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Old 06-13-2010, 11:13 AM   #21
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Re: Old floor heaters

Quote:
Originally Posted by Alisongrrl
There is a small copper pipe that runs into the engine. It is connected to a dial. I am not too sure what this line contains and I do not want to disconnect it and find out it is something bad the hard way. Anyone have any ideas what this contains??
I am attaching a link to pics for reference.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5 ... 1228863850
Try to follow this line and find out where it goes. I have a hunch it is not related to the heater. Could be compressed air. Looks like a shut-off solenoid and a pressure- or flow- regulator. Air operated door?

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Old 06-13-2010, 03:41 PM   #22
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Re: Old floor heaters

Quote:
Originally Posted by Seeria
This might be slightly off topic but

Is there some type of pen or tape, some way to label these hoses that is safe? Wouldn't want a hot hose to start a fire 'cause I put the wrong material-tape-whatever on it just so I can remember what is what. Old age... *sigh*
I would just write on them with a regular Sharpie marker. Even if your engine was overheating the hoses should not get over 200 degrees. If they do, you will have more problems than just the writing burning off. Most engine thermostats are either 160 or 180 degrees and there will be temp losses from the engine to the point where your heater hoses are inside the bus.
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Old 01-18-2011, 10:20 PM   #23
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Re: Old floor heaters

My heater hoses ran from the engine block (both had shut off valves) to a heater core near the driver then to a separate diesel fired auxiliary heater and then to the rear of the bus under a seat. I removed the auxiliary heater from the side compartment and the rear heathttp://www.skoolie.net/forum/postin ... &t=4444#er core. I reattached the hoses from the engine block so that they now only go into the heater unit near the driver seat. I still have heat and I was able to sell the rear heater core and the aux. pump/heater unit for $600.00! Wow... almost like my bus was free!
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Old 07-24-2011, 04:32 PM   #24
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Re: Old floor heaters - underfloor heat mod?

Question - Could the stock heating system be used to provide heat for an underfloor (radiant) heating loop like ones put into homes? Seems like this would be a way to free up space where ther original heater were and should also be more efficient since the heat tubing would be throughout the floor and thus spread the heat evenly.
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Old 07-24-2011, 10:46 PM   #25
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Re: Old floor heaters

The heat system in the buses are hydronic with fan forced heat exchangers.

You would need to heat the fluid (usually anti-freeze) with a heater (think water heater.... like an old 6 gallon LP Bowen/Atwood) and put a pump inline that is for circulating hot water/fluids (like an El Sid or similar). You can keep the original heat exchangers and build a duct system to distribute the heated air. Hey, I just described how we will do our heat system.

Substitute (or include) PEX lines under the floor to the system and insulate . Look at outfits like Radiantec figure out what type of system you will install and download their DIY manuals A closed system is the easiest to install but will require a dedicated water heater. You can install a valve so that you can use the heating system to preheat your diesel engine or use the engine to heat the fluid while traveling down the road (when you can't use the water heater). You are building your own Aquahot. Aquahot manuals
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Old 10-02-2016, 12:37 AM   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lornaschinske View Post
The heat system in the buses are hydronic with fan forced heat exchangers. [/url]
Do the heaters sitting on under the seats have any type of pump to facilitate the flow in the hydronic system? Or do they rely on the hydro-dynamics of heating and cooling to cause them to flow? The reason I ask, I am curious about swapping out the stock 'under seat' heaters for a radiant baseboard heater, common in residential construction. Something like this: https://goo.gl/v2SEOh

However, if that works then I don't see why you wouldn't be able to run some pex-radiators under the floor. I am thinking something like this: https://goo.gl/1Q2K6o

For right now I am thinking this would only be used for driving heat. When stopped we would use propane forced air heat.

Thoughts?
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Old 10-02-2016, 08:05 AM   #27
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the bus heaters use the bus water pump to facilitate flow... some busses also have a small electric boost pump (your dash may have a switch that says boost pump).. this is to help with increased flow to the heaters...

you do gain some reserve heat from the residual in the engine block to turn on the boost pump and one of the heater fans when the engine has just been shut down.. you'll get heat for a while( hour or 2) depending on how cold it is outside..

for PEX under-floor heat you will likely want to do some type of temperature controlled Bleed-Loop.. (a coolant loop with its own circulation for the floor.. with a simple bleed inlet of hot coolant from the engine that will maintasin a constant floor loop temperature.. the floor loop would use its own pump..

reason being you dont want 180 - 200 degree coolant under your floors.. the bleed-in allows you to circulate a loop of cooler (80 - 100 degree) coolant under your floors and simply Mix-in a slight amount of the hotter coolant and circulate it around.. this maintains a nice even and tempered temperature for your floors..

-Christopher
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Old 10-02-2016, 09:52 AM   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cadillackid View Post
the bus heaters use the bus water pump to facilitate flow... some busses also have a small electric boost pump (your dash may have a switch that says boost pump).. this is to help with increased flow to the heaters...

-Christopher
I have that exact switch in my AmTran. I won't be using the switch so plan to remove it and the wiring. Where is the pump typically located so I can remove it as well?
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Old 10-02-2016, 10:38 AM   #29
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the pump is under the hood... and is also useful in burping air out of the cooling system if you have a loss or are flushing.. it hurts nthing to keep it, but its pretty easy to find, will be on one of the heater hoses near the engine and have usually an orange and black wire going to its motor..

it also facilitates better circulation to your driver heaters and defrosters.. which you will want to keep unless your bus is a tiny home to be parked and not driven.

-Christopher
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Old 10-02-2016, 02:34 PM   #30
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cadillackid View Post
the pump is under the hood... and is also useful in burping air out of the cooling system if you have a loss or are flushing.. it hurts nthing to keep it, but its pretty easy to find, will be on one of the heater hoses near the engine and have usually an orange and black wire going to its motor..

it also facilitates better circulation to your driver heaters and defrosters.. which you will want to keep unless your bus is a tiny home to be parked and not driven.

-Christopher
Hmmm, in that case I guess I will keep it. Some fool painted the radiator plastic overflow container so I can't see the "cold" full level anymore. Is there anything I can use to remove the paint that won't eat into the plastic?
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Old 10-02-2016, 03:35 PM   #31
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mine on the DEV is painted but theres a little bubble on the side of it that was just dirty.. I unscrewed the bubble, cleaned it and put it back in and could see my cold level and the color too..

you can try a magic erasure.. my guess is that the bottle wasnt properly paint-prepped so it would come off easily..

-Christopher
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Old 05-05-2017, 11:39 AM   #32
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Quote:
Originally Posted by John View Post
When I took out my heaters I noticed they had a shut-off valve that separated them from the engine coolant. I simply turned off the shutoff then removed the heaters and hoses. I plan on eventually putting one of the heaters back in for heating during driving and can then just hook up hose and turn back on the shut-off valve. I imagine the shut-off valve is normally closed during the summer and open during the winter.


Just picked up 2001 blue bird with he 5.9.

This is exactly what I was looking for. Where can I find the valve? I'm going back out now to check.


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