Zel's Motoring Adventures...Volvo, Renault, Rover, Trabant, Invacar & A Sinclair C5 - Updated 13/11.

[Zelandeth]

I don't recall anyone in the trade complaining about them...Unlike what both First and Stagecoach replaced theirs with.  One went with an Almex machine, the other a later Wayfarer...but both gave rise to much ire from the drivers as I recall.

So rather than getting further distracted by obsolete bus ticket machines, let's see about getting the upgrade to the heating in the van done.

Starting point...a box of bits.

The teeny tiny silencer for the burner exhaust pleases me far more than it probably should.

While I forgot to get any photos, first thing I did of course given that this was a China special was to take it apart to make sure there wasn't any corrective work needed.  Sure enough there was.  The fan was fouling on its housing to the extent that it was totally jammed.  I'm not entirely sure whether this was due to the fan getting shoved further onto the shaft if the thing has taken a knock in shipping...or if the nearby bracket had never been pushed fully home.  Either way...two minutes, a large screwdriver to act as a lever and some brute force resolved that.

The heater in the living area of the van lives in the locker under the sofa.  The old one is gas fired, but doesn't work.  The fan runs, but it never fires.  Probably just needs a good clean and service...but to be honest an oil fired one probably makes more sense given that I've got a 70 litre tank of diesel on board.  Makes it a lot easier to just turn the heat on without first having to make sure I've got gas on board, run outside to turn the reg on etc...Here's what we started with.

Plus its little control box.

Control unit was removed first.  Helpfully everything plugs in, no hard wired nonsense to worry about.

Then after disconnecting the gas supply line, four screws later the heater assembly itself just lifted out.

Leaving the little concentric breather/flue screwed into the floor.

...Which was then unscrewed and removed.

Oh...and the thermostat.

Which is just held onto the wall by a couple of tiny self tappers hidden under the dial.

With all that lot now out of the way it was time to start getting ready to install the new hardware...The first real step there being to make the hole in the floor a bit bigger as the new heater has a separate intake and exhaust rather than the combined assembly on the old one.

Before getting the jigsaw out though I had a peek underneath to make sure I wasn't going to go and do something daft...you know like cut straight into the top of the fuel tank, through brake lines or anything like that.

Nope...Plenty of room to play with.  Especially as I only needed a couple of inches.  Like so.

Scruffy job to be fair, but I'm under no illusions that I won't be revisiting this job at a later date as I want to totally rearrange things in this locker as it wastes a lot of space.  Plus the wiring is just plain UGLY.  I'll probably flip the heater around 180 degrees and move it towards the wall back nearer to where the mains cabling comes through the wall.

Anyhow...for now let's get the thing in and working.

I figured that it would be way easier to get the baseplate fitted and to attached the air intake and exhaust lines before taking things outside rather than in the sea of debris strewn all over the floor in the van.

Dropped it in (glad to see that my measurements were right and it fit.

Getting the fuel line back up through the hole would have been far easier if I'd just done it from underneath the van...but it was tipping it down, so instead had a right faff of a time trying to get the blasted thing to co-operate.

Fuel pump added (it will probably wind up in a padded box in due course to the clicking doesn't drive everyone mad)...

Obviously the exhaust and intake lines will need to be routed and secured...but this won't stop things working for a test run.

Oh...and electricity would be useful for a test too.  To be honest you can't really go wrong in that regards with this system.  You've got a red wire and a black wire...everything else just plugs in and the connectors are all different so you can't connect things wrong.

I had kind of hoped to fit the new thermostat/controller in the place of the original...however that was not to be.  The connector on the wiring won't fit past a batten just behind the panel it needs to run behind.  So just went for a spot on the face of the locker for now.

Went for this location so it should still be possible to reach the controls while in bed.

While it's not currently producing heat due to a lack of a fuel supply (that's one of the jobs for tomorrow), it has now been test run.

Couple of observations at this point:

1. The fan is virtually silent...Only real noise is actually the air it's moving.  Obviously the burner itself will make a bit of noise, but it's waaaaaay quieter than the old unit.

2. Power draw.  The documentation states that the maximum running power draw is 40W.  Yeeeeeaaahh...About that.  This may be the case once the unit is up and running, but it pulls a hell of a lot more than 40W when the glow plug is energised during starting.  Digging further through the manual reveals one tiny paragraph which mentions that the starting current may be up to 12A.  This will be getting its own dedicated feed to the leisure battery as the existing wiring gets worryingly warm during startup and shutdown!

So jobs for tomorrow...

1. Track down a reducer and a T-piece so I can plumb in the fuel supply.

2. Route the intake and exhaust pipework & attach the silencers.

3. Route a new power feed, switch and relay.  Needed because the controller on this doesn't have an actual "off" function.

Apparently by far the biggest limitation with these heaters is the controller...which by all accounts is a bit naff.  However there's a very well respected "drop in" replacement out there known as the Afterburner project I believe, which both addresses the shortcomings of the original and adds a good deal of additional functionality, so I'll be investigating that at some point. 

Hopefully tomorrow we'll actually have it working and I can start putting the interior back together.

[somewhatfoolish]

12 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

2. Power draw.  The documentation states that the maximum running power draw is 40W.  Yeeeeeaaahh...About that.  This may be the case once the unit is up and running, but it pulls a hell of a lot more than 40W when the glow plug is energised during starting.  Digging further through the manual reveals one tiny paragraph which mentions that the starting current may be up to 12A.  This will be getting its own dedicated feed to the leisure battery as the existing wiring gets worryingly warm during startup and shutdown!

This is the same with the Eberspacher that they ripped off the design from; I wouldn't be surprised if the surge current until the glow plug heats up is as much as 20A, it certainly is with Ebbys. The other characteristic that might be shared with Ebbys is a sensitivity to supply voltage; if the cabling is weedy or too long or if the battery is tired or flat then it may not start up.

[busmansholiday]

^^^^^ Exactly this. Had an Eber in the camper, it could occasionally blow the 20A fuse.

Arh, Wayfarer, that brings back memories. Isn't 0000 what you enter to tell you how much you're taken.

[Zelandeth]

Today started efficiently enough, getting the new power feed directly to the leisure battery fitted.  That was easy enough, though I need to empty the locker so I can neatly clip it in down one side.

The next step however involved not a small amount of faffing about and getting not one but two mouthfuls of diesel.  The issue was that I couldn't get the damned fuel pump for the heater to prime for love nor money.

Eventually I tried with a cup of fuel propped as high up in the van as I could get it...at which point the issue became blindingly obvious.

Fuel was pissing out of the seam between the two parts of the casing on this fuel filter.  Well...that would indeed explain why it wouldn't prime!

With that taken out of the equation (I'll pick up a new one tomorrow) and the pump finally pumping fuel rather than air let's see if it will fire up properly.

Oh...after a brief check underneath to ensure the fuel hose isn't touching the exhaust.

I'll be going back in there with some reflective foil tape to line the floor around the hole to protect it as far as possible from the heat, and the hole around the fuel line will be sealed with Sikaflex (not doing the baseplate itself yet as I do want to move it at a later date).  Not too worried about the lack of a grommit given it won't be able to move once it's sealed...and it's marine hose which is nigh on indestructible anyway.  Plus I don't have any grommits the right size.

Can't actually tell much from inside aside from when heat starts being thrown out of it...but it's quite obvious from the exhaust side when the burner fires.

Apologies for the loud buzzing towards the start... annoyingly this phone doesn't silence the notification vibration when recording video.

The smoke initially (unburned diesel actually) I think is mostly because it will have dumped quite a bit of fuel into the combustion chamber while I was trying to get the pump to prime properly.  I don't think it will probably smoke quite so much on future starts.

Yes, it does sound like you're standing next to a teeny tiny jet engine...it's quite loud actually (outside, is really quiet inside the van), and I wasn't expecting much from the supplied silencer really.

Impressive... didn't expect that to do anything...much less pretty much totally eliminate the exhaust noise.

Next steps will be to find a T-piece and reducer so I can plumb it into the vehicle fuel supply (probably a check valve too, so a failure of the heater fuel pump can't allow air to be drawn into the vehicle's supply) and to tidy up the piping under the vehicle.  Fit the intake screen/muffler and the exhaust silencer while I'm there.

Seems to chuck out a really decent amount of heat (not surprising I guess given the 5kW rating!) and run really quietly, impressed so far.

[mat_the_cat]

What do you reckon to mounting the fuel pump underneath? I'm starting to lean more towards a diesel heater like this rather than gas so watching with interest!

[Zelandeth]

Don't think it would make much difference.  The issue with these isn't so much "radiated noise" so to speak... it's more a very clear mechanical "clack" which is physically transmitted through the bodywork.  A padded enclosure where it's non-rigidly suspended is probably the best bet...or do a search on Google...these heaters seem to have quite a following so I'm sure there's an elegant and quite possibly available off the shelf solution to the issue of noise.

To be honest it doesn't seem to be too obtrusive in my case  (now it's pumping fuel rather than air anyway).

I tend to work on the assumption that keeping stuff inside is always the best policy where possible...at least you know that the elements aren't going to turn it into a block of rust in five minutes flat if it's inside the van.

Checked the current during starting earlier with my clamp meter and I was showing 13A while the glow plug is running, so well within the spec of the wiring I installed...which was stone cold thankfully unlike the original stuff in the van!

Can see quite a bit of rewiring being in my future as the performance of quite a few electrical systems is a bit marginal.  The water pump in particular likes to brownout the lighting circuit while it's running...which isn't the end of the world for a couple of tens of seconds every hour...but I don't like the idea of stuff getting warm...especially given that the wiring in this thing is buried under the plywood wall panels in polystyrene...

[Zelandeth]

While I'd not call it finished, the heater install is now at a stage I can leave it be for a little while.  I'm going to need the van quite a bit over the next couple of weeks, so need to cut out pulling it to pieces.

It was still distinctly wet outside...so I decided to postpone plumbing in the heater to the vehicle fuel tank until A: It's less wet...and B: There's less fuel in it...I don't want to go and accidentally start syphoning 70 litres of diesel all over the drive.

So we've gone with a temporary fuel tank for now.

The tube is a really snug fit in the hole I've drilled in the cap so it's not going to spill anywhere, and the can has been firmly wedged in place... it's not going anywhere.

The bracket was attached to the silencer and it was attached to the van...I need to attach a little elbow to the end so I can point it a little downwards rather than just outward as it is at the moment.  There's not a particularly strong stream of gases from it at least...there will definitely be a "Warning - Hot Exhaust" label going down there though.

I'm an idiot though and put the bolt through the bracket the wrong way...so I'll need to flip that around because it looks messy.

While I was down there I also added some heat shielding around the exhaust pipe to protect the floor around it.

The intake hose has also been fastened in place and has had the muffler attached.  I've tucked it in behind the fuel tank so it should be pretty well shielded from the elements.

Then I was able to give the heater a proper test this evening...we were showing 9C on the thermostat when I got through the door after dinner...fifteen minutes later the van was comfortably warm.  I'll take that result.

Then I just needed to tidy up the mess I'd made...looked like a camper again pretty quickly.

Irked I didn't get the thermostat straight...though it will be going back on the wall when I pick up the Afterburner kit anyhow...

As currently there's a hole where the old stat was.

So this does leave me with something I need to find a new home for, the old heater.

That is a funky looking heat exchanger...

Looks like something out of a nuclear reactor...

 

So that's where we are so far... probably will be leaving it here for the time being as I need to actually use the van over this next week or so, so need to leave off pulling it to bits any further!

 

In addition I have finally actually ordered some 3/8" UNF bolts in high tensile steel form to hopefully serve as new wheel bolts for the Invacar.  I'd rather just have changed the studs...but that's obviously going to be a long winded job...so this will hopefully get the car mobile again in the interrim.

[Zelandeth]

There's going to be a bit of an equipment upgrade going on in my garage shortly.

A couple of years back I rescued this old Crypton Motorscope 335 from my local garage.  They had it buried on its back half under an awning.  They hadn't had the heart to bin it after many years of faithful service.  Who says mechanics aren't sentimental?

Sadly the only photo I have to hand right now is of it slightly buried in the back of my garage.

Despite currently being buried in my garage, it's actually proven really handy on a few occasions...though practicality aside, I knew I had to rescue it the moment I spotted the huge rank of flipdot buttons.  The Panaplax digital readout above the analogue meter was an unexpected bonus.  I'm a bit of a display tech nerd and it was the first time I'd seen that technology in person.

Essentially it's a very specialised multimeter with a scope and timing strobe attached to help diagnose ignition and charging system issues.  A CO% meter was an optional accessory...sadly not fitted to my unit. 

She needs a little love as the button contacts are scratchy as hell and a little percussive maintenance is sometimes needed to wake it up...I suspect it needs a decent dose of contact cleaner and the various card edge connectors similarly cleaned.  Given I spent about half an hour reviving it and it had been half exposed to the weather for God only knows how long it's doing very well.

However, I stumbled across something which has been on my wishlist ever since I saw one a long, long time ago...

Functionality aside...LOOK AT IT!

I'm a complete sucker for that flat smoked panel with chrome trim aesthetic...best exemplified by the Kolster Brandes KV-024 television (circa 1968) which was my gateway into proper vintage technology restoration - and the first valve based device I ever played around with.

Sadly that's currently in hibernation in the back of the loft as it needs a new CRT...and they're not something you exactly trip over these days.

I was expecting this to go for ridiculous money to someone with far deeper pockets than me, only to be gutted and have the faceplate wind up on the wall of some trendy office.

So what was the end result?

Well that was a surprise!  Just the starting bid.

So a van has been booked for Monday to go and collect it.  Roughly 80 miles each way, so not even far away.

Given the fact that these things weigh about as much as a small country I decided it was worth spending the extra £15 to go for a van with a tail lift...my spine will thank me for that. 

Basically this has the same scope functionality on the left hand side as on the old Crypton unit - though what's different here is that instead of a glorified multimeter on the right, there's a CRT hooked up to a rather primitive microcomputer.  This allows you to do quite a bit more detailed analysis of the data gathered.   Including stuff like recording the current drawn by the starter motor during cranking to give a rough estimation of the relative compression ratio of each cylinder.  In addition there's a CO% and HC exhaust gas analyser built into it.  This is an optical type as well, so there's a good chance that with a proper service that it will work just fine.

Here's an example showing the display in action (from the user manual).  This is the earlier version - identical as far as I can tell aside from the cosmetic differences.

Rather looking forward to getting that in the garage...been a while since I've had a decent tech project.

Folks want me to video the initial inspection when I get the heavy sucker of a thing home?

 

Done a little more work on the heater install in the van.  One thing which was bothering me was that the exhaust was pointing out to the side...the gases expelled from it are HOT and I was worried that it was a hazard that someone was going to burn themselves on.  It also had a serious habit of pointing exhaust directly at my mains hook up cable.  The pipework didn't want to let me point it downwards...so I had to improvise.

Discovering that 22mm pipe was a perfect snug fit in the silencer outlet made things easier.

Though the question springing to mind was whether the solder will melt...no idea how hot the thing runs.  Only one way to find out is to hook it back up and fire it up.

Yes... it's melted the solder.  I'll just replace the elbow with a compression fitting tomorrow.  Not too worried about the pipe into the silencer as that's a very snug fit, and a quick tap with a hammer and punch should make sure it's never going anywhere.

 Still really impressed with how quickly it warms the van up...and glad to report that the comedy smoke cloud on startup has stopped being produced now the fuel pump has been properly primed.

Edited November 9, 2019 by Zelandeth
Added an image I forgot

[LightBulbFun]

20 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

Folks want me to video the initial inspection when I get the heavy sucker of a thing home?

 

the fact that thats even a question!

is like asking me "Hey Dez I have a detailed pictures of a Prototype Model 70 with an 8ft bayonet cap fluorescent tube used for scale do you want those pics?"

[Zelandeth]

Hey, look what arrived yesterday!

...And they even screw into the hubs!

(That's only screwed in by a couple of threads, they're not that massively long).

So once the remaining one is drilled out we should be back in business.

In the interrim at least I can bolt the wheel back on though which will allow me to move the car.

The bolts will be screwed into the existing wheel nuts (to use the conical face on them to centre the wheel), then through the wheel and into the hub.

[LightBulbFun]

excuse me for not knowing

but are those bolts just so you can move her around or will it allow you to continue using her on the road as per normal?

and if so whats the downside to them over proper wheel studs, is it that the brake drum will fall off every time you need to change a wheel?

(also wondering, can you chop the head off one or well 4, wind a nut part way down on there and make your own wheel studs?)

[Zelandeth]

The downside is mainly that the hub will be subject to wear whenever you need to take the wheel off.  Plus I'll probably need to track down some washers to serve the purpose of the shoulder on the original studs.

I guess there's no reason I couldn't cut the head off once it's wound into the hub, using the nuts as normal, though I'd need to be really careful not to damage the threads when cutting... it's probably more trouble than it's worth.  If I find there's trouble with wear to the threads in the hub I'll probably look to drill and tap the hole to the size of a commonly available screw in studs.

Fact is that it's such a light and low powered vehicle that these bolts should be absolutely fine.  Barely any smaller than those Fiat saw as fine for the 126 the axle came from any how.

[LightBulbFun]

3 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

The downside is mainly that the hub will be subject to wear whenever you need to take the wheel off.  Plus I'll probably need to track down some washers to serve the purpose of the shoulder on the original studs.

I guess there's no reason I couldn't cut the head off once it's wound into the hub, using the nuts as normal, though I'd need to be really careful not to damage the threads when cutting... it's probably more trouble than it's worth.  If I find there's trouble with wear to the threads in the hub I'll probably look to drill and tap the hole to the size of a commonly available screw in studs.

Fact is that it's such a light and low powered vehicle that these bolts should be absolutely fine.  Barely any smaller than those Fiat saw as fine for the 126 the axle came from any how.

chop the head off, use the right washer for shoulder, Bam DIY set of wheel studs? no need to worry about wearing out the threads on the hub or having to tap anything  

seems way too simple but i cant see why it wont work, either that or im missing something obvious, (probably the latter!)

im not sure how expensive these bolts are but you could perhaps buy a few incase the threads do get buggered up when chopping the heads off the bolts or get a machine shop to do it? i imagine these might be too hard for it, but could you also clean up the threads if needed with a die? a bit like how you chase the threads out of a hole with a tap

[Zelandeth]

I can't really see an issue with wearing the threads in the hub out.  They were absolutely fine as far as Fiat were concerned for a mainstream production car...and you're hardly going to have the wheels off every week.  It'll be getting done by me then too, rather than some disgruntled ham fisted monkey in Kwik Fit too.

The bolts were cheap so I may well have an experiment.  Just a shame there's not enough clearance to just bolt it into the back of the hub as that would be a really nice solution.

Guess the potential downside to that is the same as with any setup with screw in studs, that it's always possible you might wind up screwing the stud out rather than the nut off it - though I'd probably try to replicate the original tack weld to keep things in place to keep the odds of that happening as low as possible.

Mostly just now I just want the thing back on the road.  I've seriously been missing driving it... especially having just seemed to have got the drive and such to start playing ball so the proper but fixing could commence.

Do have a deadline for her needing to be ready for a proper high speed reasonably long run now though.  Nothing even vaguely to compare to Dollywobbler's first few road trips with TWC, but she will be making a trip over to Birmingham on May 22nd when we head over to ConFuzzled.  While the event's nothing to do with cars, it brings in enough of a crowd (~2500 attendees I believe) that they actually have their own mini car show event as part of the weekend these days.  This would probably depend on Chris being able to borrow something large from his work for the weekend though, or (as with the run up to Scotiacon this coming weekend) I'll instead need to take the van so we have enough cargo space.  Admittedly there will only be four of us as we won't have an overseas guest in town as well so that will help...but there's still a hell of a lot of stuff that has to travel with us...and much as I love the Invacar, hauling around full size suitcases isn't her forte.  Hmm...roof or Rover P6-esque rear luggage rack?

Don't really mind which I wind up taking...they will both be enjoyed by people just for different reasons.  Just the Invacar is such an oddball it seems like the default option for sharing.

While I'm sure she could (once the wheel is reattached obviously) make the trip just fine tomorrow, I've never really been one to just shrug and say "it'll be fine!" Before commencing a long trip.  I really do prefer to have a car which I know is in reasonable health beforehand.  In the case of TPA, it takes a bit of time to build confidence in that with so long off the road.  Aside from that, I've yet to fully learn what's normal in terms of the noises, vibrations, smells and such...and obviously once I know that it helps spot any potential issues before they become major problems as they arise.

That will need to be well and truly done though before I start planning the epic round country run. 

Few things will definitely be done before that though...

[] Instrumentation upgrades.

-- Oil pressure gauge.  We've seen evidence that these engines after long disuse can drop bits of sludge when put to work hard and which can then clog the oil pickup strainer.  This isn't going to be a gauge where I worry about what the actual number is.  It will be one where I know what is the normal range hot and cold...if it wanders outside that range, I know I need to look at something.

-- Oil temperature gauge.  Probably not really necessary given the size of the oil cooler, but these cars weren't ideally designed for spending hours and hours on the motorway, and the trip will inevitably require some pretty long stretches at higher speeds...so I'd rather be able to keep an eye on it.

-- Voltmeter/ammeter.  Not least because my gauge binnacle has three holes, but it just seems a smart thing to have where the system sits off charge at idle.  Especially if you're likely to be spending time in traffic with the headlights on.

All analogue gauges of course.  If I could find period Smith's ones at a price I liked I'd go for that...but I haven't so far so the random ones I have rolling around will do.  Goodness only knows how I've not lost the senders over the years!  Say it again... I'm not someone who spends hours fretting over what exact numbers are shown...I just like to see if things are not normal for the car sooner than later.

[] Ventilation fan upgrade.  The demister is currently basically useless.  That could become really tiresome really quickly...plus switching to an electric fan could give me the option of adding forced cool air ventilation to the mix in the summer.  Also means I can actually have a heater that is actually fully off when switched off!  Means less air bled off from the cooling system too which can only be good I think.  Already have the blower, relay and switch...just needs to be installed.

[] Front end storage?  I'd really like to be able to work out a away to install some storage up front.  Doesn't need to be huge...but it would be nice to be able to fit a basic toolkit, set of jump leads and a bottle of oil in there.  If I'm going to be on the road for a couple of weeks there's going to be enough crap in the cabin as it is.  Ballast up front can't be bad anyway.

[] Fit a better twist grip.  The throttle really isn't that comfortable, reckon after an hour or so it would get really old.  Sure there are a million choices out there...happy to go for comfort over originality there.

[] Get the thing at least mostly weatherproof.  Yeah... I'm not driving probably a thousand plus miles in something that leaks worse than Caterham.  Especially as the windscreen seal drips right on my knees.

I'm actually quite looking forward to this trip...sure I will even more once I've got a few more trouble free miles covered.

[LightBulbFun]

30 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

Do have a deadline for her needing to be ready for a proper high speed reasonably long run now though.  Nothing even vaguely to compare to Dollywobbler's first few road trips with TWC, but she will be making a trip over to Birmingham on May 22nd

if it makes you feel better, my dead line to get REV on the road is the 1st of may for shitefest 2020  

and I aint even got my licence yet let alone driven her on the open road!

(tbh not worried about the licence front, im more worried if there will be time to get REV ready in time...)

 

32 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

but these cars weren't ideally designed for spending hours and hours on the motorway, and the trip will inevitably require some pretty long stretches at higher speeds...so I'd rather be able to keep an eye on it.

I know of someone who drove a Model 70 to france  and back via motorways in the 1980s  

 

33 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

[] Fit a better twist grip.  The throttle really isn't that comfortable, reckon after an hour or so it would get really old.  Sure there are a million choices out there...happy to go for comfort over originality there.

 

this very much this! when ya figure something out for TPA, ill probably steal the idea for REV, as im pretty sure REVs twist grip at one point had some sort of covering, thats long since disntigrated so its surfice has a bunch of sharp ridges, that specficly make your hand very sore LOL not to mention its pretty broken mechanically

(if I can find anything ill probably just wear a glove or something)

 

36 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

Hmm...roof or Rover P6-esque rear luggage rack?

you would not be the first!

(personally dont like how he has drilled holes through the rear engine cover not to mention it covers up the engine vent)

[somewhatfoolish]

Cut a screwdriver slot in the end of your bolts, cut the head off at the desired length, then fit them using high strength studlock. If the threads are a little sloppy perhaps tap the threads at the end opposite the screwdriver slot gently with a hammer to inflict slight damage, this will stiffen things up a bit.

[Zelandeth]

After six and a bit hours in the most horrible van I've driven this decade (and I've no idea how many times I was flailing around beside for the seat for the gearlever and trying to pull off in second because the gears are in the wrong place), this has arrived.

Only *nearly* killed me and my husband getting it in the door.

Will give it a quick wipe down this evening, tomorrow we will try to get some basic testing done.

[cobblers]

Wow, even if it ends up being 100% useless, it's bloody pretty. I'd have that in my living room.

[Zelandeth]

Yeah...the 1215 is just a beautifully made bit of kit.

Has had a really quick wipe down...not touched the faceplate yet though.  This like the Crypton has the graticule for the scope on the outside...so I'll need to be damned careful cleaning that.

Overall the initial inspection shows it to be in pretty exceptionally good shape compared to most of them I've seen. 

If filthy.

Quick wipe down has helped.

Flipdot indicators built into the buttons for the win...

Will give it a proper clean tomorrow and then get some testing done.  All the attachments are here, just currently piled in the corner to make it slightly less unwieldy to move...it was heavy enough without it swatting me in the face with cables every five seconds.

 

 

[Noel Tidybeard]

i think i would be inclined to set the silencer horizontal rather than vertical like it is now for clearance issues if nothing else

these heaters may smoke on start up if they didn't "run down" properly as there will be excess fule in the burner

[Zelandeth]

18 hours ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

i think i would be inclined to set the silencer horizontal rather than vertical like it is now for clearance issues if nothing else

these heaters may smoke on start up if they didn't "run down" properly as there will be excess fule in the burner

It's mainly initially been situated where it is because the manual was adamant (to the extent of saying it in capital letters) that it should be horizontal with the condensation drain hole at the bottom.  Secondly the pipework doesn't have a massive amount of flex in so the location is pretty constrained.  I may well rotate it through 90 degrees so the flat profile is horizontal (yes, ignoring the instructions) as you suggest to make the profile a bit lower.  In reality though, the van has ridiculously high ground clearance and if that's getting in the way I must be doing something wrong!  The actual vehicle exhaust and step under the door are quite a bit lower than the heater exhaust.

This is pretty much the same spot on the opposite side.

 

[Zelandeth]

Sadly I need to go out and do boring stuff like grocery shopping now...but couldn't resist a quick test just now.  Did a quick sanity check with the Megger (mainly so I didn't have to go reset the damned RCD again) and then powered it on.

Judging from the shape of the CRTs this doesn't have many hours on...

It's actually sharper than the photo makes it look.

The computer display keeps cutting out though (seems like a display rather than computer issue itself as it comes back without any disruption to the actual data displayed) so it unsurprisingly needs a bit of attention.

Hopefully will be able to get a closer look later today.  Definitely looks encouraging though.

[LightBulbFun]

Yay! happy to see it seems to be working  

im most curious what lights up the signage on the top?  

(im guessing some sort of fluorescent tube but what's currently fitted is what im wondering!)

[Zelandeth]

Will indeed be fluorescent I'd think, sadly that doesn't appear to currently be working.

Speaking of not working...neither is the offside dipped beam headlight on the Xantia.  The lamp failed at the end of last week, went to change it today.

After just under an hour I gave up and took the van out instead.  Reckon I'm going to have to disconnect the ECUs and remove the enslosure they live in to get into the headlight.

It really should be law I think that any conventional lamps on a car *must* be changeable using no specialist tools (i.e. more than a screwdriver) or specialist knowledge at the side of the road.  The amount of cars you need to dismantle the entire nose to change a bulb on (Suzuki Cappuccino, I'm looking at you...you have to take out the wheel arch liners and front bumper off) is frankly ridiculous.

[Zelandeth]

Well this afternoon I wound up running around like a headless chicken so ended up with very little time to actually look at the 1215.

Before I locked up for the evening though I was determined to investigate at least one issue...being me of course the first item on the list was the backlight for the sign.

Looked simple enough to get into, the brightwork strip under the sign is just held in by three machine screws.  Something immediately became apparent...no wonder this thing weighs a tonne!  Was expecting a little bit of pressed tin...

That bit of trim probably weighs a couple of kilos.  If this is the sort of build quality I have to look forward to we're not going to have many issues!  The sign itself is a *really* snug fit in the front of the machine, so I didn't attempt to move it further than I had to.

The light was utterly dead...not a flicker, nothing.  Have to wonder if this tube is original...

Of course curiousity just got the better of me...August 1995, so no.  It's been changed at some point.

Only 3' tube I had to hand was a yellow Narva which I'd had in service at Halloween.  This was enough to prove the ballast at least.

It appears to be a pretty aggressive instant start ballast given it lit the tube when it was only half inserted.

Took me a bit of digging but did find a suitable tube in the stock.  One of the stack of NOS tubes from my old work building found by the demo crew.  That poor old building keeps on giving.

Off we go.

Back together.  Looks the business.

*Hopefully* I might actually get a chance to look at it properly tomorrow afternoon.  Would really like to at least get the back cover off before we leave for the weekend on Thursday morning.

Have to wonder how much the optional remote control cost...

Anyone got any idea what the original purchase cost of this thing would have been?  Hoping once I open it up we'll be able to pin down the production date at least.

[LightBulbFun]

20 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

The light was utterly dead...not a flicker, nothing.  Have to wonder if this tube is original...

Of course curiousity just got the better of me...August 1995, so no.  It's been changed at some point.

of all the tubes, I have to say I was not expecting an F30T12!

they are very rare in the UK, but funnily enough most "commonly" found on buses (contrary to popular belief the F30T12 and F30T8 do have different electrical specifications, one of those being the F30T12 is easier to strike up, hence why you find it in buses on their transistorised low voltage ballasts)

and in stuff imported from the US, is the thing from the US or something any idea how old it is?

looks like its outside etch so April 1994 (if the dash is under the E and 9 dots ignoring the 2 on the far right, with the dash under the I indicating it was made at the bucyrus ohio plant  )

real shame its seemingly dead, also very interesting to hear it has some sort of electronic ballast, would not expect that in such old kit, would be very interesting to see what it is

23 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

Took me a bit of digging but did find a suitable tube in the stock.  One of the stack of NOS tubes from my old work building found by the demo crew.  That poor old building keeps on giving.

reminds me that I must add some of those to my collection, I wonder how many tubes i can fit in a Model 70  

[Zelandeth]

These units were quite popular in the USA, and honestly wouldn't surprise me  if I found it running from a 230-120V transformer internally...we'll see when I get into it.

Dating the sucker properly is very much on the to do list.  I *think* we're looking at early 80s though.  The 1215 was launched at the very tail end of the 70s, though this facelifted one came a few years later.

Sure we could find you one of those 3' Cryselco tubes.  Can't remember exactly but there are at least half a dozen of them.  They're from 1972 if I remember the date codes correctly.

[LightBulbFun]

35 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

These units were quite popular in the USA, and honestly wouldn't surprise me  if I found it running from a 230-120V transformer internally...we'll see when I get into it.

Dating the sucker properly is very much on the to do list.  I *think* we're looking at early 80s though.  The 1215 was launched at the very tail end of the 70s, though this facelifted one came a few years later.

Sure we could find you one of those 3' Cryselco tubes.  Can't remember exactly but there are at least half a dozen of them.  They're from 1972 if I remember the date codes correctly.

did not realise the system went that far back, I was thinking late 80s early 1990s!

since the GE date code is on a 10 year cycle it could be April 1984 as well which would make it original (the 1980s was the transition from inside etch to outside etch so that rules out it being 1974!)

and id actually be more inclined to think 1984, as 1990s GE tubes had a bit of a bolder etch IIRC

 

the question im wondering is where these made in the US/by a US company and then shipped to the UK or was it done differently? if they where made in the US then shipped over it would explain the US tube etc

 

and id very much appreciate that   its just getting the stuff home thats stopped me from scooping up some previously, hence the question of how much stuff can we cram in a Model 70  

(I wonder how quickly id get pulled over for having an 8ft tube/fixture poking out the window LOL)

[Zelandeth]

1984 would probably be about right I'd think.  Would actually make a lot of sense given the serial number starts 0984...so September 84?

The 1215 originally looked like this when it was launched

(image found on Reddit)

Facelift took 20 years off it didn't it?  Astonishing what a bit of tinted perspex can do.

[Zelandeth]

Today has been another utter mess, but in preparation for our trip north tomorrow I needed to give the van a check over and tidy up a bit.

I reckon that between tools, rubbish, building materials, car supplies and miscellaneous stuff left in there from previous trips I probably removed a couple of hundred kg of weight from it.  I'd really have liked to give it a wash as we will be attending a car related get together up there...but time just didn't allow it.  Interior at least is now passable.

Would have really liked to give the dash a wipe down too, but just ran out of time. 

Surprised I even got that done given I've kept getting bloody interrupted every time I try to get started on anything.

I hate looking after guests who aren't my guests!