All this talk of catalytic heaters, the lack of heat in air-cooled Vanagons, the impending cold winter and the need for making this a better world, got me thinking about the possible choices of heat available and their practical application in air-cooled Vnagaon busses. Here are some ideas: Requirements: a) must be able to fit into the vent system for proper defrosting of windows and interior heat; b) must augment rather than replace the existing heater system; c) must not cost too much (more than what we payed for the van); d) stationary heat for camping would be a bonus but not crucial; Choices: a) auxiliary gas heater system upside- works well; downside- relatively expensive; takes away some of the gas; could be dangerous; difficult to install; b) electrical heater system - upside- relatively cheap; downside- inefficient; ineffective; may drain battery; c) oil heater system (takes bypass oil and feeds through fan) upside: relatively inexpensive; no drain on efficiency; downside - no design yet available for Vanagons (bugs only); effects on oil temp and engine unknown; a challenge worth exploring; d) water cooled heater boxes - upside - may be the most efficient and maintenance free; downside - unknown cost and availability; installation; e) electric fan booster - upside - easy to install; cheap downside - works well with existing heat will not create more heat; good for defrosting; f) propane driven system upside - good for Westfalias downside -design yet unknown for feeding into vents (a challenge) g) insulation/down parka/blankets upside - mobile downside - cumbersome; must outfit entire family h) move to Florida upside - Marlin fishing downside - may become a bubba I am sure there other ideas or comments on these ones - DC
---------------------------------------------------------------------- David Carment School of International Affairs Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6 voice - (613) 788-2600-6662 fax - (613) 788-2889 Email address: dcarment@ccs.carleton.ca ----------------------------------------------------------------------
|
Please note - During the past 17 years of operation, several gigabytes of
Vanagon mail messages have been archived. Searching the entire collection
will take up to five minutes to complete. Please be patient!
Return to the archives @ gerry.vanagon.com
The vanagon mailing list archives are copyright (c) 1994-2011, and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the list administrators. Posting messages to this mailing list grants a license to the mailing list administrators to reproduce the message in a compilation, either printed or electronic. All compilations will be not-for-profit, with any excess proceeds going to the Vanagon mailing list.
Any profits from list compilations go exclusively towards the management and operation of the Vanagon mailing list and vanagon mailing list web site.