Discovered the source of my heat problems. It turns out that I hadn't insulated the front part of the van up near where the running lights are, or on the side posts. And, there was also an air hole in my ceiling tiles on the right side where the conduit came through to go to my electrical system. All this was right above where my air intake vent is.
The result of this was that cool air would get sucked into the van by convection (yay), then get either sucked up into the ceiling itself, or heated up by the radiation coming off of the metal box up where the running lights and side posts are. It got really bad when the front of the van was turned facing the sun.
So yesterday I pulled some scraps of insulation and ceiling tile out of storage, and boxed in that hole at the top, and also covered up the metal areaup by the running lights. So everything is insulated nicely. And, it works! Major difference, I can park in bright sunlight on a warm day, and the cool air convection is working wonderfully-- stays nice and cool in here now.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Sound and wind
I'm really into hanging out in quiet, suburban areas these days. Clean air, and QUIET! Even with my insulation, it's much noisier here than in a stick house.
I'm getting good at sheltering myself from the wind, and I noticed that it also makes it quieter too. I never realized how much sound travels with wind! If the wind is blowing at me, I can hear sounds a mile away upwind as if they were inside the van. When I find places away from the wind, or days when the wind is not blowing, it's so much quieter.
I've taken a break from working on the van or the interior. I have a new sink, and counter, and I put the counter in, but haven't plumbed the sink yet, nor gone shopping for cabinets to put under it. But even just having the counter is a huge help and makes life easier.
I'm busy with work projects now, including a fairly massive one, so I'm applying my workaholism to projects that I originally started vandwelling in order to have time/money to do. It feels great to actually make progress on those; it really feels like I'm moving my life forwards, and I'm enjoying that a lot.
I'm getting good at sheltering myself from the wind, and I noticed that it also makes it quieter too. I never realized how much sound travels with wind! If the wind is blowing at me, I can hear sounds a mile away upwind as if they were inside the van. When I find places away from the wind, or days when the wind is not blowing, it's so much quieter.
I've taken a break from working on the van or the interior. I have a new sink, and counter, and I put the counter in, but haven't plumbed the sink yet, nor gone shopping for cabinets to put under it. But even just having the counter is a huge help and makes life easier.
I'm busy with work projects now, including a fairly massive one, so I'm applying my workaholism to projects that I originally started vandwelling in order to have time/money to do. It feels great to actually make progress on those; it really feels like I'm moving my life forwards, and I'm enjoying that a lot.
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