Orton DIY Transit

[Graphite Dave]

I am in violation of the article #26 (HOLE IN SIDE OF VAN FOR WATER CONNECTION) and #30 (HOLE IN SIDE OF VAN FOR SHORE POWER CONNECTION) from your list? Am I exposed of violating royalty fees of your IP claims, if yes please let me know, I learned a lot from you but, I am willing to negotiate the fees.

Cheers,

George.

You have already paid. I had free lodging and a meal when I visited. If I ever get this conversion done I am planning a visit up through your area. Will buy dinner.

Yesterday was not a good day. Took van into Ford dealer to install a rear sway bar and check the alignment. They could not complete either.

Too far out of alignment to get it corrected with the normal adjustments. Have to go back so they can move the sub frame. Came from factory with improper alignment.

Apparently there are two different design frames used. Passenger vans come with the sway bar and cargo vans do not. Bought all the parts only to discover the holes are in the frame but they do not weld in the threads on the cargo vans.

Then on way home my newly installed DIY seat swivel started rattling. My method of attaching the seat plate to the vertical shaft comes loose. Back to the drawing board.

Some day this conversion will get done. Hopefully soon enough that I will be able to use it.

 

[GeorgeRa]

Good luck getting issues resolved, it often take more time than planned.

George.

 

[Frazier_Far_Out]

Hi Dave,

How are you mounting the circuit breakers you are using in your electrical diagram? What do you mean by located at indent? I would really like to use your method and avoid spending $65 on this Bluesea Busman

Thanks!

 

[Graphite Dave]

The "indent" panel is at the front end of the left bench seat. Just a rectangle formed by the 80/20 structure of the wall. Used a 1/8" piece of aluminum sheet to make a plate to mount the Blue Sea "A-Series" circuit breakers. Plate also used to bolt the 80/20 extrusions together on the back side.

The panel is just above the house battery and to the left of the DC distribution panel. There are four circuit breakers.

1. A 15 amp DC single throw breaker between solar panel and the solar controller.
2. A 20 amp DC single throw breaker between the solar controller and the positive bus bar.
3. A 50 amp DC single throw breaker between the positive bus bar and the Blue Sea # 5026 DC fuse block.
4. A 15 amp AC double throw breaker between the house inverter and the string of duplex plug outlets.

The black lawn mower pull cord handle above the breakers is used to open/close the floor vent. The electrical panel to the right will have a 1/4" plywood cover.

 

[220629]

...

The black lawn mower pull cord handle above the breakers is used to open/close the floor vent. ...

I love it!

I have a handle with Mercury on it. It's not Ford, but the name is a close relative.

vic

 

[Graphite Dave]

Handle shown in picture is with the floor hole closed. When floor hole open handle hooks on a angle bracket just above edge of picture. 4"X4" hole has a 7"x 7" plywood cover with a hole in the center for the rope. Plywood has two holes that fit over two wood dowels to keep it properly located. A foam seal is glued to the picture frame to seal hole when closed. Rope runs through a 1/2" 90 degree conduit bend. A bit Rube Goldberg but it works well.

 

[SprinterSnale]

Maybe large enough to heat the shower water!

This idea has been in my thoughts with 400W now on my roof. It's not in your schematic, but I have seen heating elements that look up to task.

Miss Piggy's 80/20 palace is looking fantastic!

 

[Graphite Dave]

This 10 gallon 625 watt kit is what I bought:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Electric-Co...r-10-gallon-Suburban-Atwood-New-/151644706006

Installed in a non-pressurized SS 6 gallon tank. Expect to get 6 gallons of 90 degree water in about 30 minutes. Had a 6 gallon 400 watt kit in the Sprinter that took about 45 minutes to heat the water. Water pumped out of tank with a tubular 12 volt DC pump that discharges into a garden hose with a on/off garden nozzle. All water in the tank is at the correct temperature so no hot/cold water mixing required so no plumbing.

Can be powered by shore power or 120 volt AC "shore power" from the vehicle powered inverter or from the house inverter powered by the house battery. Using the house battery will depend on weather conditions and SOC of the house battery.

Not like a shower at home but it works.

 

[230321a]

-
Installed in a non-pressurized SS 6 gallon tank.

What is a SS 6 gallon tank?

 

[Graphite Dave]

What is a SS 6 gallon tank?

Custom fabricated 14 ga. stainless steel water tank. Two tubes welded to the top. One for the tubular DC submersible pump and one open to the van interior to use as a fill spout.

Tank is the pedestal to bring the portapotti up to the correct height. Portapotti located in the shower enclosure.

 

[SprinterSnale]

I was envisioning a 12volt load dump off my MPPT charger. I wonder is something only 65 watts, would heat a few gallons. The 110volt AC is a good idea, but could sock it to the batteries if using the inverter.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/12-Volt-65-Watt-DC-Low-Voltage-Submersible-Water-Heater-Element-for-Solar-Panel-/252155701177?hash=item3ab5a6a7b9:g:RI4AAOSwjVVVlZJa

 

[gregmchugh]

Rough estimate, assuming not much heat loss from the tank, is that if a 625 watt heater takes 30 minutes to heat 6 gal of water then the 65 watt heater will take almost 300 minutes to heat 6 gal or roughly an hour for every gal of water.

 

[Graphite Dave]

The 120 volt 400 watt heating element I had in the Sprinter took about 45 minutes to get 5 gallons to 90 degrees. Never measured the beginning temperature but assume it was near 65 degrees. The 90 degree thermostat set point was determined by taking a container into our house shower to determine what temperature I used for a shower. All the water in the container is at the correct temperature so no hot/cold water mixing or plumbing is required.

The Transit will have a 625 watt heating element so I expect the time required will be about 30 minutes. Using a AC heating element lets me choose from 3 sources of power. Shore power, "shore power" from the vehicle 12 volt system powered second inverter while driving or from the house 1000 watt inverter powered by the house 12 volt battery. A 12 volt DC heating element could also be used.

Using the house 255 amp-hr battery would not be used if weather conditions do not permit. 625 watts x 1.15 (inverter loss) = 720 watts/12 volts = 60 amps for 1 /2 hour. Or 30 amp-hrs. That will use about 10% of the house battery capacity. On a sunny day I should easily get the house battery back to 100% SOC. Does require a battery monitor set to SOC so you can determine when you can or can not use the house battery. I do have the choice with the gas engine Transit to just idle the engine for 30 minutes using the vehicle powered inverter to heat the water. One of the reasons I did not want a diesel.

 

[Graphite Dave]

Progress report:

1. Floor done.
2. Solar panel done.
3. Maxxair installed.
4. All 80/20 framework complete.
5. House electrical 90% done.
6. Sink cabinet 90% done.
7. Home made passenger seat swivel done. (That was painful)
8. Fold up table off sink done.
9. Refrigerator installed.
10. Microwave installed.
11. Temporary shower enclosure removable shelves done.
12. Insulation done except for over the cab headliner.
13. Upper basket cabinets completed.
14. Vehicle powered inverter installed but not wired.
15. Temporary plastic jar storage above the slider door done.
16. Water pump and piping installed.

Left to be done:

1. Ceiling panels.
2. Permanent bench seats plywood seats and seat backs.
3. Shower walls.
4. Water tanks.
5. Wood insert panels in 80/20 framework.
6. Complete the plug wiring.
7. Add two strings of LED lights under upper cabinets.
8. Add 3 LED lights in ceiling.
9. Make fold down table off sink cabinet.
10.Install the electrical control panel above the driver.
11. Build the fold down bed platforms.
12. Build the rear table.
13. Complete the sink drawers and door.

Lots still to do but at least it is now functional and can be used. Just spent a week in Monterey and all worked very well. Lots more storage than I had in the Sprinter and I really appreciate having over double the counter space. The shower enclosure removable shelves and towel rack is going to function well.

Back to work on it again. One thing I now know is the second conversion is just as hard to complete as the first. Thought it would go faster and easier. Wrong!

 

[HarryN]

Hi Dave, nice project work. Using the inverter under the hood to drive an A/C battery charger is a great idea. It certainly simplifies some aspects of power management.

It is too bad that the magnum charger / inverters are not setup to deal with LiFe batteries.

I wish we could find some lower labor content methods of dealing with floor and wall insulation and build up. Your results are very good, but I can just imagine the hours and details to make it all fit nicely together. I don't know if I have the patience.

 

[Graphite Dave]

The Samlex 1000 watt pure sine inverter is mounted inside near floor behind the driver seat.

The vehicle powered inverter makes heating shower water simple. Just a open to atmosphere tank with a cartridge heating element and a thermostat. With 625 watt heating element it takes about 30 minutes to heat the water to 90 degrees. No hot/cold water mixing or plumbing because all the water in the tank is at the correct temperature. A DC submersible pump is used to get the water out of tank to a garden hose and on/off garden nozzle.

With a 300 watt single solar panel and a 255 amp-hr 8D AGM battery I almost never need to charge from the vehicle powered inverter. It is there as a backup in case weather conditions require its use. In the last year of Sprinter ownership it was not used. I do not have a need for LiFe batteries. I almost never get below 90% SOC.

Yea, insulation is a time consuming task. Just finished it in Transit yesterday. In Sprinter I used small pieces of polyiso in the deep wall cavities. Took a lot of time. In Transit deep cavities I used two layers of 1" closed cell foam which has slightly lower R value but is much easier to install. Suspect it is also better for noise suppression. Since I have Tinnitus the noise suppression is not so important. Using polyiso in ceiling, floor and in the window indents is not difficult but definitely harder than using Thinsulate.

 

[Graphite Dave]

Picture of the rear upper cabinets attached.

80/20 framework without doors. Prefer the easy access to contents in the baskets when doors are not in the way. Openings are 10" x 21 1/2". LED strip lighting will be installed in bottom 80/20 slot actuated by the black switch in cabinet bottom. Reachable from aisle or from bed.

Still need to complete the cabinet end panels and cover the ceiling inside the cabinet with charcoal indoor/outdoor carpet. Cabinets weigh about 36 lbs. each.

Due to the higher roof of the Transit you can see a row of plastic containers above the slider door. Very handy storage. The ceiling is white 8mm Macrolux twin wall polycarbonate with a layer of 1/4" white Thinsulate on top of it to make it opaque. Could have gotten tricky and put LED lights above the ceiling to light up the ceiling but did not. The higher ceiling van is uglier outside but does make it possible to sit up in bed without hitting your head on the overhead cabinets. The polycarbonate ceiling is level with the outer edges sitting on top of the cabinet 80/20. A 2 1/4" spacer is required on van centerline to make ceiling level.

The Transit high roof rib behind the seats is lower than the rear ribs. Made it difficult to transition from the cab headliner up to the cargo ceiling. The high roof Sprinter had all the ribs the same height.

 

[Graphite Dave]

Couple more upper rear cabinet pictures attached.

Put a string of LED lights in bottom slot of the series 15 T-slot extrusion. Switch for on/off is located under the cabinet so it can be reached from bed or the aisle. A 1/8" x 3/4" aluminum flatbar will slide in the end of the extrusion. The adhesive backed LED's are stuck to the flatbar.

The copper tube with crutch ends is for a curtain that can be located in 3 different locations.

Ceiling is 8mm Macrolux twin wall polycarbonate. It is level with few bolts. Edges of ceiling just sit on top of the cabinet 80/20. Can be removed for access.

 

[tpd]

Hi Dave,

Thanks for the fantastic write-up, and the accompanying website.

I have a question: What's your floor-to-ceiling height now that you have all your insulation installed? I'm 6'3" and the high-roof Transit is much more appealing than a high-roof Sprinter for that reason (and a number of others).

Regards,
Toby.

 

[Graphite Dave]

Hi Dave,

Thanks for the fantastic write-up, and the accompanying website.

I have a question: What's your floor-to-ceiling height now that you have all your insulation installed? I'm 6'3" and the high-roof Transit is much more appealing than a high-roof Sprinter for that reason (and a number of others).

Regards,
Toby.

6'-4" between top of floor and bottom of ceiling. My floor is 2 1/8" thick above the top of the metal corrugations. The bottom of ceiling to bottom of roof rib is about 2". So top of corrugated floor to bottom of roof rib is about 6' 8 1/8"