I have a Toyota Coaster bus which gets brutally cold and damp during Winter. I was thinking about putting a curtain partition in the sleeping area and putting a 100 liter water container under the bed. Depending on how it needs tweaking I will put insulation on the tank. The idea is to use an externally mounted instantaneous gas heater (9kg LPG) to fill the tank up with hot water and allow the heat to raise the internal temperature to the point it is comfortable and drier than the ambient to stop condensation. I need to go back to my high school physics to work out if this setup will work or not.
Obviously this doubles as a shower.
Delta18 said
07:37 PM Feb 27, 2015
You are aware you can buy a combination diesel water / room heater?
Very efficient in operation too.
Mark Bolton said
08:11 PM Feb 27, 2015
I was vaguely aware of them and the initial investment cost is a bit steep. However the Coaster is diesel and the cost of gas is way more expensive. I was trying to think of a way I could get by just spending a cuppla hundred on the instant heater however the scheme I am thinking about is probably not that practical. I am a bit paranoid having things burning / running whilst I am asleep. I would imagine the heaters would be heavy on gas usage. I have been looking at various diesel heaters. There was one from Eastern Europe auction on eBay at about 600 bucks.
Treecrest14 said
08:50 PM Feb 27, 2015
Gday
I've been thinking about putting one of these diesel Planar units into my van. Cost is $800 with everything reqd and postage.
I've read quite a lot of posts and they all say they are cheap to run - about $1.50 per night!
-- Edited by Treecrest14 on Friday 27th of February 2015 08:52:31 PM
Mark Bolton said
11:50 PM Feb 27, 2015
Treeecrest 14 great minds think alike. I just this moment got finished reafing the user manual for this very product. It wont do hot water like the combo units for $2k odd but does have a Russian language voice prompt option. Pretty awesome nyet?
Aus-Kiwi said
12:28 AM Feb 28, 2015
The old argument between gas and diesel heaters.. Imo if you have diesel powered ?
Go diesel heater.. Esp if your worried about things burning while a sleep?
With good instalation they run quiete enough.
Weight would be much lower than water heated bed ..
Mark Bolton said
12:49 AM Feb 28, 2015
THX Aus-Kiwi. I am leaning that way for sure.
Diesel is less expensive than gas. It is safer than gas. The bus already has a diesel fuel tank.
The water idea is an adaptation from what I have set up in the van which works brilliantly in Summer. I use a Waeco 100 liter Ice Box with 100 meters of PEX rolled out in the sun this gets water verging on too hot to shower that will remain hot all night.
The more I think about it the more it seems impractical to adapt to the bus. I think it is too complicated to try to have a hot water system in a confined space like a Coaster bus. I would be content with cosy and dry.
BTW I have seen quite a few people saying the stove will keep the bus warm. Apart from the dangers of Carbon Monoxide poisoning, it doesn't work. What happens is the water resulting from the combustion condenses on the walls of the bus so it is not just cold but cold and wet. Forget about it.
Aus-Kiwi said
01:00 AM Mar 1, 2015
Diesel heater or good woman? Well sealed and insulated bus helps... Our Fuso has engine in the back and cold nights the heat soak comes in handy ... Can't beat a good dooner ...
in transit said
10:22 PM Mar 2, 2015
Coming to QLD in winter is a better solution
Jaahn said
11:20 AM Mar 3, 2015
My two cents worth,
I would be looking at an electric blanket and a small inverter. Plug into your battery and presto, warm bed. Has been some discussion on this previously
Or put in the water tank but pipe it to the motor cooling system. Need to seperate the two systems with a heat exchanger or some internal pipes, but the heat will be there after driving anyway no cost. Just a different type of diesel heater.
Jaahn
-- Edited by Jaahn on Tuesday 3rd of March 2015 11:21:41 AM
elliemike said
12:04 PM Mar 3, 2015
Mark Bolton wrote:
I have a Toyota Coaster bus which gets brutally cold and damp during Winter. I was thinking about putting a curtain partition in the sleeping area and putting a 100 liter water container under the bed. Depending on how it needs tweaking I will put insulation on the tank. The idea is to use an externally mounted instantaneous gas heater (9kg LPG) to fill the tank up with hot water and allow the heat to raise the internal temperature to the point it is comfortable and drier than the ambient to stop condensation. I need to go back to my high school physics to work out if this setup will work or not.
Obviously this doubles as a shower.
I would think that is a very inefficient way of heating a van or bed. How much gas does it take to heat 100 litres of water. The water container would have to be uninsulated to get heat transfer into the van. As previous posters have said you can do all this very efficiently with off the shelf units.
I have a Toyota Coaster bus which gets brutally cold and damp during Winter. I was thinking about putting a curtain partition in the sleeping area and putting a 100 liter water container under the bed. Depending on how it needs tweaking I will put insulation on the tank. The idea is to use an externally mounted instantaneous gas heater (9kg LPG) to fill the tank up with hot water and allow the heat to raise the internal temperature to the point it is comfortable and drier than the ambient to stop condensation. I need to go back to my high school physics to work out if this setup will work or not.
Obviously this doubles as a shower.
You are aware you can buy a combination diesel water / room heater?
Very efficient in operation too.
Gday
I've been thinking about putting one of these diesel Planar units into my van. Cost is $800 with everything reqd and postage.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/351149809438?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
I've read quite a lot of posts and they all say they are cheap to run - about $1.50 per night!
-- Edited by Treecrest14 on Friday 27th of February 2015 08:52:31 PM
Treeecrest 14 great minds think alike. I just this moment got finished reafing the user manual for this very product. It wont do hot water like the combo units for $2k odd but does have a Russian language voice prompt option. Pretty awesome nyet?
Go diesel heater.. Esp if your worried about things burning while a sleep?
With good instalation they run quiete enough.
Weight would be much lower than water heated bed ..
THX Aus-Kiwi. I am leaning that way for sure.
Diesel is less expensive than gas. It is safer than gas. The bus already has a diesel fuel tank.
The water idea is an adaptation from what I have set up in the van which works brilliantly in Summer. I use a Waeco 100 liter Ice Box with 100 meters of PEX rolled out in the sun this gets water verging on too hot to shower that will remain hot all night.
The more I think about it the more it seems impractical to adapt to the bus. I think it is too complicated to try to have a hot water system in a confined space like a Coaster bus. I would be content with cosy and dry.
BTW I have seen quite a few people saying the stove will keep the bus warm. Apart from the dangers of Carbon Monoxide poisoning, it doesn't work. What happens is the water resulting from the combustion condenses on the walls of the bus so it is not just cold but cold and wet. Forget about it.
My two cents worth,
I would be looking at an electric blanket and a small inverter. Plug into your battery and presto, warm bed. Has been some discussion on this previously
Or put in the water tank but pipe it to the motor cooling system. Need to seperate the two systems with a heat exchanger or some internal pipes, but the heat will be there after driving anyway no cost.
Just a different type of diesel heater.
Jaahn
-- Edited by Jaahn on Tuesday 3rd of March 2015 11:21:41 AM
I would think that is a very inefficient way of heating a van or bed. How much gas does it take to heat 100 litres of water. The water container would have to be uninsulated to get heat transfer into the van. As previous posters have said you can do all this very efficiently with off the shelf units.
Webasto, Eberspacher, etc