Advice on drilling/cutting a hole in the van floor

[irishkeet]

Hello

I am planning on plumbing my Propex into the vans heating system so I am toasty up front.
I have picked up the flexible ducting from Propex Leisure which is 63mm diameter.

I need to drill or cut a hold under the RnR bed and through the van floor to feed the ducting, any advice on what to use and how to do?

Also I want to seal the hole around the ducting (top & bottom) when I have it in place, I was thinking of some kind of sealant unless anyone can think of anything better

all the best
irishkeet

[irishkeet]

I should mention that i have looked at step drill bits but they do not go up to 63mm

I was wondering if this would do the job?
http://tinyurl.com/6xxba6

My main concern is that the floor is corrugated and I am not sure if this will cope with this.

I want a nice clean hole so drilling lots of holes and cutting would be a very last resort.

Cheers
irishkeet

[cumbriankeith]

When I needed a similarly sized hole in the floor for a table leg socket I drew the shape, drilled a 10mm hole inside the line to start a jigsaw blade, then cut just inside the line with a jigsaw before finishing it to the line with a half round file. A bit fiddly and hard work but effective and cost effective for me as I already had those tools.

[Mr Bean]

Hello

I am planning on plumbing my Propex into the vans heating system so I am toasty up front.
I have picked up the flexible ducting from Propex Leisure which is 63mm diameter.

I need to drill or cut a hold under the RnR bed and through the van floor to feed the ducting, any advice on what to use and how to do?

Also I want to seal the hole around the ducting (top & bottom) when I have it in place, I was thinking of some kind of sealant unless anyone can think of anything better

all the best
irishkeet

Yes it will do it but not without a fuss. You need a big powerful drill and an even bigger more powerful person to handle it. It is sometimes helpful to replace the pilot drill with a plain shank once started so the pilot doesn't open out and enable woblification. The poo hits the fan when you hit the corugations and unless you are well strong the drill will get away from you and do damage. A drill with an extended handle is good. Some people prefer a slow RPM but a fast RPM can limit jamming. Downside is posible melting of cutter and the speed with which it all goes wrong in the event of a jam. Don't be afraid to use oil to save the cutter. You can make it easier by clamping ply each side using through bolts inside the cut diameter but this is a bit of overkill. I believe the image shows the cutter minus the holding shaft. Do you have one already. On no account be tempted to use the multiple size clip-in bladed cutters. After all that you may find it easier to use a jigsaw with an assistant squirting oil on the blade as you cut.
Good luck anyway.
Ken

[irishkeet]

many thanks Ken
from your own drilling experience any ides the thickness of the floor on a westy

[irishkeet]

When I needed a similarly sized hole in the floor for a table leg socket I drew the shape, drilled a 10mm hole inside the line to start a jigsaw blade, then cut just inside the line with a jigsaw before finishing it to the line with a half round file. A bit fiddly and hard work but effective and cost effective for me as I already had those tools.

cheers keith

what did you use to seal the hole?

[cumbriankeith]

I used Tigerseal as it's tough and waterproof and sticks to anything. And I always have some in for when I do these kind of jobs. Just be aware that once opened it has a limited life as it goes off inside the tube no matter what you do to reseal it.

[jason k]

i borrowed a hole cutter off stretch, it flew thru my floor in seconds with only a cordless powering it.

i used gun gum around the exhaust to seal it as the exhaust gets hot and sikaflex on the inlet.

[maxstu]

How about fire cement on the exhaust? We use it for sealing woodburner flues.

[ringo]

Im not too familiar with propex's but something sounds not quite right here...

Where are you going to put the propex?

If under the rock and roll bed, then surely the only holes you need to drill through the floor are inlet, exhaust and possible gas supply (and possibly power) ? These are all relatively small holes which should be sealed by the gasket on the propex.

Dont you just need 2 x 63mm holes cutting through the front of the bed to direct cold air in and warm air out?

Unless of course you are planning to duct the hot air to a completely different place?

I've probably got very confused - so sorry if im completely wrong!

Ringo

[Rozzo]

Im not too familiar with propex's but something sounds not quite right here...

Where are you going to put the propex?

If under the rock and roll bed, then surely the only holes you need to drill through the floor are inlet, exhaust and possible gas supply (and possibly power) ? These are all relatively small holes which should be sealed by the gasket on the propex.

Dont you just need 2 x 63mm holes cutting through the front of the bed to direct cold air in and warm air out?

Unless of course you are planning to duct the hot air to a completely different place?
he's plumbing the hot air into the heater ducting underneath his Aircooled van m8 i,ve considered doing the same thing to mine to enable me to get rid of the stupid power sapping fan on the alternator.

I've probably got very confused - so sorry if im completely wrong!

Ringo

he's plumbing the hot air into the heater ducting underneath his Aircooled bus m8
i've considered doing exactly the same thing so i can remove the power sapping fan off the alternator

[Ian Hulley]

63mm must be for the ducting surely ... which should be inside the van .... pity the Axle Nut award's gone ... someone might just have been saved from winning it !

Ian

[Mocki]

please! what ever you do, before you drill or saw massive holes in your floor, try it first....... i helped a mate plumb a 2200w ebber into the heating system on a t25 aircold some years back, it didnt work! the fan is not strong enough to propell the heat through the existing system before it goes cold, infact it hardly even got to the open vents, and we introduced the heat from only just behind the grill, not from 12ft further away...... we had sealed up the pipe just behind the ebber, so it didnt blow it down to the engine, and still it was useless, so please try before you cut loads of holes, coz however hard you find it cutting the holes, it will be even hard filling them in!

[ringo]

he's plumbing the hot air into the heater ducting underneath his Aircooled bus m8
i've considered doing exactly the same thing so i can remove the power sapping fan off the alternator

And so it all comes clear

Ringo

[Mocki]

as i said at the weekend Rozzo, that powersapping fan is there to help keep the engine cool too........ imo