Our Sheelhouse

[RamRod4]

All very good points. I had really only planned to baffle the fresh water tank since it will be under our bed. Planning to move the rear heater and frame around it to use as a step to get onto our bed and the fresh tank will go directly behind it just in front of the engine compartment. I would block off the back of the heater so that it only pushes air forward and out from under the step. The tread will be vented and allow for intake air. See pic below for reference.

[RamRod4]

Decided to draw up a fresh water tank today. I’ll probably purchase poly tanks for the black and gray tanks.

Fresh tank will be 16ga SS316 with baffles, 1.5” threaded inlet, 3/4” threaded outlet, and (4) 3/8” level sensor holes. Not sure if I want to add an access panel on top or not. Thoughts on this?

It will be formed as a U-channel with end caps and lid welded on. Fully TIG welded and purged then tested for leaks.

Any other input is appreciated. Let me know if I’m missing something as far as inlets/outlets go.

[peteg59]

Why not poly on water storage too? So much cheaper in cost.
Seems like overkill going custom stainless, but it will be a nice touch to your conversion...

[BeNimble]

You can find used stainless steel beer kegs pretty cheap, got a 15 gallon one for $12..
I have a few of the 5 gallon corny kegs too, they were like $10 back when.
Just checked CL, here is one for $50.
I have a HDPE 30 gallon barrel for my fresh water, and a 30 gallon steel hot water tank for hot water, and 2 gallon expansion tank for RO water.
Making your own from scratch gives you ultimate flexibility.

[RamRod4]

Originally Posted by peteg59

Why not poly on water storage too? So much cheaper in cost.
Seems like overkill going custom stainless, but it will be a nice touch to your conversion...

I have access to a large amount of scraps and drops at work so a stainless tank is a lot more affordable than you might think.

[TJones]

Looks good. I wouldn't think there would be a need for an acces hole in the freshwater tank.

Ted

[RamRod4]

Little break from the bus to build a firewood storage shed this weekend. I’ll toss up some pics.

I went ahead and ordered some stainless 1” barb fittings and bought some 1” Gates radiator/heater core hose. Might have time to move the rear heater to it’s rough location this weekend. A great source for barb fittings with rounded elbows is SupplyHouse.com. Next day shipping and better flowing fittings than the few I could find on Amazon or McMaster.

[joeblack5]

Used RV tanks are very cheap and plentiful.
Several smaller fresh water tanks would be good for redundacy and or several quality\ies of input water.
We just installed a RO system in our bus and that requires tanks between drinking and washing water.



Nice job with your bus. what is your shop rate in your area.



my 0.02


Johan

[RamRod4]

Originally Posted by joeblack5

Used RV tanks are very cheap and plentiful.
Several smaller fresh water tanks would be good for redundacy and or several quality\ies of input water.
We just installed a RO system in our bus and that requires tanks between drinking and washing water.



Nice job with your bus. what is your shop rate in your area.



my 0.02


Johan

I appreciate the input. My main issue was getting the capacity I wanted but able to fit it in the space I have alotted. Making a tank is just easier due to the nature of my work. I'll still be purchasing the gray and black tanks.

Shop rate at my shop varies depending on the task. We are a custom fabrication shop with full CNC production capabilities but we also have a field service side of our business that includes millwrighting, rigging, mobile welding, turnkey machine installs, etc. That said, shop rate is anywhere between $80 and $100/hr depending on the task/machines used.

[joeblack5]

Absolutely, always good to capitalize on existing skills and materials.

Another advantage of plastic tanks is that they insulate better,

But I am all for stainless anything.
Nice rate, are you the owner of the shop?

Johan

[RamRod4]

Originally Posted by joeblack5

Absolutely, always good to capitalize on existing skills and materials.

Another advantage of plastic tanks is that they insulate better,

But I am all for stainless anything.
Nice rate, are you the owner of the shop?

Johan

I’m not the owner but I run the business. Would like to open my own shop eventually but the economy coupled with the large initial capital investment is making that a near impossibility in the foreseeable future.

[Native]

Originally Posted by RamRod4

Little break from the bus to build a firewood storage shed this weekend. I’ll toss up some pics.

I went ahead and ordered some stainless 1” barb fittings and bought some 1” Gates radiator/heater core hose. Might have time to move the rear heater to it’s rough location this weekend. A great source for barb fittings with rounded elbows is SupplyHouse.com. Next day shipping and better flowing fittings than the few I could find on Amazon or McMaster.

Thank you for the tip on supplyhouse.com ... I had been loking local and Ferguson had some brass fittings, but not much.

[Oscar1]

Originally Posted by RamRod4

Decided to draw up a fresh water tank today. I’ll probably purchase poly tanks for the black and gray tanks.

Fresh tank will be 16ga SS316 with baffles, 1.5” threaded inlet, 3/4” threaded outlet, and (4) 3/8” level sensor holes. Not sure if I want to add an access panel on top or not. Thoughts on this?

It will be formed as a U-channel with end caps and lid welded on. Fully TIG welded and purged then tested for leaks.

Any other input is appreciated. Let me know if I’m missing something as far as inlets/outlets go. Attachment 53189

I'm thinking plastic is the way to go for your tanks, yes the custom freshwater tank will give you the baffles to help control the free surface sloshing but metal and especially aluminum is not recommended for holding tanks. The materials we deposit in there can be very corrosive! I've worked around many older ships that have had aluminum tanks corrode and welds fail requiring tanks to be replaced(with plastic)
Great lookin bus and awesome work.
Cheers

Oscar

[RamRod4]

Originally Posted by Oscar1

I'm thinking plastic is the way to go for your tanks, yes the custom freshwater tank will give you the baffles to help control the free surface sloshing but metal and especially aluminum is not recommended for holding tanks. The materials we deposit in there can be very corrosive! I've worked around many older ships that have had aluminum tanks corrode and welds fail requiring tanks to be replaced(with plastic)

Great lookin bus and awesome work.

Cheers



Oscar

I had planned to use 316 stainless. You are correct that aluminum shouldn’t be used for potable water based on what I’ve read. 304 stainless would be fine if welded clean and purged. 316 is icing on the cake haha.

[Oscar1]

Originally Posted by RamRod4

I had planned to use 316 stainless. You are correct that aluminum shouldn’t be used for potable water based on what I’ve read. 304 stainless would be fine if welded clean and purged. 316 is icing on the cake haha.

Absolutely understood stainless for the freshwater tank, I just meant plastic for the grey and black might be a better choice due to the corrosive nature of the waste.
Quality work there sir, carry on

[RamRod4]

Originally Posted by Oscar1

Absolutely understood stainless for the freshwater tank, I just meant plastic for the grey and black might be a better choice due to the corrosive nature of the waste.

Quality work there sir, carry on

Gotcha. We’re on the same page. Plastic for the gray and black makes the most sense. They’re much cheaper and the black tanks have sloped bottoms and drains. Those will also be under my bus so plastic is a bonus there too. 316 will resist road salt well but not as well as plastic haha.

[RamRod4]

My most recent topic of research has been heaters for the bus. I scored some used 1.5” XPS for cheap this past weekend. I opted for the xps instead of spray foam on the walls and ceiling mainly due to cost. There’s som added work and heat loss when scoring and bending/breaking xps to fit the curved ceiling but I don’t think it will make a drastic enough difference to outweigh the $200 in foam board vs the almost $1000 in spray foam. Not to mention the cleanup.

The foam purchase led to heater research. After initially thinking we’d do a wood stove, Good Sam insurance shut us down on that idea. That led me to diesel air heaters for the convenience of having a 100 gal fuel source already on board.

Now, however, I am leaning toward using a diesel hydronic coolant heater since we will be keeping our rear and front factory heaters. The mythical Webasto Scholastic 2010 is what I have my mind set on.

What say ye to heating a 38’ bus with 2 factory heaters and a 45k btu Webasto? How realistic would it be to fabricate a hot water heater and install it in the coolant circuit to provide hot water for showers or sinks? I’d imagine this would require more than 45k btu but am looking for feedback.

[TJones]

The 45k btu should more than enough for heating the bus and a water heater. I believe the schoolastic was sized to heat the interior with out having to idle the engine. I'm not sure that the water heater could be operated as an "on demand" but with a small reservoir it would work. Check out Somewhere in the USA build he has a nice hydronic heating system. I thinks his coolant heater was 12k btu.

Ted

[RamRod4]

Originally Posted by TJones

The 45k btu should more than enough for heating the bus and a water heater. I believe the schoolastic was sized to heat the interior with out having to idle the engine. I'm not sure that the water heater could be operated as an "on demand" but with a small reservoir it would work. Check out Somewhere in the USA build he has a nice hydronic heating system. I thinks his coolant heater was 12k btu.

Ted

I was thinking maybe a small tank similar to a standard tank-style water heater but with a coil inside for the hot coolant to flow through as opposed to an electric heating element or gas burner. Not sure how quickly it would recover though.

[TJones]

Originally Posted by RamRod4

I was thinking maybe a small tank similar to a standard tank-style water heater but with a coil inside for the hot coolant to flow through as opposed to an electric heating element or gas burner. Not sure how quickly it would recover though.

That is how the marine water heaters are designed. I was looking at the indel isotemp line. They look like they are built well but expensive.

My only concern with building my own would be designing / fabricating a pressure vessel. If that is something your familiar with it should be pretty straight forward.

Ted