Isolation in your van / car

Keeping warm in your car is something that I feel is important, this is usually no big problem in the summer, but in the Swedish Winter, it gets cold...

Laren Corie (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/VanDwellers/conversations/messages/170761):

"Never.... Never have two vapor barriers
(the plastic and the metal of the body) with
a gap between. What that will do, is to trap
moisture between (there is no such thing as
a vapor barrier that does not leak. So, when
you have a vapor barrier on one side (the
metal of the body) the other side needs to
be able to breathe moisture. In this case it
needs to be able to dry to the interior. A
vapor barrier would stop that from happening
and your foam rubber (very expensive insulation)
would become a wonderful medium for mold
spores to grow on/in.

So, you should make you walls air tight, but
not totally impermeable to moisture diffusion,
If you drive your van regularly, then drying is
not difficult. Vehicles are very leaky while
moving, and the dash heater takes the dry
Winter air, and heats it further to make it
even drier. Just blast the heater when you
drive (this is all during the heating season)
and everything, including the walls should
dry out, if you allow that to happen, by not
putting in a vapor barrier. We used to think
vapor barriers were a good idea for houses
too. But, time and building science has shown
us the folly in our earlier thoughts."

This is what Laren Corie recommends as insulation:
Isocyanurate
However I don´t know where I can get a handle on it here in Sweden
He says:

"Only XPS (extruded polystrene) squeaks. Use isocyanurate, the yellowish stuff with the foil face. EPS (expanded polystrene) does not usually squeak, but it falls apart." -Laren Corie

I did some searching (on the net) and found more on the name: Polyisocyanurate (Polyiso). Polyisocyanurat (PIR) isolering in Swedish

EPS and XPS foams are called and are thermoplastic foams, while Polyisocyanurate is a thermoset foam.

EPS and XPS will melt at a certain temperature while Polyisocyanurate can take heat better. The Polyisocyanurate foams are also generally more resistant to solvents and chemicals.


In general, EPS foam has the lowest R-value with XPS being slightly more efficient, and with Polyisocyanurate having the best R-value per cm.

Another simple solution to quickly isolate is using Thermoreflex (sweden name). I think it is callad Reflectix in america. (Reflekterande isolering, med bubbelplast)

This is a good guide to read more:
http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/guides-and-manuals/gm-guide-insulating-sheathing

Or if you prefer swedish, a report from Skanska:
http://www.sbuf.se/ProjectArea/Documents/ProjectDocuments/711DBF18-F83A-4F42-95DC-7C0BD0ADFE96%5CFinalReport%5CSBUF%2012315%20Slutrapport%20Inventerning%20och%20utv%E4rdering%20av%20h%F6gpresterande%20isolering.pdf

Here are some other tips I found on some forums:

"Bubble wrap is a good insulator.  Use with small bubbles = layer it 6 times.  Attach with duct tape.  It worked fantastic for me."

Than another tip came from "Big Blue":

"Ive been to several stores and read tons of info on insulation.  From all that I gathered:

1.       Spray foam is toxic and gives off gasses regularly

2. Anything with aluminum of any kind on steel with an electrical current induced with causes rust.  (your battery is grounded through the chasses)
3. Have a vapor barrier."

Using the sun to warm your water, simple solution

It is always nice to have warm water, for example for a shower when you are out camping. Or just use to keep you warm in the when the temperature goes down. Put the warm water in a bottle and put some socks on the outside of the bottle and it will keep you warn for a couple of hours. For example put it in your sleepingbag if it gets cold in the night.

I found an interesting article that I will share with you.  
"Build a Solar Water Heater: An Intregal Passive Solar Water Heater"
by David Bainbridge


This is a simple solution that I like. I will try it out some time, when I am on the road and the weather is nice.
IPSWH stands for Intregal Passive Solar Water Heater. Here is an excerpt from the article:

"A low-cost IPSWH, which can be built for just a couple of bucks, was developed a few years ago by the Minimum Cost Housing Group at McGill University in Canada. This unit offers more Btu per dollar than any solar water heater designed to date, and should be useful to summer campers and owners of weekend homes with no conventional water-heating facilities. This budget water warmer can be built with a minimum of time, effort and cash by anyone in need of a little hot water for washing purposes, and requires only a plastic garbage bag, some PVC pipe and fittings, a few hand tools and a lighted cigarette for "welding" the plastic joints.

The heart of this heater is the common plastic garbage bag of 1.6-mil-thick, dark green polyethylene in a 26" X 35" size. The drain outlet is made of PVC pipe, washers and nuts, and is fastened to the bag mechanically (that is, by tightening the fittings over a hole punched in the plastic). Tests at McGill University demonstrated that a plastic bag of this type and size is strong enough to hold water to a depth of three inches, thus offering a capacity of about a dozen gallons. Temperatures of about 104°F were reached by just setting the bag of water out in the sun, and when the bag was placed inside an insulated box with a glass cover, the water temperature rose to a respectable 132°F!"

Read more: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-Yourself/1984-01-01/Solar-Water-Heater.aspx

Next stop: Byxelkrok, Öland

A friend of my suggested that I should visit Byxelkrok if I was going to Öland this summer. So the next stop had to be Byxelkrok (because I am still in Öland).

This was a nice little town.


The harbour of Byxelkrok

This is where I slept. I had some germans to the right. Here I have removed my Miyata MTB and are ready to go explorering.



I found a nice trail north of Byxelkrok. The weather was fantastic and I was really enjoying my time.

This is the beacharea south of Byxelkrok.

After som cycling I took a bath. Quite warm in the water thanks to the klappersten (the sort of mountain here).



A nice old Miyata STP steel triple butted, love this bike on the vacation. Takes me to places I never been before.



Enjoying life, nude bathing. Yes it was a bit could at first, I admitt it :-)



This is my inverter, powering my computer and charging my phone. It didnt work perfect, for example it didnt work when the engine was running..



I took the bicycle to this place, a lighthouse. Långe Erik is at the most north you can come. (In the island of Öland that is)

Borgholm castle and a trip to my biological father

After a good night in Hagapark it was time to move on. I had decided to go north, and try to find a good spot. On the way to the city of Borgholm I stooped to look at the Castle. I took of my mountainbike and also bicycle to the swedish king summerplace, called Solliden, that is just a couple of hundred meters away from the castle.

Borgholms Castle Ruins

Also on the way, I decided to take a trip to my biological father registered address. His place had a couple of cars in the garden and they all looked broken down. You can hardly se the house! It has been buried by the wild.. I took some pictures and then I were on my way again.



An old Bmw, A Volvo 240 and a Mercedes. This I think is My biogical fathers place on Öland. I have only meet him a couple of times.. Not for about 23 years now. Only time I remember talking to him was when he came by when my mother had died. I was 15 years old then.

Next stop at the island Öland, Hagapark (surfspot)

Ok, I forgot about writing about the trip to a island called Öland (july 2012). This is i a place that many Swedes goes to in the summer, mostly in July when the Swedish summer probably shows its best sides.

As a former windsurfer I had to check out a place very wellknown for Surfers and kitesurfers:

Hagapark is located between Färjestaden and Mörbylånga. If you come from the big bridge (that you drove over to get to the island, Öland) then you drive by a camping called Eriksöre, then a couple of kilometers you turn right to get to Hagapark.

Hagapark. Here are som pictures:


Hagapark windsurfers waiting for some more winds :-)

There was quite a lot of kitesurfer out on the sea also. This picture is just outside of the surfer shop.

A female kitesurfer, not so often seen.

I sleept in my the ordinary place, at the bird sanctuary. However camping is not allowed here. Not the best place to sleep in but there is a toilet nereby. Bird lovers and other come quite early with the cars in the morning. And also in the middle of the night there was to females that came and put there Bmws light right at me.  They woke me up.. No worries tho. Nice to also take a morning walk into the bird santuary and se som small frogs and a bird now and then :-)



This is at the surfparking by the beach. Here you can stand on the days for free. However it is not allowed to park here in the night. This is a nice Type2 (i think?) Volkswagen Surfbus :-)



I also took a walk to the south from Hagapark and found some sort of art in the forrest. There must have been a festival of some sort, cause there was still some tents in the woods. Looked like som "hippie" people :-)



This was a nice stairway, Of course I had to try it out. Looked like it could fall, and i said it was on your own risk to climb the stairs.

Hagapark Surfcenter. This was earlier driven by a family who had a good looking daughter (also a windsurfer). They lived i a caravan at the camping site during summer and opening time. They had this shop open during summer and I think they otherwise worked in Kalmar or something (dont remember). I alwasy thougt they seemed to live a good life! However I dont know if it is the same owner now.

Åhus and Äspet Naturreservat is a nice place, next stop

I have always heard good stuff of Åhus, especially from windsurfers. So it was time to visit. The GPS in the phone took me thru a shooting field! But I dont think anyone was shooting..

Nice city, but unfortunattly the weather was not that good.

One of the beaches, this is north of Åhus

A bit closer to the city.

Äspet nature reserve, a really nice place! Me like!



Åhus Beachhandboll (Beachhandball??) Festival



The Absolut Company, they make alcohol if you dont know. Famous for their booze.

The entrance for the Absolut company here in Åhus.

Here is a Ice Cream producer, in Sweden it is called Åhus Glass. Always nice to find companys and to se what it looks like.

Åhus Guest Harbour (gästhamn in Swedish). In the background the Absolut Company can be seen.



The Kia Pride in a parking place in the woods. Nere a shooting field. The Water is beyond the trees.



The reliable car, also known as Mazda 121 and Ford Festiva in some countries. The rain has finally stopped!



Here are Äspets Rökeri, A smoking facility, I think you can buy smoked fish in there :)



This is a very nice place to visit. The Äspet Naturreservat (nature reserve). Unfortunatly it was raining but this place had a nice beach.

My Miyata MTB was nice bicycling around the area of Åhus. Here the baltic sea view.
 
 

The road trip 2012: Västervik archipelago

The second stop was Västervik. A really nice town where you feel welcome. I got at glimps of the Swedish boat constructor Sven Yrvind (Lundin). He was out running, whit a rope as a belt :)

Sven has also written some good books, for example: Konstruktören - En oceanseglares väg

An abandon factory.

Listening to VHF-radio and the weather report.

A trimaran in the background. Looked fast!

Road Trip July 2012: Valdermarsvik and Gryts archipelago

The first stop was to go to Valdemarsvik and check out those areas. The Swedish Famous writer Henning Mankell has a summerhouse here (at least that was what the ad sad =)), I think somewhere nere Gryts archepelago.



This is the map of Valdemarsvik municipality



Ekön beach, Gryts archepelago, Valdermarsvik municipality

The beach was not that good I think. Actully I didnt thinkt the place what that great. I found some free parkingplace (on the day, but not in the night). There is a camping place on the Ekön if you go the furhest out. This is the Ekön beach, quite big stones. I prefer nice sand instead :)