BCM Community

Has anyone used the original bus vents for a LP furnace? I am looking for an easy way to do my ducting without a lot of work or using my basement space. Anyone? Bueller? Anyone...?

Well...
Take a look at the size of the blower motor on your heater core, and then take a look at any LP furnace and you may see a little teeny difference.  The blower on an LP furnace will just not push enough air through the bus duct work.  Also, you will lose heat down the original ducts that go into the original heater core area.  Even if you put the furnace in with the bus' heater core, the fan just isn't that powerful.

Glenn

And you have already ripped that old ducting out to clean the umimaginable "filth" out of your "home", right?   I mean, RIGHT?  First you lift out the chunks of hair and filth, then you vac and brush, then you pressure wash, then you scrub where needed, then you pressure wash for the final rinse. Takes two or three days to do a real thorough job.  The stink will keep you going back after it till it is clean enuf to stop stinking.  If you don't remove it it will stink when it gets damp enuf.  Did you get the "stink" part? ???

I think that all the ducting and framing and such would absorb all the heat that a little 50K BTU furnace could produce and that will heat your entire bus.normally.  Get your heat into the air and stir that to get warm quickly.  Also place a small fan on the floor blowing straight up at the ceiling.  It can be almost anywhere...behind a chair, in the corner or in the center of the room.  It is needed to de stratify the air and keep your toes from getting frosty.  It will also aid in keeping you bedroom warm when the heater is in the living room.  6 or 8 inches is big enuf.  Air has to flow into the bottom from the floor so don't shroud it with furniture that will impede the air flow. 8)

Have fun Guy....only trying to help ;D ;D

John

I am in the process of converting a 102A3. John Ed is correct, when you pull the floor up you cannot believe the crud that is inside the heating/return ducts. Needs to be thoroughly cleaned otherwise you will regret it.

I will be using the bus return duct that runs down the center of the bus to run heat ducting from one bay to five floor vents situated around the bus. This will allow me to easily install either a heat pump or a propane forced air unit in the bay and utilize the ducting for heating the bus interior.

I am also installing a run of copper pipe in the return duct that runs to both ends of the bus and I will install five Wabasto air handlers at various locations in the interior. This will prepare the bus for installation of a Wabasto hydronic system some day if I desire.

I am also running a 2" conduit down the center of the bus inside the same return and dropping down into each bay so that I have capability of running wires from one bay to each of the other bays without having to go through the bulkheads. This will allow easy transfer of wire terminations for the system electrical requirements.

These are things that I am doing. My first bus, so we will see how it works out.

Doug

I assume you mean to use the LP furnace when parked. If you mean going down the road the original bus system is hard to beat. You may be able to hook up your furnace in parallel with the original so you can use both.

However, if you are removing the original heating system I think it will work. You don't need the air flow or heating capacity of the original simply because you don't have 41+ people to keep comfortable. The original system blower and heater are way overkill for a conversion.

Mine still works and works well, too well. I can only run it for short periods in anything but very cold weather but this is because the original blower motor is so big. If it ever fails I plan to replace it with a much smaller one.

The only way to know for sure is to bypass the original blower and hook up your furnace to check the air flow.

I know the ducts are dirty but the dirt is so solidified that I don't worry about it. It may be more hazardous to remove than to leave in place!! I put a couple of small deodorizers in mine and it smells great.