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Old 05-18-2016, 11:46 PM   #1
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heat and a/c

I haven't found much in the way of heat or a/c on the site, what do you guys use for either? I've seen a few people talk about small wood stoves for heat but what about a/c?

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Old 05-19-2016, 12:47 AM   #2
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The information just keeps going around and around. Yeah, a lot of us like wood stoves because the heat is so dry for in the winter. I have a big wood stove because I don't have an insulation yet.
A lot of people are finding that a 12-14k btu AC does pretty nicely. Some of these newer mini split systems are proving pretty good. You would still need pretty good insulation to be comfortable in hot weather. Then again there are those that go for the 50k btu system. Frosty.
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Old 05-19-2016, 06:43 AM   #3
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I use a small generator (Hyundai) to run my electric heater and my window a/c.
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Old 05-19-2016, 06:52 AM   #4
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Originally Posted by leadsled01 View Post
I use a small generator (Hyundai) to run my electric heater and my window a/c.
I have the 2000w Hyundai as well. Great little genset!

If you're worried about carrying a 3rd fuel source, get a diesel genset for an RV.

Or you can get I gigantic battery bank and an inverter. That would solve any AC system issues.

As for heat, I am intending on using a Webasto type diesel cab heater.
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Old 05-19-2016, 08:29 AM   #5
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those little webasto heaters are great units!. mini splits are great and dont surge an electrical generator.. however the outdoor unit can be cumbersome to install..

Climax makes a nice Inverter driven portable A/C which youy just need to route 2 hoses to the outside and the unit sits inside.. it is soft-start variable speed. 12000 BTU.
I ordered one to use when im at the house working on the interior of my bus..
-Christopher
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Old 05-19-2016, 08:45 AM   #6
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Originally Posted by cadillackid View Post
those little webasto heaters are great units!. mini splits are great and dont surge an electrical generator.. however the outdoor unit can be cumbersome to install..

Climax makes a nice Inverter driven portable A/C which youy just need to route 2 hoses to the outside and the unit sits inside.. it is soft-start variable speed. 12000 BTU.
I ordered one to use when im at the house working on the interior of my bus..
-Christopher
CK, how well would one of those 12kbtu split heat pumps heat a bus in the widwest in the winter? I was looking at a 9k and 12k dual unit with the 12 k heating the front part and 9k for the master bedroom. Scenario: February in Cleveland with a well insulated and sealed bus on a pretty moderate windy day......... GO!

If it would work, i would skip the webasto.
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Old 05-19-2016, 09:19 AM   #7
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AC
I use a 5k through the wall over the rear door for moderate temps. A 8K portable that I set on the dog house for hotter days.

Heat
Our Planar 44d diesel unit works very well for all temps but if we're plugged in I have a elec. phony phireplace that keeps us warm.
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Old 05-19-2016, 09:23 AM   #8
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AC
I use a 5k through the wall over the rear door for moderate temps. A 8K portable that I set on the dog house for hotter days.

Heat
Our Planar 44d diesel unit works very well for all temps but if we're plugged in I have a elec. phony phireplace that keeps us warm.

I was looking at the 8D planar. Does the 44 do a good job with the whole bus? I had planned on installing it underneath and ducting 3 zones with it, back bedroom, main cabin and driver's foot area. Keep in mind I have a 40' pusher.

Did you plumb it into your current fuel tank or do you use the 1 gallon tank it comes with?

TIA!

-Doc
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Old 05-19-2016, 09:24 AM   #9
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Originally Posted by Docsgsxr View Post
CK, how well would one of those 12kbtu split heat pumps heat a bus in the widwest in the winter? I was looking at a 9k and 12k dual unit with the 12 k heating the front part and 9k for the master bedroom. Scenario: February in Cleveland with a well insulated and sealed bus on a pretty moderate windy day......... GO!

If it would work, i would skip the webasto.
I run 3 of those units in my house as heat / cool.. in an ohio winter i wouldnt want it to be the sole source of heat.. while ive run my heat pumps at 0 degrees outside.. they sure dont procudce very warm air and go into defrost cycle frequently.. during defrost you are getrting no Heat to the interior..

for cooling in a moderately insualted bus that you are noit trying to cool down instantly from 100 degrees you will do Ok with a 12 or 15k unit... but for heat I would want the webasto.. because in cleveland it drops below 0 frequently and the heatpump will shut down at some point...

on my heat pumps my highest Heat output rating is at 37 degrees and above... at those temperatures you al most never hit a defrost cycle either which is good... below 37 your output begins to drop off and so does efficiency..

-Christopher
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Old 05-19-2016, 09:29 AM   #10
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I run 3 of those units in my house as heat / cool.. in an ohio winter i wouldnt want it to be the sole source of heat.. while ive run my heat pumps at 0 degrees outside.. they sure dont procudce very warm air and go into defrost cycle frequently.. during defrost you are getrting no Heat to the interior..

for cooling in a moderately insualted bus that you are noit trying to cool down instantly from 100 degrees you will do Ok with a 12 or 15k unit... but for heat I would want the webasto.. because in cleveland it drops below 0 frequently and the heatpump will shut down at some point...

on my heat pumps my highest Heat output rating is at 37 degrees and above... at those temperatures you al most never hit a defrost cycle either which is good... below 37 your output begins to drop off and so does efficiency..

-Christopher

My choice has been made! Now to determine which unit to use!
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Old 05-19-2016, 09:38 AM   #11
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Originally Posted by Docsgsxr View Post
I was looking at the 8D planar. Does the 44 do a good job with the whole bus? I had planned on installing it underneath and ducting 3 zones with it, back bedroom, main cabin and driver's foot area. Keep in mind I have a 40' pusher.

Did you plumb it into your current fuel tank or do you use the 1 gallon tank it comes with?

TIA!

-Doc
Our bus is 26 feet. The 44 keeps us warm in the 30s even with some wind.
I have it under the front steps and one outlet on the step well wall facing forward towards into coolest part of the bus. The warmed air moves up and rearward with enough speed you can feel/see the air moving. I usually keep it at 22C during the awake times, then 17-19C at night.
I used the supplied 7 liter tank and that lasts for 2 pretty cold nights/days, although I keep it topped off to avoid any surprises.
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Old 05-19-2016, 11:13 AM   #12
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Our bus is 26 feet. The 44 keeps us warm in the 30s even with some wind.
I have it under the front steps and one outlet on the step well wall facing forward towards into coolest part of the bus. The warmed air moves up and rearward with enough speed you can feel/see the air moving. I usually keep it at 22C during the awake times, then 17-19C at night.
I used the supplied 7 liter tank and that lasts for 2 pretty cold nights/days, although I keep it topped off to avoid any surprises.

How long have you had it installed? I will most likely tap my tank and use the fuel line for it. That way I don't have to go outside to fill the tank when it gets low.

Thanks so much for your feedback!

-Doc
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Old 05-19-2016, 12:07 PM   #13
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How long have you had it installed? I will most likely tap my tank and use the fuel line for it. That way I don't have to go outside to fill the tank when it gets low.

Thanks so much for your feedback!

-Doc
November '15.
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Old 05-19-2016, 06:49 PM   #14
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I agree that's about the perfect backup heat source. I watched a video of one of these installed in a boat. It was kind of smokey and a little noisy, but that beats being cold.
They seem to either be for heating the coolant or for heating the air. I still can't understand the wide discrepancy in pricing online. Do they make a heater that does both, air and coolant heating. It's kind of hard to tell with the information available.
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Old 05-19-2016, 06:53 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by Robin97396 View Post
I agree that's about the perfect backup heat source. I watched a video of one of these installed in a boat. It was kind of smokey and a little noisy, but that beats being cold.
They seem to either be for heating the coolant or for heating the air. I still can't understand the wide discrepancy in pricing online. Do they make a heater that does both, air and coolant heating. It's kind of hard to tell with the information available.
keep your bus heating system installed.. then heat the coolant loops and use the bus heat exchangers to heat the air... your little heater would heat the loops and then you simply turn on the fans on the heaters (engine off) to heat the inside ofthe bus
-Christopher
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Old 05-19-2016, 07:03 PM   #16
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Yeah, I thought of that. I'd like to figure a way to avoid the fan use.

What about setting up the heater cores so they could heat by convection? Probably not real efficient but quieter and less power consumption. The air always stratifies without a fan. Cold feet.
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Old 05-19-2016, 07:12 PM   #17
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if you heat your cores up to about 180-190 they will radiate heat... a little.. but they are not designed to work that way.. Bus heater boxes are designed for advection (fan forced).. as are the shapes of the coild and placement of the fins.. why so opposed to using a fan? your webasto is going to burn more fuel keeping everything at 180+ rather than the 140 you could probably run at except the coldest of days...

Bus heaters are designed to blow the heat down.. and are easily re-ducted for other configurations.. your front passenger and rear passenger heaters should easily heat a bus when its not in motion with coolant at 140..
Plus bus heaters are Cheap.. you already have a bunch of them in the bus... my little shortie has 6.. so yours probably has a few more..

-Christopher
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Old 05-19-2016, 08:48 PM   #18
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Yeah this one has the normal dash heaters, a drivers foot heater and a rear heater. They even ran the hoses under the floor to the rear heater apparently to keep the floor clear. These heaters really don't work well at all. I'll take them apart and see what I can do but so far I'd hate to have to depend on them in the winter.
I like the liquid fuel idea for heat. The wabasto sounds pretty efficient. I just didn't want to use on board power to run a heater fan through the night during the winter.
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Old 05-19-2016, 09:23 PM   #19
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Last year while I was going over the Rockies in a mostly uninsulated bus, I got a little desperate for a heat source to use on the road, (currently he heater cores are not installed in the bus). I happened to have a very miniature two burner stove from a camper. I took it apart to the basic components and bent a piec of sheet metal in a full arch over the whole thing. Attached it with sheet metal screws. I had some extra stovepipe and 90 degree elbows I put a 4 inch elbow one end angled downand a one foot section on the left side. I bolted it down partially under the glove box on the right side of the dash up front. The heat flows out of the one foot section from convective flow, and with the curtain to the back pulled shut, I stayed nice and warm enough to be in a t shirt. I used a piece of dog crate to form a cage around it. For those who are thinking omg that's not safe, my propane tank mounts outside the bus, and is very secure and I have a regulator with a safety cutoff type valve. Obviously this was a temporary solution however the principle still interests me. Using both burners sometimes I was able to get days and days of continuous use. If I were to place a larger, finned thermal mass in the burn chamber with the burners, it could be turned way down and be way more efficient. I also wondered about adding more ducting to pipe the heat around more and adding a fan, more than likely I will simply reinstalled the heater cores by next winter.
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Old 05-19-2016, 09:46 PM   #20
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The Alaska trick is to invert 6 or 8" clay flower pots over the burners. Not exactly good for while you're traveling. It changes the type of radiation from whatever propane is to radiant heat like from a wood stove. You can feel the difference. Start heating the flower pots slowly so the humidity in the clay doesn't crack the flower pots.
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