JK's first guinea pig needed!

Me again. Finally got five minutes to give a few thoughts on the system, possibly answer a few of your questions, especially now that I've looked at it properly and done that most feminine of tasks, read the instructions........ I know , the shame. In a nutshell the man that is "Dicky" the mighty one, is pretty much spot on with his sussing out of the system and how it works, I doff my cap sir! So briefly, the difference between this system and the standard Propex JK sell, is the fact it mounts underneath therefore saving cabin space, the most important thing for me, and it plumbs in to the original pipework to provide something between the original heating system and the standard one. Whilst driving you have full heating to either the cab area or the screen for demisting. You lose the walkthrough vent as Dicky correctly says, as this is used to draw air out for re-circulation. However the heat generated is sufficiently warmer and at a greater volume for this really not to be an issue, we tried it today and the rear warms up pretty quickly, and certainly a bit quicker than the original bus heater if it were in full and correct adjustment and good condition. There are options to the clever amongst you to alter the way this works, again, Dicky has provided a couple of good suggestions. On my bus for instance, the rear load area had a warm air vent in the floor, so providing you had not already covered that area by a buddy seat, cooker, loo, whatever, that could provide a source of warm air, although I think this may only be later US buses. As they knew at JK I had indeed a unit going over this area, that was not an issue and the duct was simply capped. Whilst parked up for camping therefore, if you have a non walkthrough with the cab area virtually completely blocked by blinds/curtains, the system as is, is probably not for you. If like many you don't I think its a great system. The warm air not coming out under the walkthrough isnt really a problem as the system is very efficient, and the whole bus does warm up quickly. The high setting today was to warm for me after 20 minutes driving.
I think JK are targeting this unit to those who want something simple and easy to fit with as little head scratching as possible, you know them, The General Public. On my bus only 3 holes have been drilled for the whole installation, the rest of the mounting holes were already there from the factory, and a lot of people will like that. It won't be for everyone, but theres another system or two out there that might suit your personal ideas for a system. As they say you can' please all the people all the time...... especially not VW forum members!

Finally a couple of people mentioned the position of the exhaust outlet and air inlet pipes. This set up is for the Vehicle in Motion kit which requires different mounting of these two pipes. The pipes should be equal and between 1m minimum and 2m maximum in length and exit level with side of the bus or ideally the rear. The manifold supplied by Propex actually mounts them together, although mine may have two individual plates, as this saved drilling extra holes.

I'll be using the bus for a bit longer in the cold , and if I notice anything strange about it good or bad, you'll know first. Time for tea.

 

Looks a neat job

 

Ta for that I guessed that we werent into whacking holes in the bus and therfore its a compromise but it seems to do what you want it to and it is a good solution to use the vent if its not an issue. Different interiors and different ways of "living" in the bus will require slightly differing solutions but this does look neat. One thing that someone did mention above was the electrical connection and it does look a alittle exposed to the elements. Id do something about that as its not just the actual wires that get wet - it will get into the terminal box.

Anyway - keep up the reports!

 

OK good views by this, hopefully jk are reading and taking on all the points raised, I do still worry about the Inlet and exhaust as like you say it is a vehicle in motion kit, so when parked and using it it could cause issues. Also this particular kit looks like it only works on a bus with a solid centre heater pipe, pretty sure mine has a flexi pipe.

Looks like a neat solution and don't want to sound like I am being too negative, just trying to raise points to help make the kit better.

 

Your right about that , It needs a shield or /and a good smear with vaseline...... and the electrical connection needs a bit of a look at too.

 

Mine indeed is a solid pipe, and there are two different sizes of those also, so not doubt options will be, or will need to be offered. Thanks for your feedback. Oh and the In Motion kit as I understand, then covers static and in motion use.

 

Flexi pipe should be so much easier as you can simply use one of these:
Make sure you select the right size but should make it a doddle. Not sure what size the corrugated pipe is - think the propex may be 60 mm but all that info is available - unequal Ys are also available ie in and out straight at whateveer yer heater tube is with a smaller branch for the heater pipe!

 

@Dicky...thinking to mount propex underfloor (front passenger side chassis rails)....directing everything into the back thru the walk way vent... any views on how to close the totem/screen vents? Rumour has it that some buses had a separate means to close walkthru...

 

They did - late earlies and x overs have a lever under the drivers seat for the walkthrough vent and a manually operated lever (no cable involved) on the totem for screen or foot warmers!! however there is no way of closing the totem without modding it and ive no idea how you would do that!

 

Sorry if I missed it where was the gas bottle mounted?

 

Hi All,

Thanks for the feedback on this kit, it's invaluable for us to improve and perfect the system before bringing it in to stock, so we really appreciate all of the valid points raised here.

I had made a load of hastily scribbled notes answering a load of your concerns, but I think @TheGazman has already done a lot of that for me!

As he said, the kit isn't for everyone, so if you do have a sealed off cab then the kit probably isn't suitable, but we'd obviously make that clear to everyone in catalogue and website descriptions.

I've made a note about the waterproofedness (is that a word?) of the wires underneath, so I'll be passing that along - seems pretty important!


Thanks again for all the feedback
Josh

 

A few questions for you Josh:

If this is the Vehicle in Motion kit; is there going to be one focused on Vehicle stationary ie camping?
If so how will this differ?

 

I just double checked quickly and the Vehicle In Motion bracket is just the name that Propex have given the bracket (for whatever reason!) so it can be used when traveling or parked up

I hope this helps
Josh

 

Will you be writing up the Installation guide as a pdf to the JK online catalogue?
Joking apart this is the sort of info that should go with the product advertising.

 

I think it's just a bit of a rubbish name to be honest, perhaps a take on 'Research in Motion' who own Blackberry? Not too sure!
The bracket itself just holds the inlet and the exhaust for the burner in place at the rear

 

That inlet only feeds the burner though, so it doesn't go anywhere near the heating system itself.

The bracket itself was developed by Propex who obviously know what they're doing, and it's passed all of it's regulatory tests, so is completely safe to use.
It's also not a required component of the kit, and so if you're not comfortable using it then you don't have to

 

Whilst the name may appear a little odd I for one prefer visible plumbing to be trimmed and supported rather than just sticking out in mid air.

 

Ah yes, but most of us are tight and this bracket costs £36, think I'd rather just have plumbing sticking out.

Ps in sure that use to be only £30.

Looks like cheap plastic that should cost nearer £10 - I'm sure it's a metal bracket, so perhaps £15 is more likely.