Heating & Free Heat System - Rixen - Continued......
Getting the electrical, air intake and exhaust routed and dialed in, as well as drilling all of the holes in the chassis for mounting any/all lines (#6)
It's hard to see in the pic, because of the lighting, but I was stoked to be able to tuck the end of the air intake behind the bracket, which basically creates a little protective tube around the intake. This will help cut down on the dust/dirt/debris/elements reaching the inlet.
It was late, so I called it a night, but I had a little whisper that I couldn't put my finger on. The next morning I woke up and said "That fuel pump is not in the best spot! Although......, it is: in a good spot for serviceability, tucked up high enough, technically protected and the chances of something catching it are veeery slim! BUUUUUUUUUUT, there is still a chance that a branch and/or stout bush could catch the pump/fuel line, given the right 4x4 angle on the truck when the stars and moon align once every millennium!"
Sooooooo, it was decided (begrudgingly 😤), to move the da(😠)mn fuel pump 😁.
Roundy-round 🤔, Roundy-round 🤔, Roundy-round 🤔 and 💡🤓! "Mount it right next to all of the other fuel pumps, where you will be able to still access/service it when the camper is on." "Yes it will fit; just try harder and make it fit! Don't be lazy; this is not that kind of build!"
Factory fuel pump, Aux. fuel tank pump and Espar Rixen fuel pump. My little fuel pump farm.
Still serviceable from the ground/bottom side when the camper is on.
I can also route the fuel line with the existing factory fuel lines (Bonus).
It may take me awhile, but I'll get there eventually!
I also laid out and drilled several mounting holes down the chassis rail for mounting fuel fill/vent lines, as well as the coolant lines for the Rixen system (before the camper gets permanently set). I'm still not sure If I will be running the lines on the chassis rail, or the bottom of the camper. There are pros and cons for both, so I need to chew on it a little more. The holes also got some primer and paint (not shown).
One last piece of info that may be helpful to someone before we move away from the Rixen system (any system using the vehicles coolant/radiator for free heating). I was chatting with the neighboring build shop, when they were doing work on the ER (and it's heating/free-heat system). We started chatting about Pros and Cons of where to place the free-heat plate exchanger (Plate exchanger connected to the vehicles radiator/coolant loop).
One school of thought is to keep the vehicle to free-heat plate exchanger loop as short as possible. Meaning, mounting the free-heat plate exchanger as close to the vehicle's factory loop as possible (Basically, under the hood/at the engine). This minimizes the effect on the factory loop as much as possible and reduces the length of the coolant lines and number of fittings that could be susceptible to leaks. These are all Pros for a shorter factory vehicle loop (vehicle to free-heat plate exchanger).
A Con of this set-up is when you are not using free heating (coolant from the vehicle), and are using the Rixen Espar heater (in my build case) for heating (using fuel from your vehicle’s gas tank to supply/feed the Rixen Espar heater). With the free-heat plate exchanger being at the front of the vehicle (smaller free-heat loop), the heating loop is now longer. You now have to heat a longer loop when using fuel from your vehicle. Maybe not a big deal during the summer months, but if stationary during the dead of winter, you are now heating longer exposed lines (to the front of the vehicle).
The second school of thought is to put the free-heat plate exchanger at the back of the vehicle, or as close to the heater as possible (Rixen Espar heater for my build). The Pro of this setup is the heating loop is as short as possible and you heat a shorter loop when stationary (save on fuel). The Con is you have longer coolant lines and possibly more fittings in your vehicles factory loop, which could result in a leak and affect the vehicles factory coolant system (No coolant in your vehicle means no Drivey, Drivey and No Overlandy, Overlandy 😊)
I know this is all a bit wordy and unfortunately, NO, a diagram will not be included. Unless, someone else is feeling spunky 😁!
Yes, we could add more plate exchangers and pumps to the mix and start talking about multiple options and scenarios, but I'm keeping this related to just the use of free-heat from the vehicle.
I appreciated the conversation with my neighbors and it got me thinking about the question we often ask, "What is the BEST method?" Of course, the answer is often/always "It depends!" It also got me thinking about how we may do things without fully knowing why we are doing it the way we are doing it. After explaining what I was doing on my build, I had the ability/courage to ask them if they would do it differently, if they were building my build. Their answer was yes and I appreciated it.
My neighbors like the shorter free-heat loop to minimize the chances that the vehicle's factory loop could experience an issue. They were also mostly basing this off of seeing many shi(@&@&)tty installs. I agree with their points, but I prefer a longer free heat loop and a shorter heating loop.
Personally, If I'm going to tap into the factory system for free heating, I'm going to maximize the amount of free heating I can get. I'm also a meticulous when it comes to building something, so I'm not worried about a sloppy install (The type of install where an unprotected/improperly routed coolant line would be rubbing on the factory chassis, or some other object it should not be rubbing on). In addition, mounting my plate exchanger at the back of the vehicle resulted in the same number of fittings I would have had to use if I mounted it close-ish to the engine.
This is all just food for thought and I wanted to take the time to mention it since it happened during my dry-fitting-fun of the Rixen system. There is also one other addition I made/will install in my free-heat loop based upon previous experience of running this system in other builds, but no time to cover it now.
Enough Build-Threading for today. It is time for some Din Din and then back to designing the rear bumper/winch mount/spare tire carrier Combo and the rear roof ladder 😳😫🤯!
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