Bit OT... Condensation in vans...

I would be suspecting a leaking heater. If it has a pollen filter chek it is recent, if it has air con keep that on. Otherwise keep a window open all the time you can will help keep the inside a little dryer.

Thanks for the ultra-quick response!

Van is 1.6 Petrol/LPG - I belive this is the same 1.6 in the astras, apparently stat problems are common but cheap.

I am normally obsessive about having the window open 1/4 of an inch but the crappy heater is putting that out of the question.

I have to say a matrix leak was my first suspicion. I generally have the heater on demist and in the past failed matrixes have shown up as oily moisture on the glass that refuses to clear this is seemingly just condensate, no taste, no oilyness, no damp carpet and no loss of coolant, in fact i dont think i have ever had cause to add a drop of coolant.

Thanks again.

Tom

Perhaps you need to look at one of those little rotating vent things that 'fans' air into the load bay as you drive.

have you checked the pollen filter? it looks like it is at the back of the engine bay by the battery according to autodata. I used to service one of those, but can't remember it in detail now.

Blocked heater drains were a fairly common occurence on our Citroen Dispatch, which resulted in water getting into the cabin and causing condensation, or pools of water after heavy rain. They were made of very soft hosing - almost like butyl bike inner tube and just folded up when they got some crap in them. Squeeze the end of the drain hose (normally one in each wheel arch), pour some water into the heater intake, and the blockage cleared. No more condensation...

Pollen Filter was done on lst service before i bought it 12months ago, but its worth doing of course, and i shall later in the week when i get chance to call at the factors.

Can i be cheeky and ask you to check what the minimum thinckness recommended for the brake disks is on this van (vented), the ones fitted look grim as... but the mechanic i take it to when i CBA is adament they are fine.

Ta...

Tom

You could stick some expanded polystyrene sheet on the exposed metal. This or something similar used to be available from diy stores to apply like wallpaper to internal walls. One point not covered yet is the possibility of exhaust fumes getting in to the van because water vapour is their main constituent if I remember correctly.

minimum 21 mm, very cheap to replace too.

and of course don't use recirculate on the heater to avoid condensation

"Tom Burton" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

It's inevitable until/unless you line the van somehow - you're warming the inside of the single-skin bare metal, whilst the outside's still cold. It's inevitable that condensation's going to form, just as it used to on single-glazed house windows.

Indeed. My Land Rover's the same. Being a Land Rover, there's plenty of ventilation whether you want it or not. No carpets or anything that can remain damp, and yet the roof panel's always dripping in condensation after a frosty night.

Willy Eckerslyke gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

It gets even funnier if you sleep in an unlined van... If you don't leave a window part-open, you get woken up by rain. Inside.

If it's winter, you wake up and find that somebody's painted the inside of the van white overnight. Great until it starts to thaw...

One short term solution is get a few 3kg bags of cooking salt (about £1 each from a supermarket) and a few large plastic tubs and place them (secured) in a few locations around the back of the van.. or, some large silica jell pouches. Both products are hydroscopic, so will draw moisture from the air. and both can be dried out either in a slow oven or in the sun (as and when we get some)..

HTH

LL

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Bad nettiquette i know bit, what a bitch the thermostat is on one of these!

Hidden behind the cambelt cover, necesetating the removal of the belt to get at the bugger!

Still i'd been meaning to do the belt and this provided an opportunity!

Following what i have read hear about cambelt driven water pumps i changed the water pump too, im not too sure how often they die but at 130k on the clock i didnt fancy risking it!

On the otherside what a peice of piss to time up with nice obvious notches and pointers.

Tom