Author Topic: On board heat  (Read 13700 times)

Offline happycamperbrat

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Re: On board heat
« Reply #30 on: May 17, 2011, 02:52:59 PM »
I may be totally in left field here, but I had a thought that I have no idea if it would actually work in a converted bus. I was thinking about maybe running 1/2" or 1/4" copper tubing under the floors and in the walls evenly spaced every foot or so the full length of the bus. These would be plumbed into the radiator and have a steady flow of antifreeze and distilled water. There would be a valve coming out of the radiator so in the summer time it would bypass the copper tubing in the bus. A person could have a wood burning stove vented thru the roof with a removable stove pipe on the roof, and the copper tubing would run in or near the wood burning stove when parked... There could be bypasses and multiple valves to control where the hot water mix would go..... maybe this would be overkill for when parked, especially if a wood stove were used... maybe the weight of all the extra fluid would be a deterrent, maybe all the copper would be cost prohibitive.... maybe?
The Little GTO is a 102" wide and 40' long 1983 GMC RTS II and my name is Teresa in case I forgot to sign my post

Offline Tikvah

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Re: On board heat
« Reply #31 on: May 17, 2011, 03:04:10 PM »
I've thought about some kind of radiant system like you describe.  In the residential world we use PEX tube.  Rather inexpensive and easy to manage.
But, I'd also like to know if someone has tried it. 
My first thought was that fact that it would raise my floor another inch.  I don't want to keep giving up inches.  But, radiant panel walls... that might work.
1989 MCI-102 A3
DD 6V92 Turbo, Alison
Tons of stuff to learn!
Started in Cheboygan, Michigan (near the Mackinaw Bridge).  Now home is anywhere we park
http://dave-amy.com/

Offline happycamperbrat

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Re: On board heat
« Reply #32 on: May 17, 2011, 03:13:09 PM »
I dont know anything about the MCIs but with my plywood floor in the RTS I could run lines on the roof of the bays, which is right below the wood floor.....
The Little GTO is a 102" wide and 40' long 1983 GMC RTS II and my name is Teresa in case I forgot to sign my post

Offline buswarrior

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Re: On board heat
« Reply #33 on: May 19, 2011, 06:30:02 AM »
Yes, I do recall some busnuts who have used radiant loops under the floor.

Are any of them still posting here?

happy coaching!
buswarrior
Frozen North, Greater Toronto Area
new project: 1995 MCI 102D3, Cat 3176b, Eaton Autoshift

Offline TomC

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Re: On board heat
« Reply #34 on: May 19, 2011, 06:42:20 AM »
One big problem with radiant heat-it is hard to control the temperature.  I'd think twice about subjecting the plywood floor to that kind of heat and drying out of the wood. Good Luck, TomC
Tom & Donna Christman. 1985 Kenworth 40ft Super C with garage. '77 AMGeneral 10240B; 8V-71TATAIC V730.

Offline Tikvah

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Re: On board heat
« Reply #35 on: May 19, 2011, 06:52:43 AM »
One big problem with radiant heat-it is hard to control the temperature.  I'd think twice about subjecting the plywood floor to that kind of heat and drying out of the wood. Good Luck, TomC

Tom, it is true that it could be hard to control. Radiat heat of that type is slow to start then will stay warm for awhile.  If you just want a warm-up on a cool morning it might drive you crazy.  If you need consistant heat in a cooler climate then I think the hot water radiant could be ideal.  I'm not worried about the plywood.  Remember that hot air movement could dry wood over time, but radiant heat isn't blowing air.  It simply raises the temperature.  We do it all the time in new and old homes with fantastic results.  Even with hard wood floors.

I'm thinking I might put radiant in my walls, then put some small air driven heater cores under some cabinets and such.  Hopefully get the best of both worlds.
1989 MCI-102 A3
DD 6V92 Turbo, Alison
Tons of stuff to learn!
Started in Cheboygan, Michigan (near the Mackinaw Bridge).  Now home is anywhere we park
http://dave-amy.com/

Offline trucktramp

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Re: On board heat
« Reply #36 on: May 19, 2011, 07:04:35 AM »
I think that Gumpydog put radiant heat in his bus.  Check out his site.  He will have detailed explainations of what was done.
Dennis Watson
KB8KNP
Scotts, Michigan
1966 MCI MC5A
8V71
Spicer 4 Speed Manual

Offline tpboj

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