Date: Fri, 18 Apr 2003 20:51:41 -0600
Reply-To: John Rodgers <j_rodgers@CHARTER.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: John Rodgers <j_rodgers@CHARTER.NET>
Subject: Re: How to Keep Cool in Your Vanagon
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed
TJ, I can't get the URL's you posted to load. I made sure the .jpg was
there, but still no-go!!
Any suggestions??
John Rodgers
88 GL Driver
TJ Hannink wrote:
>--- Sidney White <Jeanon@AOL.COM> wrote:
>
>
>>While awaiting parts to get my van running I am
>>wondering what great
>>improvisations (aka 'farkle') members of the group
>>have made to keep cool in
>>a vanagon, since my a/c still needs repairs
>>
>>
>
>Summer will be coming to most of you soon (it'
>s already here in Orlando) I'll repost my current list
>of A/C improvements. They can also be found in the
>Wolfsburg_Campers Yahoo!Group in the FILES section.
>
>This is what I have done so far to my camper to help
>the AC to work
>properly in hot weather (in no particular order):
>
>1. I removed the upper rear cabinet and the evaporator
>cover panels,
>then pressure washed the evaporator from the inside of
>the van,
>clearing out all of the dust. I did mine while it was
>in place
>without disconnecting any of the freon lines, using a
>lot of plastic
>sheeting to protect the interior. I installed filter
>material
>between the evaporator and the rear intake grill on
>re-assembly to
>keep it clean.
>2. I also make sure all the fins on the input of the
>evaporator are
>straight.
>3. Make sure both evaporator fans are working.
>4. Re-sealed the plastic evaporator housing panel
>mating surfaces
>with new weatherstripping and stainless duct tape.
>5. I added some foam inside the vent housing to
>channel all the air
>to the front vents.
><http://home.earthlink.net/~tjhannink/photos/Additional_Air_Channels2.
>jpg>
>6. Cleaned the radiator and condensor from the spare
>tire well-out.
>7. Filled the open area of the poptop to keep the cool
>air from
>getting lost in the opening. I use a windshield sun
>screen for an
>RV. It also blocks the sunlight from the skylight.
><http://home.earthlink.net/~tjhannink/photos/RVTwistShadeRoofOpening.j
>pg>
>8. I keep my my back curtain closed in an effort to
>keep the area
>behind the back seat as cool as possible.
>9. Get the darkest tint possible on all the windows.
>10. Make sure the rear heater is turned off.
>11. Make sure the front heater is turned off.
>12. Block off all the air flow through the front
>heater/plenum. I
>have some foam rubber blocks cut to fit in the opeings
>of the heater
>vent cover in front of the shifter.
>13. Insulate the floorboards, especially the area in
>front of the
>shifter.
><http://home.earthlink.net/~tjhannink/photos/LastBetweenSeats.jpg>
>14. Park in the shade wherever possible.
>15. Get an indoor/outdoor thermometer and mount it
>where you can see
>it easily, and monitor how the system performs. Mine
>will cool off
>at an average rate of 3F degrees per minute. That
>seems great until
>you get in the van after work at 5pm and the inside
>temp is 135F and
>the outside temp is 109F because its been parked in an
>unshaded
>asphalt parking lot all day. My van is comfortable at
>77F-80F so it
>takes a while to get to that point. I find that
>opening the roof
>vent about 1" and rolling down the front windows 1/2
>turn will keep
>the inside temp around 120F on the hottest days here,
>so I try to
>remember to do that when I park for a long period of
>time.
>16. Aiming the vents - I have all of the foward facing
>vents aimed
>straight ahead and level with the floor. The vents on
>the bottom are
>aimed to the area behind the rear seat in order to
>pre-cool the air
>going into the evaporator. Rear seat passengers will
>usually adjust
>these as needed, so make sure to check their
>positioning every couple
>of weeks.
>
>Good luck,
>
>=====
>TJ Hannink
>Goldibox - 1987 Vanagon Camper, Wolfsburg Edition
>Winter Park, Florida
>http://home.earthlink.net/~tjhannink/
>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wolfsburg_campers
>http://photos.yahoo.com/tjhannink [Vanagon] Album
>
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