Keep me warm - the installation of the air heater
Written by am
The upcoming installation of the air heater worried us a bit. Wrongly, as we soon found out. The process was smooth and easier than initially thought.
To have or not have, that was the discussion. And, unlike most readers would suspect, it was the female, easily freezing part of the G-trotter team, who insisted that an independent vehicle heater would not be needed. Cold? I? Never!
We do not know why we finally installed a heater. It may not be further explained at this point if either one side had the more convincing arguments ("No, a good blanket is not everything") or the other side just agreed for the sake of harmony (and to point out later, in countries with more than 45 degrees in the shade, "At least we have an air heater"). However, we can certainly conclude, that the installation of the heater was less difficult than expected.
Due to high costs, we have decided to not purchase a heater from the market leader, Webasto. Instead we trusted the fantastic reviews of Planar air heaters and bought a much lower priced model from this brand.
To install the heater, we had to manufacture a console.The installation of the heater
After we had found the perfect place for our Planar (it is located in the rear area of the bench), holes were drilled into the bodywork and the wooden floor slab for the hoses which run from the inside to the underneath. Every drilling into the car’s body was a bit ironic, since we had sealed uncountable holes which had been produced by G's previous owners. But what must be, must be and every of our drillings had its justification.
The diesel pump, the hose for exhaust gases and the air intake were fixed to the underside of the vehicle. Inside, we had built a small console for the heating device as spacer and to ensure that it is kept in the right position. The already existing ventilation opening next to the rear door of the G offered a proper solution for the fresh air intake. We solely had to attach a pipe to ensure that the fresh air is led towards the heater.
To avoid that the produced heat gets caught in the bench, a vent hole was cut into the bench’s wall. With this, the heat can also spread into the remaining vehicle interior.
Thanks to Tigerexped, who did not only sell us the heater but also offered invaluable advice on its installation.
