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badstuw Samba Member
Joined: June 05, 2011 Posts: 36 Location: San Diego CA
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Posted: Fri May 08, 2020 9:36 pm Post subject: DPD A/C unit, can't find comparison |
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A little while ago I picked up a DPD air conditioner from a local SoCal Bay window owner. It's in really decent shape and I've cleaned and repaired most of it. The evap coil inside is in amazing shape. The question I have is that I've never seen this model before. It remains center beneath the dash, butting up against the steering column and the other side ending about midway under the glove compartment. In the second picture, you can see the space for the e-brake lever and the e-brake pull shaft. I've mocked it up and its 100% meant for a bay window.
I couldn't come up with any posts or picture searches with this knob configuration, most models have the vents more spread out with the leftmost one going on the other side of the steering column and the blower fans more spread out. Unfortunately, the manufacture DPD label (picture 3) is pretty incomplete. Anybody have a comparison of this unit installed? I'm going to order the remaining components from Gilmore-enterprises, minus their under-dash unit, for a great deal. way better than piecemealing my own kit together for a good price.
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SGKent Samba Member
Joined: October 30, 2007 Posts: 41031 Location: Citrus Heights CA (Near Sacramento)
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Posted: Fri May 08, 2020 10:11 pm Post subject: Re: DPD A/C unit, can't find comparison |
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pretty common of aftermarket AC units for buses. The fly in the ointment with VW AC systems was never the front or overhead unit. The PITA was the compressor that was an after thought on an existing engine design rather than design the engine with a mount point for a compressor. Hence adding a compressor has always been cut here and add there. Today people expect cars to last 250,000 miles +. Back when these were made 100K was the design life of a car, and with VW's the engine came out multiple times during that time. That was true on many foreign cars of the period. The AC units weren't factory designed. There are many bay AC threads on this forum if you do a search. Today we wouldn't consider a car without AC but back then it was a luxury. _________________ “Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin |
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skills@eurocarsplus Samba Peckerhead
Joined: January 01, 2007 Posts: 16865 Location: sticksville, ct.
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Posted: Fri May 08, 2020 10:49 pm Post subject: Re: DPD A/C unit, can't find comparison |
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I have to be honest, I have seen a lot of VW bay a/c configurations, from the early bay unit that went into the jump seat to different under dash units, never seen that one.
I hate to bust your bubble, the big ones that go from door to door are barely acceptable by todays standards. I am not sure if that one would perform well in a bus. single cab, for sure...possible double cab so that unit may have been made for a truck, not a bus. I would focus a search on that...looking for info for SC or DC a/c units _________________
gprudenciop wrote: |
my reason for switching to subaru is my german car was turning chinese so i said fuck it and went japanese....... |
Jake Raby wrote: |
Thanks for the correction. I used to be a nice guy, then I ruined it by exposing myself to the public. |
Brian wrote: |
Also the fact that people are agreeing with Skills, it's a turn of events for samba history |
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Jetfxr69 Samba Member
Joined: December 28, 2018 Posts: 1293 Location: White mtns nh
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2020 3:11 am Post subject: Re: DPD A/C unit, can't find comparison |
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I have the latitude 44*N model. Works great with the side vent window cracked open.
OBTW, thats this fine May 9 spring morning. _________________ You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer. Zappa
‘77 westy Seamus
‘76 tintop Crusher
‘77 westy The Judge
‘72 tintop bastard westy Hudson |
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badstuw Samba Member
Joined: June 05, 2011 Posts: 36 Location: San Diego CA
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2020 6:33 am Post subject: Re: DPD A/C unit, can't find comparison |
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skills@eurocarsplus wrote: |
I have to be honest, I have seen a lot of VW bay a/c configurations, from the early bay unit that went into the jump seat to different under dash units, never seen that one.
I hate to bust your bubble, the big ones that go from door to door are barely acceptable by todays standards. I am not sure if that one would perform well in a bus. single cab, for sure...possible double cab so that unit may have been made for a truck, not a bus. I would focus a search on that...looking for info for SC or DC a/c units |
Thanks skills. I unfortunately haven't come across any SC/DC with different looking a/c installs through my scouring. Funny enough, this unit's evap inside looks to be the same size as the overhead unit from what I can tell. I'll take a picture of it. This question was more posed at if this was some one-off looking DPD unit or even, which I highly doubt, was meant for a different type of VW.
The 3-speed blower motors push out some strong air and this coupled with the gilmore kit which comes with a saden 508 compressor (which doesn't pull a lot of amps and isn't too taxing on the engine when engaged) I think is going to be fine. Way better than the old dealer installed york compressors anyway. I have a 914 EA engine which has a few more bhp, so at least I got that going for me... |
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Abscate Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2014 Posts: 22648 Location: NYC/Upstate/ROW
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2020 7:18 am Post subject: Re: DPD A/C unit, can't find comparison |
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Jetfxr69 wrote: |
I have the latitude 44*N model. Works great with the side vent window cracked open.
OBTW, thats this fine May 9 spring morning. |
I can smell the bacon from upstate NY, served on Royal Dalton China of course
I would definitely take it to R134 and look for a variable displacement solution unless it will be strictly a highway flyer
It’s the HP draw on the AC compressor you have to worry about, not the amps _________________ .ssS! |
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skills@eurocarsplus Samba Peckerhead
Joined: January 01, 2007 Posts: 16865 Location: sticksville, ct.
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2020 7:51 am Post subject: Re: DPD A/C unit, can't find comparison |
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badstuw wrote: |
The 3-speed blower motors push out some strong air and this coupled with the gilmore kit which comes with a saden 508 compressor (which doesn't pull a lot of amps and isn't too taxing on the engine when engaged) I think is going to be fine. Way better than the old dealer installed york compressors anyway. I have a 914 EA engine which has a few more bhp, so at least I got that going for me... |
the biggest thing with these old systems is idle control, you'll want to bump the idle up 3-500 RPM's when the compressor kicks in
I went down the rabbit hole of finding patent #'s for DPD units. I knew the company was named after the guy, Don P Dixon. anyway, I think he still may be alive. the company was founded in the early 60's and dissolved in 88 or 89.
I have a family member that is a fraud investigator and she can find dirt on anyone. I would love to know the back story on these units just for the history of the company.
the only thing I came up with on the guy was a patent for audi 100 and dasher a/c units. not sure if VAG holds the patents on the DPD units or not.
not to shit on Gilmore, but you're going to end up with hoses etc way too long (or short, I suspect) and it's going to be a maddening experience. I would lay out on paper the entire system and buy #6, #8 and #10 hoses and enough of each end in 45* 90* and straight to make my own hoses.
when I did Daveark's install my local hose company pissed me off so bad I just went and bought my own crimper tools to do the job. not saying it can't be done with Gilmore, just be aware you may hit many snags _________________
gprudenciop wrote: |
my reason for switching to subaru is my german car was turning chinese so i said fuck it and went japanese....... |
Jake Raby wrote: |
Thanks for the correction. I used to be a nice guy, then I ruined it by exposing myself to the public. |
Brian wrote: |
Also the fact that people are agreeing with Skills, it's a turn of events for samba history |
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ImAddicted Samba Member
Joined: April 24, 2012 Posts: 1195 Location: Unorganized Territory, Maine
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2020 8:07 am Post subject: Re: DPD A/C unit, can't find comparison |
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Jetfxr69 wrote: |
I have the latitude 44*N model. Works great with the side vent window cracked open.
OBTW, thats this fine May 9 spring morning. |
Woke up to the same shit this morning, guess no working on the bus for me today. Grrr. _________________ 1979 Transporter (sold)
KC1MUR
strfish7 wrote: |
Original condition, which means something different on this forum than anywhere else! |
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airschooled Air-Schooled
Joined: April 04, 2012 Posts: 12721 Location: on a bike ride somewhere
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2020 8:34 am Post subject: Re: DPD A/C unit, can't find comparison |
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I have that exact AC unit in storage up in Vista. It has some sheet metal brackets and sheet metal screws dangling on it from the installation.
I can send you pictures of the brackets if you think that would help. It was given to me... You can have it if you want, just come pick it up. (I have the condenser that is contoured to the bottom of a bus as well, with the original two fans mounted on either side of the heater pipe. Free!)
I like the thought of this unit because it seems that you could still access a little under-dash wiring with it installed.
Robbie _________________ Learn how your vintage VW works. And why it doesn't!
One-on-one tech help for your Volkswagen:
www.airschooled.com |
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badstuw Samba Member
Joined: June 05, 2011 Posts: 36 Location: San Diego CA
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2020 9:13 am Post subject: Re: DPD A/C unit, can't find comparison |
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skills@eurocarsplus wrote: |
I went down the rabbit hole of finding patent #'s for DPD units. I knew the company was named after the guy, Don P Dixon. anyway, I think he still may be alive. the company was founded in the early 60's and dissolved in 88 or 89.
I have a family member that is a fraud investigator and she can find dirt on anyone. I would love to know the back story on these units just for the history of the company.
the only thing I came up with on the guy was a patent for audi 100 and dasher a/c units. not sure if VAG holds the patents on the DPD units or not.
not to shit on Gilmore, but you're going to end up with hoses etc way too long (or short, I suspect) and it's going to be a maddening experience. I would lay out on paper the entire system and buy #6, #8 and #10 hoses and enough of each end in 45* 90* and straight to make my own hoses.
when I did Daveark's install my local hose company pissed me off so bad I just went and bought my own crimper tools to do the job. not saying it can't be done with Gilmore, just be aware you may hit many snags |
Haha! That is going down a serious rabbit hole! My good neighbor has offered me to use his a/c crimping tool and I am no stranger to fabrication. I really didn't want to spend the time piecemealing it together, but hose's aren't any trouble. The big things were the compressor mounting bracket for the sanden, the crank pulley that sits behind the fan, the proper compressor fitting angles and a good mount for the condenser & fans.
Skills, when you did your install, do you ballpark recall how many feet of each hose type? I'm going to end up mounting the dryer in the wheel well and run everthing like the dpd install instructions.
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badstuw Samba Member
Joined: June 05, 2011 Posts: 36 Location: San Diego CA
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2020 9:16 am Post subject: Re: DPD A/C unit, can't find comparison |
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asiab3 wrote: |
I have that exact AC unit in storage up in Vista. It has some sheet metal brackets and sheet metal screws dangling on it from the installation.
I can send you pictures of the brackets if you think that would help. It was given to me... You can have it if you want, just come pick it up. (I have the condenser that is contoured to the bottom of a bus as well, with the original two fans mounted on either side of the heater pipe. Free!)
I like the thought of this unit because it seems that you could still access a little under-dash wiring with it installed.
Robbie |
Robbie,
I will absolutely take you up on that offer. This might make installation easier especially if I dont need to fab up a condenser bracket and one actually made for the bus!! Sending PM. |
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tommu Samba Member
Joined: November 15, 2011 Posts: 618 Location: L.A.
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2020 9:43 am Post subject: Re: DPD A/C unit, can't find comparison |
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I have the Ccool evaporator and a kit from Gilmore. Skills is right in the sense that the length of hose you are given will dictate where you route them. Also - the squirrel fan, clips etc will be of the cheapest available on the market that meet requirements. The Gilmore kit works but if you knew what you needed you would find better quality components yourself. The one great thing they have is the compressor mount and it’s different to the DPD one.
I have a stock 2.0 and 142 webcam. I have an idle compensation valve that bumps the idle up a little (not quite enough) when the compressor spins up. I really do notice the A/C being on at low speed - it takes just enough of low speed acceleration to be annoying. On the freeway I don’t notice a thing.
Performance by modern standards for my single core evap unit is mediocre - but it keeps me and my passenger cool.
I mounted the compressor under the rear tin and the hoses go down and under rather than through holes to the left of the engine bay.
I say it’s worth it. _________________ |
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skills@eurocarsplus Samba Peckerhead
Joined: January 01, 2007 Posts: 16865 Location: sticksville, ct.
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2020 12:42 pm Post subject: Re: DPD A/C unit, can't find comparison |
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these a/c units will take the edge off for sure, no doubt. a dry 80* is better than a humid 80* any day of the week.
I guess what i'm getting at is don't expect miracles. the more people you haul the more heat load you'll have. _________________
gprudenciop wrote: |
my reason for switching to subaru is my german car was turning chinese so i said fuck it and went japanese....... |
Jake Raby wrote: |
Thanks for the correction. I used to be a nice guy, then I ruined it by exposing myself to the public. |
Brian wrote: |
Also the fact that people are agreeing with Skills, it's a turn of events for samba history |
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SGKent Samba Member
Joined: October 30, 2007 Posts: 41031 Location: Citrus Heights CA (Near Sacramento)
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2020 1:52 pm Post subject: Re: DPD A/C unit, can't find comparison |
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I didn't know one needed AC in San Diego. Last time I checked it was 63 degrees there. In fact they have one standard weather forecast from May to August - "Early morning haze and fog burning off by 1-2, with a high of 67 and a low of 63.... ." About due for the June Gloom there I would think. _________________ “Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin |
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skills@eurocarsplus Samba Peckerhead
Joined: January 01, 2007 Posts: 16865 Location: sticksville, ct.
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2020 2:34 pm Post subject: Re: DPD A/C unit, can't find comparison |
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SGKent wrote: |
I didn't know one needed AC in San Diego.. |
it's not about "need" it's about "have" _________________
gprudenciop wrote: |
my reason for switching to subaru is my german car was turning chinese so i said fuck it and went japanese....... |
Jake Raby wrote: |
Thanks for the correction. I used to be a nice guy, then I ruined it by exposing myself to the public. |
Brian wrote: |
Also the fact that people are agreeing with Skills, it's a turn of events for samba history |
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alman72 Samba Member
Joined: October 09, 2014 Posts: 2573 Location: MICHIGAN
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2020 3:57 pm Post subject: Re: DPD A/C unit, can't find comparison |
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you gonna source R12 or go with the new stuff? |
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Wasted youth Samba Member
Joined: July 06, 2012 Posts: 5134 Location: California's Hot and Smoggy Central Valley
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2020 5:10 pm Post subject: Re: DPD A/C unit, can't find comparison |
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SGKent wrote: |
I didn't know one needed AC in San Diego. Last time I checked it was 63 degrees there. In fact they have one standard weather forecast from May to August - "Early morning haze and fog burning off by 1-2, with a high of 67 and a low of 63.... ." About due for the June Gloom there I would think. |
Take twenty steps east and let me know if you wish you had A/C |
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SGKent Samba Member
Joined: October 30, 2007 Posts: 41031 Location: Citrus Heights CA (Near Sacramento)
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2020 7:51 pm Post subject: Re: DPD A/C unit, can't find comparison |
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Wasted youth wrote: |
SGKent wrote: |
I didn't know one needed AC in San Diego. Last time I checked it was 63 degrees there. In fact they have one standard weather forecast from May to August - "Early morning haze and fog burning off by 1-2, with a high of 67 and a low of 63.... ." About due for the June Gloom there I would think. |
Take twenty steps east and let me know if you wish you had A/C |
I am from San Diego. _________________ “Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin |
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badstuw Samba Member
Joined: June 05, 2011 Posts: 36 Location: San Diego CA
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2020 8:38 pm Post subject: Re: DPD A/C unit, can't find comparison |
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alman72 wrote: |
you gonna source R12 or go with the new stuff? |
I'm going with r134a. Don't want to mess with getting old cans of r12 at high prices. |
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badstuw Samba Member
Joined: June 05, 2011 Posts: 36 Location: San Diego CA
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2020 8:42 pm Post subject: Re: DPD A/C unit, can't find comparison |
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SGKent wrote: |
I didn't know one needed AC in San Diego. Last time I checked it was 63 degrees there. In fact they have one standard weather forecast from May to August - "Early morning haze and fog burning off by 1-2, with a high of 67 and a low of 63.... ." About due for the June Gloom there I would think. |
July-Sept average high is 77... baking in a metal box at a traffic light makes it seem a little worse. Rather be comfortable no matter the weather!
I really do wish it stayed a nice mid/low 60s throughout, that would be a true paradise. |
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