Dust Prevention? (1 Viewer)

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Also, when those plastics heat up, they leach toxins.

I believe that's been debunked?? Except maybe in Prop65-fornia.

There's plenty of other things in my environment that'll take me down, and turn frogs gay before a water bottle that was heated throughout its very production does.
 
I don't think the cost/hassle/benefit would ever justify the work but I've occasionally thought about solar powered ventilation for my 80, which unfortunately lives outside.

My rough understanding is that we have an air intake under the dash, for the hvac system, when it's not in recirculation mode. On the other end we have air outlets at the back of the rear sliding windows, through one-way flaps and then the louvered panels. I may be wrong but in my mind those are the only existing air inlets/outlets already in place. Of course there is not filtration, and adding it isn't easy though a few have tried/succeeded to varying degrees.


The dream for me would be full time intake air filtration, on par with modern standards, for the HVAC system. Beyond that my wishlist would roughly be:
  • an isolated electrical system with a small solar panel, reserve battery and high efficiency fan
    • I may kick up panel/battery capacity and use this to power other devices independent of the 80s elec. system
  • invisible except for the solar panel from above, though that would be low profile/minimal
  • a temp sensor that engages the circulation fan above a certain temp
  • an override switch to allow easy manual enabling/disabling of the fan
    • could disable/enable the auto, temp sensor operation
    • could force-on when camp in the 80, it get's wet inside and needs to dry, etc.
  • circuitry to only enable the system when the truck is switched off (auto mode only)
  • when enabled and the cabin temp was above a certain point the fan would automatically turn on and pull air through the filter, pushing it out the rear vents
Versions of most of that functionality (minus filtration typically) are available in the RV/Boating world and also show up on delivery vehicles though I am not really familiar with the commercial units. When I was a sailor one of these helped keep my boat fresh during long sitting spells:

I've thought of adding something like this to our camper:

Other options:


If you weren't afraid to hack into the 80 you could add a ventilation system that was automatic and low maintenance by bolting on a roof-mount ventilator or custom building something that mounts elsewhere. There are floor vent options as well, etc. For some rigs that are heavily camperized, where they cook inside/etc., adding a ventilation fan on the roof could be an asset that makes sense but for a mostly-driver it doesn't seem like a great option in my opinion. I can't see adding holes to my 80 personally, and any useful ventilation added at the windows seems bulky and like a potential security risk.

Tough problem to solve, but fun to think about. I'll follow along with interest in case some good/new ideas show up!
 
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I strap a cheap 10w 12-18vdc solar panel to my kayak that is connected to a computer fan....turns on automatically in the sun. Spins that fan super fast and powers down in the shade... Works great and people all think it is a great idea. Depending on how hot it is. I decide between a 200mm and an 80mm fan.

You don't need much solar. It can be small and you don't need to worry about angle much. Mine is just flat. You can play with fan styles for efficiency and form factor where you want to put it. I don't think you need a battery at all. Just a switch to turn it off in cool times of the year.
 
don't think you need a battery at all

Totally agree, battery not needed to spin the fan. If you could figure out how/where to mount it the OP gets a lot of his needs met with just a panel and fan.

In my mind, once you go through the hassle of figuring out/adding filtration you may as well upscale the setup and include a battery so that you can get more benefit from all of the work that will be involved to add this. It snowballs to the point of not making sense though and your simple panel/battery setup (like the marine exhaust fans I linked to) is at least a ton simpler/easier even if it has no direct filtration. If the intake were in the floor though, dust may not be able to make it up/into the 80? etc.

Side note, the little panel/fan marine exhaust units typically have a single battery in them also. Not sure if it helps with startup or something like that, seems to keep operation stable as clouds pass over though.
 
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It snowballs to the point of not making sense
This is where I excel....i would also have a battery for mine and thermometer and even have it dump unused load to the house battery. Probably would find other ways to make it complicated, just because that is my nature. My post was in the "do as i say, not as i do" tone ha.
 
I believe that's been debunked?? Except maybe in Prop65-fornia.

There's plenty of other things in my environment that'll take me down, and turn frogs gay before a water bottle that was heated throughout its very production does.
Nah it's real; hotter they get, the more they leach. Have you noticed that some non-metal reusable bottles say 'Not for use with hot beverages' (even though they're sold in coffee shops)? There's a reason for that. Gimme stainless steel, every time. Now, if you really want to blow your mind, something like 60% of processed sewage (including industrial waste) is relabeled as "biosolids" and spread on non-organic US farmland and other fields.
 
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I strap a cheap 10w 12-18vdc solar panel to my kayak that is connected to a computer fan....turns on automatically in the sun. Spins that fan super fast and powers down in the shade... Works great and people all think it is a great idea. Depending on how hot it is. I decide between a 200mm and an 80mm fan.

You don't need much solar. It can be small and you don't need to worry about angle much. Mine is just flat. You can play with fan styles for efficiency and form factor where you want to put it. I don't think you need a battery at all. Just a switch to turn it off in cool times of the year.
I think some good ideas just did show up. :) About those rear louvres... When I close the door with the windows up, the cabin feels airtight. I can feel the difference in air pressure in my ears, and the door is harder to close. Does that mean the louvres are blocked up?
 
Hmm when it is windy outside at the right angle mine will sound like a squeaky pig as the air blows through the cabin and out those vents. I don't get that much pressure that I recall closing the doors with windows up. You might need to check those out.
 
Does that mean the louvres are blocked up?

Doubtful. Behind the louvers is a chunk of plastic with maybe four square holes in it. That's the actual port into the passenger compartment. Each hole has a rubber flap over it so it can swing open to let air out but water can't drip in. Each one is smaller than a square inch (from ~5 year old memory).

You feel it in your ears simply because you're closing a relatively very large door. That's a significant amount of air to push through a relatively very small set of holes in the back of the vehicle
 
Doubtful. Behind the louvers is a chunk of plastic with maybe four square holes in it. That's the actual port into the passenger compartment. Each hole has a rubber flap over it so it can swing open to let air out but water can't drip in. Each one is smaller than a square inch (from ~5 year old memory).

You feel it in your ears simply because you're closing a relatively very large door. That's a significant amount of air to push through a relatively very small set of holes in the back of the vehicle
Does that mean @clx16 has a hole he doesn't know about?
 
Found the hole! Haha

20220506_175446.jpg
 

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