Last Winter I was about ready to move the radiator inside the passenger compartment.  I did have it blocked off with cardboard.  Thought about the curtain idea but figured the kids would complain if I did not share the warmth with them.  They rode to school every day with a blanket over their laps.   As I am also in the process of converting to a Carat interior I will be adding sound deadener and insulation to the side panels.  Wish I could add it to the ceiling too, but don't want to mess with the headliner and sunroof mechanism.  Anybody ever make a headliner for their van similar to those in newer vehicles, a hard one instead of fabric?  Sure would make it easier to insulate the roof.

Mark in AK  Searching for warmth in all the wrong places

----- Original Message -----
From: Scott Daniel - Shazam <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Date: Wednesday, December 5, 2007 3:18 pm
Subject: Re: rear heater core in front, was: New thermostat funky?
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM

> Excellent !
> A recirculate  interior cabin air system   of course !
> I just want to add, you have your heater hose that feeds warm coolant
> forward fully wrapped and insulated,  right ?
> And you're running the warmest thermostat you can get, right ?
> I also remove rear heaters, or keep them out of the system at
> least, so all
> warm coolant goes forward.
> And lastly, a curtain, like  a heavy wool Pendleton Indian
> Blanked, just
> behind the front seats ( arched curtain rod to match the roof
> curve ) means
> mostly you are just trying to heat the front area only, and that helps
> considerably.
>
> Now, if I can just figure out why this 98 subaru 2.2 engine in an
> 82 diesel
> Westy will not make the heater work 'at all' , I'll be a happy
> vanagon-er !
> Scott
> www.turbovans.com
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
> Behalf Of
> Mark Tuovinen
> Sent: Wednesday, December 05, 2007 3:51 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: rear heater core in front, was: New thermostat funky?
>
> Re: "Mark,
> >
> > You can't leave me in suspense like this!
> >
> > "In my case it took longer but that was because I modified the
> heater box
> and air intake system to improve the output for the front heater."
> >
> > What did you do, and did it work?  I'm putting a new core and
> fan this
> weekend.
> >
> > Lee
> > 89 syncro
>
> Since you asked, this is not a finished write up but it will
> explain what I
> have been up to.  The ideas used to do this came both from my mind
> and of
> List member Neil Nicholson, whom thoughfully posted both to the
> List and his
> website his attempts do accomplish the same goal during the
> conversion of
> his van from air to water cooling.  I undertook this project in an
> attemptto improve the front heater efficiency and  because I was
> already going to
> have my dash out to replace a leaking heater core, and a broken
> passengerside wiper pivot.  While I had the dash out I also added
> sound deadening
> material and insulation to the front of the van.  This will have
> littleaffect until I do the rest of the van but rather than
> stripping the entire
> interior at one time I will do a section at a time as time allows.
>
> If you are bored, have extra time, already have need to replace
> your front
> heater, and want to improve on your front heater output you can
> join me in
> my experiment to do so  The primary problem with front heater
> output in
> Vanagons stems(IM not so HO) from the inability to shut off the
> outside air
> intake and switch to recirculated cabin air. To some this is not
> an issue,
> but for me driving to work in subzero temperatures it creates a
> problem.With air that cold constantly being supplied to the heater
> core it is
> difficult to keep the interior of the van warm, making my white Syncro
> resemble a freezer both inside and out.  Curing this is a two step
> problem,three if at first you have to admit the problem exists.
> First you have to
> devise a way to block the outside air intake, then you need to
> provide a
> passage for recirculating air back to the heater core.  To block
> off the air
> intake you can either construct a flap for the opening behind the
> grill(outside the van), or make one to install inside directly in
> front of
> where the air first enters the heater box.  This requires removing the
> heater box, but you will have to do so anyway when you make the
> return air
> passages, it is also easier to make a door for this spot as the
> area is
> flat, smooth, and reasonably square(or easily made to be square).  The
> outside opening behind the grill is easier to access but harder to
> make a
> door for that fits and will seal shut, and again, as you have to
> pull the
> heater out to make the return air passages, you might as well make
> the door
> for the inside location.  I confess that at this time I have NOT
> made a door
> and for now have just blocked this off with sheet aluminum.  I did
> this as I
> was in need of my vehicle for transportation and will be making a
> door later
> this winter, using my parts van for measurements, and istall it
> next spring.
> The door will need a control device for which I am currently
> planning to use
> a manual cable control assembly to be acquired from my FLAPS.
> Step two of
> this project is to make a new air intake system that utilizes
> recirculatedcabin air.  To do this I chose to sacrifice the vents
> at each end of the
> dash, the ones that previously supplied fresh air for the driver
> and front
> passenger.  To do this I left their hoses to the heater box off
> and made
> tubular(semi) inserts that fit inside the heater box where each
> hose went.
> The inserts do two things, they route the incoming air toward the
> fan and
> hold the free floating flap that VW put into the passage in the open
> position.  I bench tested the unit for airflow after the mods were
> done and
> was pleased with the results.  This is a work in progress and I
> have found
> that the interior windows steam up more now, they do clear up
> after a while
> but not during short drives.  I hope to alleviate this once I have
> made and
> installed a working door for the outside air intake, rather than
> the block
> off plate that I am currently using.  Other than that I am so far
> pleasedwith the amount of heat that I am able to produce from the
> front heater now.
> I have also found a partial work around for the fogging in that if
> I cover
> the some of the upper dash vent openings I can direct more flow to
> the areas
> that need it most.
> If any one has any input that they would like to share on this
> please do so,
> I welcome any and all ideas and suggestions.
> Mark in AK  -- Looking for more heat on those cold Winter days
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Lee Peterson <iridewheelies@gmail.com>
> Date: Wednesday, December 5, 2007 1:41 pm
> Subject: Re: rear heater core in front, was: New thermostat funky?
> To: Mark Tuovinen <mst@ak.net>
> Cc: vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com
>