Club 80-90 Forums

When I bought the van it came with an unfitted Propex heater. I had it up and running off the van last night, so have just been out for a look at where to mount it. I had been thinking of under the R&R rear seat, but it appears my Autohomes conversion has far less space under there than other layouts. Now that I look more closely, the seat base itself seems to be much further back - well clear of the side door opening.
Anyway, I'm now wondering about other positions inside and out of the van and their pros and cons. My van's air cooled so hopefully I'll be able to tie it in to the demisters too!

Presumably the kickboard is sloping - if it is you could raise it up on a metal box is there sufficient room? Ideally you need a flange all the way down and through the floor then to keep the exhaust free of any possible contact and keep any stray exhaust gases outside.
I wouldn't tie the output into the vehicle's air system though as it could upset the airflow balance, use a dedicated duct (same applies to the fuel burning heaters unless they are specifically designed for this hybrid use). With the Webastos the best way forward is to mount the outlet vent in the middle of the kickboard so that the hot air can be directed to the cab between the seats. Not as good as a dedicated demister but it helps. Unfortunately Propex don't go into detail about maximum distance of ducting or airflow resistance, unlike real heaters , they just assume that everyone just has the hot air exiting close to the heater.

I fitted mine underneath. It originally had a knackered eberspacher so I removed it and used the existing ducting which works pretty well. I've noticed a few owners not recommending underslung fitting but I've had no problems whatsoever. To protect it from the elements I made a protective box from some tin sheeting & it works really well. I also put a flexible tube & steel gauze filter on the air intake and routed it down the side of the heater out of the way. The exhaust has also been routed with flexi tube. The additional bonus of it being outside is that It's a lot quieter.

captain Byrne wrote:I fitted mine underneath. It originally had a knackered eberspacher so I removed it and used the existing ducting which works pretty well. I've noticed a few owners not recommending underslung fitting but I've had no problems whatsoever. To protect it from the elements I made a protective box from some tin sheeting & it works really well. I also put a flexible tube & steel gauze filter on the air intake and routed it down the side of the heater out of the way. The exhaust has also been routed with flexi tube. The additional bonus of it being outside is that It's a lot quieter.

Any chance of some photos, particularly of the ducting through the floor.

Titus A Duxass wrote: Any chance of some photos, particularly of the ducting through the floor.

Yes no problem. I'm working on it this weekend (weather permitting) so I'll do it then.

I would use bulkhead spigots for that - that way you can just remove the duct either side for future maintenance and no problem with possibly disturbing a seal.

My Autohomes factory fitted Propex is in the cupboard next to the gas bottle cupboard.

bigherb wrote:My Autohomes factory fitted Propex is in the cupboard next to the gas bottle cupboard.

Nice to see the factory install, but my interior is different - after the fridge there is a small sideways facing seat, so the gas cupboard and space next to it is much smaller than in yours. It's handy being able to sit an extra body around the table, so don't want to be swapping the seat out.

Mine got a seat aswell.

Must go and get myself more familiar with mine before I open my mouth!
Any cons that you've noticed having it there - apart from the space? Tbh it looks quite nicely tucked out of the way there.

TheDocmeister wrote: Any cons that you've noticed having it there - apart from the space?

No, apart from anything else in the cupboard gets warm as well.

Sock cupboard?