BTU/sq ft? What's your heating solution?

[BuSmith]

The wife and I are rethinking our plans for heating the new bus. Trying to figure out how much heater we need. What kind of BTU are you guys surviving off of? With what square footage?

We were looking at either a small wood stove or something like a Dickenson Marine but we're reconsidering now because I don't want to be married to a woodpile and we could save a little space.

I'm sorta thinking vented LP or diesel air but it's pretty hard to get a feel for what will work without knowing how many BTU's we need.

[john61ct]

First of all, insulate like crazy, unless you "follow the 70's"

Partitioning into smaller spaces helps.

Propane units like Propex HS2211 are super efficient and safe.

Webasto/Espar diesel also.

Heating a water exchanger gets you HWS as well, and you can pipe (or not) to radiators in the spots you choose.

With a big bus I'd get both for flexibility when boondocking.

[Twigg]

It depends on the low temp outside and the insulation you have done.

Surprisingly, many people appear to not add any insulation ....

I want something that will reduce condensation issues in cold weather and am thinking of a combination of diesel fired heater and small woodstove

[turf]

an RV rule of thumb - 1000 btu's per foot.

therefore
30' bus = 30K btu's
or a
40' bus = 40K btu's

there are some online calculators to help you figure heat loss. i like this one.

https://www.builditsolar.com/Referen...s/HeatLoss.htm

it would take me a few minutes to re learn it, but if you have questions, i can help.

the fancy calculator will probably come real close to the same number in the first method.

i heat my own bus with a Planar Diesel heater - 30,000 btu's. i have 2- 1000 watt electric heaters with the gen or plugged in, and i have a propane big buddy, just in case.

good luck

[john61ct]

Start by insulating well, if we're talking boondocking in ski areas, leave it open to adding more.

Add one good heat source, section off a space with insulating curtains or blankets, see how you go.

If the heat source is working hard and not quite comfortable, add another, and/or insulate better.

If only occasional, following the weather, a cheap Mr Heater Big Buddy is amazing.

Be sure to ventilate well, never use in-space unvented burning while sleeping, get a CO detector.

[BuSmith]

Originally Posted by turf

an RV rule of thumb - 1000 btu's per foot.

therefore
30' bus = 30K btu's
or a
40' bus = 40K btu's

there are some online calculators to help you figure heat loss. i like this one.

https://www.builditsolar.com/Referen...s/HeatLoss.htm

it would take me a few minutes to re learn it, but if you have questions, i can help.

the fancy calculator will probably come real close to the same number in the first method.

i heat my own bus with a Planar Diesel heater - 30,000 btu's. i have 2- 1000 watt electric heaters with the gen or plugged in, and i have a propane big buddy, just in case.

good luck

We're insulating well. Not making that mistake!

We've been seeing people talk about using things that are 9k-11k BTU which sounded too low to me. Having a wood stove currently we've got no real idea what it's pouring out.

Can you tell us more about your Planar? Which model. How loud is it? Would you choose it again? How much fuel do you go through?

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[turf]

i have their biggest one, 8D, i think.

inside the bus it is fine, outside the bus it sounds like a jet engine, fairly loud.

it doesnt adjust to high altitude well, if i camp over 9000', it won't light at all. it just smokes like the cheech and chong bus. thats why i have the back up heat big buddy now.

unless you live in the colorado high country, it will probably never be an issue.

the 2cool for skool bus has one as well, they speak highly of theirs.

i works fine and am happy with it. if i were to heat another bus, i'd get a webasto hydronic heater and go with infloor heating.

[BuSmith]

Interesting. Thank you.

With the Planar being so loud outside can you comfortably stay in RV parks? Is it "problem" loud?

So my best guess was that we'd need about 18k before you said anything. You say probably 40k and the calculator says around 8k from what I thought were pessimistic inputs. I feel like I'm missing something big here. Even if we were all wrong (I expect I am) that's a huge margin of error.



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[84chevyguyid]

I have a 40' bus with about 2 inches of spray foam on walls/ceiling and 1 inch of foam sheets under sub floor with residential thermopane vinyl windows and a 2 brick propane heater does a great job keeping it warm. I think its 10,000 btu. It has a thermostat and I turn it as low as it will go when I'm at work and kick it up to 2 when I am home. I got a little computer cooling fan (circled in red) and stuck on the bottom side of the upper cabinet and when you run it for a few minutes, it moves the heat throughout the whole bus, does a nice job of distributing the heat. One down side to propane is the moisture it produces. The cold part of the bus is the front windshield and moisture condenses on it big time. The other downside for me is that I have to start the bus and go get the propane tank filled. It has a 40 gallon tank and I seem to use 6-8 gallons a week. Temps are in the 40's daytime with overnight temps in the high teens right now. I ordered one of those cubic mini grizzly wood stoves and it should be here in a week. Going to temp install it and see how it helps out the condensation on the windshield problem. I am running the stove pipe out a window for now, if I like how it works I will permanently install it through the roof.

[turf]

the planar is loud. in a packed campground, if you lit it at 6am, your neighbor will hear you. in a walmart parking lot, its loud enough for people to stare.

if its running all night and so is everyone else's heaters, its not so bad.

i'm surprised you calculation came so low as well.

i designed mine for -20 outside, 70 inside. i have 2" of sprayed foam on all sides, and no windows along the sides. its pretty tightly insulated.

here is the link to my post installing the planar.

http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f27/bo...html#post83431


and a little video of it just working out of the box in the garage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wt_HR_Wjlw

[john61ct]

Originally Posted by turf

webasto hydronic heater and go with infloor heating.

Why Webasto, over a cheaper Planar?

Can you link to details about a floor hydronics setup, pipes or plates?

[turf]

a skoolie from a cold climate probably has a webasto in it. i'd buy a bus with one as a coolant heater and convert it to in floor heat.

i am unaware of an hydronic unit from planar.

purchasing a new webasto would be the cost of a bus. but we do see them at auction once a year or so if you watch.

i redid that btu estimator and i get 30k.
-20 for a low 70 for the high
12 r value for 2" foam. i left the glass alone.

half of the btus is from the infiltration, the rest from insulation.

good hydronic threads:

http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f51/hy...eat-19412.html

http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f13/ye...ion-16944.html

[CaptSquid]

I WISH I had a Webasto. Unfortunately, I have to make do with a Wave 6 and a Wave 8.