|
Originally, my bus had 2 tubes through the engine to interior firewall. Hoses from the engine compartment connected to the engine side, and hoses on the interior ran along the floor on the interior side. They hit 2 under seat heaters, before going into 2 90 degree swept bulkead tubes that took them under the floor right behind the driver seat. Then there was regular heater hose underneath that went from those 2 tubes up to the front defrosters accessible via the front facia drop-down (external).
I figure if Thomas had no problem with heater hoses under the bus, then I'm not too bothered, when mine are installed better protected than theirs were.
I am a LOT more worried about an air line getting busted than a heater line. I can close off the heater loop and still drive. I'm not going anywhere if an air line gets damaged.
However, if I were doing it again, knowing these concerns, I might be inclined to make everything more protected while underneath.
As for using copper pipe, seems like it's a soft walled pipe, and subject to the same kind of damage potential as regular heater hose. Also, I think 1" copper pipe would be expensive to install. Being a metal wall pipe, it would transfer heat externally quicker. Hot water baseboard heat in houses is copper pipe with aluminum fins, and they heat an entire room with that. That copper will lose a lot more heat from engine to heater than a heater hose will. If you then insulate the pipe, then you have to protect the insulation. There's a lot to think about there.
You definitely want to stick to the same diameter pipe as the original heater hose, otherwise you're adding flow restrictions, which can matter on that long a run. My bus has a booster pump in the engine compartment just for the interior heat run.
I hope this helps,
Jim
|
Linear Mode
