Overland Sprinter Build

[luthj]

-Did you fill it with water to check for leaks through the welds?

-Might be an idea to cut the cross member back to completely seal bottom of the floor.

It's on the list. I still need to work out dangles and tie downs before I paint etc.

 

[luthj]

More holes coming through. The stainless pan I welded up for the shower was a total failure. Warped almost 1", and could not be flattened... I grabbed some 14 gauge diamond plate, and cut/welded a quick pan up today. Being T0 or simialar temper, it was easy to flatten out.



The pan may seem shallow (it is), however there is an extra 3/8" indent in the middle. This is a low spot in the floor, and where the drain will be located. With this depression the shower can be used up to 7 degree off level front/rear, and 4 degrees left/right.



The plan is to add some snaps or similar to the corners to hold the shower stall/curtain in. A drain fitting will exit the floor and go direct to the gray tank. Future plan is to insulate under this area for warmer feet, and add a hydronic heating loop to the gray tank and drain plumbing to allow usage in winter.

 

[luthj]

PS: The crappy floor tiles are getting replaced. I am thinking a single piece of rubber or linoleum.

 

[Alloy]

Not that you're running on it but checker plates is really slippery when it gets wet. It helps to sand the tops of the checker with 40grit paper.

Might try rare earth magnets on the outside of the alum rather than snaps.

 

[luthj]

I cut the drain hole. I just got some sikaflex adhesive, so the pan should be getting bonded in tomorrow. Once its bonded in, I will sand the edges flush with the floor, and seal the gap with some urethane. I will cut down the removed floor section to a tight fit, then use some rigid foam and wood spacers to bring it to normal height. There will be a small seam, but when I replace the floor covering, I can minimize it. I may try to fit some latches, but given its light weight, It may not need it. Yes the welds look like crap. I have ground them down since this photo was taken. I am getting better with the spoolgun, but for every 2" of great weld, I have to backtrack for a nice hole. Makes sense why most opt for TIG in the thinner stuff.




Jen cut some access doors in the back of the bench seat. These will give us easy access to the storage behind the seat. She also reinforced the seat back with some steel bracing.

 

[ripperj]

Nice work dude


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[luthj]

Getting my butt into gear as the self imposed deadline is 34 days out. Drafted up a gray water tank. Two integral baffles, and a 1/2" OD aluminum heating pipe will be built in. The plan is to route my hydronic heating loop with a secondary pump to keep the gray tank and lines from freezing in the winter.



Here is where it will be mounted.

IMG_20200729_125624525

The shower pan is bonded down. I need to trim the edges and install the drain line.

IMG_20200728_084531260

IMG_20200728_090237857

IMG_20200729_081821921

 

[luthj]

Got the galley parts unboxed. Looking good thus far. Lots of deburring, but should go together pretty quickly.

 

[luthj]

Making progress on the welding. I bought a new box of flap disks, which makes my welds look a lot better.

I test fitted the sink and cooktop, They are a nice tight fit, and should sit almost perfectly flush. It will be great to have a flat surface to work on.





The grey tank parts shipped, so I should have those next week. Hopefully my welding skills will have improved enough to make that a easier task. I set up the tank with 50% overlap external fillet welds. Which should be easier to make water tight.

 

[Alloy]

Making progress on the welding. I bought a new box of flap disks, which makes my welds look a lot better.

I test fitted the sink and cooktop, They are a nice tight fit, and should sit almost perfectly flush. It will be great to have a flat surface to work on.





The grey tank parts shipped, so I should have those next week. Hopefully my welding skills will have improved enough to make that a easier task. I set up the tank with 50% overlap external fillet welds. Which should be easier to make water tight.

Making a grey tank out of aluminum?

For wirefeed 100% overlap is best on material less than .156 then back cut (gouge) the outside before welding. If the overlap isn't enough you can hold a pcs of stainless or copper on the outside to act a heatsink.

 

[Alloy]

Getting my butt into gear as the self imposed deadline is 34 days out. Drafted up a gray water tank. Two integral baffles, and a 1/2" OD aluminum heating pipe will be built in. The plan is to route my hydronic heating loop with a secondary pump to keep the gray tank and lines from freezing in the winter.

View attachment 601910

Here is where it will be mounted.

IMG_20200729_125624525

The shower pan is bonded down. I need to trim the edges and install the drain line.

IMG_20200728_084531260

IMG_20200728_090237857

IMG_20200729_081821921

Might try a welding aluminum couplings and running PEX through strain reliefs / bulkhead fittings vs. welding an aluminum pipe into the tank....worst case scenario with PEX is the strain relief/ bulkhead fitting may leak but PEX it is 100X more durable and easy to repair.

 

[luthj]

Waiting for lunch to cook, and looking ahead to a few items that need resolved prior to winter. On of these is freeze control for the gray water tank and lines. Another (farther down the road) is heating the engine and possibly fuel tank/lines.

Since I will need to relocated my hydronic heater due to the battery box install, I am considering a redesign.

-Isolate hydronic heating loop from engine, due to increased plumbing
-Install plate heat exchanger for preheating engine
-Plumb heating coil for gray (and eventually custom fuel tank)
-Plumb heating lines for drain hoses
-Design control unit which can run the pumps and heater to: Heat water tank from engine, heat engine from hydronic loop, and perform anti-freeze operation.

Doing some googling to see what options I have, I came across this floor heating manifold set. It looks like each circuit has a thermostatic valve on the return side. So I can adjust the temperature of each loop as needed. That would reduce heat loss to the tanks in warm weather. Its pretty big though. I am not sure what kind of flow resistance it would create either.

 

[java]

We use solenoid control valves in our radiant installs, why not use those?

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[luthj]

We use solenoid control valves in our radiant installs, why not use those?

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They are an option, and I am looking at some automotive options I can adapt.

The first issue is power consumption, those valves can use 2A+ at 12V. The second is size, space and connections. I am trying to keep the package size down, and reduce the amount of plumbing I need to do.

The thermostat on the outlet also lets me set the loop temperature. The advantage of that, is that I can have warmer coolant going to the grey tank, and cooler for the drain hoses. Getting the hose size and restriction right to avoid unnecessary heating can be a challenge on a setup like this.

Space under the van is at a premium, as is interior space. I don't want to give up a bunch of storage for pumps and valves. I also don't want to heat up tanks/lines every time I want a hot shower either.

 

[java]

They are an option, and I am looking at some automotive options I can adapt.

The first issue is power consumption, those valves can use 2A+ at 12V. The second is size, space and connections. I am trying to keep the package size down, and reduce the amount of plumbing I need to do.

The thermostat on the outlet also lets me set the loop temperature. The advantage of that, is that I can have warmer coolant going to the grey tank, and cooler for the drain hoses. Getting the hose size and restriction right to avoid unnecessary heating can be a challenge on a setup like this.

Space under the van is at a premium, as is interior space. I don't want to give up a bunch of storage for pumps and valves. I also don't want to heat up tanks/lines every time I want a hot shower either.

I didn't think they drew that much? They are only powered when the loop is calling for heat.

I can understand the termo valve tho, simple and never needs to be touched.

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