Vanagon Fresh Air / Recirc Control Kit from Vanistan

[jlrftype7]

[JennyB2930]

@ jlrfType7 thanks for the details. Its making sense now.

I think you're right, I have no heater box up front, nothing to rebuild. Good news is that the two side fresh air vents seal up tight as a ducks arse when closed, but I might play around with your idea of sealing up the front air intake and driving around just to see if there's a noticeable difference in overall air leaks, pressure etc. I do sometimes like to have cold air blowing through the drivers side vent when the heat is on (as mentioned in the GoWesty write up) so plugging the front air intake seasonally wouldn't allow for that. If there's a noticeable difference I'll consider installing a controllable flap.

I think I've got all the info on this subject that I need for now. Thanks everyone for your help and expert advice. Stay tuned I'll be back for more very soon no doubt! Jenny B!

[jlrftype7]

[Vanagon Nut]

[jlrftype7]

Thanks Neil, very cool response and info added.
_________________
'68 Westy- my first VW and vehicle/Bus- long gone.- sold it to a traveling Swiss couple....
'67 Type 3 Fastback, my 2nd car- gone
'69 Semi-Auto Stick Shift Beetle-gone
2017 MINI Coopers, our current DDs
‘84 Tin Top - Hilga....Auto

[JennyB2930]

@ Vanagon Nut: Wow! This is great! Figure 11.56 looks like the control flap that I cannot control on my van, because the other end of the cable which should be connected to lever 1 in Fig. 11.53 is broken off. The rest is helpful info for sure!

Heat does seem to be traveling well from the rear to front of van and since it doesn't get that cold here in sunny Sacramento, CA Im not freezing my tits off, but if that becomes an issue I will surely give it a run though and keep an eye out for...

- worn seals at flaps in heat box
- seized cables to heat control flaps at engine
- rust holes in those flap control boxes.

and make some adjustments as noted in the manual.

You guys are rad! <3

[Vanagon Nut]

Happy to help JennyB

Yeah against Westfalias' directive, once I got into camp I resorted to using my stove as a 'heating appliance'.

Ok, so the cables to rear and flaps etc are likely ok. It can't hurt to try and squirt lube into the cables where the exit sheath near the lever(s) at rear flaps. Some type of "creeping" thicker lube.

Assuming cable and lever at box still work ok, loosening the clamp that holds cable to bracket might allow you to gain some length, shape end to a "Z" shape, hook it back to lever. You might have to cut back some of the wire wound/plastic covers sheath so removing the cable first would obviously help. Not rocket surgery level stuff.

Neil.
_________________
1981 Westy DIY 15º ABA

1988 West DIY 50º ABA

VE7TBN

[tencentlife]

Hey y'all, a little update on the Cabin Air Control kit if you haven't visited my site in awhile (which you should do, though, there's some fun stuff on the blog).

Not long ago, supply of the steel mesh product I preferred for the pest screens went from spotty to non-existent. Us vendors have dealt with a lot of that sort of thing these last two years. Consequently the kit now comes without the screen pieces I formerly provided, but I dropped the price accordingly, to $150.

Instead, templates to make your own screens from suitable materials are downloadable from my product Guides page.

I do recommend screening the inlet opening so you don't have to remember to close the inlet door to keep rodents out. A metal mesh is preferred so they can't chew thru it.

Cold-weather's coming, so now's a good time to get better control of your cabin heating and interior noise. I also offer a bombproof heater valve if your old one is getting ready to go, it also has the radiator self-bleeding feature built-in.

https://intrepidoverland.com/shop/cabin-air-control/

https://intrepidoverland.com/shop/t3-vanagon-front-heater-valve/


My product installation guides will answer most questions, they're always available here for viewing or download:

https://intrepidoverland.com/product-instructions/

Have fun out there on your fall excursions! I'll be at VanCafe/RMW for the Sept. 15th cookout, come say hi!
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Shop for unique Vanagon accessories at the Vanistan shop:
https://intrepidoverland.com/vanistan/

Please don't PM here, I will not reply.

Experience is kryptonite to doctrine.

[bobbyblack]

Chris,

Thank you for the update, and I am so glad to see the kit on your site!!! Also, thanks for including the template, as I've mangled one side of one of my buses, and actually forgot that I needed to make a new one, so this is really timely and well received!!!

Much appreciation,

-bobby
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'87 Westy 'Flossie','86 Westy 'R1','86 tintop GL - Subi2.2 'J2','83.5 stock tintop L 'ZoomBus','74 Karmann Ghia, '63 Notch

[tencentlife]

Another update: I've managed some cost reductions despite this inflationary time, so was able to drop the prices $15 each on my two most popular items just in time for the season.

The Cabin Air Control kit was $150, now it's only $135.

https://intrepidoverland.com/shop/cabin-air-control/

Our bomber Heater Valve was $110, now only $95.

https://intrepidoverland.com/shop/t3-vanagon-front-heater-valve/

Aaaand, the smart move is to order both at once since both of these items can ship together in the same USPS flat-rate box. That way you save an extra $20 vs. shipping them separately in the US. And in Canada, shipping together will save almost $50!

Happy Halloween you goons, and happy trails to everyone else!
_________________
Shop for unique Vanagon accessories at the Vanistan shop:
https://intrepidoverland.com/vanistan/

Please don't PM here, I will not reply.

Experience is kryptonite to doctrine.

[jimf909]

Happy Halloween Trails to you too!

Regarding the installation of the valve on the return hose:

Feed or return side of heater circuit?
Vanagons generally came with the heater valve in the feed, or hot side, ignoring the convention of placing valves on the
colder side of heating circuits for longer life. The radiator auto-bleeding feature of this heater valve will purge the radiator
quickly and continuously if it is installed in the return hose, whether the heater valve is open or not. These instructions
describe the recommended installation in the return hose.

Doesn't that allow the coolant in the heater core to eventually be heated resulting in air passing through the core to be heated and slip into the cabin when the a/c is doing it's best to keep the occupants cool? I ask because I obviously haven't purchased the valve yet (thanks for the price reduction!) and have used hose vice clamps to stop the flow of hot coolant to the heater core. When I put the clamp on the return side of the circuit I seem to get warm air passing through the heater core but when I put the clamp on the feed side the air passing through the heater core seems to stay cooler. Granted, not getting a complete seal with the clamp can add to this problem.

In short: do you notice any difference in air temp passing through the heater core when putting the valve on the feed or return hose?

Thanks for the update on your cool stuff.
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- Jim

[tencentlife]

No, to transport hot coolant to the heater core, coolant has to flow out and back. It's a circuit, hot out and less hot returning, liquid has to displace other liquid for any movement to occur. Place a block (valve) at any point in the circuit and there is no flow, so no heated coolant can reach the core, the same way a switch placed anywhere in a simple electric circuit will stop electric current from flowing. So it doesn't matter which side of the heater core the valve is placed, it stops flow in the entire circuit wherever you put it.

In fact, VW ignored common convention in thermal systems design, where you put a valve on the cooler side of a circuit like this because the valve's life is longer if it sees only lower temperatures. Nonetheless their stock heater valves did manage to last well beyond the design life of maybe 15 years, but by now, just like any original radiator is at least ten years past due for replacement, the heater valves are mostly long past the time in service where one can expect them to fully close internally, or contain pressure at the shaft packing, or both.

With flow stopped, there is one other thermal transfer phenomenon (there's only 3: radiation, conduction, convection) happening, which is the static coolant conducting heat from the engine forward in the hoses. The valve in one or the other hose will retard but not stop conduction of heat across it, and of course there is no such resistor in the other open hose, but a liquid column only 5/8" in diameter enclosed with uninsulated rubber in free air is not going to conduct sensible heat the 12 feet it would have to for any warmth to be palpable at the heater core.

In your tests, it wouldn't matter where in the circuit you clamped a hose, but it sounds like whatever clamp you're applying isn't completely pinching the hose shut.
_________________
Shop for unique Vanagon accessories at the Vanistan shop:
https://intrepidoverland.com/vanistan/

Please don't PM here, I will not reply.

Experience is kryptonite to doctrine.

[mtnhome]

Finished installing the kit I bought quite a while ago. Instead of pulling the grommet, I just used a drill to poke a hole in the center of it, pushed a stiff wire through, taped the cable to that and was able to pull it back out the front. Since I've deleted my rear heater, I printed up a mount to use the hole from the rear blower fan switch, Used the original wiring to an led to illuminate it at night. Not perfect but it should work well.

_________________
'84 Westy, '93 Subaru ej22 and Subarugears 5speed
Build thread: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=763098&highlight=

[MuzzcoVW]

Are these no longer available? The link is dead

[tpinthepack]

https://intrepidoverland.com/vanistan/

Works for me.
_________________
TP in the Pack (I am a cyclist)
1968 Manx N.O.S. w/ Barrett Chassis
1960 Single Cab 1914 w/ 40 DLRA's
1990 Vanagon DOKA
1972 Super Beetle
1979 Super Beetle Convertible
2011 Porsche Cayenne

[MuzzcoVW]

[Honuak]

Installed this kit over the weekend. I had an older (first?) version of the kit that used plastic parts in the ram air space and more importantly a different opening mech that was a bit problematic. To be clear, I am not complaining. This kit, like so many other cool retrofits/fixes for our old vans is one of the things that makes owning one of these relics doable and fun. This mod really should have been part of the build from factory. I used to just block the intake in winter months. I really love this kit.
I digress.
The instructions are good, a video would be nice. Took some ciphering to be sure of the orientation of the various peices, not at all difficult but still a vid of instalation process would be cool. I reused the previously installed push pull cable that I had retrofitted. It has a smaller diameter cable but it works great.
For mouse stopper I used a sheet of expanded aluminium from my local hardware store. I wanted the holes to be large enough to maximuze air flow so I combined the metal mesh with a cut to fit piece of activated carbon sheet to eliminate small insects from getting into my heater box. When I rebuilt the van 12 years ago there were a lot of bug parts stuck in the heater core that mangned to make it past the stock plastic screen.

I put another piece of the carbon sheet on the backside of the grill, I suppose a small air quality improvemnt can be expected.

[DanHoug]

living in AK, you'll like the heat increase from the recirc. i don't have recirc but i do close off the ram air about 90% to slow down the air flow over the heater core, pretty much by fan draw only, and i get much hotter air. also, i left the perforated plate out. much conjecture as to why it is there, most of it wrong. bottom line, living in extremely cold temps and driving the van year round, i get much better heat without it. without it, the air flow is slower thru the core if ram air is managed, giving more time to pick up heat.
_________________
-dan
60% of what you find on the internet is wrong, including this post.

'87 Westy & '89 Westy both 2.1 4spd

Past projects can be found at--
www.thefixitworkshop.com

[shagginwagon83]

[jimf909]