heater tube replacement solution

[JDub113]

Got a new fan. Didn't blow heat still. Cut the tube off and it was full of mice stuffing. Damn you Ratatoui mouse. Home depot 4" stiff flex tube (not the best fit), plus 3 layers of that foil bubble wrap, and various spots with foil tape. Blows as good as I think it should. Just need the two cables for the rear elbow flaps on the heat exchangers. I have it wired shut to force it up front for the defroster and feet for now. Any tips on where to get the right length? Seems they can be longer than they are supposed to be..

Went to the fire dept down the street and they whipped out the real time carbon monoxide reader, 0ppm sweet. guess its oil in the system from oil leaks I smell.
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84 Wolfsburg Edition Westy

[JDub113]

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84 Wolfsburg Edition Westy

[jtauxe]

While we had the 1978 double cab up on the rotisserie, we decided to replace the original heat pipe with an off-the-shelf solution: a 3.5-inch double-wall stove pipe:

test fit:

detail of end:

installed:

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John
"Travelling in a fried-out Kombi, on a hippie trail, head full of zombie..." - Colin Hay and Ron Strykert
http://vw.tauxe.net
1969 Transporter, 1971 Westfalia, 1976, 1977, 1976, 1977, 1971, 1973, 1977 Westfalias,
1979 Champagne Sunroof, 1974 Westfalia Automatic, 1979 Transporter, 1972 Sportsmobile, 1973 Transporter Wild Westerner, 1974 Westfalia parts bus, 1975 Mexican single cab *FOR SALE*, 1978 Irish 4-door double cab RHD

[DougB]

Beautiful! Is the length "off the shelf", too, or did you have to cut it to fit?

Thanks,
- Doug
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'75 Campmobile (tin-top to SpaceRoof)
'73 Fastback
'52 BMW R67/2
'41 Zundapp KS600
'55 Puch SGS250
A very, very understanding wife

[Bala]

[curtis4085]

That looks great. Probably the cleanest and most reliable fixes I've seen for this section of heater tube.

Only think left is to paint it black so it resembles the OG plastic ducting.
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Special Thanks to:
Headflow Masters - Vista, CA
www.headflowmasters.com

[JDub113]

Looks nice. Home depot didn't have half sizes, so I went with the 4". I even went back and double checked. I'll have to try lowes I guess. I'm guessing it fit in easy with having the engine and collector tube out?
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84 Wolfsburg Edition Westy

[obieoberstar]

what did you use to seal the joints? the pictures show some kind of pink material.

[jtauxe]

I'll work on getting those questions answered by my metal guy who is doing the work. Meanwhile, here's a pic of the cross-bracing that was installed over the heat pipe. This is deemed necessary to add stiffness to the body, as part of adding a fourth door, so that the crew cab area has its own two doors.

Indeed many things are easier to do when you have stripped down the entire undercarriage.
_________________
John
"Travelling in a fried-out Kombi, on a hippie trail, head full of zombie..." - Colin Hay and Ron Strykert
http://vw.tauxe.net
1969 Transporter, 1971 Westfalia, 1976, 1977, 1976, 1977, 1971, 1973, 1977 Westfalias,
1979 Champagne Sunroof, 1974 Westfalia Automatic, 1979 Transporter, 1972 Sportsmobile, 1973 Transporter Wild Westerner, 1974 Westfalia parts bus, 1975 Mexican single cab *FOR SALE*, 1978 Irish 4-door double cab RHD

[jtauxe]

Answers from my metal guy, as promised:

[dugfresh]

That Stove pipe is also referred to in the Plumbing world as B-Vent. Its used to isolate the heat from furnace exhaust from combustable materials such as wood framing in a house.

(I find this solution humorous since my first "hack" solution to a heater tree was using plumbing parts... I was given appropriate ribbing for the hack and I got the appropriate heater tree from mr Tauxe... My plumbing parts solution is still in use... pushed in nose.. I'll get it in eventually!)

That steel pipe is galvanized and should stand up to the rigors much better than some other solutions i've seen.
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78 Riviera
http://flic.kr/s/aHsjDRJPa1

[jtauxe]

[Wildthings]

I bought some 4" (or maybe larger) split galvanized stove pipe and cut the crimps off along the edges. I then installed the pipe using band clamps to hold it in shape. You can basically make it any diameter you want, the ends don't even need to be the same size and it would be easy enough to force one end through one of the frame members. Once I was satisfied it fit just as I wanted it to I used sheet metal screw to more permanently close the joint. After removing the clamps I then wrapped the pipe with multiple layers of a stick on heat tolerant insulation and covered that with a shell made from splitting thin wall PVC drain pipe. I am sure it is at least 6 years ago now that I did the work and all still seems fine.

They sell the split stove pipe in different thickness gauges, you don't want the heavier gauges as they would be too hard to shape with the band clamps and screws. If you could find thin walled stainless that would be so much the better.

[scrivyscriv]

[hopeod]

[OB Bus]

[Wildthings]

PVC tops out at 160°F, while the heater boxes are capable of putting out closer to 300°F when pulling a long grade.

[richparker]

I used a straight piece of exhaust pipe. I wen to my local muffler shop and they sold it to me but the foot. I think I used 2”, but I don’t remember. I slid it into the existing pipe on the bus and used self tapping screws to hold it in place. I used silicone in the seams and wrapped it with closed foam insulation called Reflectix. I used metal zip ties to hike the reflectix in place.

Here’s a pic before I painted it black.

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’71 Westy build
Adventure thread
’65 Deluxe Build
’71 Double Cab