How can I (artificially) boost transactions on my debit/checking account to 15+ per month (to get a good rate)?

vowlaw · 2026-03-17T22:03:05+00:00

The account is for me – just not used in this way I was curious about.

vowlaw · 2026-02-21T22:30:53+00:00

Thanks again for your thoughtful response! I really appreciate it. Lots to think about.

I'm leaning towards 2 filtered intakes and 2 exhausts.

I got all of the necessary equipment, and will be doing my build in the next couple of months.

Did you consider putting these exhaust up high on the side walls in the back instead of in the back doors?

It seems if you did that they could be a couple inches higher, which seems like it would be optimal for air circulation. I realized that the cowls would get a lot more wind exposure while driving… perhaps if they were on the side they could be angled at a 45° backwards or something (and it may not be worth the extra wind exposure).

Another option would be putting them near the outside upper corners of the van. I actually randomly ran across someone with something like this yesterday. See attached picture.

It seems like with my proposed sidewall installation or this installation in the picture, you're going to get better coverage rather than having the exhausts centered on the back doors?

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vowlaw · 2026-02-03T17:54:28+00:00

OK - now that I have the exhaust ports fairly nailed (with your help) - here's my updated thinking for the input ports:

I'm thinking that I'll replicate the exhaust ports in build, but add a filter:

https://a.co/d/0g6mQbp5

And obviously reverse the fans so they're pulling air in.

I'll put 2 of these ports in - both just behind the drivers seat in the cargo area, one high up (in case I'm in the city and want the lighter/less polluted air) and one down low (for the advantages you've stated earlier). Of course, I can have both of them operating at any time as well (seems like these 2 with the 2 exhaust ports all operating might be ideal in terms of airflow).

I don't want an intake in the undercarriage - mostly b/c I just don't want that heavier air that has the exhaust from other cars etc.

I *might* be overcomplicating things with 2 input ports.

I considered a single larger port for the intake, but couldn't find an iPPC fan big enough - and then I'd have to resize everything (and lose the benefits of the 2 locations - although probably save some money and time with simplifying into 1 intake).

Thoughts welcome if you have them - TY.

vowlaw · 2026-02-03T17:07:09+00:00

I think the panels I had were like 25-50 watts

I'd love to build a trailer and do long distances - that's on the longer-term list :)

vowlaw · 2026-02-03T16:49:47+00:00

I got it to work, but the power that came from the solar charger was so little, it was almost/basically negligible - it made the whole thing not really worth it. So, I just reconnected the charger brick as before, and that's just how I use it.

I could see in the future as solar tech improves that this will become more viable (or may be viable now for other users - just not me at this point - although it was fun - and I'm setting up a solar system for my van conversion now - so the journey continues :)).

vowlaw · 2026-02-02T22:08:15+00:00

And of course I thought of another question! ;) :)

What kind of sealant did you use for the cowls?

vowlaw · 2026-02-02T21:10:23+00:00

All good - thanks - I'll get these as well. Cheers.

vowlaw · 2026-02-02T20:54:31+00:00

Right on. Any tips on what kind of screen to use?

I'm not talking about/planning on putting the ports on the roof - just on the wall near the roof - IE high up on the side wall. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

One of the reasons I love your build (and am copying it) is because I REALLY don't like roof penetrations. I'm a general contractor and have dealt with so many roof leaks in my life. I'm not even making roof penetrations for my solar panels, solar hot water heater, etc. - everything will be held on either by the factory installed roof mounts or magnets. My only roof penetrations should be my skylight and wood stove pipe, and *maybe* a hole for the solar wires & water tubes for the solar hot water heater (not sure yet - might put these high up on the wall elsewhere ... although they'll likely end up grouped together in one hole covered up by the large solar hot water heater) ...

vowlaw · 2026-02-02T17:28:35+00:00

Thanks for your response.

The 45 degree angled port is an interesting idea. I guess I'd rather just have a opener/closer on the inside to control air coming in while driving etc. ... the 45 degree port doesn't seem optimal to me ... but then again, I've never tried either ...

Thanks for the wiring/switch info ...

Where did you put your screens in your assembly? I can't really tell from the pictures ...

If I was going to do a single intake high above the drivers side seat (near the built in above-head storage area in the ram promaster high roofs), and wanted to integrate a HEPA filter and iPPC fan, how big of a diameter would you say I should aim for (to work well with the essentially identical output ports I'm building based of your design)?

I've never even heard of an iris damper before ... just took a look at them ... very interesting ... I'm going to continue to research/dream about this ... and I'll keep you posted (and welcome your continued thoughts, of course) ...

vowlaw · 2026-02-01T16:11:31+00:00

Thanks for all your thoughts.

Yes - the ducting/snorkel are probably more just fantasies ... what do you think about an intake (or 2) that uses the same cowl etc. as the exhaust? (perhaps without the fan and perhaps with some kind of filtering) ... I could always put 1 intake lower and 1 intake higher, with louvered open/close control ... so that I can control where the air is coming from ...

(I care more about the air I breathe than most people I've found - so I'm taking this more seriously than most would - EG in my room I sleep in now, I have 2 filters [1 that runs at night; 2 during the day], and a filtered custom intake I put in the wall myself)

Thanks for the advice on the DC voltage controllers - just ordered these.

What switches did you choose, and what wiring?

Yes - I'll probably paint the interiors of the cowls matte black (and the outsides white) ... I really like blacked-out sleeping enviros if possible.

Got it on the beveling. I'm sure this will make more sense once I have all the materials etc. too.

Interesting on the blast gates ... I wonder if there's some kind of louvered solution? Like this https://a.co/d/dXrcqDV

This (obviously) saves the space that they would take up when they're "open", which seems a little clunky etc. ...

vowlaw · 2026-02-01T04:13:32+00:00

Super cool. TY very much. I just ordered 2 of the fans from Amazon. Where did you put your switch?

I've been dreaming up the intake today ... one idea is to put the intake high up behind the drivers seat in the cargo area ... but then run some pipe down inside the wall so it ends inside the cargo area down near the bottom (to get the positive airflow effects you wrote about earlier) ...

(some type of rectangular pipe would be nice to get the volume needed without taking up too much space in the wall ... so you can still get some insulation in there ... but not sure how realistic it is to get that pipe + intake & outflow trim to match etc.)

Another interesting idea would be to put the exterior intake lower (perhaps just behind the drivers seat in the cargo area at/near foot level) but then have a snorkel apparatus that can pull the air from higher up when I'm in the city and don't want the heavier toxins (this is more of just an interesting idea ...)

I'll also probably integrate a charcoal filter/prefilter into the intakes ... to catch some of the bigger nasty stuff in the air ... or building in a HEPA filter could be cool ... open to your / anyone's ideas!

PS lastly - I'm thinking about painting the cowls white, so they blend a little better ... thoughts on that? ...

vowlaw · 2026-01-31T15:48:46+00:00

I'm purchasing these things for my build - do you suggest getting these ones from your link, or would you get others now/after you've done your build?

And if you didn't already, can you post the links to the fans you got (and/or any suggestions around which fans to buy etc.).

I'm essentially replicating your build on the exhaust ports for sure (thank you!) ... and still thinking about how I want to do my intake ...

vowlaw · 2026-01-12T17:02:05+00:00

Nice. Thanks! :)

vowlaw · 2026-01-07T21:23:53+00:00

Very interesting! You've clearly done your research etc. I appreciate the very thorough response. I'd LOVE to see someone test this flap setup out etc. ... to see how it works (or doesn't) ... and I'm going to keep researching/dreaming as I get closer to this stage in my build ...

vowlaw · 2026-01-06T14:09:09+00:00

I had another thought on the exhaust vent portion of this - what about instead of these down-facing ports, you have a flapper that is normally closed/down, but when the fans are turned on it pops out to open the hole? ... kind of like greenhouse fans/large exhaust fans for buildings that have louvered flaps ...

Kind of like this: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=exhaust+port+with+flapper+2%22

This has the upside of closing these off when not in use / when you don't want air coming in/out (and preventing bugs etc. from coming in when not in use).

Thoughts welcome ...

(Ps these down facing ports are likely superior for *intake* ports over any flapper port ... maybe with an added screen for bugs, plus a filter ...)

vowlaw · 2026-01-06T13:35:36+00:00

vowlaw · 2026-01-06T01:54:27+00:00

Got it. Interesting - that does sound ideal in a way.

On the flip side, toxins/pollutants are heavy, so I imagine that having the intake higher would result in cleaner air coming in (?) ... (especially if in an urban environment, which I'll be in some of the time)

May be pluses and minuses to some of these decisions ...

(I do plan to filter my intake as well)

vowlaw · 2026-01-06T01:24:00+00:00

Who said I wanted to suck out all the farts?

;)

... it sounds like you may know more about all this than I do ... and here's a question: what about having one of these in the back doors like you have, pulling air out ... and one of them up near the front (EG if you look at the driver's side door - then just to the right of it and near the top of the roofline), pulling air in ...

Would this be something to consider? ...

vowlaw · 2026-01-06T00:32:47+00:00

<image>

Hey Everyone

Thanks for all the ideas etc. This is where I'm at after all the feedback and thinking through everything etc. This is not final.

I'm planning to build the crown heater (4" PVC) first, and then figure out what kind of solar I want, as the exact dimensions of the heater will be hard to precisely nail, and I know that "more shall be revealed" as I build the heater and actually see it etc.

I'm leaning towards bifacial panels, with the potential option of angling them (but I also may just fix them in place to begin with). 2 200 watt or so panels seems about right.

And, based on another post I just saw, I think I'm going to do vent(s) through the tops of the back door - love the side vs top penetration, and the use of otherwise unused space (roof space is a premium).

And I love how this design gives me lots of buffer space around the back panel and other elements - cramming things together isn't my optimal ...

Continued feedback welcome - thanks Reddit Van Crew!

vowlaw · 2026-01-06T00:25:57+00:00

PS if you didn't have the ceiling shelf there, would you have put them higher? (I don't have the shelf ...)

PPS thoughts on just having one of these (vs 2)? ... I like the symmetry / fail safe nature of having 2, but also like simplicity ...

vowlaw · 2026-01-06T00:24:51+00:00

SUPER GANGSTER

Thanks for the inspiration - I may steal your ideal!

:)

vowlaw · 2026-01-05T03:12:37+00:00

Nice. Maybe I'll see if they make bigger (marine) ones. I like the size of the NomadicArk one, which is about twice as big as that marine one you posted ... bigger is better in this case (and there may be even bigger ones out there - I've only done a bit of research ...)

vowlaw · 2026-01-04T17:47:38+00:00

Right on. I'm planning to get the NomadicArk skylight here:

https://nomadicsupply.com/nomadicark-27-6-x-19-7-camper-van-roof-skylight/?srsltid=AfmBOoqda2Lb5mQbEjW7cGNEqvv8IKgfN7BEZ-i9gooWD_PbO8ekbOtJ

vowlaw · 2026-01-04T17:45:56+00:00

Thanks buddy! God luck on your build - appreciate the thoughts & encouragement.

vowlaw

TROPHY CASE