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Sun Feb 10, 2008 5:51 pm

Scored a gas heater out of a totalled 73 thing. Who is a good source for rebuilding? i considered doing this myself...but I kinda don't like screwing with gas and electricity when I don't really know what I'm doing...

Tried to send Ark Mirvis an e-mail but it got returned as no-good...address was [email protected] <[email protected]>...

thanks,

dog

Sun Feb 10, 2008 6:08 pm

http://members.aol.com/arkmirvis/heaterman.html
You might try calling the number listed on his home page.
I seem to remember discussions elsewhere trying to contact him and not having any luck.
Perhaps his personal situation has dramatically changed.

Mon Feb 11, 2008 7:42 am

If you have a copy of the latest Type 181 Magazine cd, it has an ad from a company in Oregon that rebuilds them. I'll post it later when I get home.

Wed Jun 18, 2008 12:32 pm

Here it is JUNE 18th and THE HEATER MAN'S email address still bounces. Is he gone???
What about the company in Oregon?
Name please.
Thanks

Tue Sep 23, 2008 12:37 pm

I finally found that company that repairs BN 4 heaters. It's Wagen Werks. Contact Kevin Penington 321 SE Craig Rd, Shelton WA 98584. 360-427-0530. [email protected]. I don't know if he's still in business. The ad in Type 181 Magazine says you get a 10% discount if you give him your membership number.

Thu Sep 25, 2008 4:25 pm

I just learned to overhaul and repair mine, they are really simple when it comes right down to it.

Thu Sep 25, 2008 5:02 pm

DUNEDRIVER wrote: I just learned to overhaul and repair mine, they are really simple when it comes right down to it.

They sure are.. I've rebuilt close a dozen of them

Fri Sep 26, 2008 3:40 pm

The thermostat is the problem with mine. The bi-metallic spring is sprung and I cant get it to make contact. I still need to play with adjusting the cable to see if that will work.

Sat Sep 27, 2008 4:54 am

Before I got screwed up, Ark was going to sell me the gas heater business said he was retiring, so I dont know what he did with all his stuff. He must have moved. You can try a nationwide search for him.

Sun Oct 26, 2008 1:39 am

I repair the South Wind Heaters. I have a lot new and used parts from Stewart Warner South Wind. I am rebuilding two fuel pumps and two combustion chambers for guys on the east coast. Another will be for a customers of Al at northeastheaters, which I am currently buying out.
I have used thermostat and microswitch used, tested and good for 75.00, 85.00 with shipping.
If you need your combustion chamber rebuilt I can do it for 225.00 including shipping. The rebuild will be with new parts.

Let me know what you need.

Sun Oct 26, 2008 8:55 am

another resource is marty allen from denver. he is an expert on the later BN2 and BN4 heaters and does excellent work. i've installed his rebuilt heaters and they are perfect. he is a samba member.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=9870

Thu Apr 30, 2009 10:00 am

mstatedog wrote: Scored a gas heater out of a totalled 73 thing. Who is a good source for rebuilding? i considered doing this myself...but I kinda don't like screwing with gas and electricity when I don't really know what I'm doing...

Tried to send Ark Mirvis an e-mail but it got returned as no-good...address was [email protected] <[email protected]>...

thanks,

dog
Hi-
I do gas htr service for all VW models built. If you know what you' re going to put it in and what condition it is I might give you the advice you need. [email protected]

Tue Jun 16, 2009 12:12 pm

After reading the posts on here I was able to go through my BN4 and now it produces Real heat.... BWAHHHAAAA.It Western Colorado That is a nice thing to have in the fall and winter..

Thank you all so much for your discussions. I could not have done it with out the thread..

Tue Jun 16, 2009 2:54 pm

mrea46 wrote: After reading the posts on here I was able to go through my BN4 and now it produces Real heat.... BWAHHHAAAA.It Western Colorado That is a nice thing to have in the fall and winter..

Thank you all so much for your discussions. I could not have done it with out the thread..

Congrats!

Tue Jun 16, 2009 4:22 pm

I think mine is the fuel pump but not sure i wish it would work. I get mine to spark and the fan blows but thats it and the timer switch works cause it will turn off after a while of blowing and I have to turn it again

Tue Jun 16, 2009 6:05 pm

http://veewiki2.webfactional.com/HeaterBN4/

Quote: When the pump is working, it'll click once every second or so. You can hear it in a Thing if you put your ear near the left-front wheel well. If you don't hear the pump clicking when the heater is running, you can remove the wires feeding it and check to see if it's getting that 12v pulse. If you see the pulse but the pump isn't clicking, then the pump is the issue.

Usually, the pump locks up requiring some maintenance. It's quite hardy, but will freeze up if not used every month or two. Hitting it with a hammer will often fix it - give it a few gentle whacks to free it up and it'll often start working again. If it hasn't worked in a long time, you may have to pull it from the car, wash out all the old fuel, give it a few jolts of 12v direct from the battery (CAREFUL CAREFUL of spark and shooting fuel!) and reinstall.

Note that the polarity of the wires to the pump does not matter. If you look very carefully, you'll see that there are no markings for which lead is which on the pump. The solenoid doesn't care.

Tue Jun 16, 2009 6:10 pm

i will try this good info must have missed it before

Thu Jun 18, 2009 9:30 am

From much investigation on this heater stuff:

when you get 12v solid, no pulse at the fuel pump;
it's usually the contacts inside the heater thats supposed to: for every 33turns of the fan 'click' which is supposed to pulse the 12v to the fuel pump, the pump is actually a solenoid so it works via voltage applied in an 'on off fashion' (not steady like you'd think a regular fuel pump should be).

I tested mine with a volt meter in place of the fuel pump, no pulse.

the Prev Owner of my THING said other items were diagnosed as bad for the heater, but I believe they were incorrect.
Alas; I have yet to pull this heater and investigate it but I thought I'd provide what I know to this point if it helps anyone.

I'm always open to help as well, a working heater would be wonderful.

I'm planning on visiting the Kentucky Kubel Treffen in July so I'm going to try to get more info from some folks in the know and go from there.

Be nice if we had a East coast Heater Guru!

T

Thu Jun 18, 2009 12:30 pm

Daddie'O and I fixed his points - it was a pain to do. Took us a few hours to disassemble the heater, took some creative work to get the points to the correct setting (can no longer just use the factory gap - no enough motion) then took a few hours to put it back together. It ran once we installed it though.

Anybody every install a relay inline to alleviate the high-current through those hard-to-replace and impossible-to-buy points?

Sat Nov 23, 2019 4:20 pm

Hi guys, I need a Safety Thermal Cutout switch for my heater. Anyone know of a supplier ?[img]
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