Old floor heaters

speakeasyglass · 06-26-2009, 08:06 PM

I just bought an 88 bluebird tc 2000 I've pulled the seats and now want to pull the floor. I plan to scrap the heaters I dont know if coolant runs through them or anything messy or poisonous. Also im curious if I can use the wiring to run something else. what do i do about the hoses running to the heaters can they be closed off or completely disconnected.

Ray_WA · 06-26-2009, 10:31 PM

Yes, coolant runs through them. After hearing horror stories of spilled coolant all over the interior of the bus I disconnected the hoses in the engine compartment, unbolted the heater and all the hose tie downs, then I just pulled the hoses through from the engine compartment, held them up and carried them straight out the back door of the bus, dragging the hoses/heaters with me.

Not a drop inside my bus!

-Ray

speakeasyglass · 06-26-2009, 11:01 PM

Thank you brother. How about where the hoses connect? Will I need to seal off the ends somehow? And what should I do with the wiring?

speakeasyglass · 06-29-2009, 09:20 PM

Thanks for the tips. Now that I have the hoses cut and drained I'm checking out the wiring I do think I want to get ac converters and make two outlets out of them. And the pump should work for water if I clean out the coolant. If this won't work or seems inadvisable please let me know which and why.

Steve · 06-30-2009, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by case

Is there any way to use the coolant / lines for a WVO conversion? Use the lines to heat the WVO?

Yes you can keep the coolant lines and use the heat exchanger to heat the WVO. Jason has also used the rear heat exchanger to heat the water in the Jacuzzi buses.

dentedvw · 08-02-2009, 10:16 PM

That's what interested me the most, using it again not only for heat, but for hot water perhaps.
Leaks? Anything can leak, even a propane heater.
I suppose they don't heat all that well though, right? I don't remember much about them from my days riding them to school.

paul iossi · 08-04-2009, 08:01 AM

heater cores are like a radiator core in that they are liquid to air heat transfer devices, if you want to transfer/use the heat to heat another fluid then you need a liquid/liquid heat exchanger, either plate type tube and shell type, they are common in marine and industrial applications.

newbusser · 09-09-2009, 04:56 PM

After consulting people here, I have decided to re-use my heaters and just move them when I begin my interior work. I think one will be in the bedroom area and one up near dining/ hangout area.

They work pretty good when bus is running and driving, so I figure I will use them and save the propane heaters for when I am stopped.

I drained mine at back of bus where they come out from engine, filtered and saved antifreeze to put back in because it still looked very green and clean.

oregonskoolie · 10-24-2009, 11:11 PM

Okay... I am currently trying to remove my heater, and I am pretty stuck.

I am not sure whether I need to complete the circuit with the hose's going to the back of the bus once I take out the heater, or if I can just pinch off the ends of both hose's next to the driver's seat.

Any thoughts?

Sojakai · 10-25-2009, 01:10 AM

If your taking out just the back heater, put a connect the hose ends together behind the driver. If your taking All the heaters, put the connection in the hoses in the engine compartment.

Either way, you need to connect them together so that the coolant being pumped through them can return to the engine.

John · 10-25-2009, 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sojakai

If your taking out just the back heater, put a connect the hose ends together behind the driver. If your taking All the heaters, put the connection in the hoses in the engine compartment.

Either way, you need to connect them together so that the coolant being pumped through them can return to the engine.

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.

turtle · 10-26-2009, 08:17 PM

Nice to know this stuff!

I plan on using a line of coolant to work with a veggie oil conversion. I would run the coolant line through copper piping that will be in the center of a drum of clean veggie oil. I figure I can start the engine on diesel, and the bus can warm the veggie oil through the heating line before the veggie oil goes to the engine. The coolant line connects to two heaters that heat the middle of the bus. I wonder if running the coolant through the heaters first would drain heat before it goes through the copper piping. Or if I run the coolant through the copper piping, would the heaters even get much heat? The heaters don’t put off a lot of heat as it is. I’m wondering if it would be more worth while if I severed one or both heaters from the bus. I plan on having other forms of heat, such as wood and propane, so if the two old bus heaters disappear it may not be a big loss. Do you think it's worth taking the heaters out? Or would taking the heaters out even make a difference?

Thanks,
Turtle

John · 10-26-2009, 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by turtle

I plan on having other forms of heat, such as wood and propane, so if the two old bus heaters disappear it may not be a big loss. Do you think it's worth taking the heaters out? Or would taking the heaters out even make a difference?

The bus heaters only work while the bus is running. That is if you rely on the engine to heat the coolant.

Wood, if its a wood stove should not be operating while the bus is in motion. There will be too much draft. And you'd be better off if you had a section of chimney pipe you could put on the bus while the bus is parked, then remove it for when you are driving. I have a 4-foot section. The extra height gives you a lot better draft, but has to be removed due to clearance issues.

As for the propane. A lot of sites and people will tell you not to use propane while in motion, as a safety issue. I know quite a few people that do, but I don't plan on being one of them. Either way, I am not sure if a propane heater will operate normally if it vents to the outside. Vent-less ones may be ok.

I took my heater out of the bus in order to remove, repair and install flooring. I plan on adding the best of the heaters back in to the bus in order to heat the bus while driving. The only other alternative I could think of is to install a nice alternator and a couple of electric heaters (that I could then also use while parked) but nothing beats the efficiency of engine coolant heating.

John · 10-26-2009, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by turtle

I wonder if running the coolant through the heaters first would drain heat before it goes through the copper piping. Or if I run the coolant through the copper piping, would the heaters even get much heat? The heaters don’t put off a lot of heat as it is.

I had three heaters come with my bus (other than the defroster). One was behind the driver's seat, one was in the middle, and one was near the back. They all had separate switches that went to them, controllable from the cockpit. It seemed to me that regardless of the switch the coolant would pump through all of the heaters, then the switch would operate a fan (low or high) that would blow air across the coolant (copper radiator) and heat the bus.

If your heaters worked the same, than if you don't operate the fan you shouldn't see too much heat loss. That way when you first started warming up the oil, you could leave the heaters off. Then later, when the oil was at a good temperature you could turn the fans on.

Does anyone insulate their veggie oil tank so that they don't lose a lot of heat through it? Does a fuel tank lose a lot of heat?

I've seen some RV's have heat-tape or a heating pad that kept their fresh-water tanks from freezing. You may also be able to use that on a veggie-oil tank?

turtle · 10-27-2009, 12:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John

If your heaters worked the same, than if you don't operate the fan you shouldn't see too much heat loss. That way when you first started warming up the oil, you could leave the heaters off. Then later, when the oil was at a good temperature you could turn the fans on.

Yes! I love it!

Quote:

Originally Posted by John

I've seen some RV's have heat-tape or a heating pad that kept their fresh-water tanks from freezing. You may also be able to use that on a veggie-oil tank?

Sounds like padding would do me justice.

oregonskoolie · 11-01-2009, 01:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oregonskoolie

Okay... I am currently trying to remove my heater, and I am pretty stuck.

I am not sure whether I need to complete the circuit with the hose's going to the back of the bus once I take out the heater, or if I can just pinch off the ends of both hose's next to the driver's seat.

Any thoughts?

I removed my rear heater today. Here is a link to my blog with a picture of how I did mine.

http://web.me.com/colins84/The_Smiths_B ... later.html

It's quite the adventure so far.

llamaSteve · 01-23-2010, 07:47 PM

I plan on removing my rear heater and relocating the mid-chassis heater. Is there any special tubing that is required to handle the temperatures of the coolant flowing through the existing lines?

Elliot Naess · 01-23-2010, 10:57 PM

On mine, the heaters under the seats are plumbed IN SERIES with the heater/defroster in the dash. Thus, if I were to plug or kink-shut the hoses inside, I would get no heat and defrost from the dash. So....

Now.... I moved an under-seat heater to a new location, and I was in a hurry and used some plastic fittings. That trip went fine. But the next trip, I barely got out of town before I heard a "whoooosh" behind me. I looked over my shoulder and saw an "Old Faithful" of antifreeze flowing along the floor. Luckily, Millicent is slightly lower in front than in back, and it all ran forward and down the stairs and out the door. I closed those manual shut-off valves you were talking about, poured some drinking water in the radiator, and drove back home. Hosed it out with the garden hose and mopped up with towels. One of those plastic fittings has slipped loose. Lesson learned: No old hoses or mickey mouse fittings inside the bus!

(Well, you don't want such a failure under the hood either, but....)

Use real Heater Hose and metal connections.

KevinCoughlin · 02-09-2010, 01:22 PM

I looped my heater lines behind the driver and removed the middle and rear heat exchangers. Kept it looped so I would still have warm air for the defroster and around the driver's seat while driving. I am planning on plumbing a heat exchanger coil in the woodstove in my workshop, and running the hot water in pipes through the wall to the "office" section of my shop, and attaching one of the heat exchangers there. I'll swap out the fan with a 120 vac model and be able to bring heat from the woodstove in my shop into the office where my cats like to hang out in the winter. I like hanging out there too - good book, a mini-fridge, and a window to watch the snow fall outside.

I had considered a setup where I could have an outdoor wood boiler at my little campground property, so that I could connect hot water lines to the bus when parked (like shore power, but this would be "shore heat") and have heat in the bus with the small space and no bugs in the firewood inside - but I'm happy enough for now. Maybe next winter - and tap into the workshop stove with insulated hoses? Have to run antifreeze, though - since it would not be heated all the time.

Seeria · 06-13-2010, 10:37 AM

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*

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