fan boosted heaters /demist

[dlscott1974]

i have been mulling this over for a bit was wondering what people thought to this
obviously the bus aint got the greatest demist in the world especially when driving slow in traffic
so i started to wonder about an aftermarket fix
i have not measured the centre duct underneath the bus but these are available in a few sizes
what about fitting one of these inline
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bilge-Blo...ssories_SM&hash=item56444599f9#ht_2618wt_1110

 

[dlscott1974]

cant believe no one has any thoughts on this

 

[sparkywig]

OK. Mine's fine, doesn't need a fan.

 

[justcruzin]

I am trying to figure out something to do the same thing. I hooked this up last year,

Here is a pic before I ran both the fresh air tubes.

It's just a 12 volt fan my hubby found. It worked pretty good but over on the Samba I got a lot of people telling me I would eventually burn out my heater boxes. They said that the fan wasn't as strong as the generator fan and not enough air would be cooling the heater boxes. They said that no air would be getting to them when I shut the fan off. I just left it on all the time and used my dash levers to shut off the heat.

I am looking for something different this year. I want something under the nose of the bus. I have seen people put fans in that location too. I just need to figure out a fan that will fit.

As far as the bilge pump, I have read that they get hot (from the heat off the heater boxes) and some melt. I also read that they are ment to run for short periods. The jury is still out on those for me. I need to do more reading. I found most my info on The Samba.

Oh, and with my fan set up I still ended up putting a Buddy Heater in my bus to help heat the insides better. The fan did a good job at defrosting the windshield and also keeping it defrosted.

 

[Zcat7]

Interesting idea. I can only think that there may be a pressure differential issue. I mean how do you get to draw extra flow through if the main engine cooling fan isn't already pushing it past the heat exchangers? Or are you thinking of blending that airflow with a new warm air source of some sort? Hope that makes sense!

Neil

 

[uber cool]

I think VW did something like this, see below. fitted as standard to ambulance buses. Hence it has the name of ambulance fan, pop up now and again on ebay. they are mounted under the dash.

 

[dlscott1974]

yes i have seen the ambulance fans but not many about and pricey

 

[Loxy]

yes i have seen the ambulance fans but not many about and pricey

I think they only blow cold air(I guess I really should wire mine up!!).

 

[Tofufi]

I am trying to figure out something to do the same thing. I hooked this up last year,


It's just a 12 volt fan my hubby found. It worked pretty good but over on the Samba I got a lot of people telling me I would eventually burn out my heater boxes. They said that the fan wasn't as strong as the generator fan and not enough air would be cooling the heater boxes. They said that no air would be getting to them when I shut the fan off. I just left it on all the time and used my dash levers to shut off the heat.

I am looking for something different this year. I want something under the nose of the bus. I have seen people put fans in that location too. I just need to figure out a fan that will fit.

As far as the bilge pump, I have read that they get hot (from the heat off the heater boxes) and some melt. I also read that they are ment to run for short periods. The jury is still out on those for me. I need to do more reading. I found most my info on The Samba.

Oh, and with my fan set up I still ended up putting a Buddy Heater in my bus to help heat the insides better. The fan did a good job at defrosting the windshield and also keeping it defrosted.

I tried something similar last winter. I spend a lot of time sitting at idle in traffic, and it's then that it just doesn't warm up inside my bus, as there is so little airflow.

I made small pods that fitted on the standard heater connections on the exhaust, allowing both the engine fan and additional cooling fan (standard fan from a type IV engined late bay) to blow through the heating system simultaneously.

I'm not sure I saw much of an improvement at idle when I turned the fan on, so I am wondering if there is a blockage or issue with my heater tubes under the van somewhere. I can hear air escaping when I go under the van, but the bellypan prevents me from seeing where... being a UK van with a probable 250,000 miles on the clock I'm wondering if the heater tube inside the bellypan has collapsed or rusted. My pods may have actually added a restriction and reduced airflow, but it's hard to measure.



I reverted back to standard, but still have all the parts to try again once I've removed the centre bellypan. I do feel a front mounted fan might be a better solution, if you can find something that'll withstand the heat. I've melted a tarpaulin I left under the rear seat of my camper before, so the heat is there, it's just not coming through fast enough. If it'll melt a tarpaulin, you'll need a fairly tough motor on an in-line pump, I'd have thought a fan with an external motor (like mine or justcruzin's ones) might be better at withstanding the heat.

 

[Araon]

Bluebird used to do a fan that is built to withstand the heat....not cheap mind, drop them a line for info

 

[mike202]

When I was driving in rain yesterday and the windscreen was steamed up I thought at first that it was because the warm air flow from the windscreen vents wasn't enough, but it seemed after a while that the warm air coming through was actually quite damp. At one point I even saw steam come out the dash vents onto the windscreen ! I had just gone through quite a large amount of standing water though.

Maybe a better solution is to have some extra on board heating such as a propex, eberspacher etc.

 

[dlscott1974]

i was thinking of mounting a fan in the centre tube underneath as an inline jobbie

 

[mike202]

Hi I am interested to hear if you have you mounted one of these fans,

If so has it made much of an improvement? :msn4:

cheers

 

[Harlequin]

I bought & fitted the Bluebird blower several years ago [when it was a lot cheaper]
works a treat
http://www.bluebird-type2.co.uk/Split%20bay%20interior.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[sparkywig]

When I was driving in rain yesterday and the windscreen was steamed up I thought at first that it was because the warm air flow from the windscreen vents wasn't enough, but it seemed after a while that the warm air coming through was actually quite damp. At one point I even saw steam come out the dash vents onto the windscreen ! I had just gone through quite a large amount of standing water though.

Maybe a better solution is to have some extra on board heating such as a propex, eberspacher etc.

Are the flexible tubes that connect the heat exchangers to the central tube sealed and clamped?
Mine had the same problem until I actually fitted the correct sealing rings.

 

[mike202]

When I was driving in rain yesterday and the windscreen was steamed up I thought at first that it was because the warm air flow from the windscreen vents wasn't enough, but it seemed after a while that the warm air coming through was actually quite damp. At one point I even saw steam come out the dash vents onto the windscreen ! I had just gone through quite a large amount of standing water though.

Maybe a better solution is to have some extra on board heating such as a propex, eberspacher etc.

Are the flexible tubes that connect the heat exchangers to the central tube sealed and clamped?
Mine had the same problem until I actually fitted the correct sealing rings.

I think this is something I need to look at, will check things this winter, thanks for the advice.

It was a very wet day though, back in JUNE!!, and I have not had had steam coming out of the vents since.

Today it was cool and parked up having a cup of tea the windows steamed up, as they do, and it reminded me that it would have been
really handy to have a fan to demist the windscreen.
Pic before totally steamed up

 

[mike202]

I bought & fitted the Bluebird blower several years ago [when it was a lot cheaper]
works a treat
http://www.bluebird-type2.co.uk/Split%20bay%20interior.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I take it you mean this one. (heater booster) It s £99.95 now.
Was it easy to install?

 

[Harlequin]

I bought & fitted the Bluebird blower several years ago [when it was a lot cheaper]
works a treat
http://www.bluebird-type2.co.uk/Split%20bay%20interior.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I take it you mean this one. (heater booster) It s £99.95 now.
Was it easy to install?

Thats the one......fairly simple to fit...

 

[Tristan71]

Interesting idea. I can only think that there may be a pressure differential issue. I mean how do you get to draw extra flow through if the main engine cooling fan isn't already pushing it past the heat exchangers? Or are you thinking of blending that airflow with a new warm air source of some sort? Hope that makes sense!

Neil

That's what I thought if you suck air from the fan housing you loose air cooling the engine !! Could you use a fan from a late bay take the pipes of the fan housing and fit the to that ??

 

[matt-me]

Interesting idea. I can only think that there may be a pressure differential issue. I mean how do you get to draw extra flow through if the main engine cooling fan isn't already pushing it past the heat exchangers? Or are you thinking of blending that airflow with a new warm air source of some sort? Hope that makes sense!

Neil

That's what I thought if you suck air from the fan housing you loose air cooling the engine !! Could you use a fan from a late bay take the pipes of the fan housing and fit the to that ??

I'm pretty sure that's how they work on the late bays where they're standard