How to keep warm in winter

[paul]

Hello,
Paul here. I have a question for you guys, how does one go about the process of keeping a skoolie warm in the winter? I already have planned out the walls, (inserted with pink insulation). Ive been planning on using multiple electric heaters, to keep the place warm. Is there maybe a way to seal off the windows?
Please just comment anything that you think is useful to know about heating...
thanks,
yours truly;)

[crazycal]

Keep yourself warm and don't worry about the bus.

[family wagon]

Just for a point of reference in making a wild estimate of how much heat you might need.. I did an experiment with electric heat in my bus two years ago. I left two baseboard radiator heaters running overnight and tracked the temperature. The 4.5 kW electric heat was able to hold about 40 degree F temperature difference through the night (outdoor temperature in the low teens and in-bus temperature low to mid 50's). I hadn't added insulation or deleted windows at that time; the walls just had their dust-laden factory fiberglass batts in them. This was in a 38 foot Blue Bird flat-front body.

Just as in a fixed building, controlled air exchange (sealed windows and doors) and insulation are the big factors to retaining heat inside.

crazcal makes a good point: if your needs can be met by keeping just yourself warm, or just a part of the bus, it'll reduce the amount of heat you need to achieve comfort.

[taskswap]

To that last point, one of the best investments I ever made was in a couple of electric blankets. We have one for the bed and one for the couch. You can easily be comfortable in a 60F room if you yourself are warm.

At one point there was concern about the radiation and possible links to cancer. No link has ever been proven and they're generally considered safe at this point. Modern products also give off a lot less radiation than the ones from the 70s, and are less of a fire risk, too.

YMMV and you make your own informed choices - we're happy with ours, though.

[nat_ster]

Originally Posted by Algoma Boondockers

'i am installing a 12 000 BTU propane radiant heater to help keep the cold away. Should be plenty of heat.

Plenty of moisture too.

Be safe and don't blow your bus up.

Nat

[Scooternj]

Personally, I'd take Rachel Nichols (who looks a helluva lot better as a redhead), plenty of insulation and an electric blanket.

[LP4171]

Is anyone using the radiator heat to heat the bus during drive times?
I was thinking about adding one in middle and one in back of bus, those old time NE radiators to keep the bus warm during drive times.
I also read (somewhere) that diesel engines like a warmer running temp than gas engines. If this is true would I be harming the engine by using its heat?

[bansil]

I vote for:

You have wheels...use them and head south, that is my plan every year...still hasn't worked out tho'

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by LP4171

Is anyone using the radiator heat to heat the bus during drive times?
I was thinking about adding one in middle and one in back of bus, those old time NE radiators to keep the bus warm during drive times.
I also read (somewhere) that diesel engines like a warmer running temp than gas engines. If this is true would I be harming the engine by using its heat?

The middle and rear heaters that come in most buses operate just like that.

[dond]

I have a 13,600 btu diesel heater coming (vented and fan), we kept the 2 bus heaters for on the road use.

We travel and camp all year but do try to stay south in the winter.

[EastCoastCB]

I'm planning to run one stock rear bus heater in the restroom, and one in the "cab" that I'm going to section off. I'll have 100k+ btu's in the cab!

[Tango]

The factory bus heaters that operate off the coolant are excellent. Big and clunky, but put out a lot of otherwise wasted heat over the road. As for propane, catalytic heaters are far and away the most efficient.

[bansil]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

I'm planning to run one stock rear bus heater in the restroom, and one in the "cab" that I'm going to section off. I'll have 100k+ btu's in the cab!

You silly FL peeps don't know what to do when it gets below 48*

[EastCoastCB]

Nope, I sure as hell don't!

[CaptainInsaneo]

Originally Posted by bansil

You silly FL peeps don't know what to do when it gets below 48*

#smartenoughtoleave
Unless there is some really damn compelling reason I would up and leave.

[opus]

I use a Webasto.

[MradamX]

Wood burning stove

[turf]

i used a webasto knock-off called "Planar" diesel fired heat.

the problem i had with the heater is it doesnt burn right over 9000'. when it fires up... it just smokes, a lot of smoke. looks like cheech and chong are camping with white smoke billowing from the exhaust. i think the webastos have the same warning, not for high altitude heating.

for high altitude heat i had to get a heaterbuddy portable.

[opus]

I'm sure at 9000' you'd have to lean the Webasto out some.

[Timelord]

There are high altitude kits for both Webasto and Espar units. The Webasto one increases fan speed and the Espar one apparently decreases fuel.