Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2015 12:51:33 +0000
Reply-To: J Stewart <fonman4277@COMCAST.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: J Stewart <fonman4277@COMCAST.NET>
Subject: Re: Gas heaters...was Re: Heater
In-Reply-To: <E454B56E-458B-415B-A20F-B77BFD114DC4@NBNet.nb.ca>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
A former '84 Vanagon Westy of mine (THE one I never should have sold) had this exact same gas heater, and I'm pretty sure it was factory installed. During the time I owned this van, my daughter was in high school and in cheer leading. I'd go pick her up from practice/games and sit out in the parking lot waiting for her with just the gas heater running-that thing was great! When I first got this van from the original owners granddaughter, in addition to a seized engine the gas heater didn't work. Two problems with the heater: one of the two fuses had corroded away into dust, and a mouse had taken up residence in the tailpipe. The mouse sure was surprised when I replaced the fuse and the heater fired up! Jeff
----- Original Message -----
> Mine is definitely an air-blowing heater and the installation looks to be
> factory ... or a very well done dealer installation.
> The heater unit is aft of the fuel tank, but not on the centreline of the
> vehicle; it is offset to the driver's side. There is an exhaust which comes
> out from under the shield to the side of the van.
> I guess I will have to drop the shield when the Hyena comes out of storage
> this spring and see what lives inside. I am familiar with the DA6, but have
> always encountered it mounted under the rear bench on the passengers side
> with ductwork up under the bench. I also have an older {non functional}
> Eberspacher on my '66 which is mounted under the rear bench.
> The ductwork coming from this heater has outlets under the drivers seat and
> behind the front seats and walkthrough (aimed back at the cabin). The timer
> is mechanical - the little green knob you push/pull and turn - as we had in
> an older bread loaf (which was an Eberspacher). The vehicle owners manual
> describes how to use the timer, but makes no mention of what type of heater
> is on the other end.
> Roy
> On 29-Jan-2015, at 02:54, JordanVw@AOL.COM wrote:
> > In a message dated 1/28/2015 5:40:31 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
> > RNicholl@NBNet.nb.ca writes:
> > Where was the BBW46 installed? Was it under the rear bench on the passenger
> > side?
> >
> > In the Hyena (our 1988 WBX Westfalia), I have a gas heater which does not
> > work - the fan comes on, but no heat. It has the green-knobed manual timer
> > in the dash just below the heater controls like that which was present in
> > our old 1972 Westfalia.
> >
> > However the heater itself appears to contained under the drivers side of
> > the van above/in a large metal shield/encasement which looks like an
> > oversized catalytic converter.
> >
> > I did not have time to dig into it last summer, but when I take the Hyena
> > out of storage this spring, I'd like to attempt to get it working.
> >
> > the gas fueled coolant preheater - webasto BBW46- was installed in the
> > engine compartment. it had a little digital control readout mounted under
> > the dash this coolant preheater was an option on waterboxer vanagons in
> > canada.
> >
> > what your describing on your '88 westy,sounds like it is indeed a
> > Eberspacher BA6. can you install a Eberspacher BA6 on a waterboxer
> > vanagon? Sure you can. ive sold them to people who have done it and have
> > one here that i plan to install in my '89 westy (someday) You just do some
> > custom ductwork and it will work fine. Did volkswagen install the
> > Eberspacher BA6 in waterboxer vanagons from the factory? not to my
> > knowledge.. but your in canada, so it may be different up there. does the
> > installation look factory, or custom? you describe the heater unit as
> > being mounted under the drivers side of your vanagon - volkswagen mounted
> > them under the CENTER of the vanagon.. behind the gas tank. not on the
> > drivers side.
