The PO of my westy had installed a small oscillating 12 volt fan to the parcel tray above the sink, behind the drivers head. I have found this about as effective as anything that I can think of. I will be hardwiring it to work off of a switch rather than the 12 volt plug and will install a disconnect in the wiring on the fan end so it can be removed seasonally. When I had the shroud that had the individual vents off doing a/c work the air flow was a bit better (to the front seats)but there was the non original unfinished look to deal with as well as the air then going right over the rear passsengers heads. A little oscillating fan is cheap and easy IMHO.

 

David Clarkson

90 Westy (266k)

-----Original Message-----

From: Richard Golen <rgolen@HOTMAIL.COM>

To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM

Sent: Wed, Jul 29, 2009 12:11 pm

Subject: Suggestions to improve Westy A/C airflow

Hi,    I've owned my 87 Westy for almost 10 years now, and overall I love it!   (obviously if I've kept it for so long)....my Westy is equipped w/AC. Over the   years I've converted the refrigerant to 134, replaced the vents on the drain   tubes to reduce the chances of the "dehumidified" water from dripping on to the   rear bunk....    There is one last sniggling issue....actually a BIG issue when it gets hot (80+)   up here in New England, and that is the=2
0poor air circulation of the A/C in the   Westy. I understand the need to have the major components in the back of the   Westy, however this does not excuse the poor airflow. Let me digress for a   moment...    Back in the early 1970s BMW came out with a 6 cylinder car called the   "Barvaria", the precursor of the 5-series. It was a luxury (for the time) 4 door   sedan w/AC. US owners complained on how poor the AC worked.....the German   engineers back there in Munich said the US owners were crazy because, after all,   German cars w/AC HAD NO FAULTS!!!    So BMWUS invited a couple of BMW's German engineers to come and visit LasVegas.   Picked them up at the airport in a Barvaria. When the engineers were safely   ensconsed in the back seat, the driver drove off with the AC on full. The   engineers asked if the driver would please turn on the AC...driver said it was   on. The engineers then went to roll down the rear windows and found that the US   BMW folks disabled the rear window switches. After 45 minutes of driving around   in the desert outside of LasVegas, the engineers got the message....problem   solved.    Too bad VWUS didn't do the same with the engineers who designed the AC in the   Westy. So instead I am throwing myself on the mercy and expertise of the   list....    What suggestions do you have or what solutions have you tried in order to   increase the circulation of the AC?    Thanks in advance!
 Ric          _________________________________________________________________  Windows Live™ Hotmail®: Search, add, and share the web’s latest sports videos.   Check it out.  http://www.windowslive.com/Online/Hotmail/Campaign/QuickAdd?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_QA_HM_sports_videos_072009&cat=sports=