In floor heating system

[pengyou]

I love floor heaters in houses and think it would be a hot idea in a bus - pun intended.Electric systems seem like the easiest but I want to stay away from the need to generate electricity. Do you have any experience with fluid based systems? I think a multi fuel system would be great - using propane, plumbed into the engines heating system, burning diesel, etc. any thoughts or recommendations?

[PNW_Steve]

Webasto makes hydronic heaters that burn diesel.

I have a Webasto Schoolastic 45k btu heater for my radiant heat. I have not installed it yet. I will be plumbing into engine heat as well.

There are a handful of members here running similar setups.

[o1marc]

The only issue I would have is that you would need the bus running to supply heat for the floor. I'm using an Eccotemp L10 for heating the shower/sink/floor water on propane, battery ignition, so no wiring electric.

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by o1marc

The only issue I would have is that you would need the bus running to supply heat for the floor. I'm using an Eccotemp L10 for heating the shower/sink/floor water on propane, battery ignition, so no wiring electric.

The Webasto heaters work fine without running the engine. Mine will be plumbed with a set of valves that will tie into the cooling system in order to use the webasto to preheat the engine before starting and to allow the use of engine coolant to heat the floor when driving.

[Denis]

Anyone running a thermal siphon off a wood stove? I feel the flow rate might be to low to cover the whole floor plan of the bus but may be good enough to do a portion of the floor. Like the kitchen and main living area. Or pipe it back to the bed room?

[pengyou]

Yes, I think the ideal situation is to have multiple sources of heat with one tank to contain the fluid before it is circulated throughout the floor. I can see a solar hot water panel on top of the bus producing heated coolant that is then pumped into a boiler of some sort...if the coolant drops below a certain temperature, propane or diesel can be used to raise the temperature...or kerosene... if electricity were one of the options it would have to be done in a different container..could have a heat exchange to connect to the engine as well, when in use. This boiler/tank could also be used to heat hot water as well....that could be a little bit complicated, and is putting all of your eggs in one basket.

[LunarWorm]

Considering putting radiate heat / thermal mass water storage ( pex piping ) from a wood stove heated water tank . .... it could be used to bring the water temp back down by cooling off as it makes it loop around a cold bus . In theory ... by keeping the coil isolated with valves and a pressure release , along with a small water tank ( which also has a pressure relief valve) you can manage a 30 gallon tank for a short period and then cut the heat off . If the temp got out of control and you could open the thermal storage/radiant loop . So no hot water when your not using the wood stove .

[JustKip]

I like the idea of "warm floors" heating, and have seen a few builds that use the diesel powered engine block heater. Some haven't even bothered to heat the engine with it, just using it for cabin heat.

I really don't understand the idea of using a wood stove to heat water (or coolant) to run through the floors? I've been using a Cubic Mini wood stove to heat my 7X14 converted cargo trailer for many years. Adding a circulating system seems costly and superfluous.
https://cubicminiwoodstoves.com/

[Sleddgracer]

Originally Posted by JustKip

I like the idea of "warm floors" heating, and have seen a few builds that use the diesel powered engine block heater. Some haven't even bothered to heat the engine with it, just using it for cabin heat.

I really don't understand the idea of using a wood stove to heat water (or coolant) to run through the floors? I've been using a Cubic Mini wood stove to heat my 7X14 converted cargo trailer for many years. Adding a circulating system seems costly and superfluous.
https://cubicminiwoodstoves.com/

pretty sure that using a wood stove in an area as small as a bus to heat coolant to warm the floors would cook you out of that small space before you started to notice the floors getting warmer

[Denis]

good point on cooking yourslef out of the bus with a wood heater just to heat the floor with water. Although with a full size bus in the winter a cubic mini was not enough ( ive been told by some one who had one). He said to go as big as possible with the heater although I dont think he had the best insolation. Maybe with a mid size heater and in-floor water heat may be more reasonable. Also I would like to add that the thermal mass heat storage in the water and floor would hold the heat over cold nights and keep the space warmer for that much longer. Now we must keep in mind the issue of freezing pipes in the winter.... so much to consider. Would to drain the pipe if you were to leave the bus for a while or set a propane heater to keep it above freezing? or maybe not bother at all..

[HazMatt]

I laid down wool-based Persian carpets on the floor, and keep the location of my wool socks documented for just such a contingency emergency...