Heat for my '77 Kombi...please.

[Guest]

History Commands

[January 04, 2009, 07:18:08 AM] edwin .s.nathan: I live in a tropical country ie malaysia.Need to install air conditioning.Any idea on where to put the vents

[January 05, 2009, 10:21:13 AM] BusManVW70: Hello everyone Im new to the site and I have just added some pictures of my 1970 VW Camper his name is Fred enjoy..

[January 06, 2009, 10:03:55 AM] Jamesbehave: oh man

[January 06, 2009, 10:04:11 AM] Jamesbehave: talk about brain dead

[January 06, 2009, 10:04:22 AM] Jamesbehave: read my post

[January 06, 2009, 10:18:51 AM] JimmyD\'s: 1977 vw camper wont start HELP

[January 06, 2009, 10:19:09 AM] JimmyD\'s: her name is lucy

[January 06, 2009, 11:22:28 AM] Jamesbehave: whats going on

[January 06, 2009, 11:40:04 AM] JIMMYD: i have two shitty batteries I have been taking turns on trickle charges. So I put the fresh good battery in and she tries but

[January 06, 2009, 11:40:39 AM] JIMMYD: she won't flip. I've checked all the fuses.... rolled her back.

[January 06, 2009, 11:41:05 AM] JIMMYD: Found an old allman brothers ticket

[January 06, 2009, 11:42:02 AM] JIMMYD: the starter has always seemed fine.... no problems

[farmboy]

See update of the situation on 'reply 24', page 2.

I have a 4th question on 'reply 8'.  Thanks

Hello, I am new to the LMB site and...I am cold!

However, I am 'hot' on the trail of that allusive goal... Heat.

See below for all of the things I have done to my '77 transporter to pull more heat to front. But first, I have three questions:

1. Are the two 'Air non-return flap and pin' (check valves) between my cooling fan housing and my heater boots necessary? (You must realize that this is a pancake type 4 engine. These flaps (I see them called out in my Bentley book) just do not exist on the regular type 1 and 2 upright engine. They have been removed from my vehicle by a previous owner. !@#$%^&*!.

2. Are these flap check valves so important that I could radically increase my flow of air to the front by installing them and making them work?

3. Where could I attain these 'Air non-return flaps and pin's?

I hope you folks can help me before I freeze at the wheel!!!

Farmboy



Things that I have done to get Heat in my Kombi:

1. Patched, closed, duct taped and tied up the open connection between my fan housing and my heater boots.

2. Installed OEM fresh air hoses from my electric booster fan to the inpu heater boot ducts.

3. Made sure that the input heater boot ducts are well clamped and sealed.

4. Made sure that the heater boots do not have leaks around the exhaust pipe entrance and exit.

5. Made a good seal between my heater boots and outlet ducts and control boxes.

6. Installed new flexible heater pipes between the control boxes and the body ducts.

7. Checked the body's duct from back to front, looking for leaks. Unlike the sedan, the buses duct is totally accessible from under the car.

8. Closed off the floor port in the cargo/passenger area of the van with duct tape flush with the floor. (trying to make all air go to the front defrost and foot register).

9. Closed off the middle seat register. (still trying to make all air go to the front)

10. Closed off the branching side door ducts that go from the front, on the doors and register toward the back and the middle seat.

11. So far I am getting just enough air to slowly defrost my windshield. Just a small percentage of the air pressure from my booster fan will show up at the front of the car. Of course, the flow does increase somewhat when I rev the engine, however, I would still call it 'animic'.

[GostaBerling]

I have a similar problem with my '72. I haven't looked too far into it yet, but one of the main causes for problems in the air flow are bad cables, stuck valves on the heater control boxes, and mouse nests in the heater channels.

Good luck and to the LMB

[farmboy]

You know, the one thing I have not thought about is a stopped up duct.  What genius...!  My car WAS in a barn for several years before I got hold of it, and that could easily be the problem.  I will be checking into this at my next opportunity.

But also, I need to find out about the 'non return flaps'?

I would like to know about a mail order salvage yard that might have the parts.

farmboy

[GostaBerling]

Here's some reading material.

http://www.ratwell.com/technical/Heating.html

http://www.ratwell.com/technical/Heating.html

Here's a pair for sale

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=524694

If there is an obstruction then a air hose works wonders.

[vdubyah73]

If you are talking about the check flaps in the electric booster fan they should be there. They prevent cooling air from escaping up the tubes thru the electric fan at speed. If you are talking about the little metal ones at the bottom of the fan shroud where cooling air is diverted to the heater boxes, that is a subject of debate. I guess some say they are necessary to prevent the electric fan from dirupting the cooling air flow at idle. I don't have them and I don't worry about them. For more warmth try a search on thesamba.com bay window forum for ''heat'' this has been discussed in depth over there.
  On my 77 i found the ''Y'' pipe over the rear torsion housing to be swiss cheese under the fiberglass wrap . with access to a welder I made a new one with exhaust pipe, had to put humps under the back seat to clear the torsion housing. I think that is the first piece the laid out when they built a Bus. I replaced the center tube with 3'' exhaust pipe and insulated it with the remnants of the original cardboard tube. i then added a 3'' bilge blower fan available at any boaters supply store with a two speed switch rated for 10 amps as far to the front as I could to keep it from melting. I also replaced the slider and front door seals as well as duct taping shut the fresh air vents behind the grill on the front. I'm warm as toast after 10 minutes on the highway or 20 minutes around town. It's been in the upper teens to low 30's for the past week or so. Eliminating drafts is important And letting it rev helps also, Stay in 3rd around town up to 40 or so 45 if you just have to stop at the next light.

Good luck with it. You can get good heat out of them, you're just starting a little late. Most of us start fiddling with the heat in Sept.

Bill 

[farmboy]

    GostaBerling and Vdubyah73: thanks for the information.  Both of your returns were very good. 

    I will be investigating whether the Y split duct has been rusted out under its insulation.

The 'ratwell' article was also very good.  It shows a picture of the cooling shroud bottom 'non return flaps'. (the first time my eyes have ever gazed upon them)  I am still looking for a source for these little guys.  The ratwell article says that these flaps are very important:  "You will notice (or never have known that you lack) a serious lack of heat if you are missing these flaps."
 - (I would say I am noticeing...)

    Unfortunately the Samba ad was for the cooling flaps that control the heat to the engine, regulated by the thermostat.  I have these and I believe they are working ok. 

    I'll keep looking for the cooling shroud bottom 'non return flaps'.

[vdubyah73]

Read this thread, make your own.

http://itinerant-air-cooled.com/viewtopic.php?t=3232&highlight=heater+flaps


Bill

[delliott101]

This is all good to know!  I thought I would have to settle for my German Ice Box being just that!

[farmboy]

This is all good stuff.  I believe that this weekend, in between shopping trips, I will be making flaps out of catfood cans!  And blowing the rats nests out of my heater ducts.

You guys are real helpful, mind if I stick around?  I'll try to contribute (but only when I think I might know the answer).

In the mean time, I have another question about heat:

On stock wiring, how is the booster fan powered?

Really what I wish to know is how the booster is supposed to be switched on and off and if it is on an accesssory or hot circuit.
My fan has been 'messed with'.  The PO had a toggle switch on the dash and the power comes through the hot 'always on' fuse.  Somehow I don't believe this is proper.  I'll be looking in my Bentley wiring diagram, but having a human describe it would might reinforce what I find.

Thanks again for all your help... I like this place.

[GostaBerling]

We tend to like LMB a little bit as well. Please do stick around and contribute to anything you fell comfortable.

As for your question, I'd have to do some research but there's several very competent people on the board that may know the answer off the top of their head.

[VWBUSRAT]

  Hey they make heaters that plug in to the cig. lighter... possibly at a camper supply store
good luck vwbr

[vdubyah73]

Electrical isn't a strong suit of mine, I can usually muddle through on my own but have a hard time explaining. There should be a relay on a wiring plug up near your booster fan. There is power to the relay waiting to be sent to the fan. The relay gets its ground from the temp lever on your dash. when the temp lever on your dash is pulled all the way down it contacts a little nub in the mounting assembly that grounds the relay causing it to send power to the fan. Mine never worked right either. I was able to jumper the relay so that the temp lever on the dash triggered the fan. The fan made so little difference that I disconnected it and don't bother with it. Left it in place because it keeps the cooling air where it's supposed to be and looks clean.

Bill

[farmboy]

Thanks Bill, that is exactly what I needed.  I'll pick up the details from the wiring diagram and by inspection.

VWBUSRAT - If I cant make the heater work properly, I'll will be looking into the electric heater up front.  However, let me struggle with it a little more. I just might get it. 

Thanks

[GostaBerling]

VWBR, is in Texas so he doesn't need real heat. I've used the little ones before when I had my rabbit and thet were just a waste of money.

[bus boy john]

just a thought from arizona, where a little heat is appreicated in the winter, can you take a shop vac and reverse the hose (so it blows) and put on the lower part of the engine (where the cardboard hose goes in to the heater boxes) and blast air through the vents?  just to check flow