TheSamba.com :: View topic - Winter's coming, time for some heat, BN-2 install

Thu Oct 08, 2009 8:03 pm

I try not to drive my 71 in the winter, but there are some days when the roads are salt free and the sun is out that just scream for a drive, but it's cold, damn cold sometimes. Now our 71 is an almost rust free OG paint survivor that I just don't have the cajones to start cutting big obvious holes in, besides I like the clean, uncluttered look of the engine compartment and a BN-4 would just mess up that mojo.

So what's a chilly guy to do? I had a bonus BN-2 kicking around the shop so I started to try jamming it into places to see if it would fit. Under the cab floor? No. Inline in the heat duct? maybe, but the splashing can't be good for it, it rains a little here. How about under the back seat? Yeah!

I had to trim approx 1/2" off of the end of each mounting ear and hole saw 2 small holes under the back seat but it went in without a big fight. Here's the holes and the exhaust and combustion intake tube on the bottom of the bus, I used red silicone to make sure ther wasn't going to be any exhaust or water leaks.

I had to manufacture a custom exhaust, most of it was from the FLAPS and I tried my hand at duplicating the trademark tip treatment that most VW gas heaters have, not bad eh?

The metering pump is mounted on the road side of the sloping firewall just ahead of the LH accordian tube, I Teed the line into the line off the tank just like a BN-4 installation does and ran the output line through a grommet to the heater, same deal with the power wire in a separate grommet.
For the outlet I trimmed down a late beetle outlet and it looks like it was made for the job, my bus is a bench upfront but if it was a walkthrough the heat would easily blow right up to the cab and the windshield.

While playing around with it I did find it a bit loud, adding the macaroni shaped beetle duct to the inlet really cut down on the noise, it just draws air from under the seat, there's enough gaps between the backrest and the kick panel.

So it's in and tested, damn I want to go for a drive but don't want to hack my dash with another switch, and the fuse box tapping?, OY!, so I used my rear defogger switch, WTF it never worked anyways, perfect!

So it's in and it runs, yeah!, but now my old kick panel doesn't fit, bummer, hafta make another one.

Almost looks like it came with it and it's easily reversible, especially since there's only 2 significant holes hidden under the back seat.
And as for the beta testing? I did this install last winter and even got to try it at 10 deg F OAT one morning (record cold for this area), FREAKING AWESOME!!! the bus was tolerable inside after 3 minutes and you could remove your coat in 5 after a dead cold fireup, the defrosters weren't even making heat yet. I still have to come up with a heat shield for the rubber cargo mat as the smell of hot rubber does get a litle thick afer a while and a timer switch would be nice, but in general I'm very happy and got it done for less than just the supply tank for a propex would have cost. :D

Thu Oct 08, 2009 8:09 pm

That's EXACTLY how I imagined your engine compartment to look... :)

BN4's ROCK! (mine works only because you fixed her)

nice post BD!

Cue up some Rush, Bryan Adams, or Allanis Morisette....

Thu Oct 08, 2009 8:31 pm

nice work BusDaddy. Just wish I could have been there when you were doing the delicate work...

Thu Oct 08, 2009 9:50 pm

SGKent wrote: nice work BusDaddy. Just wish I could have been there when you were doing the delicate work...

Hahahahaha..... Thanks, yeah that first hole involved some major pucker, especially with that brake line nearby. I drilled a tiny, short pilot hole first to confirm my measurements and pre drilled the holes for the exhaust and combustion air pipes in a piece of 1X4 first, then screwed that to the floor using the proposed hold down holes and used it as a guide for the hole saw. All this when I knew nobody was around to distract me :wink: I lost count of how many times the back seat was in and out for fit confirmation.

Kombi, the BN-4 is a better heater by far, but I don't drive the bus when the snow is falling, to many freaks on the road let alone the salt, this one heats the bus fine for an average winter day and is almost instant heat. Alot of my trips lately are less than 5 miles each way and the engine heat is just starting to be useful by the time I get there.

Thu Oct 08, 2009 9:53 pm

it is a very nice and clean jpb. Did you make the exhaust tailpipe or is that a sawed off 1978 heater dump?

Thu Oct 08, 2009 11:02 pm

Nice work! I'm totally jealous...oh to have heat during those cold winter days. I just hate the part when you're driving when its cold and your windshield fogs up like mad, so you gotta drive around for a bit with the windows down so you can see but it just makes it colder inside!

Thu Oct 08, 2009 11:02 pm

SGKent wrote: Did you make the exhaust tailpipe or is that a sawed off 1978 heater dump?

The tailpipes are exclusive (i think) for eberspacher heaters...some folks think i have a dual exhaust system....it's just my heater.

note the 'blockage' in both mine, and BusDaddy's tailpipes....it serves a purpose...

Fri Oct 09, 2009 2:27 am

I believe it is to prevent plugging should you back into a snowbank. Plugging it would result in heater shutdown.

Fri Oct 09, 2009 6:13 pm

Thats Exactly what i'll do...That is a great install!

Fri Oct 09, 2009 8:09 pm

Slick set up, nice mount :wink:

Sat Oct 10, 2009 12:13 am

Busdaddy, you again impress us with your savy and professionalism. That is one sweet intall. Nice work!

Sat Oct 10, 2009 6:18 am

One thing, are you pulling stale air from the cabin? I read you ran it up the back of the seat.. :?:

Sat Oct 10, 2009 8:33 am

purplepeopleeater wrote: One thing, are you pulling stale air from the cabin? I read you ran it up the back of the seat.. :?:
It gets it's heating air from the area under the seat, there's a nice gap at each end of the backrest facing the luggage area and space at the ends of the lower seat at the sidewalls, the total hole area is much larger than the inlet on the heater. Combustion air comes from under the bus, it's the small tube beside the exhaust.
I was playing around with the long and short elbows and found that they muffle the fan noise quite a bit, the long one runs across behind the heater and the short one does another 180 back to facing left. Look between the wiring cover on the heater and the seat leg to see the open end of the short elbow, near where the wires and fuel line come through the firewall.
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They are just stuck on there with a friction fit and seem to stay on fine so far, if I remove them and the outlet duct I can remove the back seat without disturbing the heater.

Sat Oct 10, 2009 10:17 am

Hey Busdaddy- Have you got another one of them BN-2's kicking around? I just need something to use for early spring and late fall camping and don't want to take out a mortgage on a Propex! A small gravity-feed type furnace would be ideal too but can't find one.

Sat Oct 10, 2009 12:23 pm

I'll see what I can find, in your case you may be better off hooking up with Purplepeopleeater for that BA-6 rig.

Sat Oct 10, 2009 1:19 pm

Nice and clean install busdaddy!
I have yet to see how the stock heats holds up in Vancouver "winter". :?

Sat Oct 10, 2009 1:59 pm

Batan wrote: I have yet to see how the stock heats holds up in Vancouver "winter". :?

I find stock heaters good only one thing...winter drives over 20 miles.(seems to take that long to heat up the system and I have all my pipes insulated) The gas heater can pre-heat your bus, provide early morning/late night camping comfort, and keep you "JUST PLAIN COMFORTABLE"... 8)

Anything less than 20 miles, just dress warm. They never actually 'defrost' the front window, so a T-shirt is always at hand anyways...

Oh, and if you hit a deep puddle of water...need I mention the Bus sauna?

Sat Oct 10, 2009 2:15 pm

73kombi wrote: Oh, and if you hit a deep puddle of water...need I mention the Bus sauna?
Try that move in a singlecab with holey heat exchangers, all the windows instantly turn white :shock:

I found the same thing with the stock heater, it works well but it's nearly useless on short trips which I seem to do alot lately, that's why I went with the gas heater.
The alternative is the mittens with the squeegee sewn on to the back of one and an ice scraper on the other. :P

Sat Oct 10, 2009 2:26 pm

73kombi wrote: Batan wrote: I have yet to see how the stock heats holds up in Vancouver "winter". :?

I find stock heaters good only one thing...winter drives over 20 miles.(seems to take that long to heat up the system and I have all my pipes insulated) The gas heater can pre-heat your bus, provide early morning/late night camping comfort, and keep you "JUST PLAIN COMFORTABLE"... 8)

Anything less than 20 miles, just dress warm. They never actually 'defrost' the front window, so a T-shirt is always at hand anyways...

Oh, and if you hit a deep puddle of water...need I mention the Bus sauna?

Haha...

That's one thing that was always appealing to me about gas heaters - the instant heat. They beat even watercooled modern cars that way.

Sat Oct 10, 2009 2:38 pm

What kind of switch are you using to fire it up?