Hello Everybody,
First post.
I camp a lot in tents but after spending three days straight in a tent in the rain at Dolly Sods I swore I'd make a change.
Here it is.
Bought it Wednesday.
Drove it home today.
1999 Ford E-250, 6 cylinder, 125K miles.
Was a home builders work van. Some slight surface rust.
Cargo doors a bit dinged up.
I'm planning on doing a full conversion. Most of the work I'll do myself but some will be beyond my abilities. I'm giving myself a deadline of no later than spring. Van won't fit into my small garage so that will affect how/when I can work on it.
I've been reading this and other conversion forums for a few weeks. It's been a huge help so far. Learned quite a lot already but there's still a lot I don't know. Counting on the pros who frequent this forum for some advice.
Advice like: The previous owner drilled some 3/4 inch holes in the floor for bolted down shelving. Whats the best way to cover these holes from underneath? Should I treat the metal edges of the holes before I start?
Thanks for your time, now and in the future.
WVvan
P.S. I'm thinking of call it "HAL the Van".
Why HAL? Well since my name is Dave....
Dave Bowman: Open the pod bay doors, HAL.
HAL: I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that.
First post.
I camp a lot in tents but after spending three days straight in a tent in the rain at Dolly Sods I swore I'd make a change.
Here it is.
Bought it Wednesday.
Drove it home today.
1999 Ford E-250, 6 cylinder, 125K miles.
Was a home builders work van. Some slight surface rust.
Cargo doors a bit dinged up.
I'm planning on doing a full conversion. Most of the work I'll do myself but some will be beyond my abilities. I'm giving myself a deadline of no later than spring. Van won't fit into my small garage so that will affect how/when I can work on it.
I've been reading this and other conversion forums for a few weeks. It's been a huge help so far. Learned quite a lot already but there's still a lot I don't know. Counting on the pros who frequent this forum for some advice.
Advice like: The previous owner drilled some 3/4 inch holes in the floor for bolted down shelving. Whats the best way to cover these holes from underneath? Should I treat the metal edges of the holes before I start?
Thanks for your time, now and in the future.
WVvan
P.S. I'm thinking of call it "HAL the Van".
Why HAL? Well since my name is Dave....
Dave Bowman: Open the pod bay doors, HAL.
HAL: I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that.
Kitchen Cabinet, Post #23
Ready to epoxy the inside of the greywater tank. I'm a little better prepared than last time.
I've removed all the hardware from the box. From what I've read the trick is to get the epoxy to soak into all the wood surfaces including the sides of holes that have been drilled. That's why I made all the holes for pipes slightly larger than needed. That's so there is room for several layers of epoxy to built up on the hole surfaces but still have room for the pipes that pass through. Anyway that's the plan. Will also be epoxying the lid but not installing it on the tank until later.
The electronic scale worked really well the first time. It allows me to mix up just however much epoxy I want to work with at a time and get the ratios spot on.
Just like the first time I've started epoxying in the morning of a day off so I can work on this uninterrupted until it's done and not worry about adding addition layers after it's cured.
Kept brushing on another epoxy layer after the previous one started setting up.
After so many layers it started dripping off the inside when I rotated the tank.
At that point I stopped adding epoxy and kept rotating the tank until it set up some more.
Now at this point it was a horrible gooey mess so seemed the right time to reinstall all the hardware and start on the pipes.
Cut the fiberglass cloth into a bunch of inch wide strips. I majorly underestimated how many of these I'd need and kept cutting up more and more. I started this project with 2 yards of fiberglass cloth thinking that would be plenty. I almost ran out.
Added the strips one at a time and then painted on more epoxy with a chip brush. The overflow pipe didn't look this messy by the time I was done. As the epoxy starts to set up it will hold shape better.
I've coated the threads of the exposed screws on the outside with vaseline so the epoxy won't stick. On the inside of the tank all the hardware was painted over with epoxy several times. Next up is the drain pipe.
To give the drain pipe some extra hold I've cemented a coupling to the pipe. The coupling is larger than the drain hole so it can be pressed up against the inside tank wall. Then epoxy it all in place.
After the inside of the tank had setup to the point that it wouldn't get fouled I added the high level indicator.
Next was to screw the lid in place and epoxy in place. At the same time I'm adding a section of 1-1/2" PVC pipe to the top of the lid. This is placed so it's directly above the drain hole and will act as a guide to the drain pipe that is slide through the floor into the top of the tank.
I'm worried about the hole in the top of the tank lining up with the through-the-floor drain pipe. There isn't much leeway if they don't line up. That's the purpose of the positioning bolt on the front of the tank. Thought that I could always bevel the inside top edge of the PVC to help if need be. Ends up I didn't have to.
Here's what it looked like when I was finished.
Two days later. Trim off the excess fiberglass threads and smooth off the outside of the drain pipe where there was some epoxy buildup.
Here's the tank ready to go. The flexible rubber coupling on the end was what I was planning on using to join the tank to the dump valve. I ended up using a different coupling.
continued -
Ready to epoxy the inside of the greywater tank. I'm a little better prepared than last time.
I've removed all the hardware from the box. From what I've read the trick is to get the epoxy to soak into all the wood surfaces including the sides of holes that have been drilled. That's why I made all the holes for pipes slightly larger than needed. That's so there is room for several layers of epoxy to built up on the hole surfaces but still have room for the pipes that pass through. Anyway that's the plan. Will also be epoxying the lid but not installing it on the tank until later.
The electronic scale worked really well the first time. It allows me to mix up just however much epoxy I want to work with at a time and get the ratios spot on.
Just like the first time I've started epoxying in the morning of a day off so I can work on this uninterrupted until it's done and not worry about adding addition layers after it's cured.
Kept brushing on another epoxy layer after the previous one started setting up.
After so many layers it started dripping off the inside when I rotated the tank.
At that point I stopped adding epoxy and kept rotating the tank until it set up some more.
Now at this point it was a horrible gooey mess so seemed the right time to reinstall all the hardware and start on the pipes.
Cut the fiberglass cloth into a bunch of inch wide strips. I majorly underestimated how many of these I'd need and kept cutting up more and more. I started this project with 2 yards of fiberglass cloth thinking that would be plenty. I almost ran out.
Added the strips one at a time and then painted on more epoxy with a chip brush. The overflow pipe didn't look this messy by the time I was done. As the epoxy starts to set up it will hold shape better.
I've coated the threads of the exposed screws on the outside with vaseline so the epoxy won't stick. On the inside of the tank all the hardware was painted over with epoxy several times. Next up is the drain pipe.
To give the drain pipe some extra hold I've cemented a coupling to the pipe. The coupling is larger than the drain hole so it can be pressed up against the inside tank wall. Then epoxy it all in place.
After the inside of the tank had setup to the point that it wouldn't get fouled I added the high level indicator.
Next was to screw the lid in place and epoxy in place. At the same time I'm adding a section of 1-1/2" PVC pipe to the top of the lid. This is placed so it's directly above the drain hole and will act as a guide to the drain pipe that is slide through the floor into the top of the tank.
I'm worried about the hole in the top of the tank lining up with the through-the-floor drain pipe. There isn't much leeway if they don't line up. That's the purpose of the positioning bolt on the front of the tank. Thought that I could always bevel the inside top edge of the PVC to help if need be. Ends up I didn't have to.
Here's what it looked like when I was finished.
Two days later. Trim off the excess fiberglass threads and smooth off the outside of the drain pipe where there was some epoxy buildup.
Here's the tank ready to go. The flexible rubber coupling on the end was what I was planning on using to join the tank to the dump valve. I ended up using a different coupling.
continued -
Kitchen Cabinet, Post #22
It's hard to tell in this photo but the two uprights are offset from each other.
It's to allow the cradle to turn the valve completely closed then go no farther.
The PVC valve is made to only turn 90 degrees. The motor will spin it 360 degrees and snap off the handle unless I prevent it. When viewed from above, the valve handle turns 90 degrees clockwise to close. The limit switch in the the picture will be part of the electronics for the motor that I'll add later. There are two holes in the uprights for it's mounting.
In the next two pics you can see that I've added a short length of angle iron with an upright that stops the cradle after it has rotated the PVC handle 90 degrees counterclockwise to the open position. The upright section with the two holes is for the mounting of a limit switch.
Place the motorized valve against the side of the greywater tank and figure out the best place for the tank outlet. The motorized valve has to fit in the available space.
I've marked on the side of the tank where to mount the outlet pipe.
The outlet pipe will be 1-1/2" PVC. It has a OD of 1-7/8".
I made a 2" hole for the outlet pipe in the side of the tank. Like the hole for the overflow I'm purposely making the hole larger that it needs be. The lid for the tank has been screwed down using pre-drilled pilot holes.
Take the tank and mount it under the van. Use the positioning bolt to fix it in place. Drill a hole through the shield and the angle iron support. Do this for both of the supports.
Then use sheet metal screws to hold the shield in place.
Now going to drill a hole through the floor and into the top of the greywater tank. Use the bolt that goes through the cabinet frame as a measuring point.
Double check there is no conflict with the freshwater tank. I better get this right the first time.
I'm drilling a 1-1/2" hole which is the OD of the drain pipe.
Looks like a hole. Success!
Drain pipe will fit down through the floor into the greywater tank.
Remove the tank from under the van and check the fit of the drain pipe. Probably should have given myself a larger margin of error in the hole drilling but it's fine.
Now that I have all the extra holes that are needed in the tank, next job is to epoxy the inside.
continued -
It's hard to tell in this photo but the two uprights are offset from each other.
It's to allow the cradle to turn the valve completely closed then go no farther.
The PVC valve is made to only turn 90 degrees. The motor will spin it 360 degrees and snap off the handle unless I prevent it. When viewed from above, the valve handle turns 90 degrees clockwise to close. The limit switch in the the picture will be part of the electronics for the motor that I'll add later. There are two holes in the uprights for it's mounting.
In the next two pics you can see that I've added a short length of angle iron with an upright that stops the cradle after it has rotated the PVC handle 90 degrees counterclockwise to the open position. The upright section with the two holes is for the mounting of a limit switch.
Place the motorized valve against the side of the greywater tank and figure out the best place for the tank outlet. The motorized valve has to fit in the available space.
I've marked on the side of the tank where to mount the outlet pipe.
The outlet pipe will be 1-1/2" PVC. It has a OD of 1-7/8".
I made a 2" hole for the outlet pipe in the side of the tank. Like the hole for the overflow I'm purposely making the hole larger that it needs be. The lid for the tank has been screwed down using pre-drilled pilot holes.
Take the tank and mount it under the van. Use the positioning bolt to fix it in place. Drill a hole through the shield and the angle iron support. Do this for both of the supports.
Then use sheet metal screws to hold the shield in place.
Now going to drill a hole through the floor and into the top of the greywater tank. Use the bolt that goes through the cabinet frame as a measuring point.
Double check there is no conflict with the freshwater tank. I better get this right the first time.
I'm drilling a 1-1/2" hole which is the OD of the drain pipe.
Looks like a hole. Success!
Drain pipe will fit down through the floor into the greywater tank.
Remove the tank from under the van and check the fit of the drain pipe. Probably should have given myself a larger margin of error in the hole drilling but it's fine.
Now that I have all the extra holes that are needed in the tank, next job is to epoxy the inside.
continued -
Kitchen Cabinet, Post #21
Time to talk about the greywater tank dump valve. The way I usually camp is 2 - 3 days at one spot while I hike or bike then drive to someplace different and set up again. With a running water system I'd need a greywater tank to hold the effluent from the sink till I was ready to move on. Then after leaving the campground either dump the greywater tank in the road, if gravel road, or off on the berm if asphalt. That way I'm not burning extra gas hauling around a load of greywater. Of course this would be easy if I had a motorized dump valve and didn't have to get out of the van or even slow down.
If you price out a motorized valves you'll find them pretty much restricted to industrial use and very expensive. Time for some DIY. Went to Lowe's and wandered through the plumbing section looking for valves. Settled on a 1-1/2" PVC valve for around $11.00. It was either it or the 1" valve but decided on the 1-1/2" because it will dump faster and being as large as the drain size might help prevent clogging.
Got the valve so how to open and close it? I shopped around for a long while until I found a 12 volt automotive seat motor at American Science & Surplus for $14.95. Ordered the motor to check it out.
Here's the motor and the PVC valve.
The reason I picked this particular motor is because of the threaded rod that extends from the gearbox at a 90 degree angle to the motor. Hadn't yet figured out how this was going to work but the gearbox would allow it to be more compact. According to the motor description the rod is a non-standard thread so I won't be able to just bolt something on to it.
How to join the motor to the valve? It's not like I could glue them together. After some more thinking I swung by Advance Auto and bought pair of 2-1/2" muffler clamps. They are around $3 each.
OK that gives me a way of joining something with the PVC valve. Now how to turn the valve? I'll make a cradle that slips over the top of the handle.
Could I weld the cradle to the threaded rod? Disassemble the gearbox to see what kind of gear is on the threaded rod.
It's a plastic gear on the rod so if I'm going to weld I'll have to be careful to not let it get too hot. Shorten the threaded rod with my band saw but wrap the gear in plastic first to prevent any metal shavings from clinging to it.
Create a couple of right angle metal "wings" that I can use to help connect the threaded rod to the cradle. Here I'm using the cut off piece of rod to check the gap between the wings.
With the wings welded to the cradle check the fit of the shortened threaded rod. Before welding I have to try to get the alignment as perfect as I can so the cradle doesn't want to shift on the PVC handle as it turns.
I'm going to welding directly on the threaded rod but can't let it get too hot. Got around this by instead of drawing a long bead using a series of almost like tack welds then allowing everything to cool down after each single weld. Tedious and time consuming but it worked.
If the PVC handle is going to have room to turn I'll have to move the muffler clamps farther away from the center. Another trip to Lowe's to buy the threaded adapters that screw into each end of the valve.
Start welding a framework onto the muffler clamps that will support the turning motor.
I would take the framework off the PVC before welding on it so not to melt anything.
One of the reasons this motor was such a good find for this project is this mounting point on the gearbox.
It's a perfect fit for the inside of a 1" square metal tube.
Typing this up makes me think I should order a couple more to have on hand since it is so easy to mount. Bet I'll find something else to make with them.
1/4" bolt fits the mounting hole.
How it will look when together.
continued -
Time to talk about the greywater tank dump valve. The way I usually camp is 2 - 3 days at one spot while I hike or bike then drive to someplace different and set up again. With a running water system I'd need a greywater tank to hold the effluent from the sink till I was ready to move on. Then after leaving the campground either dump the greywater tank in the road, if gravel road, or off on the berm if asphalt. That way I'm not burning extra gas hauling around a load of greywater. Of course this would be easy if I had a motorized dump valve and didn't have to get out of the van or even slow down.
If you price out a motorized valves you'll find them pretty much restricted to industrial use and very expensive. Time for some DIY. Went to Lowe's and wandered through the plumbing section looking for valves. Settled on a 1-1/2" PVC valve for around $11.00. It was either it or the 1" valve but decided on the 1-1/2" because it will dump faster and being as large as the drain size might help prevent clogging.
Got the valve so how to open and close it? I shopped around for a long while until I found a 12 volt automotive seat motor at American Science & Surplus for $14.95. Ordered the motor to check it out.
Here's the motor and the PVC valve.
The reason I picked this particular motor is because of the threaded rod that extends from the gearbox at a 90 degree angle to the motor. Hadn't yet figured out how this was going to work but the gearbox would allow it to be more compact. According to the motor description the rod is a non-standard thread so I won't be able to just bolt something on to it.
How to join the motor to the valve? It's not like I could glue them together. After some more thinking I swung by Advance Auto and bought pair of 2-1/2" muffler clamps. They are around $3 each.
OK that gives me a way of joining something with the PVC valve. Now how to turn the valve? I'll make a cradle that slips over the top of the handle.
Could I weld the cradle to the threaded rod? Disassemble the gearbox to see what kind of gear is on the threaded rod.
It's a plastic gear on the rod so if I'm going to weld I'll have to be careful to not let it get too hot. Shorten the threaded rod with my band saw but wrap the gear in plastic first to prevent any metal shavings from clinging to it.
Create a couple of right angle metal "wings" that I can use to help connect the threaded rod to the cradle. Here I'm using the cut off piece of rod to check the gap between the wings.
With the wings welded to the cradle check the fit of the shortened threaded rod. Before welding I have to try to get the alignment as perfect as I can so the cradle doesn't want to shift on the PVC handle as it turns.
I'm going to welding directly on the threaded rod but can't let it get too hot. Got around this by instead of drawing a long bead using a series of almost like tack welds then allowing everything to cool down after each single weld. Tedious and time consuming but it worked.
If the PVC handle is going to have room to turn I'll have to move the muffler clamps farther away from the center. Another trip to Lowe's to buy the threaded adapters that screw into each end of the valve.
Start welding a framework onto the muffler clamps that will support the turning motor.
I would take the framework off the PVC before welding on it so not to melt anything.
One of the reasons this motor was such a good find for this project is this mounting point on the gearbox.
It's a perfect fit for the inside of a 1" square metal tube.
Typing this up makes me think I should order a couple more to have on hand since it is so easy to mount. Bet I'll find something else to make with them.
1/4" bolt fits the mounting hole.
How it will look when together.
continued -
Kitchen Cabinet, Post #20
Create another brace for the other end of the tank. Since the tank is so snug in it's location this will just be a simple brace. I'm attaching it to the frame beam at a hole that is already drilled. I did have to enlarge it slightly for the 5/16" bolt.
This is the first version. I ended up modifying it twice before I was happy with it.
Need to redo the shield for the Webasto fuel pump. Take the old shield and cut off the bits I don't need.
Test fit and mark it's location on the tank.
Bolt a couple pieces of angle iron to the side of the tank that will support the modified shield.
Drill a hole for but don't yet add a high level indicator.
On the front of the tank add a bolt for the Webasto fuel line.
Drill another hole for the overflow pipe. Make the hole slight larger than it need be.
continued -
Create another brace for the other end of the tank. Since the tank is so snug in it's location this will just be a simple brace. I'm attaching it to the frame beam at a hole that is already drilled. I did have to enlarge it slightly for the 5/16" bolt.
This is the first version. I ended up modifying it twice before I was happy with it.
Need to redo the shield for the Webasto fuel pump. Take the old shield and cut off the bits I don't need.
Test fit and mark it's location on the tank.
Bolt a couple pieces of angle iron to the side of the tank that will support the modified shield.
Drill a hole for but don't yet add a high level indicator.
On the front of the tank add a bolt for the Webasto fuel line.
Drill another hole for the overflow pipe. Make the hole slight larger than it need be.
continued -
Kitchen Cabinet, Post #19
Before starting the epoxying I had the garage door open and a fan blowing directly on me.
Here's the first batch of epoxy mix. Using a plastic body putty spreader to smear the epoxy over the fiberglass. This worked real well because when the epoxy drys it just peels off the scraper. I'll also be using a cheap chip brush which will be thrown away when done. I'm wearing disposable gloves. Went through a bunch of these. The gloves are pretty cheap so I don't know that it's worth the effort trying to clean them.
Spreading the epoxy on this box was one of the stickiest, messiest things I've ever done. Because of the mess I didn't take many pictures for fear of gumming up my camera. From what I've read if you let the epoxy cure there is a problem getting additional layers to stick. So instead once begun just waited till the previous layer started setting up before I added the next layer. Kept that up until I was done. This took a few hours.
Here it is part way through. Didn't put down near enough newspapers. I would pick it up by the base to move it around so all sides could be worked on. It was like working with a giant fly strip. Sticky.
In this picture you can see along the outside corner on the end the fiberglass is a lighter color. I found that this is the problem with wrapping and stapling the fiberglass cloth to the box before starting with the epoxy. As the epoxy is spread around the fiberglass cloth starts to stretch. So even though it was taunt when I began, after awhile it begins to pull away from the wood at each corner.
My solution was to cut through the cloth along the corners then overlap the two pieces. That took up most of the slack. Then cut several strips of fiberglass cloth and use them to reinforce the corners. Spread more epoxy
Cut more fiberglass cloth and used it reinforce the bottom and ends. Epoxied it then added another layer.
After around 4 or 5 layers of epoxy I called it quits.
Let it sit for a day then trimmed off the excess fiberglass strands. The surface of the epoxy is no longer tacky but it has a slight oily feel that takes another day to go away.
Next I have to epoxy the inside of the tank but there is some other things I have to get done first.
Here is the tank under the van. Between the epoxy and the fiberglass the tank is now so wide it's a snug fit between the frame beam and the underside of the van. It's staying in position without me holding it.
I had to add an extension to the Webasto fuel line so it will reach around the front of the tank.
Next decision. How to mount the tank. The frame beam already comes with a bunch of holes. Instead of making my own, see about using a couple of these.
Found a couple that line up with the area where I need the end of the tank to be. Make a bracket that will fit the tank and the holes.
Add what I call a positioning bolt to the end of the tank. The positioning bolt's purpose is to fix the location of the tank so I can remove the tank but still return it to the same spot. Hopefully close enough for what I need.
continued -
Before starting the epoxying I had the garage door open and a fan blowing directly on me.
Here's the first batch of epoxy mix. Using a plastic body putty spreader to smear the epoxy over the fiberglass. This worked real well because when the epoxy drys it just peels off the scraper. I'll also be using a cheap chip brush which will be thrown away when done. I'm wearing disposable gloves. Went through a bunch of these. The gloves are pretty cheap so I don't know that it's worth the effort trying to clean them.
Spreading the epoxy on this box was one of the stickiest, messiest things I've ever done. Because of the mess I didn't take many pictures for fear of gumming up my camera. From what I've read if you let the epoxy cure there is a problem getting additional layers to stick. So instead once begun just waited till the previous layer started setting up before I added the next layer. Kept that up until I was done. This took a few hours.
Here it is part way through. Didn't put down near enough newspapers. I would pick it up by the base to move it around so all sides could be worked on. It was like working with a giant fly strip. Sticky.
In this picture you can see along the outside corner on the end the fiberglass is a lighter color. I found that this is the problem with wrapping and stapling the fiberglass cloth to the box before starting with the epoxy. As the epoxy is spread around the fiberglass cloth starts to stretch. So even though it was taunt when I began, after awhile it begins to pull away from the wood at each corner.
My solution was to cut through the cloth along the corners then overlap the two pieces. That took up most of the slack. Then cut several strips of fiberglass cloth and use them to reinforce the corners. Spread more epoxy
Cut more fiberglass cloth and used it reinforce the bottom and ends. Epoxied it then added another layer.
After around 4 or 5 layers of epoxy I called it quits.
Let it sit for a day then trimmed off the excess fiberglass strands. The surface of the epoxy is no longer tacky but it has a slight oily feel that takes another day to go away.
Next I have to epoxy the inside of the tank but there is some other things I have to get done first.
Here is the tank under the van. Between the epoxy and the fiberglass the tank is now so wide it's a snug fit between the frame beam and the underside of the van. It's staying in position without me holding it.
I had to add an extension to the Webasto fuel line so it will reach around the front of the tank.
Next decision. How to mount the tank. The frame beam already comes with a bunch of holes. Instead of making my own, see about using a couple of these.
Found a couple that line up with the area where I need the end of the tank to be. Make a bracket that will fit the tank and the holes.
Add what I call a positioning bolt to the end of the tank. The positioning bolt's purpose is to fix the location of the tank so I can remove the tank but still return it to the same spot. Hopefully close enough for what I need.
continued -
Kitchen Cabinet, Post #18
Replace the wood screws holding the pump and accumulator to the back panel with bolts and nuts.
It's now time to create a greywater tank for the kitchen cabinet sink. First thing is to find what space is available. Take some measurements from under the van then transfer that info to a pizza box. I'll be using a DiCarlo's Pizza box since it is made of cardboard that is similar to posterboard.
For those of you who are not familiar with DiCarlo's Pizza it is a regional pizza chain mostly located in the Upper Ohio River Valley area. If you grew up in the this area, as I did, then there's a good chance you think of DiCarlo's like manna from heaven. A few months back Parade Magazine listed it in their "America's Best Pizzerias: The Honor Roll". The DiCarlo's Elm Grove location is just off the I-70/I-470 split so it's easy to get to. Just be warned that there are no chairs so you have to stand while you wait and they don't take credit cards. I always make sure to grab a couple boxes worth whenever passing through my hometown of Wheeling, WV which is why I have the boxes handy.
The greywater tank will go under the van in the area between the passenger side frame beam and the side cargo door. In this picture you can see I've removed the shield I built for the Webasto heater fuel pump to allow more room for the tank. So the size of this area dictates how wide I can make the tank. I don't want the tank to extend too far below the bottom edge of the van so that gives me the height. I'm moving the cardboard along the frame beam checking clearances.
So using those measurements as a cross section the next decision is how long to make the tank. Since two 5 gallon tanks are the fresh water source I thought that six gallons would be a good size. That will hold a one complete 5 gallon tank with some room to spare. I usually don't stay in one space more than 3-4 days and will be dumping the tank after I leave so six gallons should work. That gave me the length of the tank.
Once I had the measurements I started thinking about what to make the tank from. Had original thought of making it from metal but once I had the dimensions and did the math that would be a lot of metal. Someone had recently posted in a forum about constructing a tank by cutting out styrofoam blocks in the shape of a tank then fiberglassing over the styrofoam to make the tank. After enough fiberglassing was done to build up the tank, dissolve the styrofoam from inside. Thought that might be a possibility so got on the Internet and started reading about making your own fiberglass tanks and found another way. Make the tank from plywood then epoxy the plywood to make it water proof. Decided I'd give that a go.
Still had plenty of scrap plywood laying around. Used 3/4" for the bottom and the ends since they might have to deal with rock hits. For the long sides I re-used more of the left over floor panels. By the way, this time I was able to get the biscuit cutter without injuring myself.
Here the plywood tank is partially built. I'm checking the fit before gluing on the one side.
There were two bolts that extended from a muffler hanger through the frame beam. I cut off the extended threaded part to make room for the tank.
Made a couple changes for fit.
Here is the completed tank. The topmost plywood piece is not attached.
For epoxy using US Composites 635 Thin Epoxy Resin System. This is all new to me so before starting read the epoxy guides at West Systems.
It's a two part system that is mixed in a 3:1 ratio. I didn't want to mess with graduated containers so I invested in a electronic scale from Harbor Freight. I checked with US Composites and they wrote that ratio by weight is still 3:1.
Covering the outside of the tank with a layer of fiberglass.
Folded the cloth and trimmed to fit then stapled in place. This gave me mixed results which I'll cover later.
To position the box upside down I added a couple of 2x4 pieces to the battery frame cover I'd made before.
continued -
Replace the wood screws holding the pump and accumulator to the back panel with bolts and nuts.
It's now time to create a greywater tank for the kitchen cabinet sink. First thing is to find what space is available. Take some measurements from under the van then transfer that info to a pizza box. I'll be using a DiCarlo's Pizza box since it is made of cardboard that is similar to posterboard.
For those of you who are not familiar with DiCarlo's Pizza it is a regional pizza chain mostly located in the Upper Ohio River Valley area. If you grew up in the this area, as I did, then there's a good chance you think of DiCarlo's like manna from heaven. A few months back Parade Magazine listed it in their "America's Best Pizzerias: The Honor Roll". The DiCarlo's Elm Grove location is just off the I-70/I-470 split so it's easy to get to. Just be warned that there are no chairs so you have to stand while you wait and they don't take credit cards. I always make sure to grab a couple boxes worth whenever passing through my hometown of Wheeling, WV which is why I have the boxes handy.
The greywater tank will go under the van in the area between the passenger side frame beam and the side cargo door. In this picture you can see I've removed the shield I built for the Webasto heater fuel pump to allow more room for the tank. So the size of this area dictates how wide I can make the tank. I don't want the tank to extend too far below the bottom edge of the van so that gives me the height. I'm moving the cardboard along the frame beam checking clearances.
So using those measurements as a cross section the next decision is how long to make the tank. Since two 5 gallon tanks are the fresh water source I thought that six gallons would be a good size. That will hold a one complete 5 gallon tank with some room to spare. I usually don't stay in one space more than 3-4 days and will be dumping the tank after I leave so six gallons should work. That gave me the length of the tank.
Once I had the measurements I started thinking about what to make the tank from. Had original thought of making it from metal but once I had the dimensions and did the math that would be a lot of metal. Someone had recently posted in a forum about constructing a tank by cutting out styrofoam blocks in the shape of a tank then fiberglassing over the styrofoam to make the tank. After enough fiberglassing was done to build up the tank, dissolve the styrofoam from inside. Thought that might be a possibility so got on the Internet and started reading about making your own fiberglass tanks and found another way. Make the tank from plywood then epoxy the plywood to make it water proof. Decided I'd give that a go.
Still had plenty of scrap plywood laying around. Used 3/4" for the bottom and the ends since they might have to deal with rock hits. For the long sides I re-used more of the left over floor panels. By the way, this time I was able to get the biscuit cutter without injuring myself.
Here the plywood tank is partially built. I'm checking the fit before gluing on the one side.
There were two bolts that extended from a muffler hanger through the frame beam. I cut off the extended threaded part to make room for the tank.
Made a couple changes for fit.
Here is the completed tank. The topmost plywood piece is not attached.
For epoxy using US Composites 635 Thin Epoxy Resin System. This is all new to me so before starting read the epoxy guides at West Systems.
It's a two part system that is mixed in a 3:1 ratio. I didn't want to mess with graduated containers so I invested in a electronic scale from Harbor Freight. I checked with US Composites and they wrote that ratio by weight is still 3:1.
Covering the outside of the tank with a layer of fiberglass.
Folded the cloth and trimmed to fit then stapled in place. This gave me mixed results which I'll cover later.
To position the box upside down I added a couple of 2x4 pieces to the battery frame cover I'd made before.
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Kitchen Cabinet, Post #17
Work on the sink next. I'm making the sink from an mixing bowl I bought at WalMart for around $5. Need to drill out the bottom for a drain fitting. I'm measuring and marking the bottom of the bowl to find the exact center when I had one of my "Well Duh!" moments.
It hit me that the bowl is spun aluminum. It's covered by a a series of concentric circles. Just scrape away the bottom label and the center is already marked. Used a punch on the center point
Had to buy a new hole saw large enough for the drain fitting.
Clean up the edge with a round file.
Used silicone II along with the rubber gasket to seal the bottom.
I'm just placing the bowl into the countertop.
The only thing holding it down will be the silicone II placed around the underside of the lip.
Because of that I'm double stacking the silicone to get a secure fit.
Pressed down on the bowl. Cleaned up the excess silicone from the edge then put a weight in the center of the bowl to hold it in place while the silicone sets up.
While that's curing go back to the laminated panels. Have to clean off the excess contact cement from near the edges.
Use a one sided razor blade to carefully scrape off the worst of it.
Then acetone and a rag to get the rest.
continued -
Work on the sink next. I'm making the sink from an mixing bowl I bought at WalMart for around $5. Need to drill out the bottom for a drain fitting. I'm measuring and marking the bottom of the bowl to find the exact center when I had one of my "Well Duh!" moments.
It hit me that the bowl is spun aluminum. It's covered by a a series of concentric circles. Just scrape away the bottom label and the center is already marked. Used a punch on the center point
Had to buy a new hole saw large enough for the drain fitting.
Clean up the edge with a round file.
Used silicone II along with the rubber gasket to seal the bottom.
I'm just placing the bowl into the countertop.
The only thing holding it down will be the silicone II placed around the underside of the lip.
Because of that I'm double stacking the silicone to get a secure fit.
Pressed down on the bowl. Cleaned up the excess silicone from the edge then put a weight in the center of the bowl to hold it in place while the silicone sets up.
While that's curing go back to the laminated panels. Have to clean off the excess contact cement from near the edges.
Use a one sided razor blade to carefully scrape off the worst of it.
Then acetone and a rag to get the rest.
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Kitchen Cabinet, Post #16
Laminate the edges of the doors, drop leaf and countertop.
Do two opposite edges on each then after the contact cement sets up, route the edges.
Do the remaining edges.
While the doors are setting up make the final decision on the kitchen cabinet location. Drill through the floor and bolt it down.
Check that the laminated drop leaf and countertop fit right.
They do.
Road test the drop leaf by going camping.
With the drop leaf and countertop I now have a place for my laptop. I took along my regular folding TV tray table and for the first time didn't need it. Found that watching a movie on my laptop requires a spare set of computer speakers to hear properly. There will be a TV in the final build.
Also took along some ribbon LEDs to test out how they would look/work. These are Warm White.
These are Cool White.
The above pictures seem to replicate the light color as I remember it fairly closely. My preference is the warm white for indirect lighting and the cool light for direct lighting.
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Laminate the edges of the doors, drop leaf and countertop.
Do two opposite edges on each then after the contact cement sets up, route the edges.
Do the remaining edges.
While the doors are setting up make the final decision on the kitchen cabinet location. Drill through the floor and bolt it down.
Check that the laminated drop leaf and countertop fit right.
They do.
Road test the drop leaf by going camping.
With the drop leaf and countertop I now have a place for my laptop. I took along my regular folding TV tray table and for the first time didn't need it. Found that watching a movie on my laptop requires a spare set of computer speakers to hear properly. There will be a TV in the final build.
Also took along some ribbon LEDs to test out how they would look/work. These are Warm White.
These are Cool White.
The above pictures seem to replicate the light color as I remember it fairly closely. My preference is the warm white for indirect lighting and the cool light for direct lighting.
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