interior heating

[Valentine Won]

Hi wondered if someone could tell me if its worth sorting out my heating in my bus for the winter because i have heard the the heat it gives out is not worth the effort any advise would be great . also if i don`t bother with the bus heater any ideas on alternitives thanks for reading shaun .

 

[faux]

The standard heating if well maintained is good, it works much better when moving.....not so good in a traffic jam.

Gas, diesel and petrol heaters can be bought to give extra heat, which on very cold days ( 0 and below) is useful.

 

[sparkywig]

If you get the heat exchangers and ducting set up properly and leak free it can get too hot in the van when driving, so don't believe people who say the original system is useless.
If you not happy with that, you can always spend out on a propex heater.

 

[Valentine Won]

so where does a propex heater go and how does it work and more importantly how much.

 

[sparkywig]

A propex heater is a heater that runs on propane gas and is normally mounted under the rear seat with a couple of vents through the floor for intake and exhaust air.
I think they start from about £400....

 

[Valentine Won]

ok! i think the price for the propex heater makes that a no for me, how difficult is it to get the heating system set up and running is it generally easy. You don`t know of a thread on how to do do this.

 

[sparkywig]

Can't recall one, but there's a few of us quite local to you if ever need assistance, even if it's just to drink tea and point at things. :lol:

 

[Valentine Won]

many thanks for your help mate much appreciated

 

[AxlFoley]

first plase to start is check your heat exchangers to make sure you have VW ones, if you do a search for heat exchangers on here you should find out how to tell there are a few different threads. you need these to get decent heating, as long as you have them its just a case of making sure everything works as VW intended, you will be toast warm all winter.

it does take a while to get them warm, but once they are it does get toasty inside the van.

 

[froggy]

I used my van last winter and to be honest once your moving and the engine has heated up, the standard heat exchanger set up will be more than adequate, takes abit to fully warm up and de-mist the windscreen but after this its all good

 

[Pete B]

What the others said. The standard system is great if everything is as VW intended.

 

[ozziedog]

Hi there, as Sparkywig says, there are plenty of us in the Bristol area. I`m in Kingswood, if you are about on the weekend, it may be worth your while having a look at my semi stripped donor van, which you can see all the ducting etc throughout the bodywork. You can also see why and where they get blocked and little heat comes out. As for the heat exchangers and hook ups to the engine, my system ain`t quite complete on my bus and that is something else on my list of jobs to do. Every day I do loads of things but the list just gets longer !! :lol: :lol: . If you want to pop over just give me a call, 07723 069 937. Don`t be put off by me not answering (grinder going) just hang about 2 / 3 mins and I`ll call you back with directions from the Tennnis Court Pub, by the ring road. :msn4:

Ozziedog The mad van stripper :? :shock: :?

 

[Doris]

just want to add my two pence worth,I agree that if maintained correctly,air cooled VW heating is fine & better when on the move.this *reputation* for poor heating has come from people neglecting the vehicles/not understanding the principles of operation over the years.

 

[froggy]

The only other thing i will add to this is make sure your exhaust is fully sealed and does not leak as these gases also get blown into the cab through the ducting (trust me its not nice :shock: )

 

[noddy]

I have to agree with all those who say the stock system is good.
The few thing you need to get right are.

1. Good VW heat exchanges not aftermarket ones, second hand pair is about 50 quid from a show, bug ones work as well as bus.
2. System sealed fully and long fore aft pipe insulated. (10 quid including cable ties)
3. Thermostatic system fitted and working, its just a bitch to get the engine warm in winter without it. (60 quid for all the bits, second hand flaps and new thermostat)
4 Door seal in good condition, and fresh air intake seal in good order. (around 200 quid for good quality C&C ones)

Get these things sorted and you wont need any other sort of heat source, bus will be warm in about 3 miles driving, I used to let mine warm up on the drive.

Fitting ambulance fans or some sort of inline fan to pull extra air may help but I never bothered.
If your sure you want an ancillary heater system fit an eberspacher great bits of kit good when using you bus for camping in cold weather, fit a new one not an old BN4 (unless you want to stay period).

 

[Matt_B]

I'm thinking of fitting a fan just to help pull the air forward, been looking at bilge blowers on ebay - about £25 - anyone used one?

 

[dubdubz]

I'm thinking of fitting a fan just to help pull the air forward, been looking at bilge blowers on ebay - about £25 - anyone used one?

wouldn't bother unless you put it at the back as a 'pusher' fan - if it's upstream and the heating is working properly it will melt the blower.....bluebird do one that doesn't melt apparently.....

the bug heat exchangers will need modifying to work with the bus levers?

 

[Mags]

All you need to know:
http://www.vw-resource.com/heat4.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[cyberdyne systems]

I love my aircooled VW's but lets be honest the heating isn't up to the standard of a modern watercooled :shock: . No hear me out, the thing is when they are set up as per the factory they are pretty good...BUT your output of warm air is dependant on engine speed, so when your on a motor way they are great, but when your in slow traffic on a cold day its never going to be up with the water cooled type, with its own fan.

Its true to say you need to make sure your not leaking cold air in through worn out seals etc and after a time the temp is pretty good but not spectacular. Having said that i'm a die hard aircooled all year round daily driver and wouldn't change it for the world!

 

[Valentine Won]

All you need to know:
http://www.vw-resource.com/heat4.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks for the thread it has helped me get my head around how the system works, much appreciated shaun.