Date: Sat, 7 Mar 2009 11:16:40 -0500
Reply-To: David Milo <dellaone@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: David Milo <dellaone@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Takes a darn long time for the heater to come up to speed
In-Reply-To: <49B28FDA.1070403@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Aside from the length of the hoses, the other subtle difference is that the
Subaru system mixes air to control the temperature in the mixing /
distribution box, whereas the Vanagon was designed to use a manually
controlled coolant modulating valve (yes, even in the rear) controlling flow
through the heater core to control temperature. In the Vanagon, you can
almost (but not quite) completely shut off flow through the heater cores.
In the Subaru, the coolant flow through the heater core is constant, and is
actually the coolant circuit that modulates the thermostat (located on the
bottom of the engine, return hose from the radiator). As others have pointed
out, it is much better protected from the elements.
Dave
On Sat, Mar 7, 2009 at 10:16 AM, Rocket J Squirrel <
camping.elliott@gmail.com> wrote:
> I reckon there are two things that I need to observe: 1. the time it
> takes for the temp gauge to start moving from the cold pin (Mrs
> Elliott's Subaru comes up a lot sooner), and 2. how soon before one
> starts to feel tendrils of warmed air come creeping out of the vents.
> Again, it's much quicker in the other car. If these are significantly
> longer time than others, like Jake, observed then something there's
> something fishy going on. Given that the thermostat is such a pain to
> get to on the 1.9l engine, I'll want to be fairly sure that replacing it
> is a worthwhile project.
>
> --
> Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
> 84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
> 74 Utility Trailer. Ladybug Trailer, Inc., San Juan Capistrano
> Bend, OR
> KG6RCR
>
>
>
>
> On 3/6/2009 9:47 PM Jake de Villiers wrote:
>
>> On account of this thread I paid attention this morning on the way to work
>> in the grey van. It took about a mile at ~30 degrees F. to feel a
>> difference, about 3 for it to be warmish.
>>
>> I've noticed that the rear heater gets warm a lot quicker on both vans.
>>
>> On Fri, Mar 6, 2009 at 5:35 PM, alfred bagdan <abagdan@shaw.ca> wrote:
>>
>>
>> If you have the rear heater valve open, most of the hot coolant goes
>>> through
>>> the rear heater. Try closing the rear heater and see what happens. Also
>>> replace your thermostat in case it is stuck open. If the temperature
>>> gauge
>>> does not go up to the halfway point in cold weather, you will probably
>>> have
>>> to replace the thermostat to get some decent heat. Its a bitch of a job,
>>> but doable. When I replaced the hoses last summer I also put pipe
>>> insulation on the hot lines and also replaced the thermostat and the
>>> water
>>> pump. What a difference that made. I live in Edmonton, Canada, and I
>>> drove the van once this winter when it was -30C ( ~ -20F ) and it was
>>> warm
>>> as toast inside, and didn't take long to warm up.
>>>
>>> Alfred
>>> 85 Westy
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Mark Tuovinen" <mst@AK.NET>
>>> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
>>> Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 2:49 PM
>>> Subject: Re: Takes a darn long time for the heater to come up to speed
>>>
>>>
>>> You just send her up here to drive my Syncro on a cold(subzero) morning,
>>>
>>> she will appreciate your van much more afterward. My kids ride to
>>>> school
>>>> with a blanket over them for warmth and they are wearing winter coats,
>>>> hats, mittens, and boots at the same time. Vanagons have a rather large
>>>> area to warm up and the front core is a long way from the heat source.
>>>> Though it won't cure your problem you could put pipe insulation on your
>>>> front heater hoses under the van. This will reduce the heat loss that
>>>> occurs before the hot coolant gets to the core. Another and more
>>>> difficult issue to deal with is that the front heater only draws air
>>>> from
>>>> outside, it does not recirculate cabin air. Thus while your heater core
>>>> is trying to warm the air, the air is trying to cool the core. Not an
>>>> issue in moderate climates but those in extreme cold areas suffer
>>>> because
>>>> of it.
>>>>
>>>> Mark in AK
>>>>
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: Rocket J Squirrel <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
>>>> Date: Thursday, March 5, 2009 4:35 pm
>>>> Subject: Takes a darn long time for the heater to come up to speed
>>>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>>>>
>>>> My wife's Subaru Outback's heater is ready to put out some serious
>>>> therms
>>>>
>>>> in about 3 minutes of drive time. The temp gauge comes up quickly,
>>>>> whereas the temp gauge in ol' Mellow Yellow needs another 5-8 minutes
>>>>> of
>>>>> driving in freezing temps to really start to creep upwards and for the
>>>>> heater to start doing anything interesting.
>>>>>
>>>>> I'd like to think that the difference is due to the awesome efficiency
>>>>> of
>>>>> the WBX engine . . . I'd like to think that, but something tells me
>>>>> that
>>>>> a 2006 Subaru engine is a tad more efficient. So, does anyone have any
>>>>> idea why the 1.9L engine is so sluggish compared with the Outback's
>>>>> engine when it comes to making hot water available to the heater core?
>>>>> Mrs Squirrel gripes about how long it takes to get warm air to come out
>>>>> the heater and I'd like to have some highly-technical answer to respond
>>>>> with. You know, baffle them with BS?
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
>>>>> 84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
>>>>> 74 Utility Trailer. Ladybug Trailer, Inc., San Juan Capistrano
>>>>> Bend, OR
>>>>> KG6RCR
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>
>> --
>> Jake
>>
>> 1984 Vanagon GL
>> 1986 Westy Weekender "Dixie"
>>
>> Crescent Beach, BC
>>
>> www.crescentbeachguitar.com
>> http://subyjake.googlepages.com/mydixiedarlin%27
>>
>>
>>
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