I'm off to scotland for some field-work in january and I'm expecting cold weather. I have a diesel 110 1984 vintage CSW which has the headlining with an air-gap behind it.
is this air-gap reasonable insulator or would I be better filling the gap with bubblewrap or something?
I also want to insulate the battery, how about balls or newspaper for that?
Get a Good battery and a Arctic heater. Or an Eberspacer heater off Ebay and a second auxilary battery to run it. You'll be opening Windows and doors because it's too hot. I mean.... who in there right mind would adjust the thermostat.
When it's an Icey frosty morning It's the 101 I'd be in every time if only I had him running on LPG. (Given the ratio of Icey frosty days to sunny ones it could get expensive) That said the Ambi is very insulated so once it get hot and the engines been running it stays warm for some time.
On a cheaper approach why not install some proper insulation glued to the roof then covered with the liner. It doesn't take musch to increase creature comforts in the way of carpet and door seals.
Last year I spent several hours trapped in my 88 doing only a few miles in Stoke on Trent .... freshly painted so looked very cool... but had no door seals...and no heater.... and the lack of draught around the 4.2 meant any glimmer of heat was rising rather than comming my way....brrrrrr!!!
I was also running on choke too to keep the revs right (carbs were all wrong) so the increased rpm meant that when in drive the rear wheels wanted to go when the front ones were locking up... very entertaining!... bung him in 4x4 and locked the fw hubs and normality prevailed..... Rather odd listening to the rear wheels scrabbling for grip on inches of sheet ice while the fronts resisted.. must have looked well odd to passers by :-)
The airgap is a reasonable insulator, although it could be better. However, your major heat loss will be the windows, so you will probably not notice any improvements by better roof insulation. I am basing this on the fact that the roof lining of my 1986 110 remains reasonable even when parked in the sun in 40C temperatures. It will, of course, be best to find and block all the small air leaks. I would also carpet or otherwise insulate the bits that are totally uninsulated - if it is like mine, the carpet in the rear is limited to the floor between the wheel boxes. JD
I intend to insulate the rear of my station wagon so it will be more comfortable to sleep in, but the driving compartment is somewhere where I just put on more clothes and of course wear a hat.
One should really treat a landie as one might a motor cycle or open topped car and dress appropriately.
Something that is a distinct disadvantage in the summer......
Mind you, there's nothing like sitting right next to a 3.5v8 at full tilt for keeping you warm on even the coldest days. The 101 used to get up to running temp a hell of a lot quicker than my series ever does
Mr.Nice. wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
Actually, if we get a nice cold January, it won't feel as cold as it does now because dry air does not conduct the heat away like damp air. A few degrees below zero and it feels warmer.
My 200 D90 with a truck cab heated up nice and quickly. The van bodied D90 300 does get colder and I am planning to fit a plywood partition.
I have lived in Scotland since 1964 and have never ever had to insulate the battery, even with a recorded temperature of minus
26 a few miles up the road! Did I miss something? I've heard of diesel freezing but never the battery.
If you are planning to sleep in the vehicle, some insulation sounds like a good idea because your problem will be condensation. All sorts of solutions here from spray on insulation used in farm buildings to sheet materials. I was just thinking of using 1" polystyrene sheeting with a plywood lining for the 300Tdi van but hadn't thought it through yet.
I've seen carpet tiles suggested as the lining for a standard hardtop, enough to stop condensation and drumming noises while being durable and not too heavy.
There is some polyurethane foam stuff that is used to insulate trucks and agricultural vehicles, I would like to know where I can get hold of some of that to insulate the back, I intend to put in a fibreglass headlining eventually, I guess I could put lof insulation beneath that :)
Anyway I was thinking of using carpet tiles as a make do in the back, so long as they do not retain the damp.
I used carpet cut into 9" square tiles in the top and doors on my 2a and I was very pleased with it. I found acrylic adhesive more usable than evostik as it allowed the tile to be slid into place.
Twas 17 Oct 2004 08:33:07 GMT when Derry Argue put finger to keyboard producing:
The idea behind the battery insulation was to try and maintain it's power for getting the vehicle started as the battery loses power in colder weather, or so I've found.
You're right, but it begs the question, how will you get the battery to a nice temperature before you use it to crank your engine ? No realistic insulation is going to keep a battery warm overnight, when it has two whacking great copper heatsinks leaving the terminals.
I have decided carpet tiles are a good idea, they are rather heavy though, but that should work for sound deadening.
I am fixing them on the wheelarches at the back underneath my new "furniture" I still intend to use loft insulation stuffed behind fibreglass or chequerplate trim panels inside.
Some people do actually go for double glazing on camper conversions with the proper acrylic caravan windows.
Whats the best stuff to stick the tiles down with ?
Some of us buy 101 Ambulances which have double glazing as standard :-)
Something safe would be good - but otherwise spray on contact adhesive like Evo. Let both parts 'dry' then (carefully) stick them together. You'll only get one shot at this.
If you can get one for a reasonable price go for an Eberspacher. I've got one in my 110, or at least I will when I put it back in. I was able to use it a bit last winter before I broke[1] it and they are the mutts nuts!! They warm up in no time at all and like Lee says, you need to open the windows cos it gets too warm quite quickly.
It takes a good ten miles for the standard heater to chuck out nice hot air and the Eberspacher is nice and toasty within a mile.
[1] I've since found out how I 'broke' it. The exhaust and air inlet apparently need to be the same length or it won't run right. Mine stopped working when I trimmed the exhaust to remove a holed portion and all it did was produce clouds of smoke.
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