Vanagon Gas Heater?

[OhChit]

I searched the Forum but didn't see anything to answer my question. My question is how do I or can I install a Gas Heater in my mid 80's Vanagon. I use to have one in my older AC Bay Window and really loved it. What's my best affordable choice if I want to install one. Can I install a B2 or B4, has anyone done this or is there a better solution for camping in chilly weather? I was considering the B2 or B4 for several reasons, one parts availablity also it would be an installed item that wouldn't get triped over, etc. What's your thoughts?

[woggs1]

[foodeater]

The gas(oline) heaters are are much more common on the air-cooled Vanagons. In fact I cant think of ever seeing a US model water-cooled Vanagon with one, the reason being it was easier, cheaper, and almost as effective for VW to just put in that leaky rear heater we all know and love.

I had an air-cooled vanagon that had the gas heater, and it was great. one of my favorite things about it was that you could run it with the motor off and it worked just as well. I think your best bet would be the classifieds section here or on ebay.

Heres an ad for one http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=451726

I think it would be best if you could find one in a junkyard. or on a van someone is parting out, so that you could take everything that you'll need off the van yourself.That way you'll get to see how everything gets connected. Dont forget the switches, relays, and other little bits that might not come with it if someone else took it off the van.
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[OhChit]

Yep. I really liked the old style gas blower / heater in aircooled VDubs also. Heck they used the same fuel as the engine, and would keep the van nice and toasty using very little fuel. That's exactly why I was thinking of the gas heater idea. I realize that the newer Vanagon gas heaters are expensive and more complicated, then the earlier styles, that's why I was trying to think of a reason why not to install the older style? Think about all of the parts etc that are still avalible for those style heaters.

[r39o]

My neighbor didn't know he had the factory gasoline heater until one day he asked me what a particular knob was for!!!!

That is in an 85 wbx with a sunroof but no A/C.
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[carterzest]

[FNGRUVN]

Have you considered a Propex heater? New technology at half the size and weight.

[airkooledchris]

i have a BA6 in my ac Vanagon and its simply awesome.

hardly uses much fuel and puts out a ridiculous amount of heat....

only drawback is the thing needs juice to keep going so watch your battery and/or run a deep cycle battery... there is also a timer and you can only run it for a little bit before you would need to manually start that process again.

im sure there is a way to run it constantly by hacking something, or getting a real unlimited timer for it - but you'd have to search around, It's not something ive looked in to. unless your staying somewhere really really cold, you can usually get away with just firing it up before bed and once in the morning and your set.

[Robw_z]

What is the likelihood of finding one of these in an old junkyard aircooled bus? How are they installed in a Vanagon? I'm gonna need some heat this winter but a Propex is out of my price range.

-Rob

[Wellington]

The BA6 was an option in Canada. I have one factory fitted in my !985 Westfalia and love it. The P.O. I think took every option available at the time. As well I have the heater under the rear seat, but the gasoline heater is instant. Great for those rainy camping walks. It will run your battery down if used a lot. The switch has a timer in it, so you can set it for a predetermined run "time"

[carterzest]

[coolwind57]

[airkooledchris]

As mentioned above I have a BA6 and it is awesome, however having said that, for the money and time you would need to install it into your van - the Mr Heater units are a GREAT alternate.
You wont run your battery dead and these suckers really pump out a LOT of heat.

not a good solution if you want it for driving around, but for camping, they are steller.

for driving around, id try to get a complete unit that you pull yourself locally, so you know how all of these old parts fit together. otherwise, for the time and money you'd end up spending adapting a misc eBay purchased one to your van - you'd probably end up wishing you just did the propex - not to mention the propex would retain its value if you were to ever get rid of the van (justification?)

[OhChit]

Yes, the Mr Heater Propex units are very nice but I just refuse to spend that kind of money on something that we'll only use seasonal. Heck for a few bucks I'd rather pickup one of those small propane Coleman heaters to run simply to get the chill out of the van. My goal is to either install the gas BN2 or the newer style Vanagon gas heater. A while back I saw a complete Westy in a scrap yard that still had a gas heater installed and when I get back to that yard my 1st mission will be to see if the heater is still intact? I'm actually leaning towards the BN2 due to their small size, reasonably priced, and abundant parts availability. Not to mention it's a solid performer. Yes I realize that it's a smaller heater, but the key here is to get enough heat to take the chill out, not bulding a Vanagon Steam room. Besides that there's always the hot water engine heater, and reguardless what heater anyone uses, I would suggest adding an inexpensive CO2 / fire sensor inside of your Van for safety reasons etc. By the way, I remembered seeing some place where a guy added a very small DC Computer fan "most all computers use 12V DC fans" above his gally stove and also used it as an exhaust fan, it was ducted outside. Anyone ever done this, those small fans only pull about 1amp of power yet move alot of air. Something like this could serve several usages, and work well as a fresh air ventilating system in conjunction with a heater if run for extended time.

[mightyart]

[pb24ss]

[Sodo]

[Jon_slider]

> You don't just turn it on in the morning and go back to sleep, you have to keep getting up to reset the timer, and while its running you can't sleep anyway.

to get heat, we have to tolerate noise

the reason those timers turn off is to save the starter battery

it is best to have an auxiliary battery if you intend to run a fan powered heater.

It is not, in my opinion, realistic to run a propex or any fan powered heater while you are sleeping, unless you wear earplugs.

My propex is louder than my stock rear heater fan on position 2.

I also dont think it is safe to run a Mr. Heater Buddy while sleeping. They require an open window, and they produce a lot of moisture, as well as smelling bad if you use them above 8000 feet.

imo, a Coleman Catalytic heater is MUCH safer than a Heater buddy.. they burn cleaner

As far as the thermostat feature, imho, it is overrated. I usually just turn my propex on and off by hand, to save propane.

I think one of the gasoline powered heaters would be an excellent alternative to a propane powered one. Then you dont have to keep worrying about when you will run out of propane, since there is no gauge on the propane tank..

[airkooledchris]

the Buddy heaters are Catalytic also, just like those coleman black cats that everyone was using a few years back.


is there a way to beat the 'switch' on the heater-timer so you could run it longer if you wanted to?

I have a dual battery setup and when camping I switch everything in the vehicle over to the deep cycle and would like to run the heater a BIT longer while sleeping in the morning without having to get up and re-do it over and over.

[Texxxxx]