover in front of the shifter.
13. Insulate the floorboards, especially the area in
front of the
shifter.
<http://home.earthlink.net/~tjhannink/photos/LastBetweenSeats.jpg>
14. Park in the shade wherever possible.
15. Get an indoor/outdoor thermometer and mount it
where you can see
it easily, and monitor how the system performs. Mine
will cool off
at an average rate of 3F degrees per minute. That
seems great until
you get in the van after work at 5pm and the inside
temp is 135F and
the outside temp is 109F because its been parked in an
unshaded
asphalt parking lot all day. My van is comfortable at
77F-80F so it
takes a while to get to that point. I find that
opening the roof
vent about 1" and rolling down the front windows 1/2
turn will keep
the inside temp around 120F on the hottest days here,
so I try to
remember to do that when I park for a long period of
time.
16. Aiming the vents - I have all of the foward facing
vents aimed
straight ahead and level with the floor. The vents on
the bottom are
aimed to the area behind the rear seat in order to
pre-cool the air
going into the evaporator. Rear seat passengers will
usually adjust
these as needed, so make sure to check their
positioning every couple
of weeks.
Good luck,
=====
TJ Hannink
Goldibox - 1987 Vanagon Camper, Wolfsburg Edition
Winter Park, Florida
http://home.earthlink.net/~tjhannink/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wolfsburg_campers
http://photos.yahoo.com/tjhannink [Vanagon] Album
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