My 'New' van

RegW · 2024-04-22 13:59:40

So here's my 'new' van as it came

The front bulkhead with the hot water thingy on it
made the cab too cramped, that will have to go

No idea what it was used for
The rear compartment has drains where the occupant 'puts the lotion on its skin' mebbe?

I started to hack away at it, now I can get the seats back to a more comfortable position.

Current state of it, its becoming more useful to me now
I don't want a camper just a flexible use kind of thing.
At least I've regained some volume and made nooks and crannies to stash things
like jump leads, tow rope jack and tools and odds and sods.

Last edited by RegW (2024-04-22 14:04:07)

OAT · 2024-04-22 14:16:18

Very odd conversion!

How was the water heated powered?

AlvyLad · 2024-04-22 14:25:38

an ex'butchers (refrigerated) van. They somehow rustied the least, but chassis is the same across the board- miles better, than any Fords or Mercs.

Looks hell of a nice example from pictures so far, but... as soon, as you start stripping get yourself big rill of 4mm foil-bubble wrap ("Radiator flashing" from Screwfix) and "spray on carpet adhesive", that'll make hell of a positive difference for sound and temperature control

RegW · 2024-04-22 14:28:24

Its an Eberspacher Miniwash so had a Google and apparently its a 12v water heater with a 6 litre tank
that heats the water to 49C
No good for making tea so no use to me, will test it and flog it if it works
The spec says 12V 9.6A that's around 115 watts
It has drain pipe/nozzle at the bottom so when you flip the folding sink back up, it drains out of that

RegW · 2024-04-22 14:36:13

Butchers van? could well be, we've been musing over what its previous use was.
Yes, the insulation aspect was on my mind when hacking away.
The rad foil and spray fix sounds a good tip thanks.
I'm the second owner I'm told and it does look like it was looked after for most of its life
so I'm hoping to get some good use out of it with not too many nasty surprises.

Casper · 2024-04-22 21:43:53

Was thinking fish van myself but yeah, nice looking wee van.

OAT · 2024-04-22 22:05:45

I was thinking meth lab.

OAT · 2024-04-22 22:08:40

AlvyLad wrote:

an ex'butchers (refrigerated) van.

Surely it would have been well insulated?

RegW · 2024-04-22 23:39:59

Thinking about it.
That rear compartment was skinned with some kind of acrylic resin presumably to deal with some kind of wet or
wash down/clean up activity, especially as it has 2 drains, but there's no trace of insulation or a cooler unit you'd expect
in a fridge truck so I'm still unsure what it was used for.

I wondered if it was some kind sewage inspection van, will tell you if I find out
I did have other ideas, but I'm new here so better behave myself. tongue

Last edited by RegW (2024-04-22 23:40:35)

kenbw2 · 2024-04-23 00:18:20

I've seen window cleaning vans with their own water storage. Maybe that?

I assume that water heater heated using gas, rather than leccy? Can't imagine you're getting much heating out of 115 watts

Very nice looking van. The sills even have paint on the bottom!

Casper · 2024-04-23 00:57:54

Oat wrote:

I was thinking meth lab.

Think reg had a naughty idea. Midget hookers van so they could work winters perhaps big_smile

RegW wrote:

Thinking about it.
I did have other ideas, but I'm new here so better behave myself.

OAT · 2024-04-23 12:52:26

Hey Reg, you sure that was acrylic resin?

RegW · 2024-04-23 13:15:35

Oops sorry, I meant Polyester resin as in body filler.
I got a whiff of that at times when cutting/hacking away at it
maybe it was used to fill joins then painted not sure.
I did wear a mask btw and used the vacuum cleaner like a mad thing.

AlvyLad · 2024-04-23 15:05:46

RegW wrote:

Oops sorry, I meant Polyester resin as in body filler.
I got a whiff of that at times when cutting/hacking away at it
maybe it was used to fill joins then painted not sure.
I did wear a mask btw and used the vacuum cleaner like a mad thing.

NATO mosquito bio-lab, back from Ukraine confirmed! neutral

RegW · 2024-04-24 11:37:31

Getting hot air is a current obsession so I removed the panels to see what's what
One pipe to the heater matrix gets very hot while the other is
noticeably cooler.
I did get some warm air for a while but the faster I ran the fan the
temp dropped from warm to tepid
The coolant looks a bit manky would a rad flush help I wonder?

I'm still not sure the electric flap actuator is working properly, there's no manual cable to control this and lookin the top of the pcb I see 2 ULN2003A ICs which are common stepper motor drivers
The small square chip out of pic on the LHS is a 5V regulator.
So, the mixer flap/s are driven by stepper motors, still havent found them yet.
The air con switches appear to work but will worry about air con/regas later

I found some 'owner improvements' I've yet to look at and decide whether to keep or
rip out, I think one is the supply to the miniwash.

PCB

RegW · 2024-04-24 11:49:10

I did wonder if the cheap black plastic seat covers hid all manner of horrors
but the passenger seat is in pretty good nick and drivers seat isnt too bad considering.
I'll look into repair and tarting that up later.

AlvyLad · 2024-04-24 13:33:24

Driver seat tear is design to be so, very very rare to find one, that doesn't have "signature feature".

Well done in finding that manual, not sure how or who will find a use to it.

Cheers!

kenbw2 · 2024-04-25 01:08:32

RegW wrote:

Getting hot air is a current obsession so I removed the panels to see what's what
One pipe to the heater matrix gets very hot while the other is
noticeably cooler.
I did get some warm air for a while but the faster I ran the fan the
temp dropped from warm to tepid

I had this with my white van after I had a leaky oil cooler - oil getting in to the coolant and assumedly clogging up the heater matrrix

It would warm up a bit at high revs and go cold at idle. Never got warm enough for comfortable temperatures in December though

Casper · 2024-04-25 07:47:40

I presume that is the Matrix with the two plastic pipes sticking out the side. Worth taking out for a flush. How does the heater valve work??? My present bus its a mechanical gate operated by a wire. The gate has some steel parts that rust and jam either closed or open.

RegW · 2024-04-25 13:15:59

I still have to find and get to the heater flap actuator/s
It could well be due to low flow from the engine block and/or gunge in the heater matrix
or the flap system not operating or all of these things.
Coolant level at the header tank is good btw.

I do recall when driving it home the engine temp gauge didn't go above 75C
is this normal? looks a bit low to me, I'd expect around 90

RegW · 2024-04-25 19:48:58

Well after removing all the lower panels I found the heat control thingy
and it works.
I was kind of hoping it wouldn't so I could bodge in a manual control and
get on with other stuff

This suggests the low amount of heat I get from the heater is due to
clogged matrix or thermostat sticking open?
( it runs at 70C or so)
I think I'll have to clamp the pipes whip out the heater radiator and check the flow rate
but the coolant looks a bit murky so a rad flush and new thermostat wont hurt
I saw/hear/read that dish washer tablets can be used to flush rads
true? false?

pic of heat control

AlvyLad · 2024-04-25 22:23:13

I saw/hear/read that dish washer tablets can be used to flush rads
true? false?

Not a clue, but rad-flush thingies like £4 at EuroCarParts.
However, ignore direction to need be flushing within half an hour as it takes more than that to get from bottle filler through the system by cooling/heating up excess.
as it comes to flushing (draining) do let me know, if you'll find better option than long nose pliers on the main pipe in to the engine, at 4 O'clock looking at the engine

kenbw2 · 2024-04-26 00:42:42

I saw/hear/read that dish washer tablets can be used to flush rads
true? false?

I heard this too, but I'm sceptical. I stuck to the normal stuff like AlvyLad says. Not that it worked for my problem...

70 degrees is very cold, they thermostat opens about 80-85. In fact my temperature gauge always sits at 85-90

AlvyLad · 2024-04-26 14:36:52

https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/holts-sp … -549772091
£4.50 ATM

Which made me check my van rack- yes, there's one leaky unopened (empty) and one opened, but full, so it seems I only used one, but mine was just rust-murky coolant, in order to have blockages flushed, might need x2 or x3 (that turns out I had ready)

RegW · 2024-04-26 18:53:37

I had to use the van today to run around fetching stuff
and it only got to 75 ish so will get another thermostat.
The hot air felt good initially but soon went cold as I used the fan
which does reinforce the clogged matrix/restricted flow theory.

I'll use pukka rad flush and see how that works but
I see I can get a new matrix on Ebay for £40 ish so that remains an option

All the stuff in the cabin and cargo space is longterm tinkering/fun stuff
so not critical, so I'm thinking I should prioritise work to stay focussed

Sort heater/thermo/antifreeze out, I've started so I'll finish.
New Oil&filter
New fuel filter
Air filter looks clean but that's an easy job
Tracking, it pulls to the left a bit and the wheel isnt straight.
It had some ball joints,boots or summat done for MOT but it wasnt tracked after

Air con check, possible regas

The cam belt is at around 50% of its service life in miles and time
and want get that done before the end of summer possibly sooner
not sure to DIY or pay a garage, will get some quotes.

I've done quite a few cam belts and chains on other vehicles and bikes but this one looks a bit fiddly and cramped
in terms of access, so tempted to throw money at a garage if it isn't too expensive.

Last edited by RegW (2024-04-26 18:55:43)

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#1 2024-04-22 13:59:40

My 'New' van

#2 2024-04-22 14:16:18

Re: My 'New' van

#3 2024-04-22 14:25:38

Re: My 'New' van

#4 2024-04-22 14:28:24

Re: My 'New' van

#5 2024-04-22 14:36:13

Re: My 'New' van

#6 2024-04-22 21:43:53

Re: My 'New' van

#7 2024-04-22 22:05:45

Re: My 'New' van

#8 2024-04-22 22:08:40

Re: My 'New' van

#9 2024-04-22 23:39:59

Re: My 'New' van

#10 2024-04-23 00:18:20

Re: My 'New' van

#11 2024-04-23 00:57:54

Re: My 'New' van

#12 2024-04-23 12:52:26

Re: My 'New' van

#13 2024-04-23 13:15:35

Re: My 'New' van

#14 2024-04-23 15:05:46

Re: My 'New' van

#15 2024-04-24 11:37:31

Re: My 'New' van

#16 2024-04-24 11:49:10

Re: My 'New' van

#17 2024-04-24 13:33:24

Re: My 'New' van

#18 2024-04-25 01:08:32

Re: My 'New' van

#19 2024-04-25 07:47:40

Re: My 'New' van

#20 2024-04-25 13:15:59

Re: My 'New' van

#21 2024-04-25 19:48:58

Re: My 'New' van

#22 2024-04-25 22:23:13

Re: My 'New' van

#23 2024-04-26 00:42:42

Re: My 'New' van

#24 2024-04-26 14:36:52

Re: My 'New' van

#25 2024-04-26 18:53:37

Re: My 'New' van

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