Date: Tue, 14 Apr 2020 00:26:56 -0500
Reply-To: KI4TLF <ki4tlf@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: KI4TLF <ki4tlf@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Chinese Diesel Heater for Vanagons
In-Reply-To: <MW3PR12MB4380F4F5057D228C5FDCBDBBA6DA0@MW3PR12MB4380.namprd12.prod.outlook.com>
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Talking about sealing the plates off. Are the screws long enough you can
take a square of bicycle inner tube and put it under the plates?
GregM
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Richard Smith
Sent: Monday, April 13, 2020 11:22 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Chinese Diesel Heater for Vanagons
Alistair mentioned the diesel heater as part of a project to get rid of the
propane tank. I have the same ambition.
A few years ago I removed the tank and spent untold hours sanding, priming,
and painting it but it was to no avail - it is rusty again.
This time I vowed to remove it - and all the internal pipes - and switch to
small bottles for the range, and remove the fridge altogher. Tonight -
pandemic isolation twitchiness, I guess - I went out the garage and did it.
I had read others' instructions on how to do this (as I will be removing the
fridge and going electric, I watched those "fridge be gone" videos), so had
some idea what to do.
It all went pretty smoothly.
Things I did a bit differently than in the video:
1. Used a garage jack (with a hockey puck spacer/cushion) to snug the tank
up to the van while I removed the nuts. This saves you from having to
balance it on your chest or have it droop while you're trying to loosen a
nut.
2. Used a 15mm deep socket on a short wobble extension and an impact driver
(cheapo, Chinese clone of Makita) to buzz the nuts off. Would have been
easier if I had taken the time to clean and lube the threads on those bolts,
which hang down into the road dust their whole lives.
3. One of the washers jammed up between the bolt and the frame rail. It is a
big, thick washer (presumably from the factory) and it would NOT come off,
even with the weight of the propane tank on it. I finally jacked the tank
back up (glad I had that jack handy) and sprayed lube and got a 'cats paw'
on it. Down it came.
4. Under the van, the nuts on the flared copper propane lines are 19mm. My
wrench "set" (completely random collection) only goes to 18, so I used a
crescent wrench and my fingers once they were loose.
5. Inside the van I removed all the kitchen stuff from under the sink and
the two shelves. Found myself removing one of the brown nubs to get the top
shelf out; don't know if it can be done without doing that. I was surprised
how easy it is to see and undo the top nuts from the copper pipes. The nuts
on those pipes are 19mm as well, with a 17mm opposite side for the pipe
going to the burners. I held that with the 17 and pulled with the crescent
wrench - yikes that thing was on there! The fridge line is easier, no second
wrench required and not nearly so tight. Perhaps the fridge had been out for
service sometime in its lifetime? Not by me...
6. I had read that you can just snip off those copper lines, but I have a
fear of doing damage that isn't recoverable, so I took the time to undo the
little plate and grommets that they pass through on the floor. Other
instructions allude to this ("there is a way to remove the pipes without
cutting them...") but don't describe it at all. The pipes came out with
hardly any bending. If I really wanted to be perfect, I might have jacked
the van up to give myself a bit more room.
7. The way the pipes exit the van, in my opinion, is ingenious. There are
two "w" shaped plates that fit together, leaving two round holes just big
enough for the pipe when they are fully interlocked. Six small screws hold
them, and a foam seal" up snug against the floor of the van. Credit to
whoever designed/installed this: after 33 years the foam was still pliable,
and the grommets were mostly still there. No dirt/dust had invaded the
cupboard.
Two plates:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/uz12pph1pwn933w/img_3274.jpg?dl=0
Plates together:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/bblt3qydehbrc16/img_3273.jpg?dl=0
8. I am going to keep those two plates and screw them back in with some new
foam, using the six screws. I will replace the grommets with plugs for now.
Someday I might use those holes for access for solar panel wiring or
something.
9. I am keeping the two copper pipes, the tank, and the fridge. Everything
works and if someone buys the van from me and wants to restore it to factory
(this van is crazy intact, previous owner was a meticulous former air force
pilot), they can.
Pipes:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ootpb8o2qxkz4v4/img_3275.jpg?dl=0
10. The whole job - including having to lift the tank back up and pry the
washer off - took about an hour and half.
Tomorrow I tackle the fridge removal. Hope this helps someone. Let me know
if you have any questions.
...r
