Date: Sun, 23 Aug 1998 20:57:45 -0600
Reply-To: JCLC Thomasson <jthom@NUCLEUS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: JCLC Thomasson <jthom@NUCLEUS.COM>
Subject: Re: BN4 Heater in '85 Vanagon Westy.-Follow-up! (2nd try!)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Sorry for a bad post the first time, but something went haywire with my
email and unfortunately you can see the result! Plain Text this time!
(Original Message)
A while back I posted a query on the mailing list:
031150 96/06/18 22:36 BN4 Heater in Vanagon - Is it possible?
Well I finally got the heater in and it works great. I managed to exchange
some work on the '73 Westy in return for the heater. And what a deal that
was. The combustion can was still gold, ie no blueing (or rust!) so it was
almost brand new! I set it up on a board and tested it and it fired up
immediately and produced quite a smoke screen as 25 years of accumulated
dust burned off.
So I mounted it outside, parallel with the axles, above the transmission. I
hung it from above (with the right orientation) using the existing bracket
with the two rubbers, and another I picked up from the junker. I used 6
inch stainless hose clamps to secure it to the mounts, and bolted the mount
up through the rear floor just ahead of the engine access. So it is rock
solid but still uses the rubber vibration isolators. I got a reducer down
to 4 in pipe for the outlet and an elbow from a heating supply and the
mounting is that after the duct takes the 90 from the heater and passes
through the firewall, a flexible duct runs along the roadside side of the
existing rear heater box. The bimetal heater regulator is mounted in the
flex pipe just before the outlet. I also mounted the electronics from the
heater to that space inside as well to allow access and
troubleshooting/reset. There is no access to the Heater once installed
without removal. The glow plug can only be gotten to though, with a lot of
twisting and swearing, but it is possible. The heater inlet uses the
original plastic duct and I cut through the firewall again for it. That
hole ends up in the middle between the heater box and the curbside wall.
Exhaust originally went out the roadside but have since moved it to the
curbside due to the pipe length issue and sooting. I plan on moving it back
as I understand a little more about the heater and adjusting the fuel to
prevent soot, and besides it really stinks every time one opens the sliding
door. I use a programmable thermostat for temp control. (great for those
cold Canadian winters when I can program it to heat the van just before the
commute!). I also installed a relay that will turn the heater OFF once the
van engine is started since there is the coolant heater then. I also
installed a deep cycle camper battery to power it, with the charging circuit
as per the Bentley book. The battery is currently under the rear seat but
I plan to move it to the back of the closet since that is not always used
space and vent it out to the roadside.
I've used it for a couple winter adventures and it kept the van very
comfortable. It was not an easy install but I think it has been really worth
it!
Cheers
Jim Thomasson
'85 Westy, Calgary Canada
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