Date:         Tue, 26 Nov 1996 12:15:29 -0500
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Tom Forhan <tforhan@pipeline.com>
Subject:      Propex: Starting the Installation

As we heard, the package is pretty complete, and everything 
looks great. Furnace itself is bright red. Lots of tie-wraps, the fuse
for the power line, etc.

The instructions are not VW specific, but seem complete. There is also a
template to help you make your cuts in the floor pan (but it does
not show where your frame girder is - be careful). Your real
decisions are where to put the thermostat, and how to place the 
heated air outlet and return air intake. 

The instructions show, as a sample installation, the air inlet directly
above the outlet. Since warm air rises, it would seem this would cause
the heated air to get drawn back into the furnace. I'd rather see the
inlet as far down toward the floor as possible, and the outlet above it.
Another option would be to put the outlet near the center of the van,
and have the inlet off to the right side, near the door. You only run
hose from the furnace to the outlet, the inlet simply allows airflow
into the area under the seat. 

>From the instructions, here is what you should either dig up in the
basement, borrow from your unca', or go shopping for:

Power drill and your usual drill bits

Usual screw drivers

1" hole saw, or 1" bit. For cutting through the floorpan
for the combustion inlet and exhaust; it needs to be able to
cut metal.

2" hole saw - for wood. This one is my suggestion for Westies, and not
mentioned in the instructions. Propex shows the exhaust passing 
through a metal floor, but in my Westie it will have to pass through
the wood floor of the underseat compartment before going through
the metal floorpan. I examined the exhaust pipe, and it is not double
walled. So to insulate the wall of the exhaust pipe from the wood,
I want to open up the wood portion of the hole through the floor
so that it never touches the exhaust pipe. I'd like to hear opinions on
this...

3 3/4"  hole saw: for cutting out the air inlet and outlet holes in the
wood/laminate front face of the rear seat.  I suppose you could do this
with that wobbly, jumpy hand-held jigsaw, but I'll just use my hole saw.
Call around, I found this item at a wholesale plumbing supply store, my 
fourth stop in the quest.

1/4 copper tubing. I got ten feet, probably twice as much as I need, but 
it allows for one major error. 

Tubing cutting tool. The ones I like have cutting blades on both sides,
and are called "minimum clearance" or something like that. They are
designed for work in small, cramped spaces, like VW buses.

Flaring tool, to do the ends of the pipe.

1/4" T-fitting, with associated flarenuts etc. This is how you will
branch off your existing propane line.

1/4" Shut-off valve with associated flarenuts, etc. Recommended by the 
manufacturer. I could not find one in town.

Silicon sealant. This is used for sealing the holes in the floor pan.

Teflon pipe compound. Not the tape. Use this on the threads of the 
flare nuts.

Soap and water for leak testing.

CO detector. Buy it while you are at the hardware store so you won't
forget!

Thats about it. The six major steps are:
(1) install furnace under seat. 
(2) remove fridge (examine your side panels for rust while you have it
out), run your gas line, install t-fitting, test for leaks.
(3) install the thermostat
(4) hook up the power to the aux battery system you installed last
weekend  ;-). 
(5) install the CO detector
(6) go camping!


Please share your thoughts on any and all of this.

Later!

Tom F.