Date:         Tue, 17 Oct 95 17:16 CDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         EF0JPB1@mvs.cso.niu.edu
Subject:      Heat:  A New Approach?

All:

The heat threads have come and gone and come and gone and
frozen and thawed.  Apparently there are four schools of
thought on the subject that are easily discernable.  All of
these address heat only when the bus/van is moving (i.e. not
stationary camping which is a different matter).  The four
approaches are:

1)  Just freeze, don't expect air-cooled heat.

2)  Keep your heater boxes in tip-top shape and all your
tubes together and the insulation around them secure and you
will get enough heat to do what VW originally claimed "keep
the chill off"

3)  Add a gas-fired heater or keep the one you have.

4)  For spot heat only, add one of the radiant/ceramic
heaters as long as your electrical system is up to it.

I think each of these has merit, depending on who you are,
where you drive, and what you'll trust.  What I want to ask
about is another approach.

Since I also drive a water-leaker, maybe I'm just looking
for the best of both worlds.  It just seems to me that there
must be *some* efficient way to capture the heat that would
normally be given off by the oil cooler so that it can
routed to my feet or windshield instead of off to the car
behind me.  After all, isn't an external oil cooler just a
heater core by another name?

Here's what I would propose:

1)  Install external oil cooler. Mount it under the center
of the frame, next to the heater tube.

2) Shroud the cooler itself in enough sheet metal and
insulation to provide some options for directing air flow
around it.

3)  When you need heat, air flow over the coil is routed
through the heater tube to wherever you need heat.

4)  When you don't need heat, air flow is directed over the
coil to the outside under the bus.

5)  Add an oil temperature gauge to monitor when heat is
available, similar to the water cooled systems.

Yes, there will be times when you want to heat your oil to
operating temperatures (that's also true of water-leakers)
before you start heating your feet with it.  On short runs,
no one expects much heat from a car...even water cooled
engines.  It's the long runs, when your feet are freezing
and you're scraping the inside of your windshield that the
oil heater would come in handy.

So.  There is the idea.  I faintly remember seeing something
like this available somewhere, but can't find anything on
it.  I am, therefore, not claiming this is a new idea.  I
just want some feedback on the idea.  This is a diverse
group and I *know* there will be one person who knows how
much oil the stock and heavy duty pumps can pump.  There
will be someone who has a plan for valving/regulating the
oil flow so the engine doesn't overheat.  There will be
someone who knows the switch, the sensor, the chip, the
board, the hoses and the cooler.

Think of the benefit to humanity!  Think of the patent
royalties!  Think of thawed toes and clear windshields!
Let's put it all together and try it in Minnesota, what do
you say?

-Jim (just crazy enough to work) Bryant