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Converting spirit burners to gas?

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gearoid

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Hi all,
have any of you converted spirit burners to gas? Any recommendations on how to go about doing it?

I have a 94 VW California Club with 2 spirit burners that I'd like to change over to gas ... preferably without costing a fortune.
I believe the Clubs came with spirit burners by default and you had to pay extra for gas.

Any tips/hints etc. would be greatly appreciated
 
gearoid said:
Hi all,
have any of you converted spirit burners to gas? Any recommendations on how to go about doing it?

I have a 94 VW California Club with 2 spirit burners that I'd like to change over to gas ... preferably without costing a fortune.
I believe the Clubs came with spirit burners by default and you had to pay extra for gas.

Any tips/hints etc. would be greatly appreciated
Think you may have to replace the hob for a gas one, you will need a cupboard to store the gas bottle that must be sealed to the inside of the van but vented in the floor to outside and pipework to join the two. may be cheaper and less hassle to use a portable gas burner ! also your hob and sink may be one unit ?
Ron.
 
Probably best to keep an eye out for someone breaking an early T4 Cali that had the gas option and trying to get hold of the hob/sink unit from it. I think the Clubs and the more traditional side unit Calis have the same hob/sink?

Think the gas bottle lives in the cupboard under stove in early vans, so you loose a lot of storage, but does mean that the gas plumbing is straightforward. Guess you'd need a gas dropout vent as Ron says, in case of a leak.

What's the problem you are having with the spirit stoves? We cook all sorts of things on them, although I accept that making a cup of tea can take a while!

dan
 
Thanks for the reply guys.
Yes I have a combo hob and sink (see attached pic below).
The portable gas one might be a good option ... i'd read somewhere about somebody actually squeezing one into the space under the hob.

My wife is really not keen on the spirit stove ... she just doesn't trust it with our 1 year old in the van. I've only done some testing with our one so far ... haven't used it on a trip. What's the best fuel to use? I test with some stove methylated spirits, but it really smelled up the van.

Photo0075.jpg Photo0077.jpg
 
That looks identical to the one in my side kitchen cali.

We use meths and don't have an issue with the smell, but everyone is different. I'm thinking of giving this stuff a go, just as an experiment really:

http://www.ekofuel.org/info-bio-for-marine

Might be the simplest solution to your problem? The bottles generally have child proof lids on them and there's no risk of a child turning the stove on and causing a van full of gas (as the alcohol will just evaporate). As an added bonus, alcohol fires can be put out with water.

hth,
dan
 
I've fitted a Smev 911 to replace my sink/spirit burner. Pretty good fit in the space and looks factory, but needs a few mods to make it work...

I'm currently away on holiday but will post some pics and more details when I get back...
 
Thanks TwentyOneThirtyFive,
I'll check my local marine supply shop and see if they've anything similar to that.
By the way, is there anything special you do with the spirit container once it's filled? I filled it until I could just see the liquid when I held it vertical. It lit no problem, but the van smelled like a paint shop the following morning ... even with the covers on the hob closed.

Hi SebRogers, I'd love to see some pics of your replacement. Did you get a Smev 911 with the sink on the left or right? I can't seem to find a version with the sink on the right.

Thanks!
 
Does sound like they are not sealing correctly when they are closed. They shouldn't make the van smell, plus your precious alcohol will be evaporating!

Our van has just been laid up for a couple of months with nearly full containers and we lost little or no alcohol to evaporation during that time, nor any hint of meths smell when we've been into the van for bit during that time.
 
So here's the detail on how I got a Smev 911 into the space that used to be occupied by the Westy spirit burner. The background to this mod is that a previous owner removed the spirit burners themselves and wedged (and I do mean wedged :eek: ) a CampingGaz gas cooker underneath. On the face of it it was a clever bodge - the gas burners poked up through the original holes and you could access the knobs by dropping down the flap under the cooker.

But... and it's a big but... the bodgery involved was just too much and included bent gas lines and the like. I wasn't happy with it. If I'd been able to source the original spirit burners I probably would've done that and had done with it. But without the burners I had no choice but to look for a complete replacement gas unit.

This isn't as easy as it sounds. The Westy space is smaller than most combo hob/sink units, and there's also very little depth for the sink. After a lot of head-scratching and measuring, I realised the Smev 911 was the only viable option. It fits and looks factory :clap but there's a fair bit of fiddling around needed, and (as you'll discover) it's not quite how I'd like it. But here's how it looks:

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Pretty neat, huh?

Here are the mods that need to be done:

First, the Smev's a bit smaller in overall dimensions than the Westy unit it replaces, which leaves a hole in the worktop. Easily solved with a custom sized piece of stainless:

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The new layout also means you can't use the old Westy splashback/drainer. So that goes into the recycling, and it's time for a new piece of stainless, cut to fit around the latch, and screwed to the lid:

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The Smev also has no provision for routing or siting a tap. Luckily there's space to drill a hole for the Westy hose, and if you can live without the shower facility there's plenty of length to re-route the tap to the far side. The original Westy tap hook also works perfectly well in this orientation:

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We're not quite finished yet... ;)

The Smev sits a bit more proud than the Westy cooker. I found that the stove knobs fouled the lid slightly, preventing me from closing it fully. Holes in the right place in the splash back might help, but I simply filed the tops of the knobs down until they didn't hit the lid...

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Flipping the sink and burners also puts the plastic spice racks rather close to heat from the stove, so I use a cheap, heat-proof craft cutting mat wedged between the lid and latch. It's not especially elegant, but it gives me peace of mind (particularly because I had all those interior plastics rather expensively refinished :thumb )

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Clearance between the sink and fridge is tight, but there's enough room... just!

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Waste and inlet hoses need to be routed behind the top drawer. The waste hose is pretty much level, which means the sink drains rather slowly - but I've had no problems. There isn't enough room behind the drawer though, so the interior needs to be shortened by a few cms. It's fairly straightforward with a hacksaw, file and some Araldite...

image.php


The bit I'm not happy with is the siting of the gas bottle. It lives in the wardrobe, strapped into place. This gives a nice short run of gas hose to the stove and easy access for turning on and off, but it's not a gas-tight box and I don't yet have drop vents installed. Still scratching my head a bit on that one, but in the meantime I'm fastidious about turning off the (brand new) regulator when it's not in use (I'm fully expecting a ticking off about this arrangement, so I'd like to flag up the fact that I'm aware that it's not ideal and I'm trying to come up with a solution. Copy at your own risk, etc.)

Overall, though, I'm very happy with the look and function and it's a nice finishing touch for the van :D
 
Wow Seb, thanks so much for providing such a detailed reply!
 
Very professional looking job :thumb very nice
 
My California is missing the spirit containers. Anyone know where I can get them? Sitting here wishing I'd thought of it before coming camping for the first time and wanting a cuppa! Checked everything but that!!
 
I think they are the same as the origio ones. I'll check when I'm on the computer and not the phone.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Found some pictures and they do look the same as the Origo fuel containers. Can't find any tech specs, so can't check the size. I doubt Westfalia would have made them specially for the van, so I expect they used something that already existed, like these.

http://www2.dometic.com/d23b666d-f37b-47f8-9cdd-c9ae628dee8e.fodoc

I found a place selling them, so might be worth giving them a call, maybe getting some measurements or seeing if you can order them and return them if they don't fit. Or try giving Origo a call (there's a number in the catalogue above).

http://www.marinemegastore.com/product.asp?pf_id=ECS_5764&src=GBASE&gclid=CNecjvXohsUCFSHItAod20MAwA

Alcohol stoves are popular on boats (venting gas can be difficult, at least, venting gas without sinking can be difficult!), so if you have marina nearby then that could also be a possibility.

Hth. Camping without a cup of tea sounds dreadful!
dan
 
Dan

Thanks so much for your help. I will get on the net and get measuring!

Thanks again Vics
 
Hi, could you please tell me how could i see the images in this post, i need to change my burners too.

Thanks,
BR
 
Hello everyone, I know the post is 1000 years old but... Has anybody got a T4 Westfalia spirit burner system left from their conversion to gas? In my Westfalia the gas cooker is a messy dangerous affair... and I would be perfectly happy to live with spirit burners for the little cooking I do...
 
Thank you, that's very helpful! I wrote to the seller, you never know, maybe he will post it to me :)
 
Fix the gas burner?
 
Hi Sidepod, mine is not so much a gas burner as a collection of DIY gas components badly put together by someone who shouldn't be allowed close to any tools, i.e. a spirit to gas "home conversion". That's why I am binning the lot.
 
But surely fit a gas burner rather than spirit?
 
If I could find an original gas burners kit that fits in my 1993 California, without changing the grey sink/hob, and with the knobs going through the knob holes (?) in the right place... then sure!
I will not butcher the Westfalia cabinets for an aftermarket hob: consider that the most I will cook is an espresso and an egg in the morning and a tea in the afternoon (rather fond of restaurants!) - do you know where I could find all that?
 

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